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Strut upgrade ??

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Offline tonyman246

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Strut upgrade ??
« on: August 23, 2012, 11:41:14 PM »
Does anyone know of upgrades/mods to keep the struts from wearing out? It seems like I can only get a season out of the 'lifetime warranty" Monro-matic struts i use in the front of my tracker. I have 2" coils and 2" strut spacers. Are there more heavy duty struts out there? Maybe from a bigger vehicle?
1991 Geo Tracker 33" super swampers + 4" lift + minor fender trimming + locker = unstoppable!

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Offline bentparts

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2012, 04:12:29 AM »
OME or Bilstein. Both are good, but pricey.
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Offline Drone637

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2012, 09:45:15 AM »
Does anyone know of upgrades/mods to keep the struts from wearing out? It seems like I can only get a season out of the 'lifetime warranty" Monro-matic struts i use in the front of my tracker. I have 2" coils and 2" strut spacers. Are there more heavy duty struts out there? Maybe from a bigger vehicle?

The heaviest duty struts out there are the Bilsteins, but you need to take care of them if you really want them to last.  With the 2" strut spacer you need to add a 1" extension to your bump stop.  Otherwise you are slamming into the top of your strut whenever you bottom out and causing extra damage and wear.  With the Project Trouble rig we found that about a 2:1 conversion worked well when picking your length of bump stops.

You will also want to add a limiting strap to stop it from topping out.  There was another user on here, who's name escapes me, that kept blowing OME struts.  He found that the issue was topping out destroyed the seals and lead to premature failure.  A set of limiting straps and he quit destroying the strut every year.

If you check out the Zukiworld Challenge builds most of us are running Bilstein struts with limiting straps and haven't destroyed them yet.  And we do tend to beat on them. 
96 Geo Tracker, x-SJ-410,  x-White Rabbit, x-Project Trouble
Crawlers NorthWest
x-Trouble Racing

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Offline bentparts

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2012, 05:02:52 AM »
My next set are going to be the Bilsteins. Now that I've got the topping and bottoming squared away I've stopped blowing struts. I wonder who that guy is?  ;)
The usual stuff, and 2nd generation Air to liquid intercooled TURBOCHARGER

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Offline tonyman246

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2012, 09:24:23 AM »
Hmm limiting straps.. that sounds like what i need! Are there any pictures of the limiting strap set up?
1991 Geo Tracker 33" super swampers + 4" lift + minor fender trimming + locker = unstoppable!

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Offline Drone637

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2012, 08:59:28 PM »
Here is the setup we use on Trouble:



We later switched to a heavier strap.
96 Geo Tracker, x-SJ-410,  x-White Rabbit, x-Project Trouble
Crawlers NorthWest
x-Trouble Racing

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Offline Bigzook

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Re: Strut upgrade ??
« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2012, 04:32:14 PM »
X2 on everything Drone said. Straps and bumps would will save your struts. It's extra $$ and work but way worth it. Heck if we didnt blow them racing in the desert, Wheeling wont be a problem for them at all.