Suggestions for Spring/Shocks; Seeking input

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bumpy_baldwin

Member
Hey All, my wife’s ‘19 JLU Sahara is still riding super stiff. Current setup is Rubicon Express 3.5” Super Flex and over the last year upgraded tie rod/drag link, steering stabilizer mount, and sector shaft brace with Synergy parts. Ride quality improved drastically but still rides like we have steel bars for shocks/springs. And these Texas roads aren’t the best either. This is my 4th Jeep that I’ve installed mods on and just can’t figure this one out. First time with Rubicon Express as well.

Should I move towards a better brand of springs/shocks? Do I need to add vehicle weight? Seeking general input and spring/shock brand suggestions.
 
RE is notorious for a rough ride. That was my first JK lift and it rode like an empty goddam dumptruck. There are a bunch of kits out there but EVO, Clayton, JKS & Synergy are a few with better components, but keep in mind one mans Cadillac ride is another's hay wagon. Opinions vary widely on ride quality
 
Ddays said:
" but keep in mind one mans Cadillac ride is another's hay wagon. Opinions vary widely on ride quality"
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This ^^ on my 2010, I had Clayton coils with their specified Bilstein shocks, rode great and a lot of my passengers were surprised how smooth and comfortable the ride was.

I switched the coils out to taller EVO Plush once I added the winch, front/rear bumpers, beadlocks, 37's and bumper tire carrier for the 37's, the taller coils addressed the coil sag but the shocks were no longer compatible with the coils and ride was different.

Changed shocks to King, wasn't better unless I had more weight like when packing for offroad (tools, cooler, etc...) but they lasted several years until I got tired of keeping a bunch of extra weight to keep the comfortable ride.

Changed shocks again, TF Falcon (worst mistake) they rode fine until the 1st serious offroad trip and they've been log stumps since; won't go into the issues from TF regarding these shocks but they will be gone once I fix a few other issues on the JK.

Talk to the companies @Ddays refers to, they can better tell you what shocks they've tested with their coils, from experience, I'd stay away from TF, MetalCloak, RE, they've got good marketing but ends there.
 
Thank you @Ddays and @jeeeep for the insight. Definitely helps with my search and will call on those referred to see what’s up. I haven’t used EVO before and used JKS on my second build and forgot about them honestly (been a good minute since that project). I didn’t have problems with their setup.

@Ddays the dump truck reference is 1000% spot on. Never going back to RE again.

@jeeeep I used TF and MetalCloak in the past as well. They were worst decisions I’ve made yet and quickly replaced.
 
bumpy_baldwin said:
@wayoflife Currently running KO2s on 17s at 32psi for surface roads.

@OverlanderJK Death wobble on this Jeep has been a pain in my ass to fix. Sector shaft brace took the steering from severely pissed off to slightly temperamental.
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You sure the tires are balanced, I have a KO2 that is shit. I primarily keep it as the spare… the lower the psi the more tolerable it is as well.
 
Jsouder53 said:
You sure the tires are balanced, I have a KO2 that is shit. I primarily keep it as the spare… the lower the psi the more tolerable it is as well.
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Yessir! To be honest, lessons learned from prior Jeep projects, I get them balanced at Discount tire and then checked again at Firestone (because I bought a vehicle lifetime alignment/balance package).

Do you remember what PSI you used? And what tires you running now for future consideration.
 
bumpy_baldwin said:
Yessir! To be honest, lessons learned from prior Jeep projects, I get them balanced at Discount tire and then checked again at Firestone (because I bought a vehicle lifetime alignment/balance package).

Do you remember what PSI you used? And what tires you running now for future consideration.
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I have the set of KO2 315/70 17s on my JKU still and run them at about 25 psi.
 
3.5" lift, do you have a drag link flip installed?
you'll have bump steer with 3.5" lift and no drag link flip
bump steer and probably DW if they installed a drop pitman arm
 
I do not have a dropped pitman or flipped drag link… If you can imagine, all my prior projects were either 3 or 4 inch lifts and surprisingly never needed either. That’s why I’m struggling with this JLU.
 
bumpy_baldwin said:
I do not have a dropped pitman or flipped drag link… If you can imagine, all my prior projects were either 3 or 4 inch lifts and surprisingly never needed either. That’s why I’m struggling with this JLU.
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make sure the drag link adjuster split aligns with the drag link end splits, if they are not aligned, it allows play in the drag link

In this image they are not aligned and not as tight as it should be

1729992157130.png
 
jeeeep said:
make sure the drag link adjuster split aligns with the drag link end splits, if they are not aligned, it allows play in the drag link

In this image they are not aligned and not as tight as it should be

View attachment 415618
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Appreciate this! But I have Synergy drag link installed. So it’s one solid bar.

Side note: I had Synergy drag link on my JK with their steering stabilizer relocation mount. Found out quickly that if that stabilizer mount is not perfectly centered upright, it’ll cause problems.
 
Soooo… after several conversations with EVO, JKS, Synergy, and King (Clayton never replied). King offered the most support, at least for me. They suggested I start with the springs first, since the shocks could be too stiff but springs (in their mind) would be the biggest culprit of the two.

Since King said they can’t help me, I noticed Synergy and Clayton list their spring resistance. EVO and JKS does not.

Synergy spring rate is 115/120 for front and 120/180 for the back.

Clayton has 2 versions: HD and regular. HD is 170 initial, then 285 for back. Regular is 170/230 for the back and 188 for the front (front is for JK and JL)

Knowing that, do I go softer or harder? Currently have steel front/rear bumpers and side steps and nothing else. Full size KO2 spare tire is still on the tailgate. Looking to get a winch but that’s down the road.
 
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