Please bear with me, I've got a lot of thoughts here as I try to plan out my next build phase which is shocks and possibly springs. This is my first rodeo with this stuff so I'd like to bounce some of it off of you that are more experienced with this.
To start, I have an unidentified lift that came on my TJ when I purchased it used in 2017. With no top on, I'm measuring 15.125" between the perches indicating 3.125" of lift, and 10.25" in the rear, indicating 2.25" of lift (measured mid-perch, since the front and back are so far off after being SYE-ized). Both axles have Rancho RS5000 shocks, without the "x", which suck and are my primary motivation for reworking my suspension.
So, onto the conundrum - I've got Rancho 239 and 241 part numbers that Rancho lists for a 2.5" lift. My front is at 20" at ride height which would be 60% uptravel/40% down, though I'm losing 1/2" of uptravel because I'm bumped to keep the diff cover out of the track bar so my ride height ends up more like 57/43 of real available travel.
My rear however, is 19.25" at ride height which means I'm at about 70% up, 30% down, and like the front I have half an inch of shock that I can't use because I'm bumped to keep the track bar bracket out of the floor. The front makes sense, but the rear seems to conflict with what I've read here about Rancho's running long considering I'm measuring even less lift than Rancho advertises these shocks for. I set up my rear suspension using the 8 control arm write-up from that other forum, so wheelbase is set for bumps centered at full stuff (including extensions, which if anything should move the axle slightly closer to the upper shock mount for a given ride height). I only mention that because moving the axle back would effectively lengthen the shock. Anyway...wondering if maybe the 256 and another inch of bump stop is a better choice for the rear and either stay with the 239 up front for current lift height or 255 if I go for the Currie 4" springs.
To start, I have an unidentified lift that came on my TJ when I purchased it used in 2017. With no top on, I'm measuring 15.125" between the perches indicating 3.125" of lift, and 10.25" in the rear, indicating 2.25" of lift (measured mid-perch, since the front and back are so far off after being SYE-ized). Both axles have Rancho RS5000 shocks, without the "x", which suck and are my primary motivation for reworking my suspension.
So, onto the conundrum - I've got Rancho 239 and 241 part numbers that Rancho lists for a 2.5" lift. My front is at 20" at ride height which would be 60% uptravel/40% down, though I'm losing 1/2" of uptravel because I'm bumped to keep the diff cover out of the track bar so my ride height ends up more like 57/43 of real available travel.
My rear however, is 19.25" at ride height which means I'm at about 70% up, 30% down, and like the front I have half an inch of shock that I can't use because I'm bumped to keep the track bar bracket out of the floor. The front makes sense, but the rear seems to conflict with what I've read here about Rancho's running long considering I'm measuring even less lift than Rancho advertises these shocks for. I set up my rear suspension using the 8 control arm write-up from that other forum, so wheelbase is set for bumps centered at full stuff (including extensions, which if anything should move the axle slightly closer to the upper shock mount for a given ride height). I only mention that because moving the axle back would effectively lengthen the shock. Anyway...wondering if maybe the 256 and another inch of bump stop is a better choice for the rear and either stay with the 239 up front for current lift height or 255 if I go for the Currie 4" springs.