3.0 Upgrade questions

[Jhollowell]

I'm looking to upgrade my shocks to 3.0 and i'm in the research phase right now so i was wondering if anyone can answer some questions.

1. Kings or Fox? I see about a 50/50 split and from my reading it seems like the Fox's are a little better quality but more expensive. Is it worth the extra cost?
2. Replacement parts? I do all my own rebuilds/tuning/maintenance so can ordinary people get Fox parts? Kings seem to be readily available.
3. Would you buy a used/freshly rebuilt set of Fox 3.0 External bypass? I've found a set locally but they have quite a few miles on them but have been rebuilt. My concern is that its an external bypass so the main body is the wear surface that the piston/valve rides on. Does that wear out or am i being too paranoid?
4. Front coil springs. I believe the Fox fronts come with Eibach springs and there doesn't seem to be any other option? Are there any options for springs? I have Geiser springs currently and really like the progressiveness but don't know about the Eibachs. Are King springs better?

 

[Nex]

Not quite the same as what you are looking at, but you are welcome to drive mine around. See if you like it. 3.0/3.5 bypass Kings.

 

[ItsNick]

What is the intended purpose for your truck? I ask, because you're about to go down a very costly rabbit hole. I came from a true mid travel full size bronco, that saw many baja, local dezert, and mountain miles. In stock form, the raptor isn't far off from what the bronco was, suspension wise.

I'm gonna get some hate for this next statement, but i believe it to be true. Most people won't be able to drive to the full potential of what a stock raptor can do, let alone one that's had a lot of money thrown at suspension upgrades.

For what i do, i felt that new oem shocks, geiser coils, and deaver leafs would suffice.

 

[Jhollowell]

What is the intended purpose for your truck? I ask, because you're about to go down a very costly rabbit hole. I came from a true mid travel full size bronco, that saw many baja, local dezert, and mountain miles. In stock form, the raptor isn't far off from what the bronco was, suspension wise.

I'm gonna get some hate for this next statement, but i believe it to be true. Most people won't be able to drive to the full potential of what a stock raptor can do, let alone one that's had a lot of money thrown at suspension upgrades.

For what i do, i felt that new oem shocks, geiser coils, and deavers leafs would suffice.

My truck is a daily driver so i don't think i will go down the rabbit hole of major suspension upgrades. Currently i'm on stock shocks with a re-valve, geisers on mid perch and deaver SD+2. My main reason for the upgrades is just a little better ride in the dunes and rough roads. I noticed last weekend running around Moses Lake, Wa i had to keep the speed up quite a bit to carry momentum up some of the hills with this heavy truck. Thats not really a problem since the Raptor has plenty of power but running higher speeds in the rough terrain beats the crap out of me and the truck so my thought is a little better suspension will give me a little better ride out there. Watching the gen 2s rip around made it look effortless and you could really see the advantage of the lighter truck and slightly better suspension. I figure 3.0s is a good cost/benefit ratio along with a set of bump stops and thats as far as i'm planning to go. Cost is my main driver so i won't be spending 10k+ on suspension

 

[Jhollowell]

Not quite the same as what you are looking at, but you are welcome to drive mine around. See if you like it. 3.0/3.5 bypass Kings.

That could be a slippery slope. I was super impressed how all the stock Gen 2s were doing out there. Kind of makes me want a newer lighter truck.

 

[Space Ghost]

My truck is a daily driver so i don't think i will go down the rabbit hole of major suspension upgrades. Currently i'm on stock shocks with a re-valve, geisers on mid perch and deaver SD+2. My main reason for the upgrades is just a little better ride in the dunes and rough roads. I noticed last weekend running around Moses Lake, Wa i had to keep the speed up quite a bit to carry momentum up some of the hills with this heavy truck. Thats not really a problem since the Raptor has plenty of power but running higher speeds in the rough terrain beats the crap out of me and the truck so my thought is a little better suspension will give me a little better ride out there. Watching the gen 2s rip around made it look effortless and you could really see the advantage of the lighter truck and slightly better suspension. I figure 3.0s is a good cost/benefit ratio along with a set of bump stops and thats as far as i'm planning to go. Cost is my main driver so i won't be spending 10k+ on suspension

from my experience goin to 2.5 FRS from 2.0s on my ranger, and my brother goin to 3.0 FRS on his gen juan, it generally rides a little rougher just doin daily things. Only time it seems better/plush is offroad (or speed bumps lol), which is obvious to us both, but i was surpised the street performance felt worse. I felt the little bumps more, even tuned all the way soft on low and high speed.
My 2.5s were also quiet, but my brothers 3.0 squeaked a lot, not ear shattering or annoying but somethin to point out.

 

[tmp123]

I have a set of slightly used Fox 3.0's .
Decided to go with ICONS . FOX 3.0 ARE NOISY.
You can have mine at a great deal