3 tube vs 4 tube bypass shocks

[motoxscott]

I'm only gonna buy bypass shocks for the front of my i-beam F-150 once so I'm thinking about getting 4 tube bypasses instead of the usual 3 tube. King stocks them so I know it's common enough. They will be 3.0 x 16" shocks.

- Is the added expense worth the added adjustment ?
- How do they usually set up the tubes? (3 compression 1 rebound or 2 compression and 2 rebound)
- Short of going to a very progressive internal bypass shock, do you really see the need for 4 tubes?

Any input on this would be great....and no this isnt for a daily driver or pavement pounder

-Scott

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[desertracer]

We have 4 tubes on our fox 2.5's on the rear of our car it is great to be able to adjust the primary and secondary rebound and compression. If you are serious about building a nice pre-runner I would consider paying the extra price of having that 4th tube. I think adding a tube is around 125-150 (fox was 125) so if you have the money it would be worth it in the long run as far as set-up goes. I'm sure that a 3 tube shock would work just as well, but you might look back as kick yourself if you don't spring for that extra option assuming you have the $$$ to do it now.

[Josh_K]

I think the best thing to do is to ask the guys at king there opinion. It's all they do and they will stear you the right way even if the shock you are thinking of buying are used. As long as they are King's or Kuster's they will help you.

To throw in my opinion, with a 16" stroke shock you would wont the four tube type (2 rebound, 2 Compression). It's been my experince that, when a shock has 3 tube on it is a 14" or less stroke shock.

[motoxscott]

I can talk to King, SAW or Fox about it, but they are in the business of selling shocks. I want some unbiased opinions from people who will give me a straight answer and have experiance using 3 and 4 tube bypasses.

Is having that 2nd rebound adjustment worth the extra $100 ? Will the shock be working that much better that it will be a noticable difference ?

If I wont really get anything out of it, then I will just run 3 tubes.

-Scott

[Josh_K]

For full race application you would wont four tubes on a 16 stroke shock. For a pre-runner that isnt raced, 3 tubes is good. In my opinion, in a normal buget pre-runner application you will never notice the differance of the extra tube. Infact you may be better off with three tubes due to the fact that it is less complex to adjust. But if you are going to wonting to get as close to the perfect setup as possable, you will need to get real good at getting into the shock internally and having four tubes still isnt gona save you any labor because you will still need to go into them just the same as a 3 tube.

[CRAIG_HALL]

Dont just buy them with the standard tube placement either.Make sure you order them with the tubes in the proper location.A three tube may be pointless if you dont like where it kicks in at,especially on a compression tube if the piston is riding at the bump zone all the time.

I picked up some 3-tube 16" foxs for setup and will either order a custom set with the rebound tube in a different location or add a 4th higher up in the rebound stroke.

[Greg]

Are you keeping the leaves? if so i think the 4 tubes will be best. Reason being that to get the rebound fast enough you need to run really thin shims, having another tube will finally get you in the ball park without going to questiionable valving. Most 4 tube bypasses will have the second rebound tube "under-lapping" the primary rebound tube, it makes tuning way easier. Hell, i have 5 tubes and i still have to mess with getting the rebound fast enough. On a 4 link there is usally enough leverage on the shock to get the rebound fast enough without the extra tubes. Again, this is just my opinion.