I've spent the last couple months trying to open my mind, and my pocket book, to experiment with new things. When my Jeep was put away last fall I had 2" OME springs and Bilstein 8 inch travel shocks, biased toward uptravel (5/3). This winter, I did a LOT to the jeep. I was convinced last year that I needed Geo correction. I bought a set of brackets, but David took so long to get them to me (3'ish months) that I didn't have time to install them before a wheeling trip I had been planning. I needed new spring perches (because michigan rusty) so I took the opportunity to relocate them. I installed a Savvy Gas tank skid and that required me to change my rear trackbar axle mount due to interference. Also significant to this discussion is I wanted some longer travel shocks, so I installed a 3/4" spacer on the 2" springs and bolted in the "forum favorite" Rancho 5000x shocks. The short story is that I didn't like the shocks...and worse, didn't like driving the jeep. I wasn't sure which of the changes I made was causing the terrible ride I had. What was terrible? Well, the rear end didn't seem to follow the front end over bumps. It was pretty bad to drive, felt like I was going all over the road. It couldn't be the shocks...everyone said they were great. I was worried about a minor modification I made to my rear track bar mount or that maybe I managed to screw something up when I relocated my rear upper spring perch.
I went wheeling with the Jeep because I didn't have time to fix it. When I got home, it was still terrible. A friend of mine mentioned it too (after pressing him, because he's too nice a guy). I had to do something...Maybe the shocks needed more lift? I had a set of the Rancho 3" springs from summit racing...I was hell bent on installing them, until the reports came back that they gave about 4" of lift. So, I left em in the box and tried to sell them. They didn't sell, and I was in a mood to experiment. So, in go the new springs. Jeep drove EXACTLY the same as it did before. Aside from being a bigger step to get in...it was identical. So...the springs didn't affect how the shock operates or the ride quality and characteristics.
About the same time, KYB monomax was #trending so I thought I'd be a forum guinea pig. I bought a set for 4" of lift (they only make stock and 4" lifted lengths) and bolted them in. They rode WAY different. Like, it was a different jeep. The rear end quirks were gone. That was a good thing. However, they are STIFF. Like, the whole jeep moved up and down on the smallest of bumps. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought someone put a steel bar in to replace the shocks. They have so much nitrogen charge that when I had the springs out to check bumps, raising the axle with the jack was raising the body too. Then the weight would compress the shock, so the tub was raising and lowering on each pump of the shock. Now, I'm 400+ dollars into a shock experiment and still not happy. What's a guy to do? Well, keep spending money, I guess. That's what I did. Tried out another trending shock, the BlackMax from Skyjacker.
The black maxes have made my Jeep fun to drive again. They aren't perfect. Far from it. But...I feel like I'm in control again. My modifications had NOTHING to do with the poor ride I initially experienced. Everything I've experienced in ride changes have come from the shocks.
So, what's the point of this big long story? Geo doesn't mean as much as some would have you believe. I'm not saying geometery not important. Please do not misconstrue. But...I will say, when I was on my 2" lift and bilsteins, I could lift my front inner tire on a LH turn (we've all seen the video). I have an anti-rock, and it was set on its lightest setting. When I was troubleshooting the rancho issue, I played around with the anti-rock to hopefully control some of the sway. I put it in the middle setting on both arms. It helped...some, but not all. As I've changed shocks without changing anything else, I've noticed a lot of different things...and one of them is that my jeep is much more level through the turns now vs last fall.. Even the ranchos, that I hated, were more level in turns before I adjusted the Anti-Rock. I didn't raise my roll center. In fact, my roll center is now further away from the CofG, due to the higher lift. If anything, I should be getting MORE roll. The only thing I can determine is that my Bilsteins were SHOT and my new shocks are controlling the roll much better.
I'm a firm believer now that with some help from Blaine and others, I can build a short arm jeep that will do everything I ever ask of it without any extra geometry correction...and if it doesn't a mid-arm is only a phone call away. I'm also starting to see how important shocks are to both vehicular control and to ride characteristics. I mean, I knew it before...as a mechanical engineer, I know about damping and oscillation, spring rates, blah, blah, blah. I studied it ad nauseam in college. However, knowing the theory and then actually seeing (and feeling) the application of that theory is something else entirely.
For anyone interested in this topic, I'd encourage you to try some different things out. Find a loop you can drive that is low traffic and consistent. Buy some busted ass hoopty shocks off marketplace. Exploit Amazon's generous return policy (Thank goodness that exists, else I'd be halfway to owning a full set of custom tuned foxes, but be stuck with Skyjackers). Take a jeep for a drive WITHOUT shocks (carefully and safely). See what happens. Pay attention to what changes and what doesn't. After all, its for science!