Those look very similar to the RideTech shocks I have, which are also made by Fox. I am interested to see what settings you end up with after some tuning time.

 

They are essentially the same shocks. I tried emailing ridetech with a few questions about them and the only reply I could get from them is that they don't make anything specifically for my truck. I realized Hotchkis had them as well and I after one email had all of my questions answered and decided to go with them instead.

What do you have your shocks set at? Hotchkis told me that 15 clicks up front and 8 out back (from full soft) would be a good starting point.

 

How to the 2 bars compare???

It is tough to tell from that picture but they appear very similar.

Is 1 bigger???

 

The Belltech bar is solid and 1 3/8" the Hotchkis bar is hollow and 1 1/2" The Hotchkis bar seems to be nicer, with multiple bends and is lighter. The BT bar seems to be less thought-out (I guess you could say) with only 4 bends. The new bar has better bushings and bushing retainers with grease fittings where the BT just used the stock bushing retainers with new bushings. New front links are ordered and I should see them this week if all goes according to plan.

 

I only have the rears installed currently as I have coilovers to install up front (along with new spindles, control arm bushings, ball joints, etc). IIRC the rears are currently at 10 from soft and seem to be doing well on the street for ride comfort and moderate maneuverability. I did turn them down to 3 last time I was at the dragstrip to allow the traction bars to separate the chassis which didn't seem to work all that well.

 

Oh ok. Once I get my front links I'm going to be able to play around with the settings. I was planning on possibly heading out to the dragstrip next thursday. I was going to see if the adjustments helped with traction at all in a straight line. Haven't drag raced the truck since the Truckin event.

 

Any updates?

 

Just a few updates. I got the everything together and got some miles on the truck. I drove it out to the Motor 4 Toys car show and got to see how the shocks worked out. Started them at 10 clicks from full soft (middle of the adjustment and I was very impressed. The truck was much more stable and comfortable to drive, even with the crappy freeways. Ended up firming up the front a few more clicks and it was perfect. Obviously I'll end up making adjustments when I do the next autocross event and see how they help there.

Pic from Motor 4 Toys:



But probably the biggest update:

New sticker

 

Love the sticker. You're gonna cause me to start wiping out cones with the Avalanche when I get back.

 

Well the goal is to not kill any of them. But there is always one that jumps out in from of you... haha.


Another small-ish update. I have decided to re-stall the torque converter, hopefully before the next event (Jan 16-17th.) Going to send it back to Circle D sometime soon after I get the trans dropped out of it again.

I am also not happy with my shifter. I am not sure if there is an issue with the cable or the ratchet mechanism, but I have adjusted it a few times and still having some issues.