Compiled RadFlo Height Adjustments & Results

[HARDTRAILZ]

Intriguing. I have a set of marks 3 w 88 springs and bilstiens I can measure to toss more #s in the mix.

[TBYODA]

Um you do realize there adjustable by turning the closes collar (aka adjustment nut) to the spring down? Doing so lengths the whole assembly, top collar just acts as lock.

[HARDTRAILZ]

No no no. Collars go on preachers.

[TBYODA]

No no no. Collars go on preachers.

Hahahaha I couldn't recall what the adjustments nut were called. I thought that was better then the black thingy.

[v7guy]

Um, yeah, Roberts correct, turn the adj nut down the threaded body of the shock. You'll likely be adjusting it on the truck to dial in the height.

[TBYODA]

Um, yeah, Roberts correct, turn the adj nut down the threaded body of the shock. You'll likely be adjusting it on the truck to dial in the height.

I found adjusting them installed to be big slow pita. If I were to do again, I would adjust before installing.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Easier to preach without pressure

[HawkeyeC25]

Um you do realize there adjustable by turning the closes collar (aka adjustment nut) to the spring down? Doing so lengths the whole assembly, top collar just acts as lock.

No that is not correct. The spring is under compression all the time even when it is out of the vehicle (why do you think people have to put them in a vice to adjust them outside the vehicle). The collar only adjusts pre-load and has no affect on the overall length of the shock.

I'm talking about overall length of the shock which directly affects maximum droop. So I'm asking if anyone has thought about putting a top spacer in to increase the droop.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I multiplied the inverse pyramid of 4 by the reciprocal 7 using the parallelogram theory of barefoot minus yesterdays leftovers and I think you are on to something

[Trail X]

Craig, you're right, the collar does not adjust the overall shock length. Noone to my knowledge has spaced down the radflos, although it has been mentioned once or twice before. That may be because there's such a night and day difference as is that I think noone has felt the need yet once making the transition.

My only concern is that the radflos reportedly have an internal bumpstop inside the shock. This is meant to absorb the forces of the weight of your suspension being thrown into the shock piston when the suspension unloads. I imagine they have added some sort of internal rubber bump-stop that would squish down to absorb the impulse load. My point of this is that if you were to unload the suspension such as Robert did when he did his infamous Trailblazer jump, the radflos may reach the same max droop point as your current suspension, if only for a split second while absorbing the load.

I'm not telling you not to try adding a spacer, I'm just cautioning you that there may be some dynamic element that we're not seeing when comparing them side-by-side.

[HawkeyeC25]

Wow - Great point James! I never thought of an internal bump stop being the reason for the difference in length! I'll have to shoot an email out to Radflo and see what they say. I was thinking I could loosen the top nuts on the radflo's to let them drop and see if another 1/2" (or even 3/4" - 1" to account for any internal bumper) would create any binding in the CV's. If not, I might go with MarkMC's 1/2" top spacer from his 2.5" lift kit. Think he would sell these by themselves??

[TBYODA]

Craig are you trying to get as close as possible to equal down travel as up travel with your desired lift? Basically stock travel? If that is true and IIRC the only way is to drop the whole subframe.

[HawkeyeC25]

No I never plan to get near stock, but if more down travel is available I would rather have it to maximize my articulation and minimize how much it runs into the internal stops of the shock on full droop. With the preload cranked up where I'm happy with the ride height, I'm already pretty limited on down travel so just looking for a bit more if possible.

[HawkeyeC25]

From Glenn at Radflo (good call James!)
"Hi Craig,
The shocks do have an internal droop stop. It is a steel and rubber compound, so it will not stand up to constant abuse.
I am happy to hear you are pleased with the shocks.
Regards,
Glenn"

So I think that explains the difference in length. Either way, I ordered up the spacers from MarkMC Guess I'll be the first one to give it a shot!

[HawkeyeC25]

Hey all,

It's been a while since I've done any updates. Earlier this spring I went and put the MarkMC top spacers above the Radflo's with GREAT results! I regained the inch of down travel I had with KYB's and to date I have had no binding issues. It gave an immediate overall lift of almost an inch, which I had planned to compensate for by adjusting the collars and just having more down travel. But after seeing it look closer to the rear lift, I decided to keep it higher I think it looks much more level now. So I'm around a 4.5" lift overall now front and rear.

I've driven this setup pretty hard all summer (jumped the front end off the ground a few times on whoops) and I have had no problems.

Hope this review helps!

[Trail X]

Great news! I thought radflo was probably a little conservative on the down travel. Thanks for posting up!

[Opeth]

After a yr and a half of letting mine sit in the box, my lazy ass finally installed them. I installed them adjusted to 3.5" per guidelines. I can't even push the front end of the frame down, it moves but not a heck of a lot, feels like maybe 1/4". I have a full Barton bumper, rad and oil skid with 3" body lift. Maybe these just need to settle a little bit? I have a whole new front end, so I forgot to get measurements before.

[HawkeyeC25]

Definitely let them break in. They are pretty stiff right out of the box.

[larryk]

Anyone have any decent ideas on where to pick up a set of Radflo's? New or used......?

Thanks!

[TBYODA]

Anyone have any decent ideas on where to pick up a set of Radflo's? New or used......?

Thanks!

Got to call them directly but there about $1,200 or so for a set.

http://www.radflo.com/moto/default