Rubicon Express too stiff?

christov11

christov11

New member
more of a peace of mind post.

Wanted to know if any of you had experience with the rubicon express 2.5 full susp. kit? works great on the trail but on the road i find it stiff as a moth*****er. Given, im not expecting stock ride quality and somethign far from a lincoln towncar :p. just trying to get peace of mind as to it being installed properly. something i noticed is that the rear passenger side bumpstop is lower than the driver side. by lower I dont mean the bump stop itself but the bracket that holds it. I'm thinking it was literally made this way but ends up giving the right rear harder hits than the left. after a couple months and a couple trails it has gotten slightly softer or maybe my ass just got used to it.

like I said im not looking to change things or fix inexistant problems but trying to seek out others that have had similar for reassurance. Where would this company fit within the different brands? i know people rave about evo and KING and OME but i have no idea where rubiexpress fits in the hierarchy.

and yes i know its not the best suspension ever but hey... it fit the budget and has gotten me over a lot of obstacles. apart from the stiff ride, i cant complain to be honest!

ill try to get pictures up tonight since im stuck in the office slaving through 9-5
 
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Ive had the same lift for almost 2 years, pretty stiff but i dont have anything to compare it to. Offroad seems good but sway bar disconnected and aired down obviously helps. But over speed bumps its painful. Im lookin at swapping for some evo plush rides but dont want 3" + of lift
 
I had a 3.5" RE kit and I like to compare the ride to an unloaded dump truck. Felt like Evel Kneivel going over speed bumps. :crazy_eyes: I got the chance to swap it out last Fall & what a difference.
You can always just swap your coils out & leave the rest of the kit alone.
 
I have a friend on a TJ with 4" RE springs and it wasn't until he swapped out his RE springs for Currie springs that he realized how stiff they were. According to him, Currie is a cadillac ride compared to RE.
 
alright so general concensus (im sure thats not how we spell that word...) she rides rough!

not gonna change much for now..mayyyyyyyyyybe get the plush springs if i dont need to change anything else. budget = got other things to invest in which are more important like armor and recovery.

thanks for the input!
 
I have 3/5 RE and it is rough ride. I am replacing the shocks which came with the lift and installing Rancho 9000 and eventually springs will be replaced.
 
Keep in mind that a lot of the lift kits are designed for guys running big bumpers, winches, tire carrier with 35-37's etc. If you are running factory bumpers and no winch then the springs likely seem too harsh. Also, with coil springs, the springs are there to hold the jeep up to proper ride height, the shocks are responsible for that majority of damping (ie, stiffness, rebound).

A lot of the lift kits are designed to give the advertised lift height over stock even with the additional 600-1000lbs for the front and rear bumper, winch, spare tire, etc. If you are running stock parts other then the lift then I would expect it to ride harsh.

Springs also require time to "break in" they will normally settle with 5000ish miles.

I personally do not have a Rubicon Express kit and neither do any of my friends so I can not comment on the exact ride quality, but these are a few situations that I have ran into over the years.
 
millsey said:
Keep in mind that a lot of the lift kits are designed for guys running big bumpers, winches, tire carrier with 35-37's etc. If you are running factory bumpers and no winch then the springs likely seem too harsh. Also, with coil springs, the springs are there to hold the jeep up to proper ride height, the shocks are responsible for that majority of damping (ie, stiffness, rebound).

A lot of the lift kits are designed to give the advertised lift height over stock even with the additional 600-1000lbs for the front and rear bumper, winch, spare tire, etc. If you are running stock parts other then the lift then I would expect it to ride harsh.

Springs also require time to "break in" they will normally settle with 5000ish miles.

I personally do not have a Rubicon Express kit and neither do any of my friends so I can not comment on the exact ride quality, but these are a few situations that I have ran into over the years.
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so for ride quality and dampening the bumps, changing the shocks would be a better move than to change the springs?

i thought it was the other way around but then again.......... its monday :thinking:
 
I had the 3.5 RE lift and it got the job done but the ride was a little harsh. Replaced with RK X factor triple rate coil and I have noticed a big difference in ride quality.
 
Jtvegas said:
I had the 3.5 RE lift and it got the job done but the ride was a little harsh. Replaced with RK X factor triple rate coil and I have noticed a big difference in ride quality.
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is that just the spring?

(i know i can use google to search the web but being at work im rediculously limited as to what pages I can view and this search isnt giving me any results....)
 
X factor is a a complete lift kit with arms however you would only have to replace the coils. The triple rate RK or the evo would be a good choice.
 
Ours rides rough. Like stated earlier, rides like an empty HD truck. It is better when loaded. I was a little anal on the tires I wanted. Had great experience with Hankook so I wanted the AT for the Jeep. But in the size I wanted they only came E rated. I originally assumed the rough ride was from the tires. I finally aired down and it only made a very slight difference, and my wife was always yelling at me because the TPMS light was always on. I aired back up to 35 to keep her happy. I think we're getting a Jeep for my daughters, and my wife wants 37's so the plan is the put her tires on the girl's Jeep and basically start over on ours.
 
Scoop315 said:
I believe he means RK=Rock Krawler.
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Yes RK = Rock Krawler

Also I wasn't sure before if it was the RE coils or my shocks that was riding harsh like a wagon on wheels but I Kept my shocks and when the coils were replaced I truly noticed a difference and you can feel the jeep flowing with the road and not fighting it.
 
Jtvegas said:
Yes RK = Rock Krawler

Also I wasn't sure before if it was the RE coils or my shocks that was riding harsh like a wagon on wheels but I Kept my shocks and when the coils were replaced I truly noticed a difference and you can feel the jeep flowing with the road and not fighting it.
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good to know!

you guys are awesome! ive got a feeling spring time is going to cost me a few to get her ready for next season...
 
krdadlamb said:
Ours rides rough. Like stated earlier, rides like an empty HD truck. It is better when loaded. I was a little anal on the tires I wanted. Had great experience with Hankook so I wanted the AT for the Jeep. But in the size I wanted they only came E rated. I originally assumed the rough ride was from the tires. I finally aired down and it only made a very slight difference, and my wife was always yelling at me because the TPMS light was always on. I aired back up to 35 to keep her happy. I think we're getting a Jeep for my daughters, and my wife wants 37's so the plan is the put her tires on the girl's Jeep and basically start over on ours.
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she hits me everytime we go over the train tracks on our way to work... which is every morning and every night haha

glad to see your wife supports your addiction :p get that beefy black stuff under the jeep!!!!!! :beer:
 
christov11 said:
she hits me everytime we go over the train tracks on our way to work... which is every morning and every night haha

glad to see your wife supports your addiction :p get that beefy black stuff under the jeep!!!!!! :beer:
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Technically the Jeep is hers. It's just my wallet financing it. I told her to stay with 33s so she wouldn't have to regear. She isn't happy with how it drives so she is going to regear and go with superchips....Edlebrock SP is even on the table. So since she's going to regear, she wants to jump to 37s. Of course this also means new axles, at least in front. Been out playing all summer with the twin 15 year old daughters. They now want their own Jeep to share. I think I've created monsters. I'm just worried about putting too much into a Jeep as their first vehicle. It's not IF, but WHEN they're going to crash.

Once I get the my wifes's and the twin's Jeeps built, I can finally start on mine. Found an LJ with only 38,000 miles.
 
krdadlamb said:
Technically the Jeep is hers. It's just my wallet financing it. I told her to stay with 33s so she wouldn't have to regear. She isn't happy with how it drives so she is going to regear and go with superchips....Edlebrock SP is even on the table. So since she's going to regear, she wants to jump to 37s. Of course this also means new axles, at least in front. Been out playing all summer with the twin 15 year old daughters. They now want their own Jeep to share. I think I've created monsters. I'm just worried about putting too much into a Jeep as their first vehicle. It's not IF, but WHEN they're going to crash.

Once I get the my wifes's and the twin's Jeeps built, I can finally start on mine. Found an LJ with only 38,000 miles.
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ill be 100% honest i would trust the jeep more than a loooot of other vehicles for a crash... especially if youre doing a few mods for them to enjoy.

2004 unlimited rolled over 3 times down a hill. my ex had hit a patch of ice , over-corrected, went straight into the ditch and started roling down. got a little bruised knee and quite a scare but thats about it. and for the first winters, i think theyre better off in something they can bang up a little lolll

EDIT: just saw youre from UTAH... forget that winter comment....
 
Jtvegas said:
X factor is a a complete lift kit with arms however you would only have to replace the coils. The triple rate RK or the evo would be a good choice.
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thank you! exactly what i wanted to hear!

looked through the plush coils... goes from 3-4"... saw a budget boost kit with 2" all those are for JK/JKU but my RE is 2.5"

is it safe to say the 2" coils would net 2.5-3"?
 
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