Spring and shock choice sanity check

I have the 2933 up front and 2942 on the rear of my hardtop LJR and I hate to tell you but those springs in the rear run tall and those shocks will probably be too short. And that's before you take into consideration the lighter weight of your TJ. I would run the rancho 2-3 but I'm with Mike on this, it's best to measure everything out and return parts if needed.
 
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97' 4 Popper said:
I have the 2933 up front and 2942 on the rear of my hardtop LJR and I hate to tell you but those springs in the rear run tall and those shocks will probably be too short. And that's before you take into consideration the lighter weight of your TJ. I would run the rancho 2-3 but I'm with Mike on this, it's best to measure everything out and return parts if needed.
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I was considering that fact and looking at the 2-3 shocks. Honestly I'll probably buy the stuff for like a 3-4" lift, SYE, adjustable track bars/LCAs, etc and just do it all at once. Right now it's either put on a lift smaller than I really want to, or put on a bigger one without all the supporting stuff and be dumb. I'll probably grab some stock height ranchos because they're cheap just to get the blown ones out of there while I amass parts for a couple months, do the whole swap in like Feb once I have it all.
 
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I started with the zone 4.25 lift and went straight to 33 12.5 tires and a jks front track bar and ran it like that for a year no issues, didn’t even have any vibrations with the factory drive shaft and no sye. Idk why anyone would knock it, the parts that came in it where fine. Later when I had more cash burning a hole in my pocket I got Currie control arms and tossed them in. Drove that for a while. Then I did a re-gear and lockers. After that I did the tummy tuck and then I finally committed to the sye and driveshaft. It is possible to lift 3 inches and run it with no sye kit and I’ve had those springs fully flexed out and they haven’t fallen out yet.
 
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Necro said:
It's all fun and games until your day of fun is ruined by a trail plug running crappy equipment experiences a failure and blocks the trail for hours while they try and figure out how to get their piece of shit out of the way. Shitty equipment belongs at the mall or the car show, not out on the trail.
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Then it’s a good thing the zone 4.25” combo isn’t a piece of shit lift. Nothing to worry about 🥰
 
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Necro said:
It's all fun and games until your day of fun is ruined by a trail plug running crappy equipment experiences a failure and blocks the trail for hours while they try and figure out how to get their piece of shit out of the way. Shitty equipment belongs at the mall or the car show, not out on the trail.
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Or more often by people who lack driving skills but have lots of money. 🤫
 
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No mall here. And if you look in the background you'll see a broken Jeep being repaired who tried to run the trail with equipment that wasn't up to the task. If all you wheel on is washboard roads or fire service trails then that cheap stuff will prolly last you forever, but once you start wheeling the harder trails you'll see those cheap kits snapping brackets completely off the frame or axles or plain snapping control arms... You run what you want to run, but make sure you stay behind me on the trail so we both dont have to suffer from your mistakes.
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Jamison C said:
Then it’s a good thing the zone 4.25” combo isn’t a piece of shit lift. Nothing to worry about 🥰
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The Zone Combo lift is one of the least shitty of the shitty lifts, but that doesnt make it a good lift. Unless you only care about looks or flipping your Jeep for a proffit like Boogie does. The shinyness wears off quickly when you're wrenching on the side of the trail and you need to beg and borrow other peoples spare parts to get home.
 
I don't do rocks. I'll invite you to try one of our mud pits and see how your lift excels in it. I'll bring my camera to document everything for the forum. 🥳
 
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FWIW, I ran a BDS/Zone kit for years and wheeled it numerous times on harder trails at Rausch Creek, including Tomb Stone, Shoot the Moon, Rock Creek , and more. Not once did I ever have a suspension related issue. That said, when you build a rig it has to be a total working package, addressing braking, steering, suspension, shocks, wheels, tires, routine maintenance, armor, and more.

The most important thing to think about is where do you see yourself taking the build? If casual trail riding a few times a year is your goal, there is nothing inherently wrong with a BDS/Zone kit, except maybe for the weak shocks. It will work and serve you well for years. However, if you see yourself wanting to raise the belly, seek longer shock travel, and generally progress to harder wheeling, it's not a good idea to start with either a OME or BDS/Zone kit. In the end, you'll just end up replacing them for a set of springs that give you the maximum free length.
 
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ErikOffroad said:
The most common failure I’ve seen leaving someone stranded in a trail is broken u joints. I can’t say I’ve seen someone stranded over some springs and sway bar extensions.
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Swaybar extensions no, but I have seen springs pop out of their buckets. Thats a fun trail fix.
 
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