Walker Evans shocks

[Jay B]

I've been looking around for a while for a set of shocks with dual rate springs. Walker Evans has this set, fairly reasonably priced. Just wondering if anyone here has had any experience with them. I drove an Xpedition for a while out in the Black Hills last weekend, didn't care for the noise but the ride was great compared to my XD.

 

[JTBarlow]

We haven’t tried those, but we just put a set of SDI’s Terrain Master shocks on my brother’s 2 door 1500.
He had it out in the mountains over the weekend and his report on the ride quality was that it was impressive. Even in typical G-out situations, they took it all in.
They’re single rate springs, but he said with how they ride, he doesn’t feel any need for dual rate.

 

[JTBarlow]

The Walker Evan’s are half the price of the SDI though. And realistically, any aftermarket shocks are going to be a major improvement over factory.

 

[Jay B]

Thank you for your response JT. I only get out to the mountains 2 or 3 times a year. Around home here it's a lot of crappy washboard dirt and gravel roads. I guess my thoughts on the dual rate springs is to have a real compliant first couple inches for the little stutter bumps and get stiffer from there for the bigger stuff. I've been thinking about buying an Xpedition as a second machine.

 

[JTBarlow]

Thank you for your response JT. I only get out to the mountains 2 or 3 times a year. Around home here it's a lot of crappy washboard dirt and gravel roads. I guess my thoughts on the dual rate springs is to have a real compliant first couple inches for the little stutter bumps and get stiffer from there for the bigger stuff. I've been thinking about buying an Xpedition as a second machine.

The Xpedition is the best ride quality in an A-arm suspension SxS there is. If you’re ok with the noise.
The Ranger XD 1500 is one of the quietest SxS on the market

Both can have those points improved by a lot with a bit of work. The XD 1500 can even beat the Xpedition in performance with an ECU/TCM tune, if you don’t mind voiding the warranty.
The main issue is that the XD needs aftermarket suspension help, like shocks, to not ride like a farm truck. Whereas the Xpedition is great with just the factory setup.

 

[jamcroberts]

Thank you for your response JT. I only get out to the mountains 2 or 3 times a year. Around home here it's a lot of crappy washboard dirt and gravel roads. I guess my thoughts on the dual rate springs is to have a real compliant first couple inches for the little stutter bumps and get stiffer from there for the bigger stuff. I've been thinking about buying an Xpedition as a second machine.

Buy the shocks and let me know how they ride! Elka also has a set that picture a dual rate setup. Stage 4. $1700 for front, $1700 for rear.

My neighbor has the Shock Therapy Fox Qs3's ($2699) on his XD and it is a noticeable ride quality improvement of factory.

 

[Jay B]

The Xpedition is the best ride quality in an A-arm suspension SxS there is. If you’re ok with the noise.
The Ranger XD 1500 is one of the quietest SxS on the market

Both can have those points improved by a lot with a bit of work. The XD 1500 can even beat the Xpedition in performance with an ECU/TCM tune, if you don’t mind voiding the warranty.
The main issue is that the XD needs aftermarket suspension help, like shocks, to not ride like a farm truck. Whereas the Xpedition is great with just the factory setup.

Yes they noise is definitely the issue with an Xpedition. I actually had an XP5 ordered and switched my deposit to my XD because of it. But damn, the more I drive them the more I like them. I guess I'm looking for the best of both worlds.

 

[JTBarlow]

Yes they noise is definitely the issue with an Xpedition. I actually had an XP5 ordered and switched my deposit to my XD because of it. But damn, the more I drive them the more I like them. I guess I'm looking for the best of both worlds.

I’ve done sound dampening and insulation on 17 Xpeditions so far (and working on the 18th). It’s a very involved process. Takes me about 30+ hours. But we’re able to get the noise levels down to 85-87db, while still doing ECU and clutch tuning for higher rpms and better performance.
The noise never bothered me, it was the heat coming in from the radiator and engine areas that got us started doing this. The side effects were that it quieted it down. Even on the open cab Xpedition XP Ultimate.
We’ve got them quiet enough that the Northstars don’t need headsets for their Rugged Radios. Just an Aux speaker mounted in front of the mirror.

 

[JTBarlow]

We’ve also done the insulation on my Brother’s 2 XDs. One 2 door, one 4 door. They’re already nicely quiet, but they’ve got a lot of air and dust incursions into the cab that we plugged off. And also insulated the coolant lines running under the tunnel and floorboards.

 

[Jay B]

We’ve also done the insulation on my Brother’s 2 XDs. One 2 door, one 4 door. They’re already nicely quiet, but they’ve got a lot of air and dust incursions into the cab that we plugged off. And also insulated the coolant lines running under the tunnel and floorboards.

I haven't done the tunnel yet, but I have removed both front fenders and stuffed foam into every opening I could find. I've done what I could under the hood also. I don't adjust my steering wheel much, so I found some decent looking black foam and sealed around that opening as neatly as I could. I would guess I eliminated maybe 80% of the air coming in (just a guess). This last trip was extremely dusty., especially with 7 machines running. After 250 miles the cab certainly needed a cleaning but it wasn't horrible either.

 

[JTBarlow]

Most of the front firewall is closed off pretty good. The biggest problem areas I found were the a pillars going into the dash, the panels on the lower front firewall, covering the lines and hoses going to under the floor, and the main tunnel with the driveshaft.

We made a plug for the main tunnel, out of 2 pieces of 1” foam, cut a hole just big enough not to rub the driveshaft, and notched it to fit snugly around the coolant lines. Then glued the 2 pieces together so they stiffen eachother up.
Done properly, it’s secure in place, and cut out what was left of air coming in from the front.

 

[mikemdd]

Kind of a general question but are the shock replacements "plug and play" or is there a fair amount of modifications that need to be made? I am somewhat handy but not a mechanic for sure. Wondering if it something that should be left to a shop to do. I have a 2025 XD 1500 Crew.

 

[JTBarlow]

Kind of a general question but are the shock replacements "plug and play" or is there a fair amount of modifications that need to be made? I am somewhat handy but not a mechanic for sure. Wondering if it something that should be left to a shop to do. I have a 2025 XD 1500 Crew.

Pretty much plug and play. With the exception of SDI E-Cliks.
The upper bolts in the front shocks are in a very tight place, but aside from that, they’re quite easy to swap out.

 

[Jay B]

I went ahead and ordered a set of these this morning. Hopefully they will get here soon. I'm a farmer and harvest is just around the corner, so I might not have time to mess with them for a while. I'll give some impressions when I get them on if anybody is interested.

 

[mikemdd]

I would definitely be interested in your install and impression of how they work. Thanks!

 

[Skippy]

I would like to hear also ….dual rate should the improve the low speed ride .

 

[Sonnyhad3]

The Walker Evan’s are half the price of the SDI though. And realistically, any aftermarket shocks are going to be a major improvement over factory.

The Walker Evan’s are half the price of the SDI though. And realistically, any aftermarket shocks are going to be a major improvement over factory.

I have the Zbros exit shock on the way. Let you know how they do soon.

 

[Jay B]

Looking forward to your review. It will be interesting to see what we both think.

 

[Boomer]

Long time lurker, 1st time poster. I just received the walker Evans piggybacks. Trying to install but they don’t list what shocks go where. I’m getting conflicting info on what shocks go to front/ back. Any help?

 

[Jay B]

As my machine sits in the garage right now with stock shocks the front shocks measure about 2 1/4 or so inches longer than the rears. Their website should show it also, as they are sold by front and rear pairs. Mine don’t arrive till Tuesday and I know I won't have time to install them for a while. Let us know what you think when you get them on and try it out.