White 1994 F-150 Sleeper Build

[robertcrav]

is the benefit of the 8125s over the 9100s the shorter length?

[nubreed71]

There's a few upsides as far as I see it. Larger uniballs in the shock eyes (5/8" vs. 1/2"), shock bodies are coated in zinc instead of nickel, which I think should provide a bit better corrosion resistance, and then in my case, I actually went to a 12" shock since I was strapping off the last 3" or so of travel since I really don't need more than about 16-17" travel with my rear setup. The plan is to have Cho build me a set of radius arms to add a bit more caster to my front end and improve the handling. I figured while I was at it, might as well swap these shocks on there and shorten the bump pad to gain some up travel/lower the ride height.

[BDKW1]

Having the coils wound opposite directions is a good thing. Your slider will rotate more, but it will put less stress on the springs.

Nickel holds up to abuse much better than zink..........

[nubreed71]

I guess I'll just have to see RE the corrosion resistance. The nickel plating on every set of 9100's that I've owned has developed light surface rust within less than 2 months of being on the truck.

[ChaseTruck754]

I was going to say the same thing on the zinc. Have not been impressed at all with things I've had zinc coated now that it's hard to find someone to do cadmium in Commiefornia. Keep us posted as to how these shocks last vs. your nickel ones.

[Ghostwhite]

Where are you at now Caster-wise and what are you going to?

[VintageIronFab]

Aren't grade 5 bolts zinc plated?

[nubreed71]

Grade 8 bolts are gold zinc plated. Not sure on grade 5, but probably silver zinc coated.

Right now I'm around 4 degrees caster. Will likely go closer to 10-12 degrees. I know Cho usually likes to set up his beams/arms to run 12 degrees at ride height.

[BDKW1]

Hmmm, Bilstien must have changed platers yet again. Electroless nickel should hold up really well if done right. The parts must first be cleaned then copper plated to seal them and help with the adhesion of the nickel. Get it wrong and you get pin holes. The company that used to do Bilstiens parts was across the street from Summit steel in O'side. They did great work, just not the cheapest.

[ChaseTruck754]

Any grade bolt can come in different finishes. The gold & silver are typically clear (silver) or yellow (gold) zinc.

As for the caster - 10-12 sounds good. I think Geoff at Giant goes as big as 16* on his stuff. Dirt only toys need a bit more caster than street/dirt mix like most of us have. At least this seems to be the common consensus.

[nubreed71]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking RE the caster. It feels a little squirrely on the road with the steering done. The caster didn't change, but my guess is that the old, slower ratio of the stock steering was able to hide that. Now with the steering being way more precise, it wanders a bit. Adding that caster should help I'm thinking.

[ChaseTruck754]

yup!

[VintageIronFab]

well as you decrease your ride height your caster should increase.

[nubreed71]

Not sure what it's at right now, but the front needs to come back up as the truck sits right now. I only put 1/2" of preload on it to start. Sounds like I need to add another inch or so. Gonna fiddle with it tonight. Once I get the ride height dialed back in, will check caster again.

[nubreed71]

GIVE ME MORE PRELOAD!!!! Or just slap a Kibbe sticker on it and call it good...lol.

[dtbback]

Little bit more.

[cs_drums]

I say through some taller shackles on back and call it done.

[nubreed71]

Not a bad call at all. I'll probably crank a lil more pre-load on there just to get it close to level, and address the rest when I revise the rear springs.

[nubreed71]

Cranked an inch of preload on there, much happier with the ride height.

[dtbback]

Looks great!