Alrighty everyone....
The Experience
For those following, you will know how much time/money I had to spend to get the shocks to fit on the truck, well just got the truck back from King Shocks and before I say anything else I want to start by saying the folks over at King Shocks were fantastic! From the sales team/reception to Brian and Chris, everyone was very polite and responsive. King Shocks really do stand by their product and have some of the best customer service around. I am excited to try out the new shocks and will be excited to share the "bolt-on" design once I get a chance to chat with King on the new instructions for the shocks and when I remove the shocks myself to do some other work on the truck. Almost all of the issues have now been sorted out and the ride quality has been improved.
Shock changes
Now onto the shocks, I dropped my truck off a few weeks ago and met with the head of RnD. He looked over the truck and ask for my advice on how the shocks performed on and off-road. I let him know it felt somewhat stiff on-road and has quite a bit of body roll while turning. He mentioned he would be able to adjust the amount of oil that travels though the shock to control the body roll. He took it for a test drive to see how it drove and we left it at that. After picking up the vehicle 2 nights ago I see that King upgraded to the Finned Reservoirs and were able to shorten and adjust the angle of the hoses and find new mounting locations utilizing factory bolting points on the vehicle. When driving the past few days I noticed the truck felt even more controlled then before and I also had less body-roll.
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Please note: I am currently unaware if the Finned Design will be the only option available at this time)
Whats next?
One of the huge hurdles I had to overcome was the front coil-over coming in contact with the stock Gen3 control arms. I had to get the upper control arms cut and reinforced in order to eliminate the control arm hitting the coil-over at full extension. Once the arm was cut and re-welded I thought the arm was clear of hitting but it turns out it still came in contact just barely while at full extension. Well the folks at King turn out to be good buddies with the folks at Total Chaos Fabrication and in order for the King Shocks to fully work with the Gen3, new control arms would have to be fabricated to clear the coil-overs. This is where Total Chaos steps in, they have fabricated a tubular uni-ball upper control arm that works with the Gen3. I am waiting for the prototype arm to be finished and will head over to Total Chaos to get the new arm installed, of course pics will follow. I am told they should be ready in the coming weeks. These new arms should allow greater front suspension travel, increased ride comfort, and of course a stronger design.
For now enjoy some quick photos of the new King Shock Re-design on the truck!
