Jerd
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
- Location
- Vancouver WA
Several people have run 240 billy HD's in the back of their car and allot complain about them not doing a good job. So i set out to find an affordable substitute.
Summit Racing Sport truck shocks.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G7727/
These shocks have many reviews from the mini truckers and some from raised 4x4s. All of these reviews mention their firmness and quality.
"Our Summit? sport-truck shocks have special valving and 180 psi of pressurized nitrogen gas to help give your truck better handling. They also have a big 1 3/8 in. piston bore and variable-speed damping to help prevent fading and give you a comfortable, controlled ride. We even include polyurethane bushings for durability."
Whats funny about these shocks is when i opened the box, right on the side of the shock it said, "Doetsch-Tech". Doetsch techs have been very popular in the mini truck world and have a very high reputation for quality. On Doetsch techs website you can find a black shock with red bushings called the "Nitro slammer" This is their description.
"The Nitro Slammer is specifically designed for lowered sport trucks. This complete line will fit all import and domestic light duty, mid and full size trucks. Nitro Slammer shocks will give your truck a boost in cornering performance.
? Large 1 3/8? Piston ? Twin Tube ? Dust Wiper Seal ? Polyurethane Bushings ? High-Gloss Black Enamel Finish ? 180 p.s.i. Nitrogen Gas"
So the summit sport truck shocks are the Doetsch tech brand shock. The size that i got is the nitro slammer model. I do not know if the longer shocks are the same models.
HOW TO FIT THEM
These shocks come with metal inserts for the poly bushings you can use them in the top but you will want to use the oem ones on the bottom. They are a tight fit but with some white lithium the squish right in.
Start by heating up the metal sleeve. This will loosen up the rubber. using a peice of tubing or a socket. Put the shock end in a vice and press the sleeve through as far as you can go.
Reheat or while the sleeve is still hot put it in the vice like shown below tap on the body of the shock with a hammer or wiggle it around untill the sleeve comes out completely.
After you get both sleeves out grind off any left over rubber and get them smooth i decided to round off the edge on one side to make them easier to push into the poly. It is a very tight fit.
I do not have any pictures of me pressing them in but you will want to lube them up good with a grease. You do not need any tubing or a socket because you want the sleeve flush with one side and the rest sticking out the other side. This is to keep the shock body away from the trailing arm. If you put the sleeve in the middle the shock body hits the trailing arm.
For the top you can use the metal sleeves that came with the kit or do the same thing to the top as you did to the bottom. The ones that come with the kit are to small they have a slit down the side so that when you put them on they will get larger. You can hammer the shock onto the top stud it will come back off but not easily
(If you get the longer ones you can just bolt them in now.)
(The below method of mounting these shocks is OPTIONAL it all depends on how low your car will be. IF you're slamming your car then you do not need to drill the higher hole. If you're wanting to go low but nothing stupid low then you would be better off gaining more droop and drilling the hole use your brain and do what you feel is right for the ride height you're trying to accomplish.)
Now that the shocks are ready to install If you got the short ones i highly recommend you have at least 3.75-4 coils cut off the stock springs. If you have 2.75 or 3 cut ( i have 3 cut off) then you are going to want to do this.
Start by using the nut pushed to the top of the trailing arm and punch a mark in the center of the nut to find the highest point you can drill your hole. Drill a pilot hole here.
After you have the pilot hole you can used a stepped drill bit or the correct size drill bit to finish the job. Drill on both sides of the trailing arm and repeat on the other side of the car.
Then put the bolt spacer back in place slide the bolt through with the longer side of the pressed in sleeve towards the outside of the car. tighten the nut on both top and bottom shock mount.
Now use a shorter bolt and nut to put into the old shock hole to hold the swaybar in place.
(sorry for blurry picture)
And you're done!!!
Full droop, notice with 3 coils cut off oem springs they are still held in place, i no longer need limiting straps.
Ride height
Progressive review on shocks:
First impressions: Much better than what was on there! Jumping on rear bumper: The rearend feels properly dampened and is not so springy. Before if i got the car bouncing and got off you could kind of see it settle in. If you bounce on it then hop off it just extends to ride height and stops. I am a bit concerned that these will not support a very stiff spring. Its very hard to judge just by feel, but if i was forced to guess i would say a 250# spring is their limit. Cant wait to try this out!
First drive: Wow, much much better! It feels stiffer over bumps and the rear of the car does not "lag" as much it use to feel like the front would turn in and the rear end would forget what its doing and a take a second to catch up. It feels more responsive.
Second drive: In corner traction has improved a lot! less inside tire spin. Car feels more predictable. When going from a left to right the weight transfer is much smoother.
After a few weeks:
Still doing great i noticed they are stiffer when its really cold out
new springs:
My brother put a lift kit on his jeep Cherokee. Looking at his old front springs i decided to cut them down and throw a spring seat on the trailing arm.
uncut jeep spring next to 3 coils cut oem volvo
The back end of my car is higher than it was before so i can cut another half coil off these springs or so. They get noticeably stiffer with every half coil removed. Looking forward to see how much i can remove before it starts looking lame.
UPDATE
Update, im now running these shocks with 300# springs, guess what? Bingo!!!! no bouncy bounce well dampened if anything i would say ride quality improved.
Short shocks, stiff valving, poly bushings, all at a very affordable price. These are great i recomend them to everyone who wants a sporty ride, from cut springs to 300# coilover springs. Bitchen! supper happy.
This picture is with the shock in the oem bolt hole the car is on the ground and thats how much travel is left!!!! plenty of droop but little enough that i can lift all 3 tires off the ground by jacking from the rear jack point. hahahah
UPDATE
Over a month from running 300# springs still feels well dampened i continue to be impressed with these shocks. They come highly recommended from me and i think its the only shock that a turbo bricker should buy for the back of a lowered 240 if hes after a sporty ride.
UPDATE
Over a Year later from installing these and they are doing amazing. However summit no longer sells these, we need to find another supplier.
Summit Racing Sport truck shocks.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G7727/
These shocks have many reviews from the mini truckers and some from raised 4x4s. All of these reviews mention their firmness and quality.
"Our Summit? sport-truck shocks have special valving and 180 psi of pressurized nitrogen gas to help give your truck better handling. They also have a big 1 3/8 in. piston bore and variable-speed damping to help prevent fading and give you a comfortable, controlled ride. We even include polyurethane bushings for durability."
Whats funny about these shocks is when i opened the box, right on the side of the shock it said, "Doetsch-Tech". Doetsch techs have been very popular in the mini truck world and have a very high reputation for quality. On Doetsch techs website you can find a black shock with red bushings called the "Nitro slammer" This is their description.
"The Nitro Slammer is specifically designed for lowered sport trucks. This complete line will fit all import and domestic light duty, mid and full size trucks. Nitro Slammer shocks will give your truck a boost in cornering performance.
? Large 1 3/8? Piston ? Twin Tube ? Dust Wiper Seal ? Polyurethane Bushings ? High-Gloss Black Enamel Finish ? 180 p.s.i. Nitrogen Gas"
So the summit sport truck shocks are the Doetsch tech brand shock. The size that i got is the nitro slammer model. I do not know if the longer shocks are the same models.
HOW TO FIT THEM
These shocks come with metal inserts for the poly bushings you can use them in the top but you will want to use the oem ones on the bottom. They are a tight fit but with some white lithium the squish right in.
Start by heating up the metal sleeve. This will loosen up the rubber. using a peice of tubing or a socket. Put the shock end in a vice and press the sleeve through as far as you can go.
Reheat or while the sleeve is still hot put it in the vice like shown below tap on the body of the shock with a hammer or wiggle it around untill the sleeve comes out completely.
After you get both sleeves out grind off any left over rubber and get them smooth i decided to round off the edge on one side to make them easier to push into the poly. It is a very tight fit.
I do not have any pictures of me pressing them in but you will want to lube them up good with a grease. You do not need any tubing or a socket because you want the sleeve flush with one side and the rest sticking out the other side. This is to keep the shock body away from the trailing arm. If you put the sleeve in the middle the shock body hits the trailing arm.
For the top you can use the metal sleeves that came with the kit or do the same thing to the top as you did to the bottom. The ones that come with the kit are to small they have a slit down the side so that when you put them on they will get larger. You can hammer the shock onto the top stud it will come back off but not easily
(If you get the longer ones you can just bolt them in now.)
(The below method of mounting these shocks is OPTIONAL it all depends on how low your car will be. IF you're slamming your car then you do not need to drill the higher hole. If you're wanting to go low but nothing stupid low then you would be better off gaining more droop and drilling the hole use your brain and do what you feel is right for the ride height you're trying to accomplish.)
Now that the shocks are ready to install If you got the short ones i highly recommend you have at least 3.75-4 coils cut off the stock springs. If you have 2.75 or 3 cut ( i have 3 cut off) then you are going to want to do this.
Start by using the nut pushed to the top of the trailing arm and punch a mark in the center of the nut to find the highest point you can drill your hole. Drill a pilot hole here.
After you have the pilot hole you can used a stepped drill bit or the correct size drill bit to finish the job. Drill on both sides of the trailing arm and repeat on the other side of the car.
Then put the bolt spacer back in place slide the bolt through with the longer side of the pressed in sleeve towards the outside of the car. tighten the nut on both top and bottom shock mount.
Now use a shorter bolt and nut to put into the old shock hole to hold the swaybar in place.
(sorry for blurry picture)
And you're done!!!
Full droop, notice with 3 coils cut off oem springs they are still held in place, i no longer need limiting straps.
Ride height
Progressive review on shocks:
First impressions: Much better than what was on there! Jumping on rear bumper: The rearend feels properly dampened and is not so springy. Before if i got the car bouncing and got off you could kind of see it settle in. If you bounce on it then hop off it just extends to ride height and stops. I am a bit concerned that these will not support a very stiff spring. Its very hard to judge just by feel, but if i was forced to guess i would say a 250# spring is their limit. Cant wait to try this out!
First drive: Wow, much much better! It feels stiffer over bumps and the rear of the car does not "lag" as much it use to feel like the front would turn in and the rear end would forget what its doing and a take a second to catch up. It feels more responsive.
Second drive: In corner traction has improved a lot! less inside tire spin. Car feels more predictable. When going from a left to right the weight transfer is much smoother.
After a few weeks:
Still doing great i noticed they are stiffer when its really cold out
new springs:
My brother put a lift kit on his jeep Cherokee. Looking at his old front springs i decided to cut them down and throw a spring seat on the trailing arm.
uncut jeep spring next to 3 coils cut oem volvo
The back end of my car is higher than it was before so i can cut another half coil off these springs or so. They get noticeably stiffer with every half coil removed. Looking forward to see how much i can remove before it starts looking lame.
UPDATE
Update, im now running these shocks with 300# springs, guess what? Bingo!!!! no bouncy bounce well dampened if anything i would say ride quality improved.
Short shocks, stiff valving, poly bushings, all at a very affordable price. These are great i recomend them to everyone who wants a sporty ride, from cut springs to 300# coilover springs. Bitchen! supper happy.
This picture is with the shock in the oem bolt hole the car is on the ground and thats how much travel is left!!!! plenty of droop but little enough that i can lift all 3 tires off the ground by jacking from the rear jack point. hahahah
UPDATE
Over a month from running 300# springs still feels well dampened i continue to be impressed with these shocks. They come highly recommended from me and i think its the only shock that a turbo bricker should buy for the back of a lowered 240 if hes after a sporty ride.
UPDATE
Over a Year later from installing these and they are doing amazing. However summit no longer sells these, we need to find another supplier.
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