I have a friend with a 2 door. She had the bolt coilovers installed. I took it out for a ride off road and it beat the crap out of us. The rear are so stiff it's terrible. We don't know much about these coilovers. Meaning, adjustability. I wouldn't know where to start. Any tips?
The 2007 era JKs have additional body mounts right above the OEM shock mounts (where the new brackets go) which keep the body off the frame just a bit more than the 2012+ do. Because 2012+ are missing that additional body spacer, it could possibly be making the far rear body spacers take more of the load and flatten out a bit which causes the contact. Or simply, the lack of the extra spacer allows the body to sit that much closer to the frame above the brackets as it is unsupported.
I will take some comparison photos and post them up for reference, but it appears that may be the cause as it allows the body to sit on or nearly on top of the now taller brackets, transferring the compression forces up and into the body tub creating the clunk.
I do not want to add the rubber mat and isolate it, I want to get my body off the frame and bracket entirely, so I will work out a solution.
"Off road" can mean a lot of different things. Were you rock crawling? Were you playing on dunes? Were you going mudding? Were you driving on whoops? As far as beating the crap out of you goes, how tall does your friend have her coil overs set at? Is she running long arms? How fast were you going? What tires is your friend running and how much psi were in the tires? Kinda have to answer some of the basics before any of us can offer any constructive suggestions/recommendations.
I apologize for not offering more info. By off road I mean we were on a dirt road with lots of rocks that varied from soft ball size to basketball. It was easy to miss the rocks with the front, it wasn't so easy with the rear. It felt like instead of absorbing the hit of the rocks. The shock just sent the rear of the two door upwards. The rear is very stiff. The tire pressure was lowered to 15psi. Running toyo 37's. As I understand it. The coilovers are set as they come straight out of the box.
I appreciate you taking the time to help.
First off, 37" Toyos are load range E tires and while they are practically bulletproof, they will offer a harsh ride unless you air down a LOT, certainly more than 15 psi. Hell, back when I was running them, I always ran them at 24 psi on pavement. Second, what spring rates did your friend get with the coil overs and did she set any pre-load on the rears like they need for proper valving. Third, I ask again, how fast were you going on this terrain. If you're running too slow, your ride can feel harsh. Coil overs shine at faster speeds. Fourth, is it safe to assume that your friend is still running factory length control arms? On a 2-door, the geometry will most likely be off enough to cause a harsh ride. There are a LOT of variables to consider here.
Others will correct me if I am wrong, but springs are for ride height, nitrogen pressure is for stiffness and valving for compression / rebound.
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Springs are not just for ride height. Their stiffness or rate helps determine that. Valving as well as the nitrogen pressure help with the jounce and rebound to control the springs. Without valving and nitrogen pressure your springs would just bouncing the axle up and down for a long time.
Just a little background before I ask my question.
I had a shop install my Bolt on coilovers 3-4 months ago, was never super happy with the ride. Had to battle some DW at the same time so I thought maybe that was it, replaced the ball joints and thought my ride would improve a little.
The main issue with the ride was it feels as though I can feel every little bump in the road. I read an earlier post where someone complained of the same issue, they said they adjusted the stop/timing ring. Contacted EVO and sent a picture and they confirmed to me the adjust the stop/timing ring. So I'll be moving it down to where it's an inch or so above the isolator.
To the question, I'm having a buddy weld the front brackets to the bolt on kit in a couple weeks, and while that is going on I'm going to adjust the stop rings. Is there any magical tool needed? I saw that EVO sells a spanner wrench, but it doesn't look like the right tool to me. I'm a "right tool" for the "right job" kinda guy. Heck, If anyone could just list the tools needed to effectively adjust every aspect of a coilover that would be helpful, I found there's about 30 different types of spanner wrenches . Any assistance in this is greatly appreciated.
P.S. this is my first coilover set up, kinda bought above my knowledge/experience level to learn and grow into it. I have been harassing my google browser with trying to find a legit guide to coilovers. I found some tidbits but no really intro to coilovers and how to adjust them. Almost like wayolifes DIY alignment...but for coilovers. Any thoughts on where to to look.
Sorry for the long post.
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