Oh wow I didn't think you cut my upper bracket in half haha. Good job on the write up, but I feel like I have to say the QA1 shocks I recommend don't require any of these extra modifications. Do you think the FOA shocks are worth the extra work?

 

Yeah about that bracket....... No biggy I was slightly concerned with the strength of the brackets after chopping one and excluding a bolt in the other. but after doing it and tightening the crap out of them. I beat them with a hammer have beaten them driving and not once has anything become loose.

Honestly for on road use I would never even consider doing the FOAs the qa1s would be more then enough! however.... I do alot of off road action and spend considerable amount of time (1-3 hours) at a time blasting down very rough wash board roads and trails littered with ruts and rocks at pretty high speeds (20mph+) The previous shocks would get hot and you could feel them becoming useless after a long trip and no chance for them to cool down. That is why I wanted a resi shock and why I upgraded to the 2.5 resis.

Also they look cool and I wanted to be different!

 

I do give you props for being different and not being afraid to get dirty and try something new! Good job!

 

Thank you!

 

Put well over 1000 miles on the swap now and still couldn't be happier. Today I went for a hiking trip way out in the hills and got to really put them to the test. Lots of wonderful roads to test cornering in and wow does it handle well! I used to get but pucker just trying to hold some of the turns at the speed limit now I'm powering through them hard on the throttle with full confidence. Also got to take it down a very slick muddy and rocky trail with fallen trees across the road. It handled the flexy rocky parts great always keeping the tires planted and delivering supurb traction.

I am noticing some squeaking from my front end I think it might be the heims I squirted them with silicon lube when I first installed but I think they could use some grease.

Over all just have to say its still the best mod I've ever done!

 

Glad you like it so much!

 

Its been around 6 months and 6k miles now on the swap. Nothing but praise to report still couldnt be happier! I have gotten all 4 tires off the ground multiple times in some small whoops. With the limited amount of travel (More then stock but less than a prerunner) Its very smooth and controlled!


If your considering it DO IT!

 

Why just 600lb springs? I was under the impression that our trucks needed much more

 

The spring rate depends on the weight and shock used. Generally longer travel shocks need softer springs.

 

I actually switched back to the 500lbs springs 2 months or so ago to see how the ride quality was and I think its smoother especially off road.