Bypasses vs. Remote Reservoir Smoothies

Read up on both options in the rear - but info that has been hard to come by is explanations from people who have run each kind of shock on the same vehicle. Would be nice to hear some testimonials - if you have some other input please post.

FWIW I'm considering both options at the moment for a stock length SUA setup with longer than stock shocks (10" bypasses with hoops vs longest smooth body shock I can fit), 2" hydro bumps and keeping the bed intact. Thank you!

 

Do you know how to tune shocks? Are you willing to spend the time to adjust the bypasses?


IMO get King IBP from DSM with the compression adjusters if you want to change damping on the fly.

 

Thanks for the good questions. I don't tune shocks. I do live in an area where there are quite a few people that do and I've been meeting more and more as time goes on. As far as spending time adjusting bypasses I spend quite a bit of time working on my truck so I see that happening if I buy them.

I considered the compression adjusters regular smooth bodies. Here's another area where it was hard to get info from people who had ran similar high quality shocks that were tuned correctly for their vehicle with and without the adjusters and then explained the difference they felt when changing from on to off-road driving at high and low speeds. Most of what I've read about them are A. They're a gimmick and you should get bypasses or they're not needed with proper valving or B. They're great. Not a lot of in depth info for these yet on places I've read.

Internal bypasses also don't have a lot of info beyond manufacturers' pages and magazine reviews. People seem to weigh the cons of them heavily against the pros of regular bypasses. I'm willing to hear more about them from anyone that has them. I should probably more reading on these if they're a possible choice.

Since your nickname is "The Shock Guy" I'll take your recommendation seriously. Plus I've read some of your posts before and it definitely is apparent you know what you're talking about. The clickers do seem like a nice middle ground for what I do with my truck.

 

DSM quoted $731 for each on the IBP with clickers. Pretty much right in the middle of bypasses and smoothies pricewise. There still isn't a lot of info out there on them. Bummer is I read they are harder to tune than regular bypasses, however it wasn't clear if these were the ones with the clickers.

 

Are you building a race truck? Have you ridden in a truck with a regular bypass? They click, A LOT! It's not as loud without a cage but does get annoying on long trip on shitty CA highways.


No matter what bypass you use, internal or external, you can only adjust so much before having to change the shims. The same goes for the compression adjusters, they are usually a needle valve and another shim stack that restrict flow to a point into the reservoir to increase damping.

The King clickers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29T9-xGy380


Another thing to think about is packaging bypass tubes take up room and if you rip one off with a tire you're going to have a bad time. You can get custom layouts that put the tubes more front and back of the body but that's more money for something you probably don't need.

Here are some videos on how the king IBP works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO1Ev3fUB0M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPa1KrbiEZM

This is the FOX IBP which is a tube inside the main body with ports and small shim stacks. Not very easy for the average person to change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK7t6nrjAlU

Ultimately it's your truck and choose what you feel is best for the use, weight, and budget you have. Hell look on CL for raptor takeoffs the rears are very close to what you're looking for at a lower price point even after a rebuild.

 

@TMFF Thanks a lot for all of the info - I actually watched the Filthy Motorsports video before I checked this thread today and they did a great job of explaining how it works. I also found a set of Ford Raptor takeoffs for $450 and a shop that would rebuild them for ~$190 valved for my truck. I think the biggest thing holding me back from making a decision at this point are how I would mount the shocks - hoops are expensive and I believe that would add some significant cost that would be unnecessary with internal bypasses or smoothies.

To answer your question I'm building a truck that can take me out into desert and mountain regions as quickly and as far as possible. I like driving my truck, but the real fun for me starts when I can get out of it and start climbing and hiking up new places in the Great Basin area. Despite setbacks I'm experiencing with the kit I bought for the front I'm still planning on going this route somehow as time goes on.

 

Adding an archive relocation kit for rear with new hangers & Deaver leafs. Looking into what the triple bypasses offer over the smoothies with remote reservoir. Price not a major consideration but looking for adding value to the suspension. This is my daily driver but do a fair amount of off-roading/overlanding. Any advice or experience is appreciated.

 

Bypasses are great for people spending time going fast in the whoops with a setup fairly consistent in weight.
Bypasses are position sensitive so they don't do great if you sag the suspension and put the piston in the wrong zone.

For general off-roading, running fire roads, and overlanding (weight change in bed) the smoothies with adjuster are a better fit.
They are much easier to adjust and have damping adjustments that better match slower moving vehicles.
The Fox's have a low speed adjustment (handling, bounciness, and g-outs) and a high speed adjustment (whoops)
Our most popular combo is the 2.5 Smoothies with Adjuster. We set them up with a street tune when the adjusters are open all the way.
If you add weight or want to drive more aggressively just turn the appropriate knob.

 

Thanks!