Educate me: Reservoir shocks vs non-resi

I've never done any suspensions mods to any of my previous trucks, so this is a new world to me. I have been looking at as many of the various 3rd Gen suspension threads as I can find to get ides for the future, and have been curious to understand the added benefit, or function that comes from the remote reservoir style shocks. My guess is that they offer increased gas capacity, thus increased cooling functionality for the shocks if you are driving over massively rugged roads and the shocks are getting a rather extreme workout. But perhaps there are other benefits?

I bought the Off Road model so I can take advantage of the many offroading opportunities in northern California, and elsewhere in nearby states, but I do not intend to do any serious Rubicon Trail level of rock crawling, so likely I would not need that style of shock, but I like to be able to make fully informed and educated decisions.

Many thanks to all.

 

Remote reservoirs help with cooling, so if you are finding yourself going over rough terrain, at higher speeds and/or for extended lengths of time, that will improve the shocks ability to resist fading.
Ie: the oil gets hot and the suspension valving feels a lot softer, or even blows out a seal in more extreme cases.

They are also a requirement if you want to get compression adjusters on your shocks. Those are useful if you sometimes travel very lightly loaded or “empty”, and also loaded down with gear or equipment at other times. You can adjust the stiffness of the shock valving based on weight or terrain.
Ie:
Daily driving = soft for comfort or small washboard absorbsion
Fast offroad = stiff for larger bump/impact absorbsion

 

Thank you, Sir! I even learned about compression adjusting

 

I’m also new...

Upon doing some searching I found this and it helped me learn all the benefits of resi shocks...

http://accutuneoffroad.com/shock_selection/

Hope it helps you too!

If I’m not mistaken the individual who wrote it is on here...

 

Excellent, thank you

 

No problem!

There’s so much info out there and I’ve found it a little hard to find specific info for what I’m planning for mods.

 

https://youtu.be/rpEqmHknBJM

Everything you'll need to know about resi, he also has like a 1.5 hr video on shocks, very King biased but they are called that for a reason.

IMO the having a resi in the rear is good option because most aftermarket rear shocks are 2.0. Having a resi in the front is a waste unless you doing crazy stuff with your truck, but if you got play money to spend on your truck go Resi all the way around.

I have the Bilstein 6112/5160. Very happy with the setup.

 

This is why it's good to check the regional section for your local threads. There are people in your area that have gone through the same thing at one point. Easier to ask the locals first, before asking the world sometimes.

 

Why would it Blow a seal. I mean come on how seals does a shock know?

 

Military seals are trained to sniff those out... maybe.

 

Indeed! I’ve joined a local Toyo Expedition forum and have been doing a pile of reading/searching.
Also asking manufacturers of some of the mods I’m looking at to get advice on stuff.

It’s been a pretty great experience so far!

 

I wrote the article, and should probably change my name to AccuTune to make it easier to find me. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Remote reservoirs are about lower nitrogen pressure which results in less friction, better ride quality, and longer life cycle. They also tend to have more travel in the same collapsed length.

Our Tacoma shock size article is probably also a good read for you.
http://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/size-tacoma-4runner-shocks-need/

 

Awesome, thanks!
So much good info!!

 

So after reading both those articles and looking at what’s available for suspensions, I think I’ve decided to go with Fox 2.5 resi all around as I’m a buy the best kinda guy... ha ha ha.

When it comes to UCAs what are the benefits of Billet vs Tubular?
It it worth paying the big bucks for the billet? Or is Tubular good enough?

I’m planning on adding a full front bumper and full skid plates at some point.
Starting out I’ll be doing some lighter off-roading to gain some experience, seeing as I have never really done much.

Considering my budget is pretty limited, I’ll be slowly piecing everything together as I go and upgrading as I gain the skill level for tougher terrain...
Alberta is great in so far as this province has almost any kind of terrain you can think of. From prairie to desert and mountainous terrain.

Anyhoo long question short...
What would you recommend as a starting point for upgrades if the majority of my off-roading will be in the pairies and some lighter stuff in coulee river valleys?

 

I've heard an argument that while yes there is some cooling benefit to resis, there is more the space for the gas/oil to not mix as much allowing them to work longer before the gas is 'dissolved' into the oil. 'dissolved' isn't the right word because it will settle back out and seperate, think shaken up oil/vinegar salad dressing.

Yea, this guy said it much better..

 

Some of the best advice in this thread. Different geographic areas have different wheeling opportunities and thus you'll be able to take advantage of certain upgrades more than others.

Now specifically concerning reservoirs, they are NOT for cooling. They separate the nitrogen from the oil in the shock and provide for consistent shock performance. In an emulsified shock, over long distances over rough terrain the nitrogen and oil will begin to mix, this mixture won't provide the same damping characteristics as 100% oil and will result in blowing through your travel on hard hits. Inside of the reservoir is an IFP (INTERNAL FLOATING PISTON) which separates the nitrogen and oil, a large percentage of the reservoir is actually filled with nitrogen. When the shock compresses and the shaft enters the body, the oil that get displaced by the shaft travels through the hose and compresses the nitrogen side of the IFP. When the rod extends back out the opposite happens. All while that's happening it's providing consistent pressure on the oil inside the shock preventing cavitation of the oil. That's the gist of how reservoirs work.

Cooling is just an ancillary benefit of isolating the nitrogen from the oil. To put it in another way, reservoirs aren't anymore for cooling than accumulators are in a hydraulic circuit.

Now finned reservoirs are another story, but none of us are racing trophy trucks, so unless you want them for fun-sies or fashion I wouldn't recommend spending the money on them.

EDIT: just realized I basically typed out what the video said, oh well, maybe someone who doesn't want to watch the video will learn something from my post.

 

Non-reservoir shocks already have the nitrogen separated from the oil as long as they are monotubes. What you have described is just how a monotube shock works and is not limited to reservoir shocks.

 

Then what are these?
https://www.polyperformance.com/fox-2-0-smooth-body-emulsion-shock-7-8-shaft
https://www.polyperformance.com/fox-2-5-coilover-emulsion-shocks
https://www.polyperformance.com/king-2-5-performance-series-coilover-emulsion-shock
https://offroadwarehouse.com/i-1016...oothie-emulsion-shock-12-travel7-8-shaft.html

and better yet, what are these assholes peddling?

 

Calm y'alls tits.

https://www.shocksurplus.com/pages/shock-absorber-design-differences

Twin Tube Shocks
Twin tube shocks utilize an inner and outer tube which separates the oil and gas inside the damper (shock).

Monotube Shocks
Monotube shocks only use a single outer tube. The oil and gas are separated by a free floating piston which puts the oil on the top and gas on the bottom.

Emulsion Shocks
Emulsion shocks are designed to combine the shock oil and nitrogen gas into a single mixture, not separated by an internal piston or chamber.

Reservoir Shocks
Reservoir shocks, whether remote (connected with a hose), or piggyback (directly on the main shock body, usually connected by some form of hardware), increase a monotube shock’s capabilities significantly.

 

?

I am calm, @Cougars stated there's no such thing as an emulsion monotube shock. I am looking for clarification on what the shocks that I linked to are, so that he may educate me.

Oh and here's another one, or is this a twin tube shock?