Ride quality question

[4Lo4Sho]

2004 TJ rubicon
4.5 RE long arm lift
Fox 2.0 adjustable reservoir shocks with levels 1-8 setting knobs.
Hydro bumpstops

Overall, the jeep rides pretty great, with a bit of harshness on rough roads, but nothing too bad.

On certain parts of the freeway though, the Jeep gets to "bucking" with very little of the suspension doing any damping (it would seem). I drive the same section in a Civic or our F150 and it's just the very slightest sensation as opposed to the TJ, where the suspension seems like it's absorbing very little of the road's corrugations. (probably only 40-50mph in these areas.)

Anyone have guidance on the proper setting for the FOX shocks with a heavy tire carrier back there? I can't find anything online or in forums.

thanks!,

 

[jjvw]

Mess with the adjusters until you find something you like better than the others. Other than a retune, that is all you can do.

This assumes the shock travel bias is what it ought to be at about 50/50 from ride height.

 

[XCRN]

I run the same shocks, all 4 corners set to 1 on the road. I also have JKS dual rate 3in springs and the harshness reduced a lot. As far as the bucking issue, I would think more weight in the rear would help. I have not put mine on any scales to check, but I think I have a rear weight bias and I am not getting the bucking you are describing.

 

[jjvw]

I run the same shocks, all 4 corners set to 1 on the road. I also have JKS dual rate 3in springs and the harshness reduced a lot. As far as the bucking issue, I would think more weight in the rear would help. I have not put mine on any scales to check, but I think I have a rear weight bias and I am not getting the bucking you are describing.

The only thing the springs can do is change the ride height, which potentially changes the shock travel bias into a better position for the shocks to perform better than before.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

2004 TJ rubicon
4.5 RE long arm lift
Fox 2.0 adjustable reservoir shocks with levels 1-8 setting knobs.
Hydro bumpstops

Overall, the jeep rides pretty great, with a bit of harshness on rough roads, but nothing too bad.

On certain parts of the freeway though, the Jeep gets to "bucking" with very little of the suspension doing any damping (it would seem). I drive the same section in a Civic or our F150 and it's just the very slightest sensation as opposed to the TJ, where the suspension seems like it's absorbing very little of the road's corrugations. (probably only 40-50mph in these areas.)

Anyone have guidance on the proper setting for the FOX shocks with a heavy tire carrier back there? I can't find anything online or in forums.

thanks!,

The bucking sounds more like the front and rear not getting along, having to do with the timing of the response of the rear, ideally a little faster than that of the front so that they both "settle" together after an event like an expansion joint in a concrete highway.

The difficulty arises where TJs have such a short wheelbase and such variable configurations of loaded weight distribution that they far more rarely line up with a well -timed suspension.

As mentioned above, you can try adding weight in the rear to slow it down (harder to remove weight if it needs sped up), or try some different settings with your clickers font vs rear and see if you can get it riding better.

 

[XCRN]

The only thing the springs can do is change the ride height, which potentially changes the shock travel bias into a better position for the shocks to perform better than before.

I personally felt enough of a difference at the small actions that result in harshness going from BDS linear rates to JKS dual rates on the same horribly maintained city roads I take to work everyday. Not a night and day difference, but still a noticeable difference.