Elkas from 08 on 13 STS

[Jesse]

I put my front Elka shocks from my 08 gs on my new 13 STS. The result are great corners flat no wondering. A little stiffer then the oem shocks but worth the trade off. I did need to back off the spring platform to lower the ride height to the oem original ride height. I checked the travel by pushing the bump stop up against the shock and took a ride two up and the shock never bottomed. It works and I thought I read this was not doable. Here is a photo with the spring numbers.

 

[Chupaca]

Good to know..!!

Thanks for the info. Always good to hear first hand with tests included..!! :2thumbs:
Photos always a plus...

 

[BajaRon]

Was the eye to eye length the same?

 

[Bob Denman]

If you can get the ride height to remain the same... :thumbup:
thanks for the info!

 

[Jesse]

Was the eye to eye length the same?

No. Eye to eye is about 1/4 inch longer on the Elka but the stroke is also longer on the Elka. As I said in my post I need to adjust the platforms to get down to oem ride height. I am not sure why Elka choose to run such excessive pre-load. I guess because, these shocks were originally set up by Elka to ride two up on my 08. Although looking back I think I could have taken out some of the pre-load and achieved a better ride on the 08. The shocks on the 13 at ride height sit approx. in the middle of the stroke instead of at the top of the stroke on my 08. I think this is why it made it easy to lift a front wheel during aggressive cornering on my 08.
There is a bump rubber that is about 2" long and I am considering to cut it in half to get more stroke on the bump side on my 13 since I think they will bottom on the bump rubbers on an extreme bump. During my first test I did not encounter any extreme bumps, but I did encounter some medium size bumps and they did not bottom, but they were about a 1/2 inch from bottoming after this test ride. By cutting the bump rubber down I can ensure enough stroke on the bump side.

The 08 rear Elka will not work since the eye to eye length is to short on the Elka.

 

[BajaRon]

No. Eye to eye is about 1/4 inch longer on the Elka but the stroke is also longer on the Elka. As I said in my post I need to adjust the platforms to get down to oem ride height. I am not sure why Elka choose to run such excessive pre-load. I guess because, these shocks were originally set up by Elka to ride two up on my 08. Although looking back I think I could have taken out some of the pre-load and achieved a better ride on the 08. The shocks on the 13 at ride height sit approx. in the middle of the stroke instead of at the top of the stroke on my 08. I think this is why it made it easy to lift a front wheel during aggressive cornering on my 08.
There is a bump rubber that is about 2" long and I am considering to cut it in half to get more stroke on the bump side on my 13 since I think they will bottom on the bump rubbers on an extreme bump. During my first test I did not encounter any extreme bumps, but I did encounter some medium size bumps and they did not bottom, but they were about a 1/2 inch from bottoming after this test ride. By cutting the bump rubber down I can ensure enough stroke on the bump side.

The 08 rear Elka will not work since the eye to eye length is to short on the Elka.

Usually the Elka's are set up with a lot of pre-load to compensate for the weak sway bar. You might want to leave the bump stop as is unless you experience issues. 1/2" of travel at the shock is going to be much more distance at the wheel so you may still have enough total travel without modifying the bump stop.

 

[Jesse]

I think your right Ron, took a long ride today and the handling ride is really good over oem and no bottoming issues with the bump rubbers.

Just on quick note be careful when installing and make sure the rebound adjuster is not turned all the way out as it will hit the lower mounting ear of the shock. If you prefer to run the rebound out that far you will need to grind the ear. See pic I did not grind and it is the lower front ear only the rear ear is a bit shorter.

 

[flamingobabe]

I had Elkas installed on the ST before I left PitBull when I purchased....so no comparision....