Shock advice

[JMT]

I’m always surprised when people state spring rates don’t matter.
Fact is if they didn’t matter, the weight of your Jeep wouldn’t matter and neither would your wheel/tire weight and suspension setup. TJ rates on the attached link vary from 130 to 240 and all of those rates will provide a different level of performance.

I was surprised when I realized there was more than one use for my ding-a-ling.

 

[jjvw]

I’m always surprised when people state spring rates don’t matter.
Fact is if they didn’t matter, the weight of your Jeep wouldn’t matter and neither would your wheel/tire weight and suspension setup. TJ rates on the attached link vary from 130 to 240 and all of those rates will provide a different level of performance. Then you’ve got to factor in your shocks, because if you plan traveling long distances at speed on washboard dirt roads and trails, you’ll soon melt the seals on rancho 5000x.

The bottomline is each owner must first determine what their primary use will be, if it’s highway use, putting around trails and crawling slower areas, then rancho is fine paired with the right springs. If not then you’d be better off investing in springs and properly valved shocks specifically setup for your rig.

https://wranglertjforum.com/attachments/tj-shock-spring-specifications-xlsx.547294/

Hush. This isn't our first rodeo.

The bottom line is that the spring rates amongst TJ coils that provide similar ride heights do not vary much.

Any and all coils that are designed to fit a TJ must fit within certain design constraints to create an advertised ride height, with a sufficient free length for the shocks, and without going into coil bind too early in the suspension travel.

After that, any and all coils are reacting to the weight of the vehicle placed on top of them. As mentioned numerous times, remove the shocks and go for a drive. Then come back and report on how stiff the coils really are.

 

[mrblaine]

I’m always surprised when people state spring rates don’t matter.

Correctly, the statement should be that you can not tune ride quality with spring rate.

 

[MikekiM]

I’m not a fan of the 20’s at all. But it was all I could get my hands on at the time. Those will be shit canned for some 16 or 17” on 33’s this spring. I’m also going to do some research into the rancho 5000x and black max. I believe those will be the two to pick from.

You're seriously limited in how well you get the TJ to handle while you're still sporting the low profile tires. You probably know this, but the properties inherent in super low profile tires are in direct opposition to what most TJ owners are looking for in a tire.

Any way.... know that there is a nice comfortable ride buried in there somewhere. I daily drive mine. I have three other Jeeps of various pedigree and the ride of the TJ is as good as all the newer, family friendly models.

I recently installed Black Max shocks and have been pretty happy with them . It is also possible that your springs are too stiff . I have a friend who put too strong a spring on his TJ and it was extremely rough . You could check that by disconnecting the shocks and see how much movement you have . I recently changed out my rear springs and the OME springs I installed are larger in diameter and stiffer than the stock springs . This makes them slightly rougher riding with more jarring on potholes . The tires are likely a big issue on your Jeep . You can't really run those low enough on air for a smoother ride . I'm running 24 to 26 psi on highway and 10 to 14 off-road . I'm running 255/85r16 which are 33's .

FWIW, I left the RC springs in while removing everything else that was RC. Dare I say it? The springs contribute far less to ride comfort than the shocks (there.. I said it. Flame Suit is on). Ride height was where I need it, comfort is where I want it. I saw no reason to swap the springs.

The springs are not stiff. You should do the same and remove the shocks and go for a drive.

I want a video of that.

...the difference in my 15" 33s between 36psi and 26psi is staggering.

This ^^^
Not so much the rest of what you said. Just my $0.02

 

[MikekiM]

Correctly, the statement should be that you can not tune ride quality with spring rate.

Yes.. what he said.
Pretty much all the time.

But can you tune ride quality with the proper stickers?

 

[JMT]

I want a video of that.

Same effect but flat road. LOL

 

[MikekiM]

Same effect but flat road. LOL

View attachment 576892

This gets my vote for post of the year.
I spit my drink all over the monitor

 

[Rickyd]

Just the off-the-shelf 2.0 Performance series from Amazon. I couldn't justify the Accutune-tuned Performance series. I don't off-road hard enough to justify them. But the IFPs are head and shoulders better than the Ranchos.

You didn't want to spend 50$ per shock for tuning but you'd waste money on fox stickers?

 

[JMT]

You didn't want to spend 50$ per shock for tuning but you'd waste money on fox stickers?

I had a set of the Savvy TJ Tuned Fox Shocks. Tuned for what? 1 particular TJ that I know nothing about, but definitely not my TJ. So, only if my TJ had the same specs as the TJ they were set up for would it have any meaningful ride value for mine. Buying them was like buying a lottery ticket. Good luck! I lost.

 

[Rickyd]

I had a set of the Savvy TJ Tuned Fox Shocks. Tuned for what? 1 particular TJ that I know nothing about, but definitely not my TJ. So, only if my TJ had the same specs as the TJ they were set up for would it have any meaningful ride value for mine. Buying them was like buying a lottery ticket. Good luck! I lost.

I didn't mean off the shelf shocks like yours,or his. I mean weigh your jeep,tell a good tuner what it's for and spend 50$ per shock on the shims inside

 

[ColoJeep]

Same effect but flat road. LOL

View attachment 576892

I would love to see a stock and modded TJ following the MB .

 

[DuckNut]

Ignoring all the noise, here is my answer, I have a set of Fox and very pleased with them. I do not have low profile tires and cannot imagine you could ever get a satisfactory ride with them in this style of vehicle.

 

[psrivats]

I want a video of that.

Will be similar to this.

Now imagine doing that on a TJ, once with any set of TJ springs and again with another TJ specific set with say 20 or 40 lb/in difference in spring rate, doesn't matter lower or higher. Do you think the behavior will be any different without the shocks, remembering that jeep is like 4k lbs in weight?

@jjvw actually did this a while ago in his TJ and has explained his experiences really well in multiple threads. Correctly set up, shocks not only add ride comfort, but they bring in a very significant amount of control that really adds to the ride quality in a very big way. My only wish is that jj had recorded it so that I can paste that video instead of this one above

 

[Rickyd]

Will be similar to this.

Now imagine doing that on a TJ, once with any set of TJ springs and again with another TJ specific set with say 20 or 40 lb/in difference in spring rate, doesn't matter lower or higher. Do you think the behavior will be any different without the shocks, remembering that jeep is like 4k lbs in weight?

@jjvw actually did this a while ago in his TJ and has explained his experiences really well in multiple threads. Correctly set up, shocks not only add ride comfort, but they bring in a very significant amount of control that really adds to the ride quality in a very big way. My only wish is that jj had recorded it so that I can paste that video instead of this one above

He should do a series of how to threads with humor.then we could point to them instead of running the unwashed Facebook masses off?

 

[MikekiM]

Will be similar to this.

Now imagine doing that on a TJ, once with any set of TJ springs and again with another TJ specific set with say 20 or 40 lb/in difference in spring rate, doesn't matter lower or higher. Do you think the behavior will be any different without the shocks, remembering that jeep is like 4k lbs in weight?

@jjvw actually did this a while ago in his TJ and has explained his experiences really well in multiple threads. Correctly set up, shocks not only add ride comfort, but they bring in a very significant amount of control that really adds to the ride quality in a very big way. My only wish is that jj had recorded it so that I can paste that video instead of this one above

Fully expected him to pop out like the taillight.. given he had no seat belt on.

 

[psrivats]

He should do a series of how to threads with humor.then we could point to them instead of running the unwashed Facebook masses off?

His build thread is already that. And it won't make a difference even the way you describe. Having been here while and watched things, quite a few people simply come here for validation/reinforcement and when you question their incorrect beliefs they have a hard time accepting they are/were or even just could be wrong.

 

[Harold&Cat]

Did you go for a drive without shocks? When you put the new springs on, did the ride height change?

No , I have not driven it without shocks .
Yes , the OME lift springs increase the ride height by approximately 2 inches .

When examining the springs , the OME are thicker and harder to compress therefore making them stiffer .

I have run the stock rear springs with 1 inch spacers for 11 years without the pothole jarring produced after installing the OME springs . The Black Max shocks did not help with the teeth rattling on the potholes or washboard type roads , but overall theride and handling is pretty good . I am going to reinstall my factory rear springs today with 2 inch spacers and test the ride to see if it improves .

 

[jjvw]

No , I have not driven it without shocks .
Yes , the OME lift springs increase the ride height by approximately 2 inches .

When examining the springs , the OME are thicker and harder to compress therefore making them stiffer .

I have run the stock rear springs with 1 inch spacers for 11 years without the pothole jarring produced after installing the OME springs . The Black Max shocks did not help with the teeth rattling on the potholes or washboard type roads , but overall theride and handling is pretty good . I am going to reinstall my factory rear springs today with 2 inch spacers and test the ride to see if it improves .

Stop it. And go for a drive without the shocks installed.

The ride height changed by 2". That will dramatically change the behavior of the shocks, including where the end points of the suspension travel occur.

 

[psrivats]

I had a set of the Savvy TJ Tuned Fox Shocks. Tuned for what? 1 particular TJ that I know nothing about, but definitely not my TJ. So, only if my TJ had the same specs as the TJ they were set up for would it have any meaningful ride value for mine. Buying them was like buying a lottery ticket. Good luck! I lost.

Beyond what you said, the tuner also needs to understand what's actually good vs bad. You can get the most expensive adjstable shocks and still have a fucked up ride if the tune is bad and no amount of adjustment will set things right.

 

[psrivats]

No , I have not driven it without shocks .
Yes , the OME lift springs increase the ride height by approximately 2 inches .

When examining the springs , the OME are thicker and harder to compress therefore making them stiffer .

I have run the stock rear springs with 1 inch spacers for 11 years without the pothole jarring produced after installing the OME springs . The Black Max shocks did not help with the teeth rattling on the potholes or washboard type roads , but overall theride and handling is pretty good . I am going to reinstall my factory rear springs today with 2 inch spacers and test the ride to see if it improves .

Watch the video I posted above. Repeat it with any TJ specific springs in your jeep. Tell us if you can tell the difference ome and stock with spacers.