I welcome you to my blog, where I talk about the experiences I have with my customers in my auto repair shop and also share my knowledge about lifted vehicles.
Today I come with a big question a lot of my clients come to me with. And I have the answers to this question in this article.
When people lift their vehicles 4 inches higher, they often wonder, do I need new shocks with a 4 inch lift? The answer is yes, it is better to get new shock absorbers.
But what size shocks for a 4 inch lift?
Usually, you would need longer shock absorbers if you installed a 4-inch lift kit in your vehicle. And the size of the shock would depend on your vehicle. But generally, you would need shock absorbers that have a compressed and extended length of about 17 inches to 27 inches for a 10-inch stroke shock absorber.
Read more: do i need new shocks with a 3 inch lift
Do I Need Bigger Shocks with a 4 Inch Lift Kit?
Yes, you would need to replace your old stock shock absorbers with newer and bigger shocks if you install a 4-inch suspension lift kit to your vehicle.
But do I need longer shocks for a 4 inch lift? And what size shock absorbers to buy for your 4-inch lifted vehicle?
Get longer shocks!
Generally, you would need to get newer and longer shock absorbers that have approximately 17 inches to 27 inches of compressed and extended length.
This is the case for a vehicle with stroke shock absorbers of 10 inches! The exact size of the shock absorbers you would need for your vehicle will depend on your vehicle.
Read More: What Size Shocks for 8 Inch Lift
What Kind of Shocks Do I Need for a 4 Inch Lifted Truck?
There are various kinds of shock absorbers in the market, but I recommend you select monotube shock absorbers for your 4-inch lifted vehicle.
Why so?
Monotube shocks are high-pressure and high-performance shock absorbers. Their pressure is approximately 200 psi to as much as 360 psi, depending on the manufacturer.
These types of shock absorbers have both Nitrogen gas and hydraulic oil in separate chambers. And they are separated using floating pistons.
Because of this, the shock absorbers can operate without any foaming or any aeration, which can alleviate a lot of issues.
They operate cooler!
These shock absorbers even have stiff valving. Even though they are more on the expensive side, they are completely worth the price.
The best thing about these kinds of shock absorbers is that they can resist a lot more damage while being capable of higher dampening.
So you can get a really smooth ride out of your vehicle on tough off-road terrains if you install this kind of shock absorber.
There’s more!
Monotube shock absorbers can give your vehicle better handling and stability. And you need this because your 4-inch lifted vehicle will have a higher-than-usual center of gravity.
This is why they are the best kind of shock absorbers for a 4-inch lifted vehicle!
Other kinds of shock absorbers are not the best choice for your 4-inch lifted vehicle, in my opinion.
For instance,
Hydraulic shock absorbers do not have the best dampening ability that a lifted vehicle needs. And twin-tube low-pressure gas shock absorbers can cause foaming or aeration when dampening.
On the other hand, adjustable shock absorbers are not the best idea for a 4-inch lifted vehicle, as you would have to get under your vehicle to adjust it often.
Measuring Shocks: What size shocks do you need?
What If You Don’t Get Longer Shocks for a 4-Inch Lift?
If you install a 4-inch suspension lift kit to your vehicle, you should definitely buy longer shock absorbers.
New and longer shock absorbers will make your 4-inch lifted ride smoother and easier to handle on off-road terrains.
Shock absorbers are suspension components that can control your vehicle’s coil springs by controlling their movements throughout your vehicle’s suspension travel.
So these shock absorbers need to go up and down your suspension travel’s entire length, making your ride smoother.
However, when you install a 4-inch suspension lift kit to your vehicle, it will change your vehicle’s suspension travel and create more distance between your suspension components.
What happens, then?
If you don’t install longer shock absorbers at this point, you might have a lot of problems with your hands.
This is because your shorter stock shock absorbers will not be able to give your suspension the correct shock travel and cause your shocks to top out.
The damages the extended suspension travel of your vehicle will experience because of topping out is bad news for your vehicle.
What’s topping out?
Topping out will occur when your shock absorber piston starts hitting the shock’s cylinder head and causing issues.
If you do not get longer shock absorbers to resolve these issues, the topping-out process will keep happening continuously.
Because of the continuity of topping out, your shock absorber mounts will be damaged, and it will also damage your suspension’s internal rebound stop.
That isn’t all!
When this hitting of the piston continues, your shocks will start to fall apart, not just get damaged. Also, this will cause the lower and upper mounts of the shocks to be damaged.
Eventually, the piston in your shock absorbers will become useless, and the cylinder head might get damaged enough to start leaking oil.
Final Words
What size shocks for a 4 inch lift? Usually, if you have 10-inch stroke shock absorbers, you should get approximately 17 inches to 27 inches of compressed and extended-length ones.
And what if you do not install longer shock absorbers after installing a suspension lift kit that adds 4 inches of height to your vehicle?
So many issues!
Well, if you do not get the longer shock absorbers, you will face a lot of problems like shock mount damage, topping out, oil leaks, damage to your shocks piston, and more.
And I suggest you buy monotube shock absorbers, as they provide better handling, dampening, and stability for a 4-inch lifted vehicle.
Happy shopping!
