I have a Belltech 3/4 drop on the other truck (which will remain nameless for fear of persecution) and installed the nitro drop shocks awhile ago. I have tried both the Belltech nitro and nitro active series but to no avail.....it still handles like a bouncing balloon.

My main concern is handling and am not looking for "showboat" shocks. In other words, something that performs. Stock length will not work and so I'm stuck with very limited choices of manufacturers of which to choose from.

I was thinking maybe Doestche tech shocks? They seem to be performance/handling oriented. Their website brags about their internal valving blah,blah,blah and has a comparison list of leading competitors.

Any help or tips on this one or am I stuck driving a tidal wave?

Anthony

 

Most of the drop kit shocks are crap. Spike and Ruslow are working on a custom setup with fully adjustable shocks. Check over on NLOC. You may end up having to measure your length and range of motion and call one of the shock manufactuers and have them hook you up. One of the big problems with going as low as you are is the angle of the shocks. I am experiment with relocating my shock mounts to a more upright position. Also check to make sure you are not bottoming on the rear bump stops. You may have to do a "C-section" on the rear to keep it from hitting.

 

Silver Bolt is rite about the shock angle when you increase the shock angle you decrease the effectiveness of the shock.Spike and myself have come up with the shocks that will work.There are 12 settings on them and they are not "showboat" they work and you can dial in the feel that you want.But they are not cheap,so don't think you will get them for 50 bucks each.Stan

 

The L already has the 1/2 Hotchkis setup and it nowhere near handles as bad as the RAM. I already spent alot of time and money on the L suspension and would never "cheap" it out.You get what you pay for.

On my Ram however, I did do the C-Section to the rear already as it was bottoming out. I was thinking of doing the same thing, possibly relocating the mounts themselves to use better stock length shocks. It is to bad Hotchkis never developed anything for this truck.

 

Try shox.com - those guys know what is needed, if not, they will put you in touch with a manufacturer that can. Good luck!

Cruiser

 

Better shocks make a huge difference with the Hotchkis suspension or any suspension with a higher spring rate. For those of you that have the Hotchkis suspension, try this experiment:

Remove rear shocks and drive around. Try 45 - 50 mph MAX with a few bumps.

Do you notice any difference? Hint: it's slight. I didn't try this with the front shocks.

BTW Stan, after fiddling with the tire pressures and shock adjustments, I think I have both the front and rear dialed in. It like driving a different CAR.

Spike

 

I am forwarding all info to Hotchkis. I am pissed off about this krap...they took the low road on this gig...IMHO

 

Who knows what happened with Hotchkis regarding shocks. Their only mistake was promising tuned shocks from Bilstien. Their setup with the stock shocks works OK with the stock shocks, although it's still oversprung and annoying on the wrong roads.

Regardless, the shocks we're working on make an improvement on modified suspensions and possibly on the stock ones. Not only is the firmness externally adjustable, the valving can be modified (50/50 to ...). So if you're into drag racing, they may help the higher HP dudes keep the front ends from bouncing. But as Ruslow said, they aren't cheap.

Spike

 

Nostromo, I know exactly what your ride is like, you are bottoming out in the "rear" over bumps, dips, speed bumps. The front feels like you don't have any suspension.
This is what I did, after the Bell Tech kit 3/4 kit was installed. I installed Edelbrock front shocks and Doestsch Tech Nitro-Slammer "rear" Shocks. This set up is the best I tried everything. I did do the C-section to the rear of the frame because of the irriating bottoming out ride I was having on the rear. If you want part numbers for the C-secton kit and shocks let me know.

DJY

 

This thread was started in observance of my DODGE RAM!

My lighting already has the Hotchkis setup and is perfect till Ruslow and Spike give the go ahead with their custom shock units.

Dodge Ram or Lightning....Going low enough will require shorter shocks. DJY I'm glad you know how the ride is with KAKA shocks and just cannot believe nobody makes them with proper thought and engineering. It is pretty obvious most of them have taken stock units, shortened them, and have not properly valved them for proper range of motion on a lowered vehicle. I love these companies selling lowering kits at blow out prices without considering the handling.

I will probably try the Dusch tech units and see how it goes....

Anthony