ADS shocks

You're correct again. Torque on the ground and yes it matters.

 

I got everything reinstalled last night and torqued it all while it was sitting in the ground. In fact, after I got it off the hack stands i took the truck for a short cruise around the block to try and get things settled then torqued it all down.

it was nearly midnight by the time I finished but I had to take it for a ride. First impressions are very good. There’s some pretty big water drainage dips in the neighborhood and I could tell a big difference on those. I haven’t messed with tuning at all but as others have stated they seem to work better the faster you go. Excited to tune a bit and get on the dirt.

I drove around with windows down to listen for bypass sound. It’s definitely there but I’ll bet I wont notice it when windows are up.

It sits high in the rear now! As others have noted, it probably takes some miles for the springs to settle a bit.

Looking forward to getting the fronts on, hopefully next week!

 

Nice! Always good to see and hear when folks take the time to ensure a job is done correctly. Too many folks don’t know what they don’t know, so they don’t ask questions.


Seemed like my U748s took nearly forever to finally settle in, but it’s so worth it.

 

On the rear bypasses, did you guys notice that the rubber bushing under the top hat nut "squishes" out sort of unevenly when you tighten the nut? It just seems to be a product of the angle at which the shock fits into the stock mounting locations. Not sure if it's a problem, just wanted to see if others noticed this.

Passenger side

Driver side

Also, I now understand the fuss regarding the potential for the bypasses to rotate. I've got the top nuts tightened to the point that it's difficult to rotate the shocks by grabbing them and trying to spin them, but I think there is still potential for them to rotate given the forces that could act on them when driving. Any input from you guys about how to torque these things down further or avoid rotation? Matt at MCM is saying to tighten the top hat nut until it stops then back off a 1/4 turn, but that's a bit subjective. We're talking about tightening a nut on top of a rubber bushing and I'm using a fairly standard 7/8" box wrench to turn the nut. I could probably get a wrench that would be long enough to put enough force on this to crush the bushings and bend washers, but that doesn't seem like what I'm after.

 

Whats ADS say about this?

From what I see, those nuts are way too tight. That stud is likely threaded into the top cap and being too tight can have it loosen and unthread from the body entirely. I bring this up because its happened to a lot of Fox shocks. Just giving you a heads up on that, would hate to see it happen to you

 

Yeah I talked to Matt maybe a year ago and did what he said. I didn’t have any more issues with it rotating after that but it definitely is a concern. It loosened my brake banjo nut and I lost break fluid and had the light come on. Was fine but I feel like it could have been serious were I out beating on it instead of putzing around town.

 

I havent spoken directly to anyone at ADS to pose the question. I've been trying to deal directly with MCM since he sold me the shocks and seems to be a go-to guy for things Tundra/ADS related. I may call ADS today and see what they think.

What in the photo makes you say the nuts are too tight? Is it the amount of compression on the bushing? Amount of threads showing on the stud? I'd hate to see the top cap unthread, as well. I only have the nuts this tight in to try and mitigate the shock rotating. I don't see a way (other than more tension on the stud/bushing) to keep it from spinning. I don't want one of the bypass tubes making contact with anything on the brake rotor assembly.

 

Are your top nuts tightened down as far as mine? Were you able to get a reading on the actual amount of torque on the nut?

 

I understand, and the shock manufacturer may be able to provide additional support. We install a lot of Tacoma suspension, both have similar stem top mounts in the rear. Fox clearly states in their install guide "Tighten top locking nut until 5/8’’ of total stem is showing." and when we do this, there is not quite this amount of bulge in the bushing. Looks can be deceiving and totally understand your concern about keeping the shock body from rotating.(King install guide reference attached)

Did ADS provide any type of install guide with their shocks?

 

On another note, I want to start playing around with these bypass valves. Based on reading threads from guys with more bypass experience than myself, here is my caveman understanding:

• These shocks have 3 bypass tubes. 2 for compression, 1 for rebound.
• I have heard others reference "ride zone" and "bump zone". I am presuming the ride zone is where the piston spends a good deal of its time during normal driving conditions. I am presuming the bump zone is where the piston is getting near the end of its compression travel.
• I presume the amount of rebound damping is the same regardless of the piston's location.
• By "opening" the bypass valves (loosening the adjustment nut) it should INCREASE the amount of oil allowed to bypass the main piston, thus decreasing damping and the piston will move more freely through the oil. If the bypass is completely open, the native internal valving has less influence on the shock's performance. This would be the "softest" ride I could achieve without actually re valving the shock.
• By "closing" the bypass valves (tightening the adjustment nut) it should DECREASE the amount of oil allowed to bypass the main piston and thus increasing damping and the piston will move less freely through the oil. If the bypass is completely closed, the native internal valving is the sole influence on the shock's performance. This would create the "stiffest" ride I could achieve without actually re valving the shock.

Assuming these assumptions are accurate, and I want to achieve a softer ride, I just need to open these valves up and see what kind of ride I get, right? I mean that's a rough starting point but it doesn't seem all that complicated (yet!).

 

I just re read my last message and realized it could have seemed I was putting you at arms length because I didn't buy from you. Totally not the case! I actually spoke with you guys about a Fox setup when I was shopping but ultimately chose MCM/ADS because this system was spec'd out for the deaver u748's (extra down travel). Whoever the Accutune rep was that I spoke with was super friendly and helpful. Thanks for your input in this thread.

Anyway, no ADS didnt include any install manuals. I looked around their website but don't see anything jumping out at me like the King example you linked above. Matt has been pretty responsive to my email questions (even on Saturday!) but no printed instructions or specs.

The bushing is definitely bulging a bit on my install. Could be an issue, might not be. Sounds like even Fox or King doesn't specify a torque value. It's more based on the amount of thread showing. Do you guys just use box wrenches to tighten these things?

It's obviously more of an issue for external bypass shocks to rotate in the mounts, but rotation seems like it would be an issue for any shock with any sort of external fitting, right? What I mean to say is, properly torquing and securing a rear shock isn't purely a triple bypass problem. Anything other than a bone stock, smooth body shock is gonna have problems if it tries to rotate.

 

Yep, thats correct. If you care to check out some more tech info, we have a 5 part article on bypasses.Wont really discuss how or why to make adjustments though.

Ah no worries, just thought I would share some thoughts on the topic and help you avoid some issues. Bummer ADS doesnt have an install guide, even basic info would be nice to reference. Yes we use basic wrenches to get the job done and not over tighten. Pretty common to do since everything else needs to be tighten metal on metal or torqued. Nice thing about remote reservoir shocks (not piggyback) they usually mount to the frame and help keep the body from rotating. Not really an option for piggybacks. Could always convert it, but then again ADS would have done that if it was that simple.

 

Is it possible to back the bypass valve adjuster all the way out or do they have some kind of internal stop to keep them from coming out all the way?

I just tried to call ADS and ask but Tyler was gone for the day!

 

There is usually a stop in threads, but I can't say for sure on ADS shocks.

 

Wow. Opened the valve on the ride zone all the way. Got a lot more plush. Matt told me that he was pretty sure that the ride zone and rebound ship from ADS about 70% open. Bump zone ships about 40% open.

the difference between 70% and 100% open on the ride zone was definitely noticeable.

Matt confirmed that there are stops on the adjusters but they’re easy to miss. I would agree. They are very slight, but I felt them.

 

I just spoke to Tyler at ADS, very helpful and informative guy!

Tyler says the "squishing" of the rubber bushing is pretty normal. He said "you ought to see the 4runner ones!" He also confirmed that tightening the top hat nut until it stops is the correct torquing procedure. To elaborate on this a bit, the threaded stud steps up to a larger (and unthreaded) diameter down lower on the stud. By tightening the nut until it stops, we're running the nut down tight to where the threads stop and the larger diameter stud stops the nut's travel. Because the torque on this nut effectively changes as the suspension articulates, this keeps things nice and tight so the shock body doesnt rotate.

With regard to the stops on the bypass adjustment screws, these do have a small stop built into them. It sounds pretty delicate. Overly delicate IMO for a dang race shock, but it is what it is. Anyway, even if you back that screw all the way out, Tyler says you wont lose any oil. By going past the little stop, it likely disconnects the threaded stud from the adjustment mechanism, but the function of the valve remains intact. In this situation, technically the stop has "broken" but the position of the threaded stud still keeps the bypass valve wherever you've adjusted it to. It would just take cycling of the shock to push the bypass valve to its position instead of the stud pushing or pulling it into place. If that makes sense.

Tyler also told me that the bump stops ship with about 150 psi of nitrogen in them. I don't have a nitrogen setup, so I guess I'll have to figure that out if I need to adjust pressure once I start dialing those in.

With regard to the front coil over preload collar, he said to make sure those adjustment screws are faced out before installing the shock. The assembly techs are supposed to make sure this is how they go out, but it doesnt always happen that way.

It was exciting to hear him say "you can party pretty hard" with this setup on a Tundra. I dont party like I used to, but I'm looking forward to what this setup can do once I get it all installed and dialed in.

 

Sounds just like the chats I’ve had with Tyler on the phone, and when I met him at KOH last year. Good dude, just wants to do cool stuff.

 

Does anybody know which way the front coil over reservoir brackets go on?

they have an angled side and a straight side. It seems like the angled side should face toward the rear of the truck. Am I stupid?

 

Mine aren’t ADS but the angle faces the rear on my kings.

 

Giddyup! I can’t see how this would work with the angled side facing toward the front of the truck.

I won’t be able to get my coilovers and UCA’s in today but I wanted to make some progress. Mounted the resi brackets and durobumps.

 

The fender liner on the passenger side looks like it’ll need trimmed or remolded in order to accommodate the reservoir.

 

Yep, easy peasy. It’ll be a few areas of fitting

 

Coil overs and UCA’s went in this morning.

UCA’s were a bit of a struggle bus on the drivers side, but went super smooth on passenger side after I figured out the tricks.

Took her out on some trails this afternoon for a break in. Yikes. You can party pretty hard with this kit. I am not disappointed. Hammered some pretty rough (and tight) sections around 30mph. Looking forward to dialing things more but very happy so far!

 

Wicked! That setup definitely has a ton of capabilities.

 

Nice. Was wondering how your build was coming along. You’re gonna be smiling for a while…. Get used to it.

 

Break it in doing......

 

This might be a dumb question, but I’ll ask anyway…

The rear bump stop strike plates should probably be installed with these little “wings” pointed down right? Seems like that’s what someone smarter than me would do..

Mocked up for clarity.

 

Get some!

 

How you have it here is how they should be mounted.

 

Makes sense, thanks!

I don't know what I was thinking when I didn't install the strike plates when I did the leaf springs a few weeks ago. It's not a huge deal to put them on, but I should have saved myself the trouble and done it with the leaf packs.

This suspension is pretty neat. I'm trying to get my rear bump stops installed in the next week or so and that'll clear all the ADS parts off my work bench!

I'm headed out with the kids for a camping trip in a few weeks. Should give me a good opportunity to hammer on it some more and perhaps start tuning the rear bypasses. I think I still have the ride zone compression bypass all the way open. I'm curious to see what opening (or closing) the rebound bypass does. I'd like to tune so that the short, choppy, rocky terrain gets smoother. The bigger hits are handled pretty well right now but that smaller choppy stuff is still pretty bumpy.