Improving Ride Quality

Indy05Rubi

Indy05Rubi

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Indianapolis, IN
Current status on my '05 LJ Rubicon (let me know what other info I need to provide!):

What I believe is a 4" Rough Country lift kit was installed sometime between 2008-2013
Toyo MT 315 75/16 E rated tires w a 2016 date code
I assume the Jeep weighs in on the heavier side as I have JCR front and rear bumpers + swing out tire carrier, Warn Powerplant Winch, Tuffy rear cargo area security drawer, Noico sound deadening mat. Likely will be running the hardtop during the winter.
Primary use is as a daily driver (less than 10 miles a day on city streets) + weekend family fun vehicle. I may eventually want to do some light wheeling, but that is not a huge priority at the moment.

The above setup provides a pretty jarring/rough ride on the small bumps in town (paved over potholes, uneven manhole cover/ashphalt transitions etc) to the point where it impacts the enjoyment of taking the Jeep out.

From what I've gathered here on the forum, the general consensus is that springs primarily set the ride height, shocks make the largest difference in ride quality followed by tires (C rated riding "softer" than E rated).

So if I take a methodical approach to improving ride quality:

I'm happy with the current ride height and haven't found any evidence that doing springs and shocks at the same time is absolutely necessary. So do I leave the current springs on there (knowing that they likely came with the Rough Country kit) and change a different variable first?

Do I start with first replacing only the shocks and see how much that improves the ride? From what I've read the Rancho RS5000X shocks provide a nice ride on the street, although the guy I'm considering having do the work for me is a big fan of the Fox 2.0 shocks. My concern is that it seems as though many here on the forum feel the Fox 2.0s are a bit too firm and there are plenty of you that are Rancho fans.

If the shocks don't make enough improvement, then I'd be game to throw some new tires on. I wouldn't mind reducing some of the rolling weight anyway and think I'd be happy to go down to 33s that are a little narrower (likely 10"). This would give me the opportunity to move to a C rated tire with a softer sidewall.

What would you do - and why?
 
I had Rough Country shock years ago and my Jeep rode like crap. Fox are a good shock if you spend the money to get them valved correctly for a Jeep. The Rancho's are popular because they have a decent ride at an affordable price.
 
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Air pressure makes a big difference. I personally run 32-36 PSI but I prefer a stiffer ride and and more cornering stiffness. 28 or less is a good recommendation.

Shocks also make a big difference. The RS5000X are a good place to start on a budget. If you are willing to spend, get professionally tuned Fox remote reservoir shocks. It's an order of magnitude higher cost but probably worth it in the long run. (If you go the foxes you might look into outboarding.)

Springs will make a difference at high displacements of the suspension. So large rutted or washboarded roads. At small displacements, such as driving over spalled pavement, they won't make as much of a difference.

Sway bars make a good difference as well. For small displacements (like on-road), tight bars like the locked Swayloc help retain a feeling of control. For large displacements, a softer rate like an Antirock or unlocked Swayloc is appropriate.

Tire rating makes a difference, but so does brand. I run load range E Duratrac tires with are surprisingly very compliant. Other brands or models may be a lot stiffer.
 
First off, let's be sure you have a 4"lift. Shock selection and bump stop extension will play an import roll to getting it dialed in. Do some reading, then some measuring at ride height.
 
Thanks guys - one of the first things I did after getting the Jeep and doing some reading on here was to make sure I had the tires down at 28 psi and forgot to mention that in the original post.

I'm measuring my front springs at 16" and the rear springs at 12" so based on what I've seen here on the forum that equates to a 4" lift.
 
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+1 for the Ranchos. I installed those and KO2 tires @26 and the ride is nice in the city. We up the tires to max on the highway for better gas mileage. Prior to that it was a lumber wagon on city streets. We have no lift and run 31s.
 
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You've got a super nice, and rarer, platform there. Given the setup on it is older, and cheaper, why not do a refresh? One where you put the Jeep on a diet, use quality parts, and build it with a purpose and plan. I'm not saying this is necessary, just that it's a question to ask yourself. Having been down this road, it's better to have an end game than to start putting parts on to mask an underlying issue. Going through the process of replacing parts is also the perfect time to treat any rust and generally clean things up. Just a thought! ;)
 
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I agree with Boogieman and went through the same progression. I inherited the same E-rated Toyo tires which would rattle your filings on even slight potholes, even with reduced air pressure. I replaced shocks to RS500X and had a decent improvement. Finally gave in and switched to C-rated BFG AT tires and ride is now night and day. For me, tires gave the best benefit but were $$ compared to the shock upgrade, which gave 'decent' benefit alone.
 
mrblaine said:
What do the bushings have to do with it?
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My RC trackbar bushing went bad early on and created a slight vibe.
I guess he didnt mention vibes though. My thoughts were if the TB bushings suck the control arm ones do to and could effect ride quality, but you would definitely know more than I do on this.
 
For those who have had them, how low can he take the E rated tires down? I'm running the same size as the OP, but they are D rated. Currently have mine at 25-26 and feel like I need to go a tad lower.
 
Billy06 said:
For those who have had them, how low can he take the E rated tires down? I'm running the same size as the OP, but they are D rated. Currently have mine at 25-26 and feel like I need to go a tad lower.
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Personally I would not go much lower on-road. The lower the pressure, the more heat the tires create. The more heat, the higher odds for a blowout.

Off road, I would have no qualms about running sub-10 PSI.
 
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Hey all - thanks so much for the input from your personal experience. Wanted to share a status update:

I first replaced the (quite old) Rough Country shocks with Rancho RS5000x sized appropriately for my 4" lift. Well, technically to date I replaced 3 of the 4 because the rubber bushing/washer pack was missing from one of the front shock boxes and I'm still waiting on those parts to be able to change the last one out.

This made a significant improvement - once I removed it, one of the rear shocks I removed wouldn't even extend back out after I compressed it... :)

So I rolled around like this for a couple of weeks still on my M/T 35" tires enjoying the improved ride and wondering how much more would be gained when I got new tires mounted.

Answered that question yesterday after switching from the [OEM 16" Moab rims and the 35" x 12.5" M/T Toyo Open Country tires] to [15" ProComp Series 51 steel wheels and brand new 33" x 10.5" BF Goodrich KO2s].

Holy cow....even more of a gain than I got from the shocks. She is soaking up the bumps now and not jarring me every time I roll over a slightly depressed manhole cover at 30mph.

Additional benefits include less rolling weight (don't know how much less yet as I haven't weighed the new tire/wheel), less stress on the gearbox, speedo is closer to being correct (was never recalibrated for the larger tires) and the gearing is closer to being correct (was never re-geared for larger tires).

Good stuff all around!
 
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Irun said:
You've got a super nice, and rarer, platform there. Given the setup on it is older, and cheaper, why not do a refresh? One where you put the Jeep on a diet, use quality parts, and build it with a purpose and plan. I'm not saying this is necessary, just that it's a question to ask yourself. Having been down this road, it's better to have an end game than to start putting parts on to mask an underlying issue. Going through the process of replacing parts is also the perfect time to treat any rust and generally clean things up. Just a thought! ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks! I feel lucky to have found the Jeep and this community here on the forum!

Totally agree and that is essentially what I'm attempting to do...working my way through the vehicle and prioritizing what needs attention as I convert if from the rig built by the previous owner who owned it in Alaska where it needed to be more off road capable to what I am using it for which is my daily driver, family fun vehicle that is comfortable and mechanically sound (and that I can still take offroad eventually).

Have been balancing the "comfort" projects (noise reduction, ride quality etc) with mechanical (cooling system, new rear driveshaft etc) and aesthetic (soft top, half doors etc).

On this particular issue, I know I could have gone completely down the rabbit hole of updating the rest of the suspension components, but I wanted to first see what improvement I could yield out of the shocks and tires. Even if I eventually do more, these two items will still be useable since I don't intend on lowering it back down to stock ride height.

Build Thread
 
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Good to hear you're getting it sorted out. I'm in the same boat as you were. I'm on 16" wheels with D rated tires. Really don't want to spend the money at the moment, but I know the missing piece for that last bit of ride quality is going to be swapping out the current wheels and tires.
 
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