TJ ride quality

[SeaRubi]

stock '06 rubi unlimited, and the ride quality off-road is pretty bad. Even with the longer wheelbase of the unlimited, I could swear there are leafs holding the axles on :)

On a short-arm (stock) type setup, is an OME kit enough to smooth things out or do I need to up my medical plan to afford the oncoming kidney transplant?
The ride quality is horrendous - rockier sections of trail or road come close to giving me a concussion.

Just curious what some other folks have done to make the longer hauls more friendly to children's teeth and my internal organs.

cheers
-isaac

[Wanderlusty]

I can't give you any sure fired remedies, as I have just kind of dealt with it. I am actually pretty pleased with the ride on-road and off, when considering the specs of a Jeep.

Before getting the whole OME setup, unless you plan on lifting anyway, try just getting some of their shocks. It is on my wish list, and have always heard GREAT things. In fact, I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about anything OME.

I think, though, that even with the best the aftermarket has to offer, it will never ride like a Cadillac.

[articulate]

I found that anti-sway bar disconnects improved the off-road ride on my TJ. It's a night and day difference. How about your tire pressure? Get those things down to 15 psi or so.

An Old Man Emu kit will help - it's definately better on road - but I think disconnecting the anti-sway bar does more for improving the ride on rough roads.

Hope it helps. :safari-rig:

Mark

[Wanderlusty]

Discos are on my wish list, and I thought they may help, but since I have never disconnected them, I did not want to venture an opinion, but in principle, I thought that might be the right way to go. I think they just moved a little further up the 'want' list.

;)

[Steve Curren]

I must agree with Mark, disconnects and tire pressure makes a world of difference. I found that when you drop to 12-15 pounds it makes a big difference on the bumpy roads.

[SeaRubi]

thanks guys. i've been keeping the tires at about 18 ~ 20psi. i haven't tried disconnecting the sway bar yet (been too lazy) ... assuming it wouldn't have much effect. i'll give it a go.

I've strongly suspected the factory nitrogen charged shocks are much of the culprit. There's so little travel to them that the valving must be extremely stiff to not bottom out all the time.

I'm trying really hard to resist the temptation to over-modify this rig. Pretty easy right now since I'm broke, but that's besides the piont :clapsmile My last was riding around on bilstein 7100's ... VERY nice ride, but a major PITA and expense to fit them, and keep the heim joints happy with any kind of road use.

i see an OME kit and some 255's at some point in my future, but I worry that it won't do much to improve the ride.

[goodtimes]

Tire pressure is really the only way to improve the ride without spending a bunch of money. I have no problem running 10psi down severly washboarded roads.

For those considering disconnects, but having trouble parting with the cash...
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/features/index.php/Home_Made_TJ_Disconnects

[Wanderlusty]

Tire pressure is really the only way to improve the ride without spending a bunch of money. I have no problem running 10psi down severly washboarded roads.

For those considering disconnects, but having trouble parting with the cash...
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/features/index.php/Home_Made_TJ_Disconnects

I like saving money. $5 mod...nice. What advantage do aftermarket ones hold over this mod? Any?

[cshontz]

I beg to differ somewhat - I agree that OME offers superb ride quality compared to other aftermarket suspensions. It may also improve handling. But as far as comfort is concerned, I don't think it is better than stock. In fact, I think it is uncommon for any suspension that increases ride height to offer better-than-stock ride quality due to changes (albeit slight) to suspension geometry and increased spring rates. Make no mistake, OME makes the best of this.

With the possible exception of the $4,000 Nth Degree system which changes the suspension geometry so thoroughly for superior comfort and performance at a significantly increased ride height.

Actually, I think your 245/75R16 load range E tires are the culprit. Those things are bricks. They're still nice tires though, and great off-pavement. I'd hold onto them. Good luck! :)

[cshontz]

You know, I just noticed that the original post was regarding off-road comfort, and my previous post was kinda skewed toward on-road. That'll teach me to skim! :smilies27

In that case, air down to 12-15, and disconnect your front swaybar. That's all there is to it. You'll be riding on a cloud. It'll feel like a Lincoln on those rocks. Good luck! :D

[endo]

I know I am just a newb here but this is a topic in which i do have some background. My jeep is long armed with re monotubes and the ride is plush.
Air pressure is a quick fix for off road as are (anti)sway bar discos but once you get above 2 or three inches in actuall lift height the angle of the controls arms make the ride VERY harsh. at that point a long arm greatly reduces said angles and improves ride quaility all the way around by shere happenstance I had all four wheels in the air a couple of weeks ago by mistake and if I had not been told so by onlookers I would never have known, that being said had I been on short arms i can bet i would have felt it in my back for days.

[goodtimes]

You would probably be surprized how smooth short arms land. I was shocked. I had absolutely no idea about how much air was under my jeep until I saw the video.

But you are correct about the ride quality. The higher you go, the more energy is transferred to the frame rather than absorbed by the spring and shock. Even with 3.5" of lift, I am looking at going to long arms to smooth things out and get the front axle back under control (it is pretty easy to pick a tire up in a turn). The problem with long arms is that they are quite easy to bend when you play on jeep sized rocks.

[RunninRubicon]

stock '06 rubi unlimited, and the ride quality off-road is pretty bad. Even with the longer wheelbase of the unlimited, I could swear there are leafs holding the axles on :)

On a short-arm (stock) type setup, is an OME kit enough to smooth things out or do I need to up my medical plan to afford the oncoming kidney transplant?
The ride quality is horrendous - rockier sections of trail or road come close to giving me a concussion.

Just curious what some other folks have done to make the longer hauls more friendly to children's teeth and my internal organs.

cheers
-isaac
Gee isaac, I have to ask. Do you air-down when you go rock-crawling? Do you run stock tires and shocks? These things have allot to do with your inquiry. Here's a few options that many of us have added to assit with the rough ride you speak to. .....I'm just curious and so I must ask...Did you TEST DRIVE your Jeep before you bought it? You sound as if you did'nt know what you were purchasing when you bought a Jeep. It's JEEP not a SUV or a car. It has a short-wheelbase and some very unique charartistics.
None the less, many of us run different shocks because we have installed different suspensions-I like Bilstein 5100's. They provide a much more supple ride and better control over obsticles. Secondly, If I feel the trail is overly harsh, I air-down the tires. This really can save on the kidneys and your back teeth! Several companies sell deflators, I run Stauns. They work well enough. Lastly, if your going to air down for the trail you need to air-up for the highway. I have tired several methods-on board air compressors and etc. But for simplicity I suggest a CO2 tank. I can usually air-up all four of my tires about four times with but one refill. Refills run $5.35 locally.
Just some things to consider.:REOutShootinghunter

[endo]

(it is pretty easy to pick a tire up in a turn). The problem with long arms is that they are quite easy to bend when you play on jeep sized rocks.

I have found that picking up the tire is more a function of the antisway bar and not the control arms as with my discos set up short and tight I can still carry the front tire in the air through a turn with ease.
And although it may seem like they would be easier to bend I would need to see it to believe it as thus far that has not been my experience.

Cheers.

[goodtimes]

The bending problem with the long arms comes from 2 main points. First is the simple fact that they hang much lower than short arms. Look at the profile of two jeeps with the same amount of lift, one with long arms and one with short arms...the long arms are much more likely to be in contact with the rocks, which is step #1 when bending them.

The other is pure physics. The longer the distance between the attachment point and the instant moment (load) put on the link, the more leverage the link has to support. More leverage = easier to bend. I have watched a number of long arms bend, both good lines on hard trails (hammers), and bad lines on easy trails (rubicon, etc).

Alot of people I talk to are really happy with the J-arms from Currie...sort of a compromise between long and short....not sure if I like the loss of ground clearance though.

[computeruser]

Tire pressure and swaybar disconnects are two cheap ways to help. Assuming you're running an appropriate tire for the vehicle (i.e. not OEM GSAs or the 215/75r15 donuts), air pressure helps a lot. Play around with it and find what works best in your terrain.

Second, disconnecting the swaybar allows the suspension to do its job without transferring everything you're rolling over to the frame. The factory swaybar is very, very effective on road and is so stiff as to be absolutely silly off-road. Skip the BS and the $5.00 modifications and throw a set of the JKS Quicker Disconnects on. You're going to destroy the overpriced OEM swaybar endlinks ($90/each per my dealer!!!) in short order anyway, so you might as well swap over to the rebuildable, greaseable, and more durable JKS ones.

Lastly, you need to have reasonable expectations. A TJ/LJ is not going to have a plush ride. Period. Its ride quality is only marginally better than a lifted YJ or CJ, and is some distance behind almost everything else made anymore.

FatMan: The problem with the $5.00 modification is that by design the upper end of the swaybar endlinks wears out quickly and starts making a popping noise. Eventually it fails, breaks in two, and then you have to either replace 'em with aftermarket, or pay a damned fortune (more than the cost of aftermarket for a pair of OEM, incidentally) for the failure-prone OEM ones just to start the process all over again. If the Jeep never leaves pavement, the stock endlinks will hold up OK - maybe 60-80k miles. But with the slightest off-pavement use the newer design on the TJ/LJ will soon be on its way to failing, so you might as well just bite the bullet and spend a half hour to swap in the superior aftermarket goodies and be done with it.

[Wanderlusty]

FatMan: The problem with the $5.00 modification is that by design the upper end of the swaybar endlinks wears out quickly and starts making a popping noise. Eventually it fails, breaks in two, and then you have to either replace 'em with aftermarket, or pay a damned fortune (more than the cost of aftermarket for a pair of OEM, incidentally) for the failure-prone OEM ones just to start the process all over again. If the Jeep never leaves pavement, the stock endlinks will hold up OK - maybe 60-80k miles. But with the slightest off-pavement use the newer design on the TJ/LJ will soon be on its way to failing, so you might as well just bite the bullet and spend a half hour to swap in the superior aftermarket goodies and be done with it.

The JKS ones were the ones I had considered anyway. I am all for a cheap mod, but not if it actually means wearing something out that will cost me more than having done the pricier way to begin with.

I am really excited to see how my Jeep handles disco'd because I have been more than pleased with it's ability as is. Well, I know what to ask for for my birthday!

[computeruser]

The JKS ones were the ones I had considered anyway. I am all for a cheap mod, but not if it actually means wearing something out that will cost me more than having done the pricier way to begin with.

I am really excited to see how my Jeep handles disco'd because I have been more than pleased with it's ability as is. Well, I know what to ask for for my birthday!

Good idea for a b'day present. In the meantime, you might as well try the $5.00 modification. No harm in doing it, really, and I don't think it will hasten the decline of the OEM endlinks. They'll wear out all on their own just fine!

[Wanderlusty]

Good idea for a b'day present. In the meantime, you might as well try the $5.00 modification. No harm in doing it, really, and I don't think it will hasten the decline of the OEM endlinks. They'll wear out all on their own just fine!

Good idea. My schedule keeps me from making it off road more than once every month or so...I doubt I will wear them out that quicky at that pace...

Definitely want to get the JKS ones on before my trip out west this september, though. That, and some other mods....

[SeaRubi]

I know I am just a newb here but this is a topic in which i do have some background. My jeep is long armed with re monotubes and the ride is plush.


which LA kit do you have?

I've been thinking that a long-arm front, and then going with an Nth stinger setup for the rear. this lets you reposition the arms for a little better clearance. The long arm kits for the LJ's are just obscene on the rear lengths. The RE kit in particular looks like it's worthless for anything less than 35" tires in terms of clearance.

[SeaRubi]

Gee isaac, I have to ask. Do you air-down when you go rock-crawling? Do you run stock tires and shocks? These things have allot to do with your inquiry. Here's a few options that many of us have added to assit with the rough ride you speak to. .....I'm just curious and so I must ask...Did you TEST DRIVE your Jeep before you bought it? You sound as if you did'nt know what you were purchasing when you bought a Jeep. It's JEEP not a SUV or a car. It has a short-wheelbase and some very unique charartistics.

lol , yeah - i test drove it :bike_rider:

understand, my last trail / adventure rig was a fairly modified range rover with 3" lift, and bilstein 7100's... pure cadillac compared to the rubi! I ran E rated tires on it as well, 255/85's, often at 45PSI to try and gain even 1mpg increase on the road. Typically I would see about 9~10 miles a gallon (uggh)

the rubi's stock tires might as well be run flats :) i do air them down but found that under 18 psi it doesn't really seem to help that much. there's only so much tread down there to work with.

i'm well aware of what the rubi is - and isn't. was just looking for the basic tips.

A friend of mine has the 5100's on a SWB rubi and a teraflex 3.5" lift. It's a decent setup fer sure. I was just looking for something less involved to get by until i save my pennies for good revamp on the suspension.

I have to say he was feeling kind of duped after following me through a couple trails ... I haven't bothered disconnecting the swaybar mainly to see if the discos were really needed. i'd hit the "panic" button less if they were disco'd, but to date I'm impressed. I ran a good deal of trail in 2-hi, mercilessly beating on 1st and the limited slip to see what it could do ... quite a bit, as it turned out!

on technical trails you don't notice it so much ... but on "overland" style trips with lots of washboard and bumpy dirt roads you start to feel beat up.


... sounds like the swaybar is the biggest culprit, followed by the tires.

i have a 3 gallon air tank to use with an electric compressor. just waiting to accumulate some more parts for the OBA. I don't like the tanks, as it's one more thing to carry inside or outside the vehicle, and I'm already cramped for space! The nice little un-used tray under the hood is going to get the compressor love later in the year, with the 3-gallon tank mounted somewhere under the rig.

ok. that was long and rambling. it must be getting late :1888fbbd:

[goodtimes]

The sway bar isn't going to do much for rough, washboard roads. It does make a huge difference once you get into mild to moderate technical terrain though. Personally, I prefer to keep the sway bar connected until I get to the trail itself (not the rough roads leading to the trail). The jeep handles better through the turns at speed and is much more controllable when/if it goes into a slide (which it does on a regular basis)...but I will drop the pressure to 10 - 12 pounds before hitting the rough roads. That will really smooth things out...keep the speed up and washboards virtually disappear.

[endo]

which LA kit do you have?

I've been thinking that a long-arm front, and then going with an Nth stinger setup for the rear. this lets you reposition the arms for a little better clearance. The long arm kits for the LJ's are just obscene on the rear lengths. The RE kit in particular looks like it's worthless for anything less than 35" tires in terms of clearance.


I run the RE 5.5 LA kit with 33's and extended flares. I have no rub at full compression. I have room for 35's but with the flares I run it takes up alot of the visual gap.

[RunninRubicon]

lol , yeah - i test drove it :bike_rider:

understand, my last trail / adventure rig was a fairly modified range rover with 3" lift, and bilstein 7100's... pure cadillac compared to the rubi! I ran E rated tires on it as well, 255/85's, often at 45PSI to try and gain even 1mpg increase on the road. Typically I would see about 9~10 miles a gallon (uggh)

the rubi's stock tires might as well be run flats :) i do air them down but found that under 18 psi it doesn't really seem to help that much. there's only so much tread down there to work with.

i'm well aware of what the rubi is - and isn't. was just looking for the basic tips.

A friend of mine has the 5100's on a SWB rubi and a teraflex 3.5" lift. It's a decent setup fer sure. I was just looking for something less involved to get by until i save my pennies for good revamp on the suspension.

I have to say he was feeling kind of duped after following me through a couple trails ... I haven't bothered disconnecting the swaybar mainly to see if the discos were really needed. i'd hit the "panic" button less if they were disco'd, but to date I'm impressed. I ran a good deal of trail in 2-hi, mercilessly beating on 1st and the limited slip to see what it could do ... quite a bit, as it turned out!

on technical trails you don't notice it so much ... but on "overland" style trips with lots of washboard and bumpy dirt roads you start to feel beat up.


... sounds like the swaybar is the biggest culprit, followed by the tires.

i have a 3 gallon air tank to use with an electric compressor. just waiting to accumulate some more parts for the OBA. I don't like the tanks, as it's one more thing to carry inside or outside the vehicle, and I'm already cramped for space! The nice little un-used tray under the hood is going to get the compressor love later in the year, with the 3-gallon tank mounted somewhere under the rig.

ok. that was long and rambling. it must be getting late :1888fbbd:
That combination is a popular one amoung the 25-30 TJ/Rubicons in my club run. That will improve your ride and flexability. Used in combination with the d/c's you recognize now that you'll make it thru the more technical stuff with ease.
Having OBA is a REAL luxury. I found that I use it as much as anything else on off-road adventures. I ran a ViAir 450C compressor under my hood on that little platform under the brake booster. It fit well and I had plenty room to include the Onboard Air hook-up kit that included the regulator, In-cab guage on-off switch, and lines. Made the installation process much easier. 4WD.com offers them (part # 20052) as well as a 2.5gallon air tank (easy to install) (#91025). I'm not trying to sell parts for them mind you but it's easier then reinventing the wheel. Years ago I wrote an article on converting your a/c compressor to an air compressor. It's still on-line in the tech section of AzVJC.org. If that is the direction you might take, let me know and I'll shoot you the article.
There are enough TJ/Rubi owners on this forum to give you some good advice and HOPEFULLY save you some money by steering you in perhaps the best way to go. Best of luck, and enjoy!

[nwoods]

I'm a new LJ owner, and I have to agree, the ride is more trampoline like than I envisoned it would be. It flexs good and goes over rocks just fine, but it is extremely stiff on the road, and yet it bottoms out in the rear over very small whoops at very very low speeds.

It has a Currie 4" short arm lift kit, with Rubicon Express 4.5" springs, Rancho shocks, a 1" body lift, Currie Anti-Rock pnuematic disconnects, Currie HD steering damper and tie-rod kit, a Rubicon Express tummy tuck, and it's rolling on 35" ProComp XTerrain's on the stock Rubicon 17" rims. I would describe the ride a "disconcerting" at best, and "trampoline like" normally.

The ride is very stiff and bouncy, but that could just be a Jeep thing, I really don't know. But in cornering on the street, the rear end feels like it's tucking and wallowing. On the trail, the rear end bottom's out on mild woops on sandy trails, at SLOW speeds (10 mph or less). At exactly 50mph, there is a considerable "shimmy" in the truck, with the windsheild giggling side to side several inches, and everything rattles, but only right at 50mph. Above and below, it's pretty smooth if the pavement is smooth.

Anyway, with these problems, I'm really not sure were to start. I am confident this is not "right", but I don't know what I can do to rectify it.

Also, what's the deal with those tie downs in the rear? Can anything actually fit under them?

http://nwoods.smugmug.com/photos/297405989_HphLv-L.jpg

http://nwoods.smugmug.com/photos/297406159_uvReB-L.jpg

[hrjaw]

I think I am on the other end of the spectrum here... I have the ome on my 97 tj, along with jks adj. front and rear trac bars and jks quick disco's, but I only run 31's (small, i know, but it fits my style). I have been running this about a month or two, and other than trying to work out some small bugs, I love the ride. I think it rides better now than it ever did. now you have to understand, i have 165,000 on the tj, so most of the original parts were a bit worn. I second getting the jks disco's. they are a bit pricey but worth every penny, and if you take the time and look at the jeep Web sites, then you are bound to find a set for sale used.

I also have the ome on my 99 WJ, and again same story. My wj has been on the ome set up for about two years and honestly, I love it. I would never go back to the original set up again.
Roger

[Azlugz]

I did not read all the way thru this but the things that improved the ride the best in my 06 LJ were Tire pressure to 10PSI (on 33x12.50's) for offroad, disconnects to let it move freely and then #1 was the Rubicon Express Superflex kit, the springs in the kit are awesome and my rig rides incredible for a jeep

[ExpoMike]

[QUOTE] I'm a new LJ owner, and I have to agree, the ride is more trampoline like than I envisoned it would be. It flexs good and goes over rocks just fine, but it is extremely stiff on the road, and yet it bottoms out in the rear over very small whoops at very very low speeds.

It has a Currie 4" short arm lift kit, with Rubicon Express 4.5" springs, Rancho shocks, a 1" body lift, Currie Anti-Rock pnuematic disconnects, Currie HD steering damper and tie-rod kit, a Rubicon Express tummy tuck, and it's rolling on 35" ProComp XTerrain's on the stock Rubicon 17" rims. I would describe the ride a "disconcerting" at best, and "trampoline like" normally.

The ride is very stiff and bouncy, but that could just be a Jeep thing, I really don't know. But in cornering on the street, the rear end feels like it's tucking and wallowing. On the trail, the rear end bottom's out on mild woops on sandy trails, at SLOW speeds (10 mph or less). At exactly 50mph, there is a considerable "shimmy" in the truck, with the windsheild giggling side to side several inches, and everything rattles, but only right at 50mph. Above and below, it's pretty smooth if the pavement is smooth.

[\QUOTE] Not sure why the quote tags are not working and why the first tag is lowercase when it shows uppercase in the edit window???

Do yourself a big favor and dump the Rancho shocks and move over to some Bilstein 5150's. If you are bottoming out the rear at that slow of speed, your shocks are not doing their job. Also, the ride quality of being stiff and bouncy is more the function of the shocks then anything else.

My very good friend is the R&D manager at Bilstein and I have been AMAZED at what a proper tuned shock can do to a vehicle that otherwise rides and handles like crap. Shocks are the #1 influence on handling and ride quality. Having used Rancho's in my very early years of the car hobby, they aren't worth the metal they are built out of.

[KSJeep]

Searubi,

You may want to look at a set of rRancho 9000 shocks as they ajustable to suit your ride quality both on and off road. I have a set on my 04 TJ with a Rubicon lift. set them low for rough roads and higher for towing and such.

Sway bar disconnects help alot off road also.

Happy wheelin!!!

[TCM]

Airing down the tires to 15psi or so will make the biggest difference. The off road ride quality of my old TJ was intolerable at street pressure, but aired down it was perfectly acceptable. Disconnecting the sway bar does help also but not nearly as much as low tire pressure. As an added benefit you get better traction too.

[maximumrob]

stock '06 rubi unlimited, and the ride quality off-road is pretty bad. Even with the longer wheelbase of the unlimited, I could swear there are leafs holding the axles on :)

On a short-arm (stock) type setup, is an OME kit enough to smooth things out or do I need to up my medical plan to afford the oncoming kidney transplant?
The ride quality is horrendous - rockier sections of trail or road come close to giving me a concussion.

Just curious what some other folks have done to make the longer hauls more friendly to children's teeth and my internal organs.

cheers
-isaac



I'm not sure what all the other posts have written in them, but I found the ProComp 2.5" spring lift with the adjustable MX-6 shocks to ride extremely well. I run with the shocks on the softest setting and it's great! When I ditched the stock LCA's with worn bushings for new JKS units, the ride improved even more.

However, the ride deteriorated greatly when I put the loosey-goosey AntiRock swaybar on it. Run the stock swaybar if you can stand not to mod it. ;)



.

[Matto0]

I'm a new LJ owner, and I have to agree, the ride is more trampoline like than I envisoned it would be. It flexs good and goes over rocks just fine, but it is extremely stiff on the road, and yet it bottoms out in the rear over very small whoops at very very low speeds.

It has a Currie 4" short arm lift kit, with Rubicon Express 4.5" springs, Rancho shocks, a 1" body lift, Currie Anti-Rock pnuematic disconnects, Currie HD steering damper and tie-rod kit, a Rubicon Express tummy tuck, and it's rolling on 35" ProComp XTerrain's on the stock Rubicon 17" rims. I would describe the ride a "disconcerting" at best, and "trampoline like" normally.

The ride is very stiff and bouncy, but that could just be a Jeep thing, I really don't know. But in cornering on the street, the rear end feels like it's tucking and wallowing. On the trail, the rear end bottom's out on mild woops on sandy trails, at SLOW speeds (10 mph or less). At exactly 50mph, there is a considerable "shimmy" in the truck, with the windsheild giggling side to side several inches, and everything rattles, but only right at 50mph. Above and below, it's pretty smooth if the pavement is smooth.

Anyway, with these problems, I'm really not sure were to start. I am confident this is not "right", but I don't know what I can do to rectify it.

Also, what's the deal with those tie downs in the rear? Can anything actually fit under them?


For the Shimmy around 50... get your tires balanced at a good shop (allot of shops will get them close, but close doesn't mean much with such a large, heavy tire).

For the lift stiffness, those RE 4.5" springs run 1"+ greater in lift and have an extremely high spring rate, and you are on short arms (even if they are some of the best out there). I would say thats the biggest issue.

Depending on your shocks, a better set of shocks my help some but 5"+ of lift on short arms will give a harsh ride. RE has a long arm upgrade kit so you don't have to buy a whole new lift, I'm not sure what you would need to use it. You could also consider shorter springs.

Keep in mind it is a Jeep, its not designed to go fast off-road, but I do think you could improve your on-road ride (long arms and good shocks would go a long way here). BTW... nice jeep man!

[madizell]

It isn't just a "Jeep thing." You are describing a badly tuned suspension. Nor is the problem that Jeep wasn't designed to go fast off road. My 5,300 pound CJ-7 with SOA leaf springs has often done better than 65 off road in Outback racing conditions, and more than 85 on rough dirt roads with only 13 pounds of air in the tires, but still handles nicely on the highway with finger light steering at 90+ speeds. It can be done. Now that I have coil-over in front, the speed limit has been raised by 10 or 15 for all conditions.

The TJ is even more capable, and there is no reason why a coil spring vehicle can't be made to articulate and also ride well with lift. Something is out of balance if you have bouncy stiff ride and no body control.

My guess is you need to reinstall anti-sway equipment to start. Currie Anti-Rock is very good here. Shocks are next, as they sound as if they are far too stiff to do the job. However, suspension is a complicated issue that probably can't be de-bugged online. Find someone in your area with the knowledge and experience to sort out your suspension.

I would not assume youe need to remove, replace, or grossly modify the suspension you have. You need to first find out why it rides a badly as it does. It could be something simple like way over-tightened long arm bushings.

[nwoods]

Hey guys, I had a long response typed out, then lost it in a screen refresh. SIgh...

I agree that I suspect the suspension is not tuned properly.

Speed: I can't imagine driving this thing over 70mph on the highway, I am whiteknuckling it at 65mph. I can't image this thing hitting 90 mph unless I was going off a cliff :-)

Off road, I have gone very slowly only, usually in a long train of other Jeeps. The bottoming out is happening at very slow speeds, typically less than 10mph, with two small kids in the back (and a heavy 35" tire) and two big adults in the front. Steel Hansen bumpers all around, with a Warn 9,000 winch in front. No hardtop, no tool boxes, cargo, etc... A pretty light set up all things considered.

The on-road wallowing is at slow speeds, such as turning a corner at an intersection. Rear end feels like it's tucking.

I learned that I have Currie 4" springs in front, Rubicon Express 4.5" springs in back, and Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks at all 4 corners. I'm going to play with the shock settings this weekend.

Madizell, I have the Currie Anti-Rock disconnectable swaybar system in the front, and it appears to be working properly. "engaged" when on road, and disengaged pnuematically when off-road.

As for the 50mph shimmy, I should state that it seems to only occur on-road, when I am aired up (37-38psi with 35" ProComp XTerrians). The tires were recently balanced by a competant shop, and they moved a lot of weights around to get them to balance. They were really out of balance before hand. The shimmy is reduced in speed range, but still at the same strength at 50mph as before balancing. I was aired down (20psi) last weekend for a short portion of the road into town at the end of the trail, and it did not shimmy, but I am not really sure if I got up to 50mph. May not have. I will test that out this weekend.

There are hundreds of off road shops in SoCal, strangly, none near my home, and few open on weekends. Sigh.

[madizell]

I can't imagine why you would need 38psi in your tires for a relatively light vehicle. Running that hard a tire will make any alignment or steering component compliance issues that much worse, and you will only be running on the center of the tread. Air down to somewhere around 24psi, get your tread back on the road, and see if there is a difference. Running that hard a tire will also cause a bouncy and harsh ride no matter whose suspension you have.

Bottoming out at slow speeds on any but extremely harsh drops should not happen if you are not overloaded. Verify your shocks are working. I use Rancho 9000's as well, my rig is heavier than yours, and I don't have bottoming issues even when the shocks are set on soft settings (I am using 10-leaf National custom packs, built for the vehicle). If the shocks are working at all, your springs may not be up to the job, or your bump stops may be placed incorrectly. How much up travel do you have in the back? I would expect something like 5 inches more or less.

[outdoors]

How's it going..:-)
Reguarding the shimmy, if it's truely in the rear 1st check your trac bar bushings and bolts first check every nut and bolt even check the shocks too. You should also check all control arms and bushings front and rear as well.
Also I never run over the recommended stock tire pressures even when running much bigger tires. Mine says 29 psi, so there's my max tire pressure for the Jeep. Nothing wrong with trying 24 but with the weight you have carrying passengers you may find 27-30 PSI works best.. I hope this helps... Also when you say bottoms out in back.. Is it hitting on the body or bumpstops?

[nwoods]

Hi guys, this is my first time owning anything with tires this large. Up 'til now, my 31.5" diameter 285/60/18's were the biggest I have had expereience with. So I am virgin when it comes to sorting out tire pressures on these tires. I recently lowered the pressure to 32 for street use, and didn't really feel any major change. I went off roading last weekend (http://nwoods.smugmug.com/gallery/5023816_foRYx#301620385_5VZ8j)and went down to 18 psi and still barely had any deflection, though I had no traction issues, far from it in fact.

I will play with mid-20's for street pressure and see how that does. I don't want to jeapordize saftey (stablity) or rolling resistance (gas mileage and tire wear) too much, so finding the sweet spot is important to me.

As for bottoming out, the trail I went on last week (John Bull Trail in Big Bear, CA), is 5 miles of large granite rocks. I did not ever bottom out, and the articulation was awesome! So I'm not sure now quite what the right balance should be. When I did bottom out the previous week, it was just to the bumpstops, which are set to just clear the tires from inside the wheel wells without rubbing. I have about 7" of upward travel is my guess (not measured, just eyeballed).

I checked the Rancho RS9000 shock settings, and the fronts were set to the mid-point, but the rears were cranked as firm as they'll go. Could be that they've just too warn (though less than 6K miles on them?), due to all the off road use this truck has seen (viturally all the miles has been off roading)

I'm going to try a set of stiffer springs in the near future. Just need to research and see what springs are appropriate for me.

[outdoors]

Here's a run I went on with a group I am still a part of..
I usually air down to at least 13 psi, I can go down to 9 psi.
It really depends on the wheelin' conditions with traction being one of the biggest things..
My rig and comments of it (2) are 3/4's of the way down the page... I like to see what I can get away with and believe in taking your time choosing your placement route...
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=955307&page=3