Why does my TJ ride like a tank?

Verl

Verl

Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2018
Messages
26
Location
Moab
just bought a nice 2004 Rubicon,2 door it has a 3" lift, new shocks, moderate tread on 33" tires,
Rides like a tank. Have owned jeeps for 30 yrs, this rides like my 1980 jeep. Any help
To calm down the ride. Last jeep was a 4 door 2007 wrangler did I just get spoiled
 
Verl said:
just bought a nice 2004 Rubicon,2 door it has a 3" lift, new shocks, moderate tread on 33" tires,
Rides like a tank. Have owned jeeps for 30 yrs, this rides like my 1980 jeep. Any help
To calm down the ride. Last jeep was a 4 door 2007 wrangler did I just get spoiled
Click to expand...
The TJ is such a short wheelbase vehicle, that some discomfort driving is a gimme. However, shocks and tires are the two major factors affecting the ride quality of your Jeep. What shocks do you have and what tire pressure are you running?

With 33’s, the first thing I’d do is get my tire gauge out and air those puppies down to 26psi (cold). Then I’d get under my TJ and snap a couple of pics of the stamp on the shocks and report back.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GrayGhost and EJD
superduty said:
I think the question everyone will ask is....

What lift is on it?

Which shocks?

What's your tire pressure?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

X2. If you give us this information, that will help us quite a bit in diagnosing what the issue is.
 
The first place to start is your tire pressure. Anything above 26 psi and it's going to ride like crap. I'd run it at 22-26 psi personally, which is what most of us run. You'll be shocked at how much of a difference the correct tire pressure makes, believe me!

Next thing is shocks. If you're running crappy (or blown) shocks or shocks meant for a much heavier vehicle, it's going to ride poorly.

Next up is tires. E load range tires are going to ride a lot rougher than a C load range tire.

A TJ is never going to ride like a nice SUV with independent suspension, but it can be made to ride pretty comfortable (mine does).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Night Hawk and Jerry Bransford
Looks like skyjacker lift, pro comp 3000 shocks, I set pressure at 28lbs
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT
Chris said:
The first place to start is your tire pressure. Anything above 26 psi and it's going to ride like crap. I'd run it at 22-26 psi personally, which is what most of us run. You'll be shocked at how much of a difference the correct tire pressure makes, believe me!

Next thing is shocks. If you're running crappy (or blown) shocks or shocks meant for a much heavier vehicle, it's going to ride poorly.

Next up is tires. E load range tires are going to ride a lot rougher than a C load range tire.

A TJ is never going to ride like a nice SUV with independent suspension, but it can be made to ride pretty comfortable (mine does).
Click to expand...
Thx good to know I thought about changing tires, thx for tire pressure heads up. Used to do most trails in Moab, Jeep Safari here is awesome now I'm just not into difficult trails.. I'm getting to old for breakdowns. Thx Chris
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT
Verl said:
Looks like skyjacker lift, pro comp 3000 shocks, I set pressure at 28lbs
Click to expand...
I would try about 25 psi and see how it rides. If running the stock 16" wheels you likely have a stiff walled E load tire. Unfortunately you also run a notoriously poor riding shock. Not much you can do there other than buying something else.
 
Verl said:
Thx good to know I thought about changing tires, thx for tire pressure heads up. Used to do most trails in Moab, Jeep Safari here is awesome now I'm just not into difficult trails.. I'm getting to old for breakdowns. Thx Chris
Click to expand...

Happy to help! Going from something like 24 psi to 30 psi is a remarkable difference in terms of ride quality.

Also, if you want the best riding shocks you can get in terms of being soft on-road, the Rancho RS5000X are it. Look around the forum enough and you'll see that the Rancho RS5000X is a widely loved and highly recommended shock. I've run OME shocks, Bilstein 5100 shocks, Fox shocks, and Rancho R5000X shocks on my TJ. Hands down, the Rancho RS5000X shocks ride the best out of all of them.

The others aren't bad shocks by any means, but they're meant for a vehicle that is much heavier than a TJ (i.e. a full size truck or even a JKU).
 
Verl said:
Looks like skyjacker lift, pro comp 3000 shocks, I set pressure at 28lbs
Click to expand...
ProComp's ES-3000 shocks are horribly and notoriously too stiff for a Wrangler. 26 psi is appropriate for a lightly loaded TJ, go to 28 only when it's fully loaded with people and/or gear.

Rancho’s RS5000X shock would make a very significant improvement in your ride.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: D Turlington and Chris
Throw some Rancho RS5000X shocks on there with 26 psi, and you're going to be amazed at how much better it rides!
 
x2 on the tire load range! While I like the peace of mind of having more ply in my E range tires, my butt sure does pay the price when driving for more than 2ish hours.

Jerry Bransford said:
ProComp's ES-3000 shocks are horribly and notoriously too stiff for a Wrangler. 26 psi is appropriate for a lightly loaded TJ, go to 28 only when it's fully loaded.

Rancho’s RS5000X shock would make a very significant improvement in your ride.
Click to expand...

I don't want to hijack the thread just curious. With load range E i'm usually aired to about 30-32 lbs. is that too high? 26-28 just seems low to me.
 
D Turlington said:
x2 on the tire load range! While I like the peace of mind of having more ply in my E range tires, my butt sure does pay the price when driving for more than 2ish hours.



I don't want to hijack the thread just curious. With load range E i'm usually aired to about 30-32 lbs. is that too high? 26-28 just seems low to me.
Click to expand...
The bigger the tire, the lower the required air pressure. Like 24-26 psi is appropriate for the Load Range C 35x12.50 tires on my TJ. Load Range D and E tires are too stiff for a TJ and require even lower pressures to produce a reasonable ride. They need to be aired WAY down on offroad trails to produce the larger required footprint to increase traction and to reduce the shock and jolts the Jeep experiences on tough trails. Not to mention the passengers.

And more plies can just make it harder for a tire to flex and conform to the terrain to produce the required traction. That's not to say a Load Range C is more vulnerable to damage than a LR D or E is either. My LR C Goodyear MT/R tires spend their life rock crawling on sharp rocks while aired down to between 4 and 8 psi and they've yet to experience cuts, punctures, or any damage
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: D Turlington
Jerry Bransford said:
The bigger the tire, the lower the required air pressure. Like 24-26 psi is appropriate for the Load Range C 35x12.50 tires on my TJ. Load Range D and E tires are too stiff for a TJ and require even lower pressures to produce a reasonable ride. They need to be aired WAY down on offroad trails to produce the larger required footprint to increase traction and to reduce the shock and jolts the Jeep experiences on tough trails. Not to mention the passengers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the knowledge! I'll probably drop the front pressure to 26 and the rears to 28 since im pulling a trailer around right now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT
Jerry Bransford said:
ProComp's ES-3000 shocks are horribly and notoriously too stiff for a Wrangler. 26 psi is appropriate for a lightly loaded TJ, go to 28 only when it's fully loaded with people and/or gear.

Rancho’s RS5000X shock would make a very significant improvement in your ride.
Click to expand...

Thx for the advice, I'll change the shocks first and lower tire pressure
 
I run 25lbs of pressure on my 33's and enjoy the ride. My commute is over 1 1/2 hours one way two days a week and have no problem with the ride. I am over 50 years old and a pretty big guy to boot, so no 25 year old 150 lbs guy here that could ride on a rock and be happy. lol
 
Good information. I must not know what a smooth riding TJ is because I think mine rides very nice with E rated KO2s at 28 psi. The only modification to the suspension is an Antirock front sway bar. How do the factory shocks compare to Rancho RS5000X? How much do you think always using a hardtop factor into the ride quality? Thanks.
 
KMG said:
Good information. I must not know what a smooth riding TJ is because I think mine rides very nice with E rated KO2s at 28 psi. The only modification to the suspension is an Antirock front sway bar. How do the factory shocks compare to Rancho RS5000X? How much do you think always using a hardtop factor into the ride quality? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Do not know how they compare to stock but, the X is a great riding shock. Absorbs bumps well, not stiff, not bouncy.
 
gg1 said:
I run 25lbs of pressure on my 33's and enjoy the ride. My commute is over 1 1/2 hours one way two days a week and have no problem with the ride. I am over 50 years old and a pretty big guy to boot, so no 25 year old 150 lbs guy here that could ride on a rock and be happy. lol
Click to expand...

My 06 Rubicon with 33 E rated tires with Rancho 5000x shocks rides like a dump truck. I run mine at 24 psi. I have driven other Jeeps and not one of them ride as rough as mine. The only solution is to move to 15’s and load range C tires.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford
Top Bottom
Back