frijolee
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Island, HI
Joel, I've run 11.60" 5165's with 255/70 valving (25-175783) up front for 12yrs/120k miles and they are still performing well.
EB1 mounting top and bottom, with my own upper mount similar to JKS units, and have never had them loosen up.
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Thanks for chiming in Jeff. I just reread your full thread the other day and I was guessing those might be 5165s. Needed to ping you but you treed me. The benefit of the mounting and hose configuration probably outweighs the need to re-valve and I can always try out the 255/70 and decide if I want more damping.
For anyone curious, here's the difference:
7100:

5165 (billet clamps shown add +$85 for a pair)

Generic shot of quite a few including the 5150s...

Unfortunately, I'm not seeing the 5150s in the catalog anymore so they may be discontinued. (https://cart.bilsteinus.com/Portals/0/PDF/BILSTEINORCatalog2020_WEB.pdf)
Too bad, as I like those. I'm wishing I would have found those before I did 5100s. The shortened body that comes with a remote reservoir seems like a big advantage. It look me quite a bit of work at the rear bump stop to be sure the shock wouldn't bottom out and I'm right on the hairy edge as is.
Unfortunately, if I ditch the rear bar pins now, that inch or so of travel I loose becomes a bigger deal and I'd be likely to bottom the shock unless I dial the bumps down further still. Since my modified BDS/bastard pack rear springs have sagged a touch, I already wish I had a bit more up travel than I do now.
Maybe I should sell all my current shocks and start fresh. That's part of what has me tempted by 2.5" class shocks but all the ones I've looked at are so much longer bodies for an equivalent travel that it's just about a deal breaker, particularly in back.
The cost ain't trivial either.
I'll be using these mounts when i swap my shocks out. It would probably benefit you.
https://tandjperformance.com/product/part-bp-s1005/
I like those. Seems like an on the JKS converstion bits for only a touch more cost. I've run across a few folks that complained of loosening with the JKS route and these look like they add some bonus support the tower too. If I do run 5165s mounting the reservoir lower on the body like Jeff did makes that easy.
The track bar only moves out of its resting plane based on the center of axis of the axle as it moves up and down. Not much, hence the rubber bushings.
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SJX...
When I blew up my front shock upper bushings, I was convinced I had something in control arms or steering loosening up. I actually pulled off the trail, broke out the tools and retorqued a bunch before I finally found the shock bushings were wasted. Turned out all the structural bits were okay (tightened a few but not a lot). The ticking I could in the floorboard in dead pedal area was in fact from the shock rather than what I thought might be an upper control arm bushing.
I'm running the SFR WJ high roller steering with heims at both ends of the trackbar so I should be good on degrees of freedom there. SFR has been decent but does have a couple issues. Let me pause on that one and write up some separate thoughts.
-Joel