2019 - 2020 Raptor Live Wire Shocks

Don't call me insane just yet!

I found a stellar deal on some 2019 Raptor shocks (all 4 of them) and I wanted to know if anyone has run them on a 1st gen. I did see something a little while back about someone with a 2014 Raptor running the new live wire shocks on his truck.

From what I understand they are very similar in dimension to the 2017 - 2018 Raptor shocks. Because of that it looks like they'll bolt into my 2013 fine after swapping the top strut mount in the front with the one from my old shocks.

However, I wanted to know if anyone has run these shocks without the sensors. They came without the sensors and, obviously, even if thy had them, they wouldn't plug in anywhere. Do y'all think it will cause damage if I just run them without the sensors? I can't imagine running them without the sensors would destroy them (considering sensors fail and people with 2019 Raptors will sometimes keep driving on them) - but I don't know if the valving will work properly without the sensors input. Will they just act like a normal shock without the sensors?

I appreciate all of y'alls help! Worst case scenario I'll resell them - I'm confident I could more than break even if I had to sell them, but I'd prefer to use them!

Sell them, use whatever profit you get off of them for a set of gen 1's. You would need to figure out an entire control system for those shocks to get them to work as designed, and you still run into the problem of them not actually fitting the way they are supposed to, they won't be in the correct valve position on a gen 1. They are also designed for the weight and spring rate of the gen 2, not the heavier gen 1.

The biggest issue isn’t even the above posters info, it’s the fact that the live valve shocks with no input from the electronics, default to full stiffness to prevent damage to the shock, and the truck in the case that they lose communication with the ECM.

Until someone finds out a way to use the live valve electronics with a separate interface that would allow you to adjust them through that like a DSC adjustment (static adjustments, but theoretically a lot of adjustment range) it will never work on a truck that didn’t come with factory live valve support.

I've actually got some more information now. From what I understand KHC has built a prototype upper strut mount for the 2017+ shock lengths to be used in the 1st gen Raptors. As for the live valve - there appears to be two different pieces of tech out there. RPGOffroad has a part that bypass the electronics and basically turns them into 2017-2018 shock's valving standard.

After speaking with some one on EBay who claims to have done it to his 2014 Raptor - he said that his live valve shocks came with an adjustable knob where the sensor would normally be to adjust it for comfort or stiffness. He's going to send me some pictures later today!

Any update on the live valve work around?

So there are three of these threads out there. It can be done. The ride is not garbage. I admit, the thought here would be it defaults to full stiffness but if the ride is full stiff, it’s been good thus far. In Virginia? Hit me up and you can drive it around in search of potholes or some of our broken fields.

DreamcastERA said:

I've actually got some more information now. From what I understand KHC has built a prototype upper strut mount for the 2017+ shock lengths to be used in the 1st gen Raptors. As for the live valve - there appears to be two different pieces of tech out there. RPGOffroad has a part that bypass the electronics and basically turns them into 2017-2018 shock's valving standard.

After speaking with some one on EBay who claims to have done it to his 2014 Raptor - he said that his live valve shocks came with an adjustable knob where the sensor would normally be to adjust it for comfort or stiffness. He's going to send me some pictures later today!

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Any updates on adjusting the live valve without the electronic motor on it? My fab guy designed an upper mount (much less cutting than the KHC) to account for the longer shock and we're planning to put a set on in the next few weeks.

letsgetthisdone said:

Any updates on adjusting the live valve without the electronic motor on it? My fab guy designed an upper mount (much less cutting than the KHC) to account for the longer shock and we're planning to put a set on in the next few weeks.

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I’ve got a as new set sitting in Los Angeles if you’re interested!

Cornwallis said:

I’ve got a as new set sitting in Los Angeles if you’re interested!

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I got a .... handsome bonus (much more than expected) at work so I'm going with bolt in Fox 3.0's with DSC

Cornwallis said:

I’ve got a as new set sitting in Los Angeles if you’re interested!

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PM Sent