Road Noise: Hard Upper Half Doors vs Full Doors
- Thread starter deadbeat son
- Start date
I'm in a similar situation. The ride in my TJ is very firm compared to my LJ. At the risk of getting attacked, I've tried tried very soft shocks, i.e. Black Max, on the TJ and it really didn't make any difference.
"Drivers in Virginia may lawfully use an earbud, headphone, or Bluetooth device in one ear only."
if you already have it, it doesn't take very long to crank up the volume on it that will be mentally disruptive for days or weeks. And every time that happens, there's a ratcheting effect so it doesn't ever really seem to go back down all the way to the previous baseline.
When I decided to go TJ to LJ 2 years ago but didn't want to start over, I got the opportunity to drive them basically side by side, with the exact same tires, axles, and shocks, because I literally took them out of the TJ and put them into the LJ.
The biggest thing I noticed was that it made the back end feel more harsh, like the shocks had gotten stiffer, because the weight distribution is more front heavy on the LJ. Even though the LJ is overall heavier, I'm convinced that the weight on the rear axle is actually less than an otherwise identical TJ because it's farther from the COG. Going along with this is that I had to get longer FRONT springs to maintain the same ride height as I had with the TJ, while the rear springs ended up a hair taller.
Second to that, I can feel more antisquat, when taking off from a stop there's more of a sensation of the rear end wanting to rise, rather than squat, under torque.
Just added those to the list of shit I don't need but really want. Thanks!
Let me know if you want to go wheeling when you come to WA!
You’ll need the intercom system also. Mine is all tied into my GMRS.
I'm doing a road trip from Fall Creek to Vancouver Island and then we'll be coming home on the Washington BDR.
I'm planning on doing it topless...and really considering a Rugged Radio setup so me and my dad can talk...and we're convoying so music and GMRS is all fantastic.
I run a hard top and soft door uppers in the winter. Road noise is manageable but bad. Looking for some full doors...but really considering the bulldawgs because the price is comparable to decent full doors. Adding 1/4 rope to the weather seals helped. And I think I need to redo my hinge bushings.
-Mac
I'm planning on doing it topless...and really considering a Rugged Radio setup so me and my dad can talk...and we're convoying so music and GMRS is all fantastic.
I run a hard top and soft door uppers in the winter. Road noise is manageable but bad. Looking for some full doors...but really considering the bulldawgs because the price is comparable to decent full doors. Adding 1/4 rope to the weather seals helped. And I think I need to redo my hinge bushings.
-Mac
I've got a few potential road trips with friends planned this summer that we'll probably end up taking my Jeep on, and I almost want these just for entertainment. But at the same time, I don't even want to think about the conversations that would happen over those after a few Monsters and a few too many hours in the car.
My TJ is used only as a summer toy. It came with the full doors and a Bestop soft top. I bought and restored a pair of half doors and added Bestop sliders last year. The slider locating pins had to be bent quite a bit to (nearly) eliminate wind noise but now, unless it's a really windy day, they fit well. The curtains and sliders come off from late May to September. If I were going on a road trip, I'd dust off my '92 Buick Park Avenue.
You aren't really comparing the cost of hard doors to a jk or jl are you?
If you need to save a couple hours travel time by going on the freeway the cheapest by far is hard doors,hard top,and carpet.
Hard top makes a huge difference.
OP
You aren't really comparing the cost of hard doors to a jk or jl are you?
If you need to save a couple hours travel time by going on the freeway the cheapest by far is hard doors,hard top,and carpet.
Hard top makes a huge difference.
No, I'm not comparing the costs of the hard doors to a JK or JL. If I get hard doors and a hard top for my current TJ, I still won't have AC so I'll still have to roll down the windows negating the entire reason for getting the hard doors and top.
At some point, I have to consider that maybe I bought the wrong TJ and move on. If that's the decision, I can get a TJ with full doors, hard, top, and AC, or perhaps the JK or JL would be better suited simply to keep fatigue at bay. I really prefer the TJ to the newer Wranglers though.
I'm not making any decisions at this time, just thinking things through. I've told myself I'll give my current Jeep one more season before moving on. Although there is a 61k mile '06 Rubicon available locally that would solve these problems.
there you go again
now we get to the real dilemma.it isn't about top or doors at all.if its warm enough to need windows down it doesn't matter what doors or top you have on long runs.
OP
there you go again
now we get to the real dilemma.it isn't about top or doors at all.if its warm enough to need windows down it doesn't matter what doors or top you have on long runs.
Right, so I'll need AC too. Where does it stop?
rpoz20
New Member
I'm a bit late to this thread, but I found it while researching about Bulldawg uppers. I have a TJ (BDS lift with Ranchero shocks, hard top, full doors) and an LJ (Metalcloak 3.5 SA with 6-pack shocks, hard top, half doors with glass windows/canvas) and there's a big difference in the ride quality between the two. The LJ is much smoother for longer drives, but like the OP, the noise is a killer. That's what has me researching whether I'd be ok with Bulldawg half door uppers or if I should just bite the bullet and find some full doors. Thanks for all the good input in this thread.
