ADS Off-Road Racing Shocks - Information, Pictures, & BS Thread

You girls done yet?

 

Hope so

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the newbies asking questions and even asking for consumer advise when trying to understand purchase decisions.

What does rub me wrong, is when the answers they get are full of misinformation and don't fit the use-case of the person asking. Like recommending a race-quality shock only because they ride nice and provide good lift for example. There are plenty of options out there that will accomplish those two tasks for less money and these are expensive pieces of equipment. Giving bad or unfounded advise for someone who's never purchased a 2.5 coilover and isn't prepared to learn how they work just isn't ground for helping out anyone new or unfamiliar with suspension systems and their maintenance.

For your use, I'd recommend taking a good look at the BP-51s. To my knowledge they are an internal-bypass shock and that's why the piston diameter is smaller. Both the BP-51s and ADS coilovers are tune-able however the BP-51s do so by adjusting the amount of oil that bypasses piston and ADS coilovers require dismantling to change out shim-stacks for the piston for adjustments if you don't have clickers (although clickers function differently in fine-tuning). So if you are tough on your suspension and are looking for a rebuildable 2.5" performance coilover, then ADS is of the utmost quality. However, if you're not comfortable removing and servicing shocks after certain mileage or off-road use and just want a well-rounded suspension system, then the BP-51s will serve you better and you can play with the compression and rebound settings to your heart's contentment. Here's a cutaway of the BP-51 VS. an IFP shock such as one found in a 2.5 coilover. gawdamnit I didn't want to type this much.

 

Me tooooo! I'll post some pics tomorrow. I've also been waiting since the first week of December lol

 

Did anyone have a hard time with the shackle bushings? Mine seem way too big. We had to use a hydrolic press to get the bushings in the shackle, and then they were too big to fit into the bracket on the truck. In the video, they just slide in. Not sure what i'm doing wrong

 

Dakars? Front or rear or both?

I've only done the front bushings and they had to be burned out then there was a steel race that needed to be cut out and then the bushings slid in just fine.

 

Dakars in the rear. They seem about an inch too large. I don't want to bend the bracket, we might just shave some off of the bushing

 

Follow up question, which direction should the piggybacks be mounted on each side? Hoping I did this right

 

Get at least 6 ton, quality jack stands. While it seems overrated weight wise, they have a wider base, making them much more stable for setting your truck on when you have to jack it up higher than most cars would need.
A quality 3.5 ton jack helps a lot too, and they are not terribly expensive. I jack the front of my truck up directly underneath the aftermarket front skid plate, with no issues, and do work on a flat gravel parking lot at home. Set the jack stands under the frame rails. (duh)

 

Confirming you cut out the steel race as geekhouse23 advised?

 

Unfortunately, those are backwards. The piggy should be on the downward facing side. It'll hit your brake lines in that configuration.

 

I'm gonna sound like an idiot but I don't know what a race is lol. EDIT: Google is no help in this situation

Damn, it seems like it makes sense this way. I thought the other direction would hit the metal mount on the frame. How will it hit the brake lines, though? They are on the other side of the piggyback

 

No worries.

This will help: https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/12838337

 

Well said.

I'm actually starting to shy away from an ADS setup because of some of the reasons you listed. Although I am totally down with throwing my truck up on jack stands and yanking the suspension, I'm not comfortable with doing the service myself and my truck is my DD so I would need a reasonable turn around...
(or use one of the sets of OEM shocks I find myself accumulating... but that's neither here nor there. )

My truck is 2WD and 4 cylinder, but I love tinkering and I want to remove my front sway bar and be able to tune my dampers such that it's not wallowy on the street but can bash down some forest roads without a care in the world.
So my alternate options are "downgrade" to BP-51 or go balls out and get FOX 2.5 DSC up front and Bilstien B8 external bypasses in the back. (MSRP on that setup is circa $4K, looks like!)

 

There is a steel sleeve inside the eyelet. You have to cut it out with a sawzall and the bushing will slide right in

 

Thanks guys!

I am still confused to how the brake lines will be pinched. Is this okay for the time being? I'm running out of time to use the shop today

 

I cant speak to the orientation but remember to torque the shit out of the top nuts so the shocks do not rotate during use. About as much as you are comfortable doing has been advised. I know that is not very specific but maybe the factory recommend torque plus a quarter turn more? Does that sound right to everyone else? I guess you can always do this at home if you are running out of shop time.

Edit: FWIW I think Bertw192 is right. A quick google image search shows all shocks installed the opposite way compared to how you have them installed now.

 

Think it's okay for the time being?

 

I have no idea haha. If you really need to get out of that shop I would just drive really carefully until you get home and address everything. If extending your shop time is an option I would do that. When working on the truck, I have found that taking shortcuts usually does not end well. Get the right tools, use the right procedures, and do it right the first time.