I'm looking to upgrade coilovers this summer. Sounds like each of the three main choices (JRI, DDM, Bilstein) are all significant upgrades over stock; then it just depends on whether you need adjustability (I don't), how aggressive lycan you set them, and of course looks/price. Leaning DDM from all I've read but suggestions welcome! Red of course.

Quote from SoCal

Plus, when I took off my old stock shocks, the fronts were nearly 1/2" different in lengths! They both were failing, and only had maybe 15k on them at most.

I believe mine are close to this as well at 17,000 miles. Wife and I took a corner this weekend and not all that hard and I heard somethings scrape. Have a rather long trip coming up and I believe this will be first on my list when we get back. Wish I had done this prior .....

Thank you everyone for the great input as usual 🙂

Got my QA1's from speedway... Bout 700 bucks for the one way/two way which works just fine for me. Make sure you choose the right springs for the job.

For the record (in my own mind at least) Apha and JRI changed the terminology when talking about coilovers. Single adjustable has one knob for adjusting compression and rebound damping together. Double (or two way) adjustable has two knobs to adjust compression and rebound separately. The so-called height adjustment was probably as a sales scheme. Alpha sold the JRI's set up so the ride height was an inch lower than stock. That setup was for shock travel. It allowed the best travel in either direction before topping or bottoming out. Granted height can be adjusted, but it affects ride quality and it doesn't seem right to be marketed as one of the adjustments.

Now with all that off my chest, I have the single adjustable QA-1s and change the settings depending on if I have a passenger or not. 3 clicks on the back by myself and 5 clicks with a passenger.

Quote from BryanL

For the record (in my own mind at least) Apha and JRI changed the terminology when talking about coilovers. Single adjustable has one knob for adjusting compression and rebound damping together. Double (or two way) adjustable has two knobs to adjust compression and rebound separately. The so-called height adjustment was probably as a sales scheme. Alpha sold the JRI's set up so the ride height was an inch lower than stock. That setup was for shock travel. It allowed the best travel in either direction before topping or bottoming out. Granted height can be adjusted, but it affects ride quality and it doesn't seem right to be marketed as one of the adjustments.

Now with all that off my chest, I have the single adjustable QA-1s and change the settings depending on if I have a passenger or not. 3 clicks on the back by myself and 5 clicks with a passenger.

I don't have any experience with the JRI's that were sold through Alpha, but I was assured by slingmods when I purchased mine that they came pre set at the same ride height as stock and when I measured my slingshot before and after installing them if there was any change I couldn't see it in the measurements

I also agree that ride height shouldn' really be considered the same as other adjustments if for no other reason than it changes the alignment and should be re aligned if adjusted

Quote from BryanL

For the record (in my own mind at least) Apha and JRI changed the terminology when talking about coilovers. Single adjustable has one knob for adjusting compression and rebound damping together. Double (or two way) adjustable has two knobs to adjust compression and rebound separately. The so-called height adjustment was probably as a sales scheme. Alpha sold the JRI's set up so the ride height was an inch lower than stock. That setup was for shock travel. It allowed the best travel in either direction before topping or bottoming out. Granted height can be adjusted, but it affects ride quality and it doesn't seem right to be marketed as one of the adjustments.

Now with all that off my chest, I have the single adjustable QA-1s and change the settings depending on if I have a passenger or not. 3 clicks on the back by myself and 5 clicks with a passenger.

Lets not badmouth people for no reason.

They didn't change anything, pretty much every manufacturer uses that terminology.
Single adjustable means that you can adjust the right height(whether you should mess with it or not is irrelevant).

Double means you can do height and either Rebound or compression

Triple mean you can do All three.

Quote from Neosolidus

Lets not badmouth people for no reason.

They didn't change anything, pretty much every manufacturer uses that terminology.
Single adjustable means that you can adjust the right height(whether you should mess with it or not is irrelevant).

Double means you can do height and either Rebound or compression

Triple mean you can do All three.

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Not badmouthing anyone, but this is a pet peeve.

For reference this is from QA-1s website

Double Adjustable

• Truly independent compression and rebound adjustment
• 18 positions of rebound on one knob and 18 positions of compression on the other knob, providing 324 valving combinations
• One shock allows for the ultimate in fine-tuning for any application

Single Adjustable

• Simultaneous compression and rebound adjustment on one knob
• 18 valving positions
• Perfect for performance street driving or autocrossing or for the rear in drag racing

Bilstein One-Way Adjustable Shocks for the Polaris Slingshot

These shocks allow you to adjust the height of the vehicle

Source Sling mods https://www.slingmods.com/bils…justable-shocks?vehicle=3

Quote from BryanL

For the record (in my own mind at least) Apha and JRI changed the terminology when talking about coilovers. Single adjustable has one knob for adjusting compression and rebound damping together. Double (or two way) adjustable has two knobs to adjust compression and rebound separately. The so-called height adjustment was probably as a sales scheme. Alpha sold the JRI's set up so the ride height was an inch lower than stock. That setup was for shock travel. It allowed the best travel in either direction before topping or bottoming out. Granted height can be adjusted, but it affects ride quality and it doesn't seem right to be marketed as one of the adjustments.

Now with all that off my chest, I have the single adjustable QA-1s and change the settings depending on if I have a passenger or not. 3 clicks on the back by myself and 5 clicks with a passenger.

I'm running the same setup and usually run one Click softer than you are (2-4) On rear

A little stiffer up front with stock sway bar . Still experimenting with DDM bar

Quote from SoCal

A lot of great insight as usual here. Can we talk about Springs? Are some or all of these products available with different spring tensions/ compression? Can you order one spring over another? And if so opinions on what may be ideal given the weight of the vehicle. I see some coil overs with the spring from top to bottom and others only 2/3 of the length. Thoughts?

I built my own with Jegs years ago, QA1's, saved a boat load, can't remember what they were. Want to say 250 up front and 350 rear, but not sure

Quote from SoCal

A lot of great insight as usual here. Can we talk about Springs? Are some or all of these products available with different spring tensions/ compression? Can you order one spring over another? And if so opinions on what may be ideal given the weight of the vehicle. I see some coil overs with the spring from top to bottom and others only 2/3 of the length. Thoughts?

very good question. I have always wondered how they choose the springs that go on a coil over that has adjustable valving. with pre set shock they know when they make it how the valving is going to be and can select the spring they think is best for that valving and for how the coil over was designed to used. With a coil over where the end user is adjusting the valving I guess they have to give a spring that is less specialized so that it can work well with all of the different valving settings the coil over allows. If this is the case it would be nice if spring options were made available so if the end user wants they can pick a spring more specifically geared for how they want to drive. - - - - - I know the QA1's can be had with different springs and I am sure Dave can tell you if DDM's also have this option

Quote from SoCal

A lot of great insight as usual here. Can we talk about Springs? Are some or all of these products available with different spring tensions/ compression? Can you order one spring over another? And if so opinions on what may be ideal given the weight of the vehicle. I see some coil overs with the spring from top to bottom and others only 2/3 of the length. Thoughts?

DDM might work with you if you want to order a different spring rate, but they were running 225lb front and 300lb rear which should be pretty comfortable. Don't know about the others. Qa-1 and DDM springs are the same size so it would be easy to order different spring rates from online speed venders if you didn't like the original set up.

i run 250 on the front and a 375 on the rear of my qa1's

Quote from SoCal

Shatneyman please excuse the lack of knowledge here but are you saying you bought the shock and the springs separate? ( "Jegs" - I have no clue what that is) And if so what size spring did you pair?

I think I am getting in waaaaay to deep here and will most likely go with the DDM and have more than enough to play with. The hook has been set - I need to do more homework. Not looking to become Ricky Racer but when I do buy I want to at least be aware of the full range of what they can do.

Sorry about that, thought you already knew, Jegs is a parts company on-line. I bought mine QA 1 DD 501 for the front DD 601 for the rear. Springs are sold separately any weight you wish. Plus you can pick different colors. The fronts are 12" and the rear is 14". I did my sling before any vendor had them available and it cost me around $700,.. I think! But that included the tools as well. You can search for any type shock, as long as they are coil-over and the length is correct. That's why I went with 501's and a 601 they don't need to be the DD model. Just research a little and have fun with it. If I were to do it over again, I would do the same thing. I'm no mechanic and learned a lot about coil-over shocks.

SoCal , I think I miss led you. Now that I think about it, mine are not DD,.. those are double adjust and mine are single adjust. Can't remember and not home to look. They may be DS 502's and DS 602. Springs were QA 1 12TH220, for 220lbs up front, and QA 1 12TH325, for 325lbs rear. Shock and spring were about $200 per wheel. Works for me but some may want heavier weight springs Sorry for and mix up. Hope it helps and not too confusing.

I opted for the QA1s when they had the “group buy” discount, saved me some money.

You have to understand that on ever type of new vehicle they (manufacturers) use the cheapest parts they can get away with to get it out of the show room and maximize profits.

They don’t make them (vehicles) to last, they make them to sell. And to make it past the end of the warranty.

Okay, I have a noob question. Knowing my darling - "Don't replace it if it isn't worn out yet!" - how long do the OEM shocks last?

In other words, how many miles / months should I have before I would consider replacing them anyway? I know most passenger cars will go 30-50 K before needing shocks/struts, but then I drive Ruby quite a bit more aggressively than I do my SUV.

Any info will help!

Thanks!

2W2X1 has an option for building your shocks for less money. I'm thinking it is Viking but am not 100% Sure. What say you Joey?