OP
Rough ride (I am at a loss at this point)
- Thread starter Blake Stamper
- Start date
It will affect your steering/return to center. You want the tires sufficiently out in front of the axle for good return to center steering and solid feel. If it gets too low (<5*), it will start to feel twitchy. It's always a balance between caster and pinion angle so you don't bind at full droop and don't have any vibrations due to driveline angles, but ideally the more caster you can get without binding at full droop or introducing vibes, the better for handling. Factory caster is 7*. Bigger tires can get away with less caster, but with a 35" tire you need >5*. I don't know where you are, so I brought it up as a possible contributing factor to your poor ride quality.
OP
Im not entirely sure where Im at either, the handling itself really isnt that bad, it's more the responsiveness of the suspension that I just cant get to work well, I can feel every little bump and every big bump is jarring, I'll try to get it in for the pitman arm sometime today, I have a stock replacement for it just gotta get it done.
hey Blake looks like your local. i switched from a 2015 Tacoma to the TJ. My Tacoma rode better then TJ but have owned a CJ I will say the TJ has exceeded expectations on how well it does. It just not going to get to the Toyota but should be respectable.
So do you know what kind of spring you have in there- If shocks are not moving the needed then maybe its the spring weight design?
Anyway close if you want to compare notes check how mine is riding to yours. I have a shop bay I can make open.
So do you know what kind of spring you have in there- If shocks are not moving the needed then maybe its the spring weight design?
Anyway close if you want to compare notes check how mine is riding to yours. I have a shop bay I can make open.
OP
I appreciate the offer, I already tried ignoring the forum thinking I knew best with springs and it made absolutely no difference in ride quality either
OP
My family comes from a long line of jeeps, my parents have owned 20+ wranglers over the years, they say it rides bad as well so there's definitely something going on, I just can't figure it out, my brother has an 03 tj that is loaded with stuff and his rides better, but I'm currently working towards taking weight off not adding more.
Have not read everything... Mine gets like this every so often and for whatever reason even though the control arm bolts feel plenty tight if I loosen them, and then retorque it rides 10x better. Just did it today and it's awesome, but used some Loctite for the first time. Hopefully, they stay solid until I cycle the suspension this spring for bump stops!
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OP
Update, pitman arm is replaced, if there was any binding in the steering before there isn’t now, no change in ride quality (I didn’t think there would be) but it’s fixed, the guy at the 4x4 shop suggested a dual rate spring I’m pretty sure I’ve heard from y’all that those are bs, any thoughts?
You don't have a spring problem.
Take the shocks off and go for a drive. Is whatever ride quality issue still there?
OP
Another think I would like to note is I think I have less body roll with these shocks, like I can throw it in a corner and it will hardly lean, all 4 of them didn’t move on there own, could it be they need to be unlocked like the rs9000x need to be?
OP
It was hell driving it without shocks, it still had a stiff ride but would start bouncing to the point the tires would chirp
OP
I could have sworn remembering reading that the 9000xls you need to twist the shock shaft to unlock it and allow it to function normally out of the box
OP
also, I just went for a drive with the Jeep loaded with 4 people and it rode substantially better, don't know what that entails but it is an interesting detail and means I probably have some custom tuned shocks in my future.
If it still rode rough with no shocks on it there isn’t a shock tune in the world that will help.
OP
that's my thoughts, Now I'm trying to figure out whats causing the rough ride to begin with I dont think its just a matter of solid axle nuances, any thoughts on what else might contribute to the rough ride?
