10" or 12" shocks cons/pros?

Hey folks I'm seriously considering getting into LT world not sure if I should or not sort of nervous spending that much money for just the suspension. I've sourced a shop which is giving me few different options but are recommending to go with the 12" king triple bypass rears. The shop owner generally stated that a bigger shock is always a better choice but I could always go back to total chaos bolt on hoops and fit the 10" shock instead... there is a bit of a price difference and there isn't any clear information on the pros of having the 12" vs 10" as travel numbers probably going to be a wash anyway.

 

We need more information. What truck, short bed/long bed etc? What setup are you planning on running or what your choices/options are?

 

You need to educate yourself A LOT before you open this can of worms. Shock stroke is a byproduct of other limiting factors. You don't choose a shock length of how cool you want to be. You'll need to choose what setup you're going with, SUA or SOA, and realistically what type of driving you're going to be doing. Do you really need to go LT and if you are do you really want to run a bypass in the rear. There are more pros/cons to discuss if you want to go with bypasses or not vs. what length shock to run.

 

Total Chaos's kit is not bolt on.

 

As @Canks said: what do you want to do with the truck? Is LT really necessary? Read more builds on here and see what people have liked for purposes similar to yours.

I don't see any point of spending all that money ($1600+$700+shocks+install) on the TC kit just to end up with 0.5-2.5" more travel over stock (which is still mid travel #s), especially if you do a +3.5 LT kit up front.
If you're only going +2 up front, the ArchiveGarage hangers/leafs/shock towers can pull 14" of rear travel without going through the bed.

If you're going +3.5 up front then get a Camburg/DMZ/Defined/Giant kit and actually allow your rear to keep up with the front.

 

I do believe their 10" shock hoop relocation kit for the rear is a bolt on but i'm no expert just from what i've seen and heard

 

3rd gen 4x4 Tacoma. Pretty heavily running pizza cutters 33"s currently front and rear steel bumpers, sliders, skids, winch, habitat in the back with gear, fridge mild interior build in the bed, roof rack. So she is a heavy girl. Currently she is sitting on OME bp51s with HD pack and camburg uca. It feels that no matter what front end feels rough and stiff and yes i talked with ARB about it. Rear end on the other side feels great until you go over a whoop or at any other speed but crawling and it hits the bumps (factory for now) I'm in south CA so lots of fire roads, wash outs dirt roads etc and I don't mind going a bit faster than 20 mph if I could as long as suspension feels like it's handling well and ride is plush. Some areas are a bit more technical trails not anything insane like rock hopping nor am I planing on lunching it or jumping it. Just trying to see if LT would allow for better drivability and stability with all the weight on the truck. The proposed build by Rogue off road in NV is pushing about $16 large ones. In a nut shell the set up sums up to TC 2+ race series lower and upper arms, sway bar from TC they just came up with, heavy duty AM spindles instead of reinforced factory, axles, triple bypass front dual shock set up, rear is 12" triple bypass shock with relocate welded brackets and archive garage or similar drop for leaf pack which was proposed to go with leaf under pack from Deaver made for the weight of the truck plus gear specs shock are custom made to specs shop feels is appropriate for the set up from King. That is half the cost of my truck lol so to spend that much money I'm trying to understand what I might be getting into.

 

You’re being closed on by a salesperson.

It really does not sound like you need to spend 16k to get what you want out of the truck. You’re not even doing high speed stuff and your truck is heavy. SUA is not ideal for weight, which you have, and bypasses are not ideal for slow speed control.

I’d go with a progressive shock on all 4 corners with a relocation in the rear with adjusters and either the BAMF or Archive hangers. Focus on valving and save yourself a lot of money. Don’t forget gussets. Bitches love gussets.

 

Anyone around south ca known for good quality work I can possibly talk to or give my business that you guys know of?

 

Smp, solo Motorsports, kdm fab, est fab, dmz fab, Izzy fab, Tacoma pros, I could go on and on. It’s so cal legit fab shops are everywhere

 

Agree with above on this. You could also go for something like a 63 spring swap, and would still save you a bunch of money over a 16K sua setup.

 

I don’t think it’s the salesman’s fault. It’s very similar to when guys tell downsouth that they want their shocks valved to eat 3’ whoops and then call back after the shocks are installed to complain that the truck feels rough on the street. The sales person at the shop can only give info based on what the customer describes to them. Sometimes you get guys that are dead set on going down one path so questions and scenarios will be given that lead the salesman to go down that path.


Some customers are more open to input, some just want you to tell them that they “need” to go with the setup they are asking you about, that helps them justify a setup that even they know they don’t need.

 

Definitely don’t do 63 swap. Go u402’s if you’re gonna go that route.

 

For knowledge's sake, why is that?

 

Sorry Conner I don’t have the time to type it all up now, but if you search it especially in the mtbs thread it’s spelled out pretty well.

My question for you would be why do you recommend the 63’s

 

Your point is valid. It can be difficult to get people to realize that you can’t have everything.

16k for a setup for moderate use is a little extreme though IMO. I’m curious to know which direction you’d go with a similar setup when you have time though. Are you a fan of SUA even with all of the weight?

 

Personally I’d do a tc +2 race kit up front with just coilovers to start. I’d keep the springs as light as possible. Ideally nothing over 650lbs. In the rear I’d do a custom u402 pack or tc sua hd pack. Both setups with a 2.5x12 triple bypass in the rear in custom hoops with the tubes set up so they are out of the way. That should cover the truck. Let’s be honest, it’s gonna have every piece of overland gear available bolted to it, so it’s really not gonna go that fast. It’ll mostly be for comfort so I’d side towards going the u402 pack. As far as front bypasses go, you can always add them later if needed.

I am not against sua and weight, but for overland use, unless you’re gonna be jumping the truck I’d go u402. It’ll be smoother on road but you’ll lose a little bump travel, but you’ll have less spring arch to overcome so unless it’s pretty rough the soa will generally feel smoother.

I have seen what the tc hd sua kit is capable of on an overland build with tuned shocks, it worked very well. But if you’re worried about the cost of the kit, you’re definitely not paying a shock tuning company $1000 to meet you in Barstow to tune, nor do you really need it.

 

My goal is to have plusher controlled ride at slow to moderate speeds. As I’ve stated no intent to jump the truck. I guess the idea was to build a well rounded set up and that was the proposed route to go with. Im not screeming for eye candy 12” shiny kings with as many bypasses as possible by any means. I’ve read and been told that bigger shocks in general is a good idea more travel and wider track is a good idea as well and when I’ve explained the set up I have and driving habits this was a quote I was given. Not really set on having any particular set up but you’re right there isn’t a need to waste money just to have something that would never get used at it’s designed capacity. I hear that leaf under is fine for the weight as long as it’s made according to the weight the truck is set up for but I seems like lots of folk say that triple bypass is a waste and it’s better to go wirh progressive. Also with hammers and relocation in the rear but no one is addressing the front with the suggestion how to match it to the rear performance. Seems like in the end there are 100 different ways of doing it and no way one is wrong or right. Im not an expert at this and Its almost impossible to figure out what the truck needs to perform well without setting my valet on fire lol maybe I’ll just stick to my bp51s since it’s as good as it gets lol

 

And that bring out over $10-12k easily as well

 

And? You gotta pay to play. A lot of us learned what we’re talking about by going thru 3 or 4 different phases of suspension. Think, just going the oem king route would cost you $5k said and done, add another 2k if you want to do lower arms. I personally think and MT setup will do you just fine. If you want to go LT and still save a little more go with a smooth body rear shock and archive garage mounts. That’s save you Atleast a $1000. I only recommended a rear bypass in case you decided to go bypass up front. You’d be fine with smooth bodies in the rear. Not as good as bypasses, but considering most don’t take the time to tune their bypasses anyways you’d be just fine.