Seriously confused about my Kings ride height

So I've been going back and forth with AccuTune for months about my spring rate. They assured me at least 5 times I don't need anything more than 600lb springs; even though I run a bumper, winch, and upgraded battery. I'm told I already have them cranked down to past what they recommend which is 21" total shock length and I'm at 21.375" and if I went another .3" I would totally top them out and would be metal to metal at ride height. But I'm not getting near the lift I see most guys getting that run 35s. I only have about 4 inches between tire and fender flare. I'm told heavier springs won't make a difference

 

What exactly are you trying to show with this measurement?

Measure the total shock length from the top to the center of the lower mount bolt. Also measure from the fender to center of the hub and if you feel like jacking up the truck the spring length between the upper and lower perches. The coilover length should be about 21 inches at ride height. That still gives you about 3" of droop when you jack up the truck. Measuring the spring will tell how much preload is on the spring. Lastly the hub to fender gives you a rough estimation of lift knowing that stock trucks are usually in to 20 1/2 to 21" range. The combination of those 3 measurements will let you know how much higher you can really expect to get the truck.

 

The amount of piston rod exposed at ride height

 

are you running a 13" spring or 14" spring? a lot of guys running them almost certainly have higher spring rates and longer springs. You cant always how a longer sprint as it could bind but it works in most of the OEM spec kits. The other half of the group are on LT setups and running 8" or 10" coilovers that give 3-4" of lift.

 

When I was at King's headquarters in Garden Grove, CA getting my coilovers rebuilt I spoke with them about spring rate. Long store short, they told me that if I was planning on going with front bumper, winch, and AGM battery that I should move to a 700lb spring.

 

yah I was going to say 650-700 depending on which setup you have everyone generally also goes with a longer one.

But interesting I have been having a similar conversation for a LT coilover with Accutune.

 

one thing I was going to ask and just in case did ou check to make sure they were filled up with N2 to the correct levels. I think King runs 150psi. This very will could be something to check on.

 

Did you get their shock lengths at ride height? Simply looking at a truck and comparing to yours can be very deceiving which is why we always reference hard facts, not looks or opinions. If you have already spoken to our sales team, I'm sure they have already gone over the basics with you. For a lot more detail on the subject I would encourage you to look over our newest Tech Article that goes into this subject in great detail:

https://accutuneoffroad.com/preload-adjustments-on-oem-fit-coilovers/

 

14". It's been hard to wrap my head around but from what I gather from Accutune, a 600lb coil with preload sounds like it would result in the same shock length as say a 700lb coil with no preload since preload doesn't compress the coils, it just lengthens the shock-body/rod. Also can I check the nitrogen levels with any old schrader valve gauge?

 

as long as it can hold high PSI 250-300 should be fine. since it's so low I would not be surpised if they were low. May have even been shipped without N2 in them.

 

sounds like you’re looking for a particular stance. You need to know the max center of hub to fender height people are running and go from there. Accutune sees this as unimportant, they’re going for function over form.

I would think that a heavier spring will allow you to run less preload for the same ride height. But if you’re almost topping the coil over out at that “lift height” it will be exactly the same with a heavier coil.

 

If you do check your pressures it should be done with the suspension at full extension. I would check everything else first. I’m guessing you are going to give up some down travel to get the height you are expecting and it will probably put you out of king’s recommended range.

 

In this case, we are concerned about the shock lengths at ride height. If the shock is nearly topped out at ride height, no spring will change that and a heavier rate spring potentially could make it worse. We are trying our best here to help you maintain good ride quality. If you are able to make adjustments easily, you can certainly try adjusting ride height to what you would like it to be, and see if the ride is sufficient. Just keep in mind shocks don't like being topped out constantly.

It's also very difficult to measure how much shaft is showing on the shock at ride height, which is why we look at the total lengths. There is a lot more shaft showing, but hidden by the lower spring perch. See graphic below, I made parts of the shocks see-through to give you a better idea on whats going on. This may also help show how a different spring will not change where the shock is in its total travel.

Checking nitrogen pressure needs to be done with a specific type of gauge that will be able to read high PSI and not loose any pressure when reading it. You cannot use a standard tire gauge or anything like that and like mentioned above it should be done with the shocks fully extended and charged the same way. We always charge these shocks prior to sending them out.

 

I don't want to come off like a debbie downer but I don't think most extended travel coilovers really have enough length for 35's with stock sheet metal. If you really want to get a little more height out of it put a 1/4" taco lean spacer on each side and then space your bump stops to match. It will give you 1/2 of additional lift but if you don't space your bumpstops bad things are going to happen when it bottoms out. It is a bandaid and a bunch of people will say not to do it because most people probably won't set the bump stops right. Ideally you would pull the springs off and cycle the suspension with the spacers installed to setup you new bumpstop height, anything else is just a guess.