What You Need to Know About Shock Upgrades

All roads lead here. It doesn’t matter what you’re driving or where you live, when you start upgrading a vehicle, you will look at the shocks. In fact, shock absorbers play such a critical role in vehicle performance that any form of driving will benefit from upgrading factory equipment. Why? Well, OEM shock absorbers are meant to cover as many bases as possible, without really honing in on one particular aspect (unless it’s a specialty vehicle). Comfort driving, performance driving, off-roading, or a combination of any, will reap rewards.

Why Bother With Shock Upgrades?

Shock upgrades contribute to the management of a vehicle’s weight, traction, and suspension travel. In the aftermarket, you’ll come across shocks with features that hone in on improving each of these characteristics. But even in a niche market, where everything is laid out for you, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of aftermarket shocks.

Let’s break down what’s what, so you can make the best decision for your ride.

Valving

Inside of a shock absorber is a piston. As that piston moves, it forces its way through fluid. Valving inside of the shock absorber manipulates how this piston can flow through the fluid, which in turn impacts performance. Aftermarket shocks have tuned valving dialed in to specific applications and specific driving styles. This is one of the most common features that is altered when developing a performance shock.

Check out the video below for a visual representation of the inside of a shock absorber.

Length

The length of a shock absorber is something that’s usually predetermined. This means that when you buy a shock absorber for a specific application, the appropriate measurements have already been taken into account. (Even with lifted shock absorbers, this is the case.)

Shock lengths will often be affected when ride height or travel is modified. Generally, when installing a small lift kit, you likely won’t be concerned with shock length, as spacers allow for the factory shocks to be used. However, if you are altering the suspension geometry, shocks of greater or shorter lengths will be necessary.

When installing a lowering kit or a lift kit that requires the shocks be swapped on account of the changed length, the shocks are often supplied. Keep in mind though, that when it comes time to replace those shocks, you’ll need to remember the change in ride height, so you can get the right product.

Gas Charged Shocks

As we’ve determined so far, shocks are hydraulic. As the shock piston passes through the fluid-filled pressure tube, it produces damping force. However, if bubbles form in that fluid, the piston won’t have the proper resistance, resulting in poor damping and, therefore, poor handling from your suspension.

This is where gas-charged shocks come in. Introducing nitrogen gas to the shock helps keep the fluid stable, improving valving performance–and therefore your ride.

“In the past, ride engineers had to choose between soft or hard valving. And, either comfort or control was compromised,” explains Monroe Shock Absorbers. “In addition, fluid inside the shock absorber could mix with air and turn into foam. Engineers called this aeration. Because foam compresses, the amount of resistance provided by the fluid was hard to predict. The pressure of the nitrogen gas prevents air bubbles or foam from weakening the hydraulic effectiveness of fluid flow through both the piston and base valve systems. Foam affects performance. Foam compresses, fluid does not.”

Not only does nitrogen gas help stabilize fluid for more consistent performance, but it also allows engineers to design a range of valving. This means they can create a shock that is oriented toward both comfort and performance. (This is also why most of the shock upgrades you’ll find while shopping are gas-charged.)

Adjustable Shocks

Most shock upgrades are non-adjustable. This means that compression and rebound are predetermined. For many people, this is fine, as they’ll be pretty happy with out-of-the-box performance.

However, for those looking toward track-use, not being able to adjust the shock can put some major limitations on performance. A shock’s ability to control the weight of a vehicle during acceleration, stopping, and turning can really be the defining the factor in taking home a victory or just going home.

Adjustable shocks allow you to tap into how the shock compresses or rebounds. This means that, if you can anticipate the way the vehicle moves, you can dial it right in to those said conditions and gain an upper hand.

There is only one real drawback to adjustable shocks, and that would be tuning them in to each driving scenario. What’s appropriate for track driving may not work off-road and can be downright unpleasant on the street. Though, when you’re talking about the abilities and ET’s you can unlock with the right adjustments, it’s a fair trade.

External Reservoirs

In my opinion, there is a massive fetish surrounding external shock reservoirs. Even for me this is true—I love the look, I love what they do, and I really don’t feel like a truck looks complete without them.

Aside from aesthetics though, external shock absorbers play a major role in shock performance. Essentially, thanks to the external reservoir that increases fluid capacity, fluid temperature is lowered. This means you can conquer rough and rugged environments without worrying about the shocks overheating and fading. For example, Toyota TRD Pro models come equipped with specially-designed FOX shocks that feature 2.5-inch “piggyback” reservoirs, meaning the external reservoir is permanently mounted to the shock’s body. Remote-mount reservoirs are also available on the aftermarket, promising better protection from overheating and allowing for more consistent damping.

While a great and popular option, these shock upgrades are far from cheap. A factor that sometimes leaves drivers believing they are the best possible choice for a vehicle. (If it’s expensive, that means it’s good, right??) Running this type of shock on a ride that truthfully doesn’t need it won’t cause any issues, but the high cost will definitely scream “overkill.”

The external reservoir really comes into play for vehicles that are rapidly rebounding and compressing. For a weekend warrior or someone who prefers light trails and low speeds, it’s not an issue but when you start upping the amount of obstacles you are overcoming and the rate at which you’re taking them—like full-time overlanders—it’s a good idea to consider this option.

Coil Overs

Much like external reservoir shocks, coil overs can become excessive due to higher cost. However, they do bring a lot to the table. Coil overs give you the ability to hone in on and adjust the ride of the vehicle—almost indefinitely.

Ride height is adjustable with shock absorbers on account of the fact that a coil spring is integrated to the body of the shock. Adjusting this coil spring is what alters ride height, which paired with the adjustable rebound and compression of the shock absorber itself, is what makes these a favorite for track performance.

These units are highly desirable because they can impact so many aspects of performance. The problem, however, is the same as adjustable shocks. You will not have presets to run off of—meaning every time you change driving scenarios, you will need to dial in your shocks for optimum comfort and performance.

It’s important to remember that shocks are but one aspect of a fine-tuned machine. They can completely change the way a vehicle handles, but the buck doesn’t stop there! When it comes to true performance, you need to give attention to the entire suspension.