[Arcuden]

Just wondering what general rule you all follow for shock installation. I've looked around the knowledge base and old threads and found a few different answers. Some people say a 50/50 compression/rebound (shock should be midway through its compression stroke) is best, while others say its best to have a little more compression than rebound (more room for shock to absorb bumps before reaching its maximum compression and bottoming out).

I'm in the process of installing some stock ride-height KYB Gas-A-Just shocks in my '70 Nova. I've done a test fit of one rear shock and it seems like it has a lot of compression in comparison to rebound, maybe around 70/30. If I jack the car using the sub frame rails, the car only raises up about three inches before it starts pulling the tire off the ground (the shock is at its maximum extension and won't let the leafs extend any more). I'm curious if this is enough? My main concern is taking an aggressive corner and having the inside rear wheels lift up and lose traction. This is a street car and I'm not road racing it or anything. The shocks were ordered from Summit as stock-size replacements. I really don't want to have to send them back

I'm going to install the other side tomorrow and take it for a test drive, but I thought I'd ask here in the meantime. Thanks.

[Deuce]

Well ............tomorrow has come.......

How do it do ?

[Triaged]

Personally I would set them to have a bit of travel left (0.5"-1"?) when the suspension hits the bump stop and leave all the rest (be it a lot or a little) for droop.

[Arcuden]

Better late than never, right?

Shocks are all installed. Boy you should have seen the ones that came off the car! Anyway, the car is much more stable now and less scary to drive. I've only taken it for a short drive and didn't do any hard cornering (won't do that until I replace all the bushings in the font) but it was definitely noticeable.

I really like the feel of these shocks. Not too mushy, so you get that feeling of control and stability, and not too bone-jarring at the same time.