Spring rates/shock valving

[suzuki_sx29]

Hey guys-
A buddy and I have had an ongoing debate about a truck we're planning- I say that a 4wd prerunner could be set up for fast and hard prerunning as well as low-and-slow torque-y rock crawling w minimal compromise in either situation, and without needing to play w/ the shocks in between. He thinks that the spring rates for prerunning would be way to firm for 4x, but it's my belief that we could run a soft(er) spring rate and heavy(er) valving. I know this would put a bit more strain on the shocks, but it's feasible, right? I'm sure that it would be easier w/ bypasses, but could it be accomplished w/ a lone coilover? Thanks in advance

[smokey]

In addition to valving, but more along the lines of spring rate - you'll need to consider up travel as well. Most guys who set up rock crawlers run pretty limited up travel. Look at the success of air shocks in the rocks, and most people seem to like to set them up with only about 4" of shaft showing, so maybe 4 up, 10-12 down.

Guys in the desert and sand seem to favor more like 50-60% uptravel, from what I've seen. People are willing to sacrifice up travel, since they don't really need it at low speeds, for a lower COG.

Another issue goes farther back into the suspension design itself. Not too many solid front axle 4x4s that can keep up with an IFS 4x4 in the fast stuff, or even then, pull the travel of an LT 2wd kit. It's a lot of unsprung weight to control at speed.

On the flip side, I haven't seen pictures of many IFS rigs running the harder rock trails.

It's an interesting idea, one that I'm still working on by trying to build a semi-capable all round rig, but it's all about compromise. Building one that excels at both, without compromise, seems to me a very tall order.

[tltony]

In my opinion, just focus on making the truck work well for pre-running and it will crawl just fine.

Tony