You just dropped serious money on a coilover kit. New shocks, adjustable perches, maybe a remote reservoir setup. Your suspension droop is dramatically better than stock. You can finally articulate on the rocks without a tire lifting.
Then someone at the trailhead asks: "Are you running limit straps?" You're not. And suddenly that investment feels exposed.
Here's the truth: if you're running coilovers with more than 1.5 inches of lift, you need limit straps. Full stop. Here's why.
What Limit Straps Actually Do
Limit straps are exactly what they sound like: they mechanically limit how far your suspension can droop. One end attaches to the axle, the other to the frame. When the suspension reaches full extension, the strap goes taut and prevents further travel.
This sounds simple, but the implications are significant. Without a droop limit, the only thing stopping your suspension from traveling to its maximum extent is your CV axle, brake line, or lower control arm — whichever fails first. None of those are designed to be your suspension stop.
Why Coilovers Make This More Important, Not Less
Stock suspension has built-in droop limits through bump stops and geometry. Coilovers, especially long-travel setups, dramatically increase available droop travel. That's a feature — more droop means better articulation and tire contact.
But more droop travel means more opportunity for your CV axles to reach critical angles. Most OEM CVs are designed for angles up to about 25-30 degrees. On a long-travel coilover setup at full droop, you can easily hit 40+ degrees. That's when CVs snap. And they don't snap gently — they let go hard, taking out adjacent components.
A set of Bull Strap limit straps set to keep your CVs at safe angles costs a fraction of a single CV replacement. The math isn't complicated.
How to Size Limit Straps for a Coilover Build
You need to know two measurements: your suspension droop distance, and your maximum safe CV angle.
- With the vehicle on a lift, drop the suspension to full droop and measure CV angle. If you don't have an angle gauge, the visual test: if the CV looks dramatically V-shaped, you're past safe limits.
- Measure the distance from the axle mounting point to the frame mounting point at the angle where your CV is at its limit.
- That measurement is your strap length. Bull Strap offers adjustable Clevis-end limit straps so you can dial in exact droop limits without permanent modification.
The general rule of thumb: most builds with 3-5 inch lift want to limit droop to where CV angle stays under 25 degrees. Your specific geometry will vary — measure first, strap second.
What Happens Without Limit Straps
Best case: you get away with it for a while and snap a CV on the trail. Worst case: the CV failure happens at speed, takes out the brake line, and you're doing 40 mph with no brakes. Neither scenario is acceptable.
The suspension components you've upgraded are worth protecting. Limit straps are the cheapest, most effective insurance in off-road building. Install them before your first run on the new coilovers.
Bull Strap Limit Straps
Bull Strap limit straps are made from 2-inch mil-spec webbing with heat-treated 4130 Chromoly Clevis ends. They're built to handle the load of a full-size truck at full droop — repeatedly, in the dirt, in extreme temperatures. The adjustable Clevis design lets you set exact droop limits without cutting or splicing.
Available in multiple lengths to fit any build from mild daily-driven 2-inch lift to hardcore long-travel prerunner setups.