The trick to adding a shock in place of the torque rod is simple you find the longest shock that will fit so there is very little compression. The reason for using a shock is to allow for extension when the axle cycles down and out, thus allowing for unrestricted travel by the torque rod.
Trust me on this if you don't run a torque rod or a shock and you get into an emergency stop situation you could not only hit something to the left or right but you'll be lucky to not end up on your lid. Sure allowing the steering wheel to slip through your hands as you break works under normal braking but when you are facing hitting some idiot that just pulled out in front of you what is your 1st reaction? White knuckles on the wheel which means you may loose control and if your lucky you may just hit a parked car and at worst you end up in on coming traffic and hit and maybe kill someone.
