My wife hates how the Jeep rides
- Thread starter Bullitt6283
- Start date
OP
I'm going to stiffen the shocks halfway and try it. I know when I first installed them, I adjusted them full-hard and it was way too much.
Kaptainkid1
TJ Enthusiast
I drove a 2002 Pathfinder, Lexus, Tundra and other 4x4 with independent front axles and those SUV or so call 4x4 are much smoother ride. JEEP WITH LIVE AXLES always drives much worst . You feel all the bumps in the road. This is generally how these cars works. Airing down to 15psi on all tires will help on dirt roads and soften up the ride but is considered not the solution for a more comfortable ride. Since it will impact the safety of the car driving on highway speeds on surface roads. It dangerous to drive on low psi.
What other cars did you drive before buying the Jeep?
What other cars did you drive before buying the Jeep?
OP
I suspect, without even pulling the boots down, that you may be right.
The part numbers are RS999241 (rear) and RS999239 (front).
According to the Rancho website and the Rancho guy I emailed, these are supposed to be good for a 2.5" lift. I have a 2" lift. (Installed spring heights are 10" rear and 14" front.)
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OP
I've owned many different cars and a few 4WD trucks, but never anything with the ratio of so much unsprung weight versus the weight of the entire vehicle. It may be that my (wife's) expectations are overly optimistic....
It absolutely is possible to make a Jeep ride comfortably. Check your tire pressure. Aside from that, shocks are the #1 factor in having good ride quality. If you're going to spend money on your Jeep I suggest putting a good chuck of change into your shocks.
You have no bump stop extension in the front, and 1" extensions in the rear. Your bottoming out the shocks. You'd be better off with the zero lift shock choices.
A short wheel base vehicle with front/rear live axles and light weight is going to ride different, so I'd chalk it up to being a jeep thing. My wife always complains about the side to side swaying over road dips, but she's gotten used to it over the years.
A short wheel base vehicle with front/rear live axles and light weight is going to ride different, so I'd chalk it up to being a jeep thing. My wife always complains about the side to side swaying over road dips, but she's gotten used to it over the years.
OP
I just found this little Gem on the Rancho RS9000XL website. I have been running with the shocks at full-soft.
I believe some of you in this forum have stated that the RS5000X is the real deal...
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I believe some of you in this forum have stated that the RS5000X is the real deal...
..
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OP
We generally refer to this issue as "the old whining noise from the passenger seat. " Very common here on the Forum.
Also don't overlook your control arm bushings they can really contribute to overall instability.
Yep. Go big . 50,000.Are those 10x better than the Rancho 5000x? I’m curious
Oops
OP
Thanks Guys, for your advice and input.
You've given me some things to do.
As far as
goes, we're coming up on our 50th, so I guess I'll have to fix the Jeep....
You've given me some things to do.
As far as
goes, we're coming up on our 50th, so I guess I'll have to fix the Jeep.... 
Yes, so those shocks require about 1.5” of bumpstop extension. Exact amount would be determined by actually cycling the axle and checking out when they bottom out.
Shocks for 1-2” of lift might provide a better ride, though you’d lose a bit of down travel. RS5000X or RS9000XL would both be fine.
Fughuert
TJ Enthusiast
Softer shocks (clicks on the dial in your case) aren’t always the answer as you’re not letting them do their job of absorbing.
I have no experience with those but I have the fox 2.0 ifp and they are very harsh on small movements( don’t really like em) but the Jeep feels planted and doesn’t sway or excessively lean or rock on dips like you describe or off camber drop off situations, I don’t ever run my front sway bar with these things.
OP
I'll try to better describe the issue I'm having....
Let's say you are driving down a road at 30 MPH, and encounter a depression in the road. The right side of the pavement becomes lower by two or three inches for a distance of 3 feet, and then it rises again Only one tire on the right side is within the depression at any given time. For that tire to fall into the depression, the shock absorber must EXTEND. Hopefully the rest of the suspension will work together to keep the rest of the Jeep in its previous level attitude.
What I'm saying, though, is when my right front tire falls into that depression, the whole Jeep leans to the right and I hit my head on the side window. Then the front tire emerges from the depression, the whole Jeep becomes level again and my wife hits her head on her side window. Then the right rear tire goes into the depression, and all this head-hitting happens again.
I would assume that the shock absorber and the anti-sway bar should prevent most of this head-knocking. Right??
My current assumption is that I have the shock absorbers set way too soft.
(The head-knocking was for illustrative and dramatization purposes only. No side windows were harmed.)
Let's say you are driving down a road at 30 MPH, and encounter a depression in the road. The right side of the pavement becomes lower by two or three inches for a distance of 3 feet, and then it rises again Only one tire on the right side is within the depression at any given time. For that tire to fall into the depression, the shock absorber must EXTEND. Hopefully the rest of the suspension will work together to keep the rest of the Jeep in its previous level attitude.
What I'm saying, though, is when my right front tire falls into that depression, the whole Jeep leans to the right and I hit my head on the side window. Then the front tire emerges from the depression, the whole Jeep becomes level again and my wife hits her head on her side window. Then the right rear tire goes into the depression, and all this head-hitting happens again.
I would assume that the shock absorber and the anti-sway bar should prevent most of this head-knocking. Right??
My current assumption is that I have the shock absorbers set way too soft.
(The head-knocking was for illustrative and dramatization purposes only. No side windows were harmed.)
That could be caused by several factors. 1st would be excessive rebound damping. on the shocks not allowing the shock to extend quickly enough. Another possible factor would be too stiff of a sway bar. A softer sway bar would allow the wheels to travel more independently and would reduce the body jerk from hitting a depression. The trade-off would be increased body roll on turns and an overall less “planted” feeling.
I’m not 100% familiar with the RS9000XL shocks, but with other adjustable shocks, the valve only adjusts the compression damping, not the rebound damping. If this is the case, additional compression damping *could* result in a better balance between compression and rebound. Best thing to do would be to find a bumpy road and just run it each time at different settings to find the best one.
Stiff springs will also create a more jerky feeling. The trade off is that softer springs will have more deflection due to loading and somewhat increased body roll and braking dive, but will result in a more compliant ride.
So what I'm starting to gather is that the up and down motion of the Jeep is basically ok. It's the side to side motion that is the problem. That can be caused by a different set of causes.
Check your toe in. If that isn't where the Jeep likes it then it won't track right on the road. 1/16 to a bit over 1/8" is where most like to be. Mine was all over the place at 1/8". Adjusted to 1/16" and the difference was night and day. Others have better tracking at 1/8". It looks like your ANTIsway bar in front is angled way low in the pictures. Could be the angle of the photo, could be me. But the ANTIsway bar should be angled slightly upward for best response.
Go underneath and look extremely closely at all the steering joints while you have someone turning the steering wheel back and forth slowly about 1/4 turn back and forth. ANY movement here (including track bar and control arm mounts) can cause a tracking problem.
So if the bumps in the road are ok then you are probably not having a shock bottom out.
Try to be as specific as possible as to what road surface is causing what effect in the Jeep. And what type of road surface is being handled well.
As stated, a live axle short wheelbase (Jeep) vehicle will ride differently than one with independent steering. It is possible that your Jeep is doing everything right, but her expectations are unrealistic from a Jeep's suspension.
Check your toe in. If that isn't where the Jeep likes it then it won't track right on the road. 1/16 to a bit over 1/8" is where most like to be. Mine was all over the place at 1/8". Adjusted to 1/16" and the difference was night and day. Others have better tracking at 1/8". It looks like your ANTIsway bar in front is angled way low in the pictures. Could be the angle of the photo, could be me. But the ANTIsway bar should be angled slightly upward for best response.
Go underneath and look extremely closely at all the steering joints while you have someone turning the steering wheel back and forth slowly about 1/4 turn back and forth. ANY movement here (including track bar and control arm mounts) can cause a tracking problem.
So if the bumps in the road are ok then you are probably not having a shock bottom out.
Try to be as specific as possible as to what road surface is causing what effect in the Jeep. And what type of road surface is being handled well.
As stated, a live axle short wheelbase (Jeep) vehicle will ride differently than one with independent steering. It is possible that your Jeep is doing everything right, but her expectations are unrealistic from a Jeep's suspension.