Adding Bypass Tubes

[singlehanded]

I recently had the front of my ranger finished with coilovers. I now am purchasing the parts to do the rear. My question is, I want to put some 3.0 bypasses 4+tubes in the rear of my truck but it will be a while before I can afford them. One of my friends suggested getting some regular shocks and have the tubes added later. Is there any reason why this isnt a good idea and any idea on the cost to add a tube. It is going to be with some nationals/deavers, no 3 or 4 link its just my daily driver.
THANKS

local

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[rdc]

It is cheaper to buy the completed bypass shocks all at once. Its like buying a complete new car vs buying each individual part from the parts counter. Also, there are many shocks out there done the way you are talking about but they dont look as nice a new bypass shock, after a few years of hacking, they end up with different kinds of tubes and valves, they usually dont get plated and threaded body shocks with bypass tubes welded on them just look ugly. If you do go this way make sure you buy the shocks with non-threaded cylinders with the thick wall, (basically a blank bypass can) so it is easy and clean to add the bypass tubes later.

[scott]

Company's can do that but at $125 or so per tube is costly. Better to save up and just buy them already done.

[Jimmy8]

Bypass tubes are great, but you can go overkill on them. even on our race cars we dont have four tubes. 2 is all you really need for a pre runner, or three tubes with 2 of them being compression so you will have kind of an internal bumpstop in the shocks. When you start getting 4 and 5 tubes the shocks take so long to get adjusted right that it starts to be a big pain in the @#% if you dont have a lot of time to spend testing. On our prerunner we have 3 inch Kings with 2 tubes per shock and I dont think you could ask for anything to work better. All a lot of tubes does is cost you more money and give you more heart ache. Some times less is more.

[singlehanded]

Jimmy that makes a lot of sense and it probably is not worth all that trouble on a daily driver. What do you think about buying some 3" shocks and adding two tubes a shock, later. Also is it really $125 to add each tube a friend of mine that knows a lot more than me about offroading,like helps with a team and was a co-driver at the last baja-500 hundred is the one that recommended it and he said around $50 a tube? I just dont want to buy then change my mind and have to sell them and buy some bypasses.

local

[Jimmy8]

Last time I heard from Brett King it was $150.00 per tube per shock to have them added on. Personally I would buy the shocks without the tubes first, and you may find that it works so well you may not even need to add them on later. If it is your daily driver and weekend toy, this is the route I would go, but if you are going to race it or anything extensive, I would think about getting 2 tubes put on. For what it sounds like you are going to be doing, I would go with no tubes, and then later have them added even if that. If you go through king, tell Brett what you are going to be doing and what they will be on, and he will have them valved to fit your purpose, and they should work great.

[scott]

Its all who you know on the tube action. I'm just going on an average, at full pop...

[Greg]

If your keeping the leaf springs then you might not need bypass shocks anyway. A leaf pack is so progressive that you can usde one big regular shock and set it up with a 2 stage valve stack. Adding tubes later will cost more than buying the shock with them and you'll have down time.

Greg

[singlehanded]

I think I might get some 2.5's 14" travel for now, its what I am running up front. Then I can have back ups for the front. If it works good with the leafs I'll keep them if not will upgrade later down the road to some bigger shocks possibly bypasses. Thanks for all the input.

local