Quigley and QuadVan - FOX Shox Ride Improvement Package

[shenrie]

had the van out on the highway last weekend. only had 4 people/bikes and gear for 3 days, so it wasnt a full load by any means. however, the short section of highway was definitely a nice change. the new shocks enabled me to drive without white knuckles and quite a bit of one handed driving without fear of death.

we installed airbags a week before the shock install, and airing up the bags helped the "swim" on the highway even more. still need to get together 11 people and give it a try though. that will be our ultimate test.

also on last weekends adventure, we rented a yurt that was a few miles off the beatin path. the new shocks also helped quite a bit on the washboards and were just overall more pleasent offroad. first section of washboards my wife spoke up real quick and said that the ride was much better than before. so another wife approval on the setup

i gotta say, im impressed ramsey. your r&d is much appreciated. our land yacht is much better all around. Ill update again once we have a "full" load.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by Shocker

Brand new member here. I am looking at a 1982 Pathfinder converted E350. Do these fit the earlier vans.

The rig has the D60 coil spring front instead of the leafs.

Thanks!

I'm sure we could put together something if we got a good look at your van.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Shea, thanks for the review. Keeping the wife happy is the most important test!

Originally Posted by shenrie

had the van out on the highway last weekend. only had 4 people/bikes and gear for 3 days, so it wasnt a full load by any means. however, the short section of highway was definitely a nice change. the new shocks enabled me to drive without white knuckles and quite a bit of one handed driving without fear of death.

we installed airbags a week before the shock install, and airing up the bags helped the "swim" on the highway even more. still need to get together 11 people and give it a try though. that will be our ultimate test.

also on last weekends adventure, we rented a yurt that was a few miles off the beatin path. the new shocks also helped quite a bit on the washboards and were just overall more pleasent offroad. first section of washboards my wife spoke up real quick and said that the ride was much better than before. so another wife approval on the setup

i gotta say, im impressed ramsey. your r&d is much appreciated. our land yacht is much better all around. Ill update again once we have a "full" load.

[sierraskier]

One more satisfied customer...

Backstory
I took the rig up to Laurel Lakes over Labor Day. Previous owner gave it a 4" lift and based on what I've read above, I don't think I have the bottom-out issues that other owners have however, there was still a crazy amount of yaw. After the 10mi drive into Laurel I noticed I had rubbed all of the skin off my left elbow from it rubbing on the drivers door armrest Yes, it was that bad. As I'm sure most of you know, any staggered bumps, no matter how small cause the van to rock back and forth 4+ times before it settles out. After 10mi and 2+hrs my neck and back were also sore from counteracting the obnoxious yaw. I had been following this thread and after that I knew something had to be done

Hot Springs outside Mammoth


Road to Laurel Lakes


I don't know jack about auto suspension, but I do know mtn bike suspension pretty well and the concepts are basically the same: compression, rebound, damping, etc... so this intuitively made sense. So I exchanged a few emails with Ramsey. The problem is I live in Tahoe and really don't have time to drive all the way to SoCal and back for an install at Ramsey's shop. So, after emailing a series of pics of my existing front/rear suspension setup and measurements to Ramsey, and a few more phone conversations, the new shocks and springs showed up on my doorstep in a Fedex package.



Ramsey even went so far as to use his network to find a reliable off-road specialist in my area, call the shop and go over the install with them.

The shop I took it to, who specializes in off-road suspension and performance, said they were very surprised by the ride and handling improvement and have not seen anything similar from any other off-the-shelf suspension setup. One word used to describe it was "sporty", which is pretty ironic for a 10k lb van. I've only logged about 100mi on them so far, but what others say is pretty much true. The van settles out after bumps pretty much like my Outback XT did. I had a SIGNIFICANT amount of play and wander in the steering prior and I would say that the amount of play and wander is ~1/3 what it was before. It is still a 10k lb vehicle but now handles much closer to a car. On a whindy stretch of road on the way home where I usually become the liability holding up cars, I found myself actually creeping up onto a couple cars in front of me.

To summarize, I have to think this is the most dramatic improvement you can make to the ride quality of the van for the least amount of money. Beyond that, Ramsey went way above and beyond working with me to make this happen and was awesome to deal with. I'm definitely fired up to get some more miles on and off road in the coming weeks!

[Ocsmb]

Hip hip hooray for Ramsey!

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by sierraskier

The shop I took it to, who specializes in off-road suspension and performance, said they were very surprised by the ride and handling improvement and have not seen anything similar from any other off-the-shelf suspension setup.

The only shelf these are off of are Ramsey's shelf as he revalves the shocks to his specs. They are customized. Not sure about the springs.


Herb

[sierraskier]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

The only shelf these are off of are Ramsey's shelf as he revalves the shocks to his specs. They are customized. Not sure about the springs.


Herb

I know. The springs are more progressive/stiffer to match the increased damping on the shocks.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by sierraskier

One more satisfied customer...

Thank you for the review! I have been wondering how the install and everything went for you, good to hear all is well.

[rallypanam]

I just got some Bilstein 5160s... Can I mate these with your progressive springs?

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

I just got some Bilstein 5160s... Can I mate these with your progressive springs?

What vehicle, suspension...

What compressed and extended length Bilstein Shocks?