Suspension for washboard trails?

LHC30

LHC30

TJ Enthusiast
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Jan 7, 2019
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121
Location
Lake Havasu CIty, AZ
I am setting my 02 Sport up for SAR ops here in Arizona. It is a stock 4.0, 5spd, Dana 44/Dana 30 w/3.73 gears and 31" tires. I need a suspension that will give a decent ride on county dirt roads and sandy washboard washes yet still works well on highways. If I can gain an inch or two in ride height, that would be fine, but budget at this time prevents me from a full lift or TT/MML. I guess I'm looking for spring and shock recommendations, but other parts are inevitable LOL..


Who has set up a rig for this and what have you used (Mr. Blaine)? I am not looking for a KOH rig, but something that will be capable for this venture.
 
LHC30 said:
I am setting my 02 Sport up for SAR ops here in Arizona. It is a stock 4.0, 5spd, Dana 44/Dana 30 w/3.73 gears and 31" tires. I need a suspension that will give a decent ride on county dirt roads and sandy washboard washes yet still works well on highways. If I can gain an inch or two in ride height, that would be fine, but budget at this time prevents me from a full lift or TT/MML. I guess I'm looking for spring and shock recommendations, but other parts are inevitable LOL..


Who has set up a rig for this and what have you used (Mr. Blaine)? I am not looking for a KOH rig, but something that will be capable for this venture.
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You're going to spend more on getting the shocks to work right than it is likely worth for that small of a lift height. I'd consider some good tires and spending a few minutes to air down to get it better than you can otherwise.

Without the travel in the shocks, the tune is going to have to be spot on and there isn't as much margin for error as there is when you have the luxury of more travel to play with.

I'm not trying to discourage your endeavor though.
 
Thanks Mr. Blaine, do you have time to sketch out a minimum parts list to make it right? I'm already airing down as much as I feel comfortable w/o beadlocks (12lbs)
 
Finding ways to increase shock travel, specifically the up, is going to be the most helpful thing you can do once you have exhausted what is feasible with tires.

Covering rough ground quickly and comfortably is very enjoyable. Whatever your needs are, it is well worth the effort to include speediness as an important aspect of the build.

What you might discover is that once you establish certain requirements and begin to understand how to satisfy them, the path to get there becomes increasingly clear and things will fall into place -if you allow them to.
 
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Thanks all for the basic info re shock travel as key to what Im trying to accomplish. What would be the specs on a TJ that would work well? 3", 4", long arm etc?
 
Does anything really work well on washboard roads? I'm not sure. I'd think bigger diameter tires may make a difference too but I'm not 100% sure.

3-4" suspension lift with 33" tires can net you 6" of up travel with the right stuff. You are going to have a lot of measuring to figure out what is going to work best for you though. If your budget is big enough I think having shocks custom tuned to your rig along with bigger tires with large sidewalls would be your best bet.
 
LHC30 said:
I am setting my 02 Sport up for SAR ops here in Arizona. It is a stock 4.0, 5spd, Dana 44/Dana 30 w/3.73 gears and 31" tires. I need a suspension that will give a decent ride on county dirt roads and sandy washboard washes yet still works well on highways. If I can gain an inch or two in ride height, that would be fine, but budget at this time prevents me from a full lift or TT/MML. I guess I'm looking for spring and shock recommendations, but other parts are inevitable LOL..


Who has set up a rig for this and what have you used (Mr. Blaine)? I am not looking for a KOH rig, but something that will be capable for this venture.
Click to expand...

Can't answer your questions but how many rounds comprise that group, what was the distance, rifle and ammo?
 
I'll throw this out there for comparison to the taller lifts. My H&R springs gave me about 1-1/2" of lift on my light SE. I have a measured 5-1/4" of uptravel in front with 31x10.50 tires, stock wheels.

When I air down and disconnect, and travel at the RIGHT SPEED everything smooths out on washboard roads. Too slow and it's a rough ride. Too fast and it's brutal. If I match my speed to the road conditions, it's actually pretty smooth. My opinion is that one of the keys is giving the suspension components time to react and do their job.
 
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Have to agree that a lot can be achieved by finding the right speed to hit any trail. I am looking to upgrade the stock suspension as it clearly has limits! I might be able to find a 2" lift and work with that, but custom tuned shocks might kill the budget.

Chino, I like the 31's and 3.73's with the manual. It has good around town and highway manners, and does well for the limited trails I take it on. If I want to go rock krawling, I take the 13 JKUR that has a "few" mods. And the target is about a 2" shoot-n-see sticker, 5 rounds of 9mm at 7yds from a G19 on a 1/2sec cadence.
 
LHC30 said:
Have to agree that a lot can be achieved by finding the right speed to hit any trail. I am looking to upgrade the stock suspension as it clearly has limits! I might be able to find a 2" lift and work with that, but custom tuned shocks might kill the budget.

Chino, I like the 31's and 3.73's with the manual. It has good around town and highway manners, and does well for the limited trails I take it on. If I want to go rock krawling, I take the 13 JKUR that has a "few" mods. And the target is about a 2" shoot-n-see sticker, 5 rounds of 9mm at 7yds from a G19 on a 1/2sec cadence.
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Damned fine group. I regret not going with 31" tires on my TJ which has 3.73 gears. Ended up putting on 33" which is way over kill for me.
 
Minimize unsprung weight is the key to speed & washboard. You can improve the ride a bit but anything with an independent front suspension will blow it away a solid axle.

Bigger/heavier tires and wheels will counter the effects of better springs and shocks. You need alloy rims and C LR tires for sure.
 
Does anything really work well on washboard roads?
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Not trying to be a smart a@@, but I driven/ridden in a few vehicles that were smooth on wash boards, but they didn't have solid axles.

I'd love to know of a solution for smooth on washboards with solid axles and a small budget.
 
LHC30 said:
Thanks Mr. Blaine, do you have time to sketch out a minimum parts list to make it right? I'm already airing down as much as I feel comfortable w/o beadlocks (12lbs)
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I have time, just not sure I have the answers. I work with stuff that has enough travel to let the suspension work. I'd start with probably some Fox bolt in shocks and start playing with a tuner and a decent flutter stack. Another thing that will help is disconnecting the front sway bar or running a lighter one like the Currie Anti-rock. Having driven a JK Rubi and being able to go back and forth disconnecting the sway bar on the fly, the difference is noticeable.

You're also good on the air pressure, that's about where I would start.
 
LHC30 said:
Thanks Mr. Blaine, do you have time to sketch out a minimum parts list to make it right? I'm already airing down as much as I feel comfortable w/o beadlocks (12lbs)
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I run 7psi no problem regularly. Get an accurate gauge. 5psi and you might run into trouble. Don't fear low pressure, it cures everything. 12 is borderline not aired down at all in my experience.
 
pagrey said:
I run 7psi no problem regularly. Get an accurate gauge. 5psi and you might run into trouble. Don't fear low pressure, it cures everything. 12 is borderline not aired down at all in my experience.
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12 psi is what I run on my tundra tires on my airplane.
 
pagrey said:
How is your plane on washboard roads?
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Better than most, but less than 12 psi and I can shear off the valve stem from the tube inside the tire. The more expensive tires 35" ($3500) per pair are tubeless, mine are only 21" and $1000 per pair, and that is why they are 22 years old and have tubes.
 
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