Mid Travel BS 2.0

My experience with radflo, the one truck I drove in with them rode stiff af. I also helped an authorized radflo dealer install a few sets at their shop and every time there was something wrong with the shocks, whether it was the upper mount was wrong, forgot the resi mount, stuff like that. Overall I wasn’t a big fan.

edit: I do see some more hardcore trucks run them so I wonder if their universal shocks are more on point vs their vehicle specific ones.

 

Nothing all that big or special, just the general quality benefits from small batch made by enthusiasts vs. made in lots by average joe wage employees. Better quality materials/parts, less corners cut for profit in engineering, assembly quality like how well air is bled out is leaps and bounds ahead, little shit like that. King and fox are both getting huge and cutting the little corners here and there in quality. It's not like the entire shock is completely different materials or completely different function

 

Which parts are better quality and how?

 

As you know, It all comes down to valving at the end of the day. Some companies have different advantages with the technology they put into the shocks (fox’s DSC for example).

I wasn’t a huge fan of the seal cap on the radflo, just because it was a pain. But most folks couldn’t care less about that

 

I had Radflo front and rear on my old 4Runner and They were great. There was an enterprising fellow on t4r that had them tuned for 4th gen 4runners and they rode like a dream.

 

Pistons, fittings, plating, shaft polish...

 

long tubes and big check valves on the bypasses

 

what material/process does radflo use that differs from / is better than king/fox?

 

okay idk you win

 

Unobtanium, cryo/REM super polishing treatment, and alien aided design

 

In all seriousness, I’ve never personally worked with radflo’s but the one guy I know that runs them won’t switch. I will say that after working with king, Fox and ADS, ADS has the best quality in my opinion. Larger diameter bypass tubes and reservoir tubes/ hoses, piston flows more fluid, and quality of the parts and finishes are a step above the rest. Their “standard” stuff is on par or better than king and Fox race spec stuff

 

but but....you were on the King IG page!!!

 

I worked on a set of ADS not too long ago. They are quite nice.

 

boot issue has been fixed. it was just a bad batch.

 

The average Joe will never really notice the difference between “quality” of the big brands. Only what their butt dyno tells them.

@not_nick is making a lot of claims but can’t actually support any of them from reading his comments. I’ve personally never torn apart a Radflo, so I won’t even try and compare. They have gained some traction recently mainly due to their far shorter lead time and price point. I’ve not heard anything performance related from a reputable source.

@AccuTune Offroad has done some tech article comparisons between the big brands which I advise everyone who has these questions to read but you also have to keep in mind that King has their “prerunner” and “Pure Race” lines that are not the same.

Fox only has one spec when it comes to the Off Road catalog, which is different from their “Truck” (vehicle specific) side out of the house.

 

And been wanting to make the switch to ADS for a few years now. Just been having budgetary constraints taking my funds to other places. A lot cheaper to revalve what you got since that’s the big key to making things work well anyways. My biggest problem right now is heat. After a good run my shocks are too hot to touch. Couldn’t even turn the compression adjusters on my coil overs one of the last times out they were so hot. After meeting, hanging out, and talking some tech with the guys at ADS, I’m sold and they will be what I go with for future upgrades and the wife’s 4Runner build. If production times stay the way they are and my financial situation goes the direction I hope it does, I’ll be upgrading the rears to some 3.0x16 5 tube bypasses and adding some 2.5 or 3.0 triple bypass up front to “finalize” my build for a few years early next year. Then get the wife some 2.5 coil overs and triple bypasses for the 4Runner

 

ADS seems to have a good thing going. They aren't based in CA, therefore their plating options are not as suppressed by the EPA regulations that others are held to. From what I've seen and heard, they are essentially a King knockoff with some nice features that King doesn't offer unless you go "Pure Race."

Where ADS looses me is how they use to flaunt they build a "race" shock and maintain their quality as such but I challenge someone to find the last time a race vehicle with ADS was on a podium. Additionally, they claim they maintain their product quality to their "race" spec but when I rebuilt a set for a friend they straight told me to run a very low nitrogen PSI because it's "not a race vehicle." I'm not saying that's illogical or wrong, it actually makes a lot of sense when talking about shocks. I'm simply bringing to attention the inconsistencies between their claim and their product.

Also, @snowsk8air2 and @not_nick mentioned hose, and resi port size. Fluid displacement is directly related to the shaft size of the shock as well as the motion ratio of the vehicle. Without these variables taken into consideration, you're basically measuring dick size.

King's Prerunner Series has a standard 5/8" tube for their 2.5" shock and correct me if I'm wrong but a staggered tube layout? To get the overlapping style with the 3/4" tube you'd have to go Race, correct?

Fox is a 3/4" tube with overlapping layout on their 2.5-3.5" shock. You can run a 1" but that's a very vehicle specific conversation.

I can't speak for Radflo on this topic. I'd be interested to hear some insight.

At the end of the day, my rant is virtually irrelevant unless specifically talking about bypass or "race" C/O. The comparison really needs to be focused on the direct OE replacement shocks that each company offers which is what 99% of Tacoma owners run. Posting all of this in a mid-travel thread is essentially a waste of time but I'm bored and enjoying a nice adult beverage.

https://accutuneoffroad.com/bypass-shock-tech-part-ii/

 

Cheers buddy and you’re right. Lots of details going into what’s best for each truck. And like you said, it’s above the pay grade of the mid travel thread lol. Weird though on the low psi they said to run. How low was it? Part of my secret coilover specs is a very high psi. But not mid travel again

 

And to everyone on here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP7KlGAjVIL/

 

All of the details should be taken into consideration but ain't nobody got time for dat!

It's not necessarily weird, it's more ironic. It actually makes perfect sense when having a conversation about ride quality. They recommended 125 PSI. King's standard pressure for their Prerunner series is 150 PSI.