Granddaddy front suspension

[rv8riveter]

Howdy all

My granddaddy build is going along nicely so far. I need some advice for the front shocks. The plans call for 9 1/2" front shocks and 12" rear. I got a great deal on 4 , 12" shocks which I bought. 12 " is too long for the front, so to use I will have to modify the mount. They 12s are very stiff, so that has me leaning stock. How do the 9.5s work on the front end?

My 2 choices are;
1. leave alone, use planned 9.5". Modify if needed later.
http://www.bmikarts.com/Mechanical-Adjustable-Shock--9-34_p_1284.html

2. Modify now and use stiffer 12", but will allow some air shocks later with longer travel.


Thanks,
Wade

 

[OzFab]

There's one variable you're leaving out; spring tension. That is more important than length.

Don't think that all 12" shocks are the same, one may be rated at 100lbs where another seemingly identical shock can be rated at 500lbs, big difference...

Now, having said that, you would, hopefully, understand that using the same shocks on the front & rear is not a good idea because most of the karts weight is in the rear, therefore, the rear shocks need to be stronger than the fronts...

My advice is find out the spring tension of the 12" shocks you have, determine whether they're strong enough for the rear by fitting them & do some testing & go from there...

If the 12" are strong enough for the rear, use them & source softer 9.5"s for the front; if the 12"s not strong enough for the rear, well...

 

[Poboy kartman]

To add to this. ....generally speaking. ....shocks are not springs.....their job is not to control or absorb the forces of impact. ....but to control the recoil....
In other words. ...you have springs to move to keep your axles from bending, and shocks to keep the springs from bouncing too long.......in the simplest terms. .....

Anyway. ..that was the way it used to be. ....perhaps things have changed. ....

 

[rv8riveter]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I did not post clearly.

To be clear, I mean coil over shock. I thought that was the standard for these things, so didn't clarify.

When I said stiff I did mean the spring. The coil over shocks are 450 lb. The recommended 9.5s are 150 lb. I agree 450lb are too stiff for the front, but am wondering how good the recommended 9.5s are in the application. I guess I need to modify my original question, as clarifying this has made it clear the 450lbs won't work.

So, are the 9.5" (150lb) worth buying, or should I go ahead and buy a better shock? If there is a better choice for the front what is it?

Thanks,
Wade

 

[OzFab]

So, are the 9.5" (150lb) worth buying, or should I go ahead and buy a better shock?

That sounds about right; as I said, the majority of the weight will be on the rear wheels...