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Shock Inboarding 101

cbbr

cbbr

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I'm soon to replace my 14bsf with a 14bff on my Suburban. i want to go ahead and do as much as possible all at once. So here is my latest question - Inboarding?

The upside is longer shocks, that part is easy. What are the downsides? Will the street manners suffer or get better? Does sway become a bigger problem? Are there any mounting problems specific to certain trucks (Specifically a Suburban but others wil see this with other rigs)?
 
I've never heard of problems with driveability due to inboarding shocks in the rear. I plan to do it with my 14b swap. I already purchased DIY's inboard kit.

One advantage I want to reap is to put the shock mount on the top of the axle. When I pulled the 1/2ton axle I was amazed at the rock rash on the shock tabs. Plus the existing tabs on my 14b almost hang down lower than the diff. :doah:

1-ton trucks have the shocks inside the frame.
 
I just had my lower shock mounts welded to the 10bolt, since I'm still not ready to install the 14BFF under the truck yet. I also have the inboarding shock crossmember from DIY4X also. The set up is awesome... .I noticed there is not much difference in absorbing bumps in the road..
I don't feel any sway, just a bit more stiffness though.
I'd say go for it!
 
I used the diy inboard kit too. when I first installed my 14bff I ran it with no shocks cause the stock mounts hung down so low that my shocks wouldnt reach. after running one trail I got hung up so bad on the passenger side rear shock mount that I mangled it beyond usable condition. installed inboard kit cut off low shock mounts and no more problems. yet. also noticed no difference between having them inboarded rather then in the stock location.
 
Not saying anything bad about the kits out there but I did my inboarding for about 8 bucks. For the lower mounts I took 2" flat bar 1/4" thick and made two 7" long tabs. Drilled the holes and rounded the top on a grinder, after that I welded the tabs to the axle with around three inchs over the axle, then heated up the reamaining part, bent it around the axle tube with a BFH, then welded the sides up. For the top I have a body lift so it might not work for everyone but I took a 2x2 angle, 1/4" thick and bolted it to the top of the frame. Been working for years and very cheap
 
sapper said:
Not saying anything bad about the kits out there but I did my inboarding for about 8 bucks. For the lower mounts I took 2" flat bar 1/4" thick and made two 7" long tabs. Drilled the holes and rounded the top on a grinder, after that I welded the tabs to the axle with around three inchs over the axle, then heated up the reamaining part, bent it around the axle tube with a BFH, then welded the sides up. For the top I have a body lift so it might not work for everyone but I took a 2x2 angle, 1/4" thick and bolted it to the top of the frame. Been working for years and very cheap
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Doesn't answer the question though :rolleyes:

I did it myself -- Kert didn't have his kit yet, and I had scrap iron and a welder handy, so it was easy enough. And yeah, bolted right up, into the holes for the original bumpstops.

To the original point, the shocks' effectiveness is reduced if you angle them in. Mine are now at about 45 degrees, so they are less bouncy by some trigonometric function which escapes me at the moment, but let's say it's like half as much.

This would mean there IS more body roll. You could user stiffer shocks, or just get used to the fact that a flexy suspension makes for more roll around corners.
I think the front 52"s are the worst for body roll ... but maybe it's the not having doors or a top that scares passengers :haha:

-- A

rear-shock-crossmember-2.JPG

rear-shock-mount-2.JPG

tankie-flexin-fore-bb06-9.jpg
 
Another downside is axle wrap. The stock shock setup helps control axle wrap because the axle has to fight the shocks to climb and descend (wrap). I don't know how much it helps with axle wrap, but I think that is one reason the stock shock setup is designed like that.
 
38377k5 said:
Another downside is axle wrap. The stock shock setup helps control axle wrap because the axle has to fight the shocks to climb and descend (wrap). I don't know how much it helps with axle wrap, but I think that is one reason the stock shock setup is designed like that.
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Ahh, maybe that's why we have one going 'fore and one going aft ... always wondered why they were offset, rather than both going forward.

-- A
 
dremu said:
Ahh, maybe that's why we have one going 'fore and one going aft ... always wondered why they were offset, rather than both going forward.

-- A
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Actually I think both being on the same side would have the same effect (shocks work the same up and down I think). Just having them either in front or behind the axle would kinda help axle wrap. Other than mounting difficulties, I have little idea why one is in the front and one is in the back. My only guess is to help control body lean under acceleration (the torque through the pinion creates an equal and opposite torque through the truck that can cause it to lean under acceleration).
 
:bow: :bow: Well pardon me for trying to save the guy some money. WTF?
 
38377k5 said:
Actually I think both being on the same side would have the same effect (shocks work the same up and down I think). Just having them either in front or behind the axle would kinda help axle wrap. Other than mounting difficulties, I have little idea why one is in the front and one is in the back. My only guess is to help control body lean under acceleration (the torque through the pinion creates an equal and opposite torque through the truck that can cause it to lean under acceleration).
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The one ton's have the staggered shocks opposite to the 1/2 ton and 3/4 tons though. Shocks don't prevent leaning anyways...

I notice more body roll with the inboarded shocks. I have the bottoms of the shocks are far outboard as I can get them and the tops of the shocks are about 16" apart.

Rene
 
some shocks work different in versus out. thats why there is one on the front and one on the rear of an axle. one fights the wrap, the other fights the return. slows down the motion in both directions.
 
I got a setup from Muddytazz to inboard mine.
Had to re-route the exhaust though. I mounted the axle mounts on the opposite side of the factory 10 bolt shock mounts so I can de-mod it if I so desire. Theres pics of the conversion on my sig. link.
I like the way my truck rides now with the inboarding.
 
Hey man, sorry I just screwed by the forum. I had been sitting here writing a crap load of info for you, and the forum made me log in again, and I lost it all. so let me just say this. Inboarding has it's pros and cons, and to get a really good setup, do some research.

Here is a link to an RC suspension adjusting PDF. This info is good stuff, so just re-apply it to your project. suspension angles, and shock angles are super important stuff.

http://www.teamassociated.com/racerhub/setup/MGTsetup_textonly.pdf

So yeah man, sorry I really wish that didn't happen, and I hope this helps.

And to tRustyK5, Ferd just started to stagger there shocks a little while back, and mentioned it on one of their commercials as "new" technology. It deffinately helps preventing something, I just don't know what.
 
Ford.:mad: Nobody cares about them. What they are doing now is putting the shocks outside the frame. more control.
 
According to my ASE test prep books, they put the shocks on staggered the way they do to help with axle wrap, like everyone is saying.

The reason it won't work as well with 2 shocks going to the rear or front is that from the factory shocks are typically only single action, they only absorb compression, not rebound. Most aftermarket upgrades are dual action, and absorb both compression and rebound.
 
gmc4cw said:
Ford.:mad: Nobody cares about them.
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yeah.......take that!!! you big doo doo head............grow up bro, hes got info and an opinion just as much as you do...............I kinda like fords.....not nearly as much as a chevy, but the newer psd's are a pretty nice truck. Back on topic.... yeah offsetting front and rear to control axle wrap definitely makes sense to me. and I imagine that you can still keep that offset setup when inboarding. Instead of just mounting on top of the axle tube, just mount it to the top front/rear or directly front or rear, making sure to keep them front hanging down. And you can make the upper mount to compensate for the offset as well by just using a type of block on the crossmember that keeps the shocks fore and aft.........then physics comes in though.........gooooo nvm, just get some traction bars...........:crazy: :crazy: :confused:

Remington
 
uao85 said:
yeah.......take that!!! you big doo doo head............grow up bro, hes got info and an opinion just as much as you do
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wow. it was meant to be slightly funny. sorry!
 
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