Bobby G

Hi all,

Looking for some insights/experience/knowledge with my set-up and particularly my lift. I have a basic 2.5" rough country lift....I'm not looking to go much higher or any higher with the lift. Would getting new (better shocks and or springs) give me a "better" ride for daily use. The jeep is not a daily driver....my wife and I drive it on the weekends to the beach and back and during the week maybe take it to the store. With that in mind I dont want to swap this out for a $2000 + lift. I am hoping I could "enhance" what I have.....

If there is anything I am missing as far as my info just let me know....I really appreciate any feedback.

Bobby

TheDirtman

Define "better". What do you feel is bad with the ride in your current set up?

Bobby G

If I was to define bad I would say it rides rough...i know very vague but thats the only way I can explain it.....what I am looking to do is improve my overall ride quality (esp for my wife). Also, its a jeep and I know its not going to ride like our Audi - just looking to improve what we have (if possible).

I have no problem doing things right but I am also not going to overspend....when I got 37s I regeared to yukon 5.13, gussets, synergy sleeve, synergy bearings, master rebuild front and back, pro cal....what i did not "improve" was my lift (suspension) but part of that is I dont want to overspend based on our use of the jeep at this point in our life and this is getting us by just fine....just looking to improve the overall ride of the jeep for my wife.


As a side note I also want to get a steering stabalizer...what I am fighting with is what i have heard (others opinions) as I can not speak on experience....is that based on dailly driving and use of the jeep something like a rough country entry level steering stabalizer is not going to be much different than the stock one i have now (which is fine - a little loose if you hit a serious pot hole) but it works fine.....any opinion on that is appreciated too....i dont mind spending money but I am not an over spender and I am not going to go out at this point and get a 2500 lift just because its the best lift....hope that all that makes sense...sorry i rambled on.

TheDirtman

Shocks and coils can improve your ride as well as raising the rear track bar bracket on the axle side to raise the roll center. The stock steering stabilizer is fine and I would not waste the money or time to repalce it. Tire pressure can also be an issue that causes a rough ride especially if you are running a E rated tire that tend to be really stiff and really too heavy duty for a relitivly light jeep.

bvanfossen

Can you elaborate pls?

TheDirtman

Your axles are kept centered under your Jeep by the use of track bars and have two pivot points, one on the axle and one at the frame. By raising the mount on the axle side it will raise the pivot point and reduce the amount of side to side motion that you get from raising the jeep.

There is a link in my signature that goes over the suspension and how comonents relate to each other. You might want to take a few minutes and give it a read to help with your understanding of suspensions.

Bobby G

Thank you very much - this is very helpful.....if I was to pick your brain a little more....are there specific shocks and coils you would recommend based on your knowledge/experience....also if I was to get a steering stabilizer that would really improve tighten the steering (even just for generally daily use) is there one you would recommend?

Thanks in advance, i certainly appreciate the knowledge download.

stangmike1

Hey bobby check the tire pressure it was one of the things that made my ride hard, the were set at 50psi at the tire place as they are rated for 65psi. I keep them at 35psi. And it improved the ride quality this was with my stock suspension.
That said I still felt I wanted a better ride and went to a local speed shop they deal mainly with very high end cars and jeeps when people don't mind spending crazy money on them lol....hmmmm not sure if that's me yet but sure getting there. So they are doing rock krawler suspensions and king adjustable 2.5 shocks after asking a few friends that have it decided to spend the money on lift and shocks and could not have made a better riding jeep in my opinion for a daly driver you can make this thing ride like my X5 and i can go even softer. that's a huge improvement in ride quality. If you ever come to southern CT. I'd love to let u take my jeep for a ride. I also noticed u do some sand driving and that's most of the off-road I do also. So as far off-road goes well.... King shocks no need to elaborate and rock krawler is what I see the most of with terraflex in the forum.
And yeah the Dirtman knows his Sh!t. I learned alot from reading his posts.

TheDirtman

I do not give reccomendations on brands to buy. I also don't recommend replacing the factory steering stabilizer with after market units.

Freewill

With 37" tires you added a LOT of unsprung weight to the system. Chances are your springs and shocks weren't set up for that much weight at the ends of the axles.

If the shocks are not up to the task of controlling the rebound of those heavy tires, the shocks get hotter sooner. When the shocks get hot, they don't do their job and the Jeep jounces all over the road along with the passengers.

You may be a candidate for some top-quality adjustable rate shocks. External reservoir shocks are better at maintaining their temperature.