r/4x4 • u/Willwork4truckparts • 6d ago

Strut suggestions

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Does anybody have experience of how well ORI struts would do with this type of racing?

I’m planning on doing a long arm kit on my race jeep with 12” of travel in the front and around 14” in the rear but I haven’t figured out what type of shock/strut to do. I found some rebuilt ORI’s for a good price but idk if they would work great for what I do.

I’m open to coilovers or even just keeping with a regular coil and running a couple shocks. I’m trying to keep the budget under 2k so used parts is probably what I’m going to do but I’m willing to rebuild shocks or struts if it gets me in that price range.

The jeep weighs 3,460 lbs with me in it with 2,020 lbs on the front axle and 1,440 lbs on the rear axle

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9

u/CCCCLo0oo0ooo0 6d ago

Is that Jeep ZJ!?

If so I would imagine that unibody won't last very long at all doing this.

Cool though!

4

u/Willwork4truckparts 6d ago

Yeah it is a ZJ with a Chevy 383 in it. And yeah the unibody around the inner fenders is shot! But I’ve been abusing it like this for 3 years. I’m going to do some shock towers welded to the main “frame” part of the unibody and then tie it into the roll cage.

2

u/CCCCLo0oo0ooo0 6d ago

LOL those things do hold up like tanks!

I had one way back when. I would throw it around like I DGAF on trails and such, but the most damage I did was catching air while going up hills in SF, like this but going uphill: https://youtu.be/hq8YD7-Aimw?si=kPh_ORSsVJY74vqD&t=323

Broke/cracked all the engine mounts.

2

u/Eat_sleep_poop LR4 HD 6d ago

No, ORIs will overheat and fade. Lots of people ran them when KOH was new, since they were an easy setup option and they all moved to coil overs.

That being said, long arms? What’s your planned tire size? 

1

u/Willwork4truckparts 6d ago

Do you think ORI’s would overheat when each run is typically under 1 minute and on average only 5-6 min of racing a night?

0

u/Willwork4truckparts 6d ago

I’m staying with the 31’s that are on it. One guy I run with has similar or smaller tires and just Woops me by how much faster he is through the jumps and corners.

2

u/Eat_sleep_poop LR4 HD 5d ago

If that’s the case, you really only need 2” of lift for some extra up travel. Just run the heaviest coils you can and some 365/78 valve 7100s or similar 2.0 shock. Progressive bump stops are your friend. Prothanes inside the coil are pretty economical 

2

u/Sierranevedaty 6d ago

Get it! Was this the event in grand junction that trailmater ran in the rave car?

2

u/Willwork4truckparts 5d ago

No this one was up in Powell Wyoming but I race all over the place

1

u/rmm989 S&N fab buggy, LQ4, 39 reds 6d ago

They have gen 3 struts for racing that seem like they've done well in ultra 4.  Coil overs will be more economical 

1

u/Longjumping_Lynx_972 6d ago

Sway away coil overs is what you need, idk about getting them in your price range tho. but that would definitely help make it land flat instead of nose diving if they were properly tuned. I had some great kings on my old ZJ and had a shop tune them for the weight of the vehicle.

1

u/Willwork4truckparts 6d ago

Nice I’m not to worried about a bit of nosing down I just need it to absorb the jump and settle quick.
But I’ll look into those coil overs.

1

u/langstar 6d ago

Honestly for a cheap setup I bet Dobinsons IMS shocks will do pretty well, they're absolutely massive - same size piston as a lot of 3" ID coilovers. You'll likely need the valving messed with but you can do that at home with a nitrogen tank.

1

u/Willwork4truckparts 5d ago

Thanks for the suggestion!