Last time i checked no one was selling moped or school bus springs for use on a TJ. Last time I checked no one here was running custom made springs, just the readily available springs that are marketed for use on a TJ.
Best shocks for a smooth ride?
- Thread starter EROCK
- Start date
I think you've forgotten what side you are fighting for.
Yes. And the tune is what determines how that damping behaves, which translates into the ride quality. Are you agreeing with us now or are you confusing yourself?
Thedogsbollocks
TJ Enthusiast
ive used these (x) and agree with you. However I was disappointed in how quickly they rust.
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
I bit my lip up to the point that my name was brought up. When I changed my Rough Country springs to Currie springs, with no other change or ride height, there was an obvious difference. There are 2 places in my daily commute that I would brace myself for the jolt. I still get a jolt, but not to the same extent. It did not make it ride good, but it did ride better. I will never edit what I posted about springs. No matter what anyone says, I felt what I felt.
When I bought my Jeep the shocks were leaking and I replaced them with Rancho 9000s and was not happy. I switched to 5000x shocks and it didn't seem any better. I don't believe springs will fix your rough ride. I do believe shocks are the key.
When I bought my Jeep the shocks were leaking and I replaced them with Rancho 9000s and was not happy. I switched to 5000x shocks and it didn't seem any better. I don't believe springs will fix your rough ride. I do believe shocks are the key.
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I’m really struggling to follow this, the first paragraph speaks highly of a spring change. The second goes into how old leaky shocks vs the 9000/5000x make no difference. However the conclusion is that shocks fix the ride?
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
I was not satisfied with either Rancho I tried. I did not say they were bad or made no difference. Both Ranchos are IMO harsh on small bumps. I would say the Ranchos 5000x were similar with the 9000s full soft.
I bought tuned Fox shocks, but have not installed them yet. A member not in this thread convinced me to go that route. They are not cheap, but I'm hoping they will smooth things out.
"Largely important" are your words. What I said is "It did not make it ride good, but it did ride better." I don't understand how you got to "speaking highly" from that. The leaking shocks were replaced soon after I bought the Jeep. I never really considered the leaking shock's performance because they had to go.
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Hopefully your new shocks from Accutune will dramatically overshadow any previous changes you may have noticed from the springs to the point that you'll see how insignificant those were. I have experienced this on at least three occasions. And as I have stated multiple times, just changing my adjustors will dramatically overshadow any changes I may have had to dig deep to find from different springs.
This is why I added to my old posts in my build thread. Perspective was needed because I routinely have people digging up things I wrote years ago from a more a naive time period to undermine my experience today. My old statements are still there. Removing them would be dishonest. Don't pretend that adding a statement for the sake of perspective with full transparency with regard to its intent somehow is.
It's a good thing I'm not running for Shock President, given how impossible it is for people to get away with change and growth as we learn from life.
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A better tuned shock can definitely improve your ride quality. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I have never argued otherwise. If that was unclear, that is my fault. BUT a shock can only soften your ride to the extent that the spring is rated for. A heavier rated spring will never compress as much as a lighter spring regardless of what shock is used.
If all the spring did was set the ride height why did they go through all the trouble of changing away from leaf springs? If, as you claim, all it does is set ride height then why change? And if, again, as you claim, why did the change in leaf spring in the YJ ride so much better than the CJ? The only change there was the spring.
And this is a conversation that does not need to be dragged out every few months. Your view will not change, and neither will mine. I will leave it at this; if you (the reader of this shit show) believe sitting on a harder spring can give you a softer ride quality then good for you. If you think a softer spring can provide a softer ride then good for you. Your ride quality is what you want. Some like a firmer (say BMW) type ride and some like a softer (say more minivan like) type ride. And depending on what you use your Jeep for your needs may vary.
Ride quality is a product of more than one piece of the suspension. Tires, tire pressure, linkage design, springs, shocks all combine to provide the movement of the vehicle's side quality.
If some of you need to go back and change your words now, don't forget to include that Lincoln is now considered a racist.
If all the spring did was set the ride height why did they go through all the trouble of changing away from leaf springs? If, as you claim, all it does is set ride height then why change? And if, again, as you claim, why did the change in leaf spring in the YJ ride so much better than the CJ? The only change there was the spring.
And this is a conversation that does not need to be dragged out every few months. Your view will not change, and neither will mine. I will leave it at this; if you (the reader of this shit show) believe sitting on a harder spring can give you a softer ride quality then good for you. If you think a softer spring can provide a softer ride then good for you. Your ride quality is what you want. Some like a firmer (say BMW) type ride and some like a softer (say more minivan like) type ride. And depending on what you use your Jeep for your needs may vary.
Ride quality is a product of more than one piece of the suspension. Tires, tire pressure, linkage design, springs, shocks all combine to provide the movement of the vehicle's side quality.
If some of you need to go back and change your words now, don't forget to include that Lincoln is now considered a racist.
Are you ever going to suggest a commonly available coil spring for TJ that is too soft or too stiff for a TJ?A better tuned shock can definitely improve your ride quality. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I have never argued otherwise. If that was unclear, that is my fault. BUT a shock can only soften your ride to the extent that the spring is rated for. A heavier rated spring will never compress as much as a lighter spring regardless of what shock is used.
If all the spring did was set the ride height why did they go through all the trouble of changing away from leaf springs? If, as you claim, all it does is set ride height then why change? And if, again, as you claim, why did the change in leaf spring in the YJ ride so much better than the CJ? The only change there was the spring.
And this is a conversation that does not need to be dragged out every few months. Your view will not change, and neither will mine. I will leave it at this; if you (the reader of this shit show) believe sitting on a harder spring can give you a softer ride quality then good for you. If you think a softer spring can provide a softer ride then good for you. Your ride quality is what you want. Some like a firmer (say BMW) type ride and some like a softer (say more minivan like) type ride. And depending on what you use your Jeep for your needs may vary.
Ride quality is a product of more than one piece of the suspension. Tires, tire pressure, linkage design, springs, shocks all combine to provide the movement of the vehicle's side quality.
If some of you need to go back and change your words now, don't forget to include that Lincoln is now considered a racist.
Why don't our shock tuners ask us about our spring rates?
You continually overlook one tiny little thing and the problem with this oversight is you believe so adamantly that you are correct that you will never spend the few minutes of effort to learn something. Go drive your TJ with the rear shocks removed, and then do that again which any of the highest rate springs you can swap in. There will be literally no perceptible difference in ride quality.A better tuned shock can definitely improve your ride quality. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I have never argued otherwise. If that was unclear, that is my fault. BUT a shock can only soften your ride to the extent that the spring is rated for. A heavier rated spring will never compress as much as a lighter spring regardless of what shock is used.
If all the spring did was set the ride height why did they go through all the trouble of changing away from leaf springs? If, as you claim, all it does is set ride height then why change? And if, again, as you claim, why did the change in leaf spring in the YJ ride so much better than the CJ? The only change there was the spring.
And this is a conversation that does not need to be dragged out every few months. Your view will not change, and neither will mine. I will leave it at this; if you (the reader of this shit show) believe sitting on a harder spring can give you a softer ride quality then good for you. If you think a softer spring can provide a softer ride then good for you. Your ride quality is what you want. Some like a firmer (say BMW) type ride and some like a softer (say more minivan like) type ride. And depending on what you use your Jeep for your needs may vary.
Ride quality is a product of more than one piece of the suspension. Tires, tire pressure, linkage design, springs, shocks all combine to provide the movement of the vehicle's side quality.
If some of you need to go back and change your words now, don't forget to include that Lincoln is now considered a racist.
Because they, in general, know that outside of some bizarre set up that 99.0% of TJ owners will never run, the spring rates for a TJ are within a range that doesn't affect ride quality.
Again, how do they know how to set the tune in the shocks if they don't ask what spring you have if springs have an effect?
That's a really dumb comparison. What you are suggesting is that a person can't change their thinking as experience is gained.....
If some of you need to go back and change your words now, don't forget to include that Lincoln is now considered a racist.
You see, o Master Shit Talker, you are wrong.
I grew up on a farm, as I would think several others on this forum did. And we used mostly old Farmall and International tractors from the late 40's and early 50's. And the entire suspension on them consisted of a control arm that attached to the top of the transmission and had a spring and a shock underneath. The other end of the control arm ended in a flat metal pan seat. Every bump. Every woodchuck hole. Every frost heaved rock. Every up and every down was handed by this single control arm suspension system.
And when it was Summer an it was hay season I would use my Super H (IIRC 1952) to haybine, ted, and rake the hay prior to it getting baled.
That meant I went around each field, spiraling inward at 9' at a time.(we had a 9 food haybine) one day after another, after another. Obviously weather was warm, dry, and consistent for this.
One day while at Tempco picking up new mower blades and rake teeth for the upcoming season I noticed that they had stocked replacement seat springs that fit my Super H (among many other tractors. It was a standard seat suspension system at that time). They had both a light spring and a heavy spring on the shelf. Not knowing what was considered 'heavy' back then I bought both springs.
Upon returning home I was anxious to see if they would make a big difference in ride comfort (I use that word loosely here) or had I just wasted my money buying a pair of $20 springs.
As this is getting to be tediously long already, I can assure you that they did indeed produce very different ride quality. There was no other variable in this test. Same tractor driving the same speed (with a governor that's pretty easy) on the same place often on the same day, with the same weather, and the same shock absorber. The ONLY change was the choice of 3 different springs.
And having several tractors sporting the same suspension seat design I was able to see the effects on different tractors. Some had a longer control arm, some had shorter. Some had a better shock, some had worse. (My grandfather's W4 had its original 1940's shock still in place) Yet on every one I tried, changing the spring rate, and ONLY the spring rate, changed how soft or how firm that suspension felt.
How did your ride height change? What was the variance between spring rates? What was the percentage of these various spring rates to your body weight?You see, o Master Shit Talker, you are wrong.
I grew up on a farm, as I would think several others on this forum did. And we used mostly old Farmall and International tractors from the late 40's and early 50's. And the entire suspension on them consisted of a control arm that attached to the top of the transmission and had a spring and a shock underneath. The other end of the control arm ended in a flat metal pan seat. Every bump. Every woodchuck hole. Every frost heaved rock. Every up and every down was handed by this single control arm suspension system.
And when it was Summer an it was hay season I would use my Super H (IIRC 1952) to haybine, ted, and rake the hay prior to it getting baled.
That meant I went around each field, spiraling inward at 9' at a time.(we had a 9 food haybine) one day after another, after another. Obviously weather was warm, dry, and consistent for this.
One day while at Tempco picking up new mower blades and rake teeth for the upcoming season I noticed that they had stocked replacement seat springs that fit my Super H (among many other tractors. It was a standard seat suspension system at that time). They had both a light spring and a heavy spring on the shelf. Not knowing what was considered 'heavy' back then I bought both springs.
Upon returning home I was anxious to see if they would make a big difference in ride comfort (I use that word loosely here) or had I just wasted my money buying a pair of $20 springs.
As this is getting to be tediously long already, I can assure you that they did indeed produce very different ride quality. There was no other variable in this test. Same tractor driving the same speed (with a governor that's pretty easy) on the same place often on the same day, with the same weather, and the same shock absorber. The ONLY change was the choice of 3 different springs.
And having several tractors sporting the same suspension seat design I was able to see the effects on different tractors. Some had a longer control arm, some had shorter. Some had a better shock, some had worse. (My grandfather's W4 had its original 1940's shock still in place) Yet on every one I tried, changing the spring rate, and ONLY the spring rate, changed how soft or how firm that suspension felt.
Transfer and relate and compare all of these answers from your tractor seat into selecting commonly available springs for a TJ.
Do you even context bro?You see, o Master Shit Talker, you are wrong.
I grew up on a farm, as I would think several others on this forum did. And we used mostly old Farmall and International tractors from the late 40's and early 50's. And the entire suspension on them consisted of a control arm that attached to the top of the transmission and had a spring and a shock underneath. The other end of the control arm ended in a flat metal pan seat. Every bump. Every woodchuck hole. Every frost heaved rock. Every up and every down was handed by this single control arm suspension system.
And when it was Summer an it was hay season I would use my Super H (IIRC 1952) to haybine, ted, and rake the hay prior to it getting baled.
That meant I went around each field, spiraling inward at 9' at a time.(we had a 9 food haybine) one day after another, after another. Obviously weather was warm, dry, and consistent for this.
One day while at Tempco picking up new mower blades and rake teeth for the upcoming season I noticed that they had stocked replacement seat springs that fit my Super H (among many other tractors. It was a standard seat suspension system at that time). They had both a light spring and a heavy spring on the shelf. Not knowing what was considered 'heavy' back then I bought both springs.
Upon returning home I was anxious to see if they would make a big difference in ride comfort (I use that word loosely here) or had I just wasted my money buying a pair of $20 springs.
As this is getting to be tediously long already, I can assure you that they did indeed produce very different ride quality. There was no other variable in this test. Same tractor driving the same speed (with a governor that's pretty easy) on the same place often on the same day, with the same weather, and the same shock absorber. The ONLY change was the choice of 3 different springs.
And having several tractors sporting the same suspension seat design I was able to see the effects on different tractors. Some had a longer control arm, some had shorter. Some had a better shock, some had worse. (My grandfather's W4 had its original 1940's shock still in place) Yet on every one I tried, changing the spring rate, and ONLY the spring rate, changed how soft or how firm that suspension felt.
Interesting article. Kinda says the same thing...Doesn't it?
https://www.torquingcars.com/tech-talk/tech-talk-understanding-ride-comfort/
https://www.torquingcars.com/tech-talk/tech-talk-understanding-ride-comfort/
Essentially but where all of this breaks down is yet again, context. Given the time, funds, and effort, I could design and build springs that fit in the TJ at 4" of lift that would easily demonstrate the position of springs affecting ride quality in a detrimental and positive manner. It would take some doing, but it could be done. Outside of that large amount of effort, all TJ lift springs are close enough in spring rate that any perceptible effects on ride quality are so minute that it doesn't matter.
The only reason that those of us who understand this adamantly insist that springs don't matter is because as soon as that door is opened to allow even a scintilla of light through is that will be pounced upon by the fucking idiots screaming "see, I told you springs affect ride quality!!!!!" That is about the equivalent of saying that black lug nuts hold your rims on better. While that may be true for a specifically contrived scenario, at the end of the day, almost any lugnut of the proper taper and thread pitch will hold the rims on with no problems.