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Spring Rates - Ride Comfort - Comments Wanted

9

97stomper

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Minnesota
Looking for info on how spring rates affect ride quality. Is a softer spring better with a firmer shock? Is a 241 lbs/in coil spring going to be harsh riding (sounds like it)? Is there such a thing as "too soft"?

Here's my plan: 31" tires under about 3.5" of lift. This is going to be my DD (50 mi rnd trip), and family adventure vehicle...no major rockcrawling. Primary concern for the lift is a comfortable ride. These "off-road" trips will be only about 10% of my driving or less. I also know that good shocks make a world of difference.

I was considering an 3.5" RE Flex kit with full rear spring pack because they've got a good reputation, but the coils are rated at 241 lbs/in...seems awefully stiff.

I also was considering a full kit from OME, but seems the 930 coils only go to 2" of lift in front...3" kits must use ZJ coils then or a spacer?

I'm willing to piece things together to get the best ride quality front and back. I've heard the spring rate on 3" RC coils is 150 lbs/in. That is very close to factory.

TIA for all your feedback,

Rob
 
Im not sure about how all the spring rate affects the ride, but Im running the RE 4.5 springs and bilstein 5150s. Not a stiff ride at all. I want to get the BDS coils next to stiffen it up a bit. I run without sway bars, and would like a lil less body roll. Want the stiffer also because im going to 6.5 inch lift.
 
Spring rates and shocks definately affect the ride.I personally like to run the softest set-up that will provide the height you want!
 
i run rustys coils 3" and 1.75" coil spacer(no insolator) with bilstein 5100. the shocks improved the ride, but for a great ride, control arm angle must be changed.

this also applies to a leaf spring in the back, shackle angle will determine ride quality.

shocks and spring rate do play a part in ride quality, but control arm angle and shackle angle play a larger part.
 
I run Rusty's 6.5" coils at 150lbs/in.
Rear leafs are Alcans.
Shocks are RE monotubes.
Ride and flex is excellent.
Control arms will effect ride quality a lot. A 4.5" lift with a long arm kit will ride better than a 4.5" with short arms....
Here is a link to a thread on JF about spring rates etc.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/springs-heights-their-spring-rates-613756/
Martin
 
89xj said:
i run rustys coils 3" and 1.75" coil spacer(no insolator) with bilstein 5100. the shocks improved the ride, but for a great ride, control arm angle must be changed.

this also applies to a leaf spring in the back, shackle angle will determine ride quality.

shocks and spring rate do play a part in ride quality, but control arm angle and shackle angle play a larger part.
Click to expand...

I understand the angles on the ca's and shackle are important too. For CA's it's drop brackets or LA's. On the rear, does an extended shackle fix the angle issue or make matters worse? Or is relocating the shackle mount forward the only solution?

I would assume that a minor increase in spring rate helps to keep heavier tires under control, or is that determined by the shocks? I plan on running my front sway bar for sure. I have yet to find out about rear bar extensions or what you'd do for that since they are mounted to the spring plate.

Thanks,

Rob
 
don't bother with rear sway bar extensions - remove the silly thing, it's tiny and does almost nothing. When I installed my OME934s and CS035RAs I removed it because I didn't feel like wrestling the mounting brackets back onto the spring plates, never even noticed a difference. And the UpCountry factory package (and I believe towing package too, if that was different) removed the rear sway bar entirely.
 
my rusty's 3" coils (160lb/in) and hydro shocks were pretty comfy on road except on uneven highways the truck was very uncomfortable. then i went to 255/70 valved bilstein 5150s and the ride got a tad firmer but the setup seemed very mismatched.. the setup was never "in sync" if you know what i mean.. then i put RE3.5 coils on (241lb/in) and the ride is firmer, but very controlled. i like it a lot better.

for a good highway ride, i'd say nice soft coils with GOOD gas shocks. like the softer valved bilstein 5100s, RE monotubes, or OME nitros.
 
kastein said:
don't bother with rear sway bar extensions - remove the silly thing, it's tiny and does almost nothing. When I installed my OME934s and CS035RAs I removed it because I didn't feel like wrestling the mounting brackets back onto the spring plates, never even noticed a difference. And the UpCountry factory package (and I believe towing package too, if that was different) removed the rear sway bar entirely.
Click to expand...

Did you get more than 2 out of those coils? I have a pair in my room ready to go on but. The guy I bought them from said he got about 2.5 out of them. Does that sound accurate? I'm gonna lose a little when I get a winch but I can make up for it with a .75" spacer if need be.

And I second the removal of the swaybar.
 
FlexdXJ said:
Did you get more than 2 out of those coils? I have a pair in my room ready to go on but. The guy I bought them from said he got about 2.5 out of them. Does that sound accurate? I'm gonna lose a little when I get a winch but I can make up for it with a .75" spacer if need be.

And I second the removal of the swaybar.
Click to expand...
Fancy you mentioning that! I actually just measured for 97stomper's other thread, I got almost exactly 2.5" (one side a little over, the other side a little under, I think I was parked on a slight slope or my screwed up axle-end LCA bracket might have tweaked it a bit.) I'm thinking I might throw a set of spare coil isolators or max a 1" spacer under them when I swap my axles next week, assuming I get lucky at the junkyard Saturday.
 
i prefer firmer springs and stiffer shocks, while you may not soak up the smaller bumps as well, there is less rocking of the jeep on the larger dips and whatnot. and the firmer suspension is better for handling at speed and offroad control.
 
You want to match your shocks to your coils as mentioned above.A good way to go would be a progressive coil. The first few coils have a smaller wire diameter, thus lower spring rate for a softer ride over small bumps on the road. Deaver makes an excellent quallity spring and can build custom height's,I'm not sure who else makes progressive coils.
 
kastein said:
Fancy you mentioning that! I actually just measured for 97stomper's other thread, I got almost exactly 2.5" (one side a little over, the other side a little under, I think I was parked on a slight slope or my screwed up axle-end LCA bracket might have tweaked it a bit.) I'm thinking I might throw a set of spare coil isolators or max a 1" spacer under them when I swap my axles next week, assuming I get lucky at the junkyard Saturday.
Click to expand...


Nice, I am ordering a trackbar and Tie rod next week so I will have them on soon and be sitting almost level again!
 
BRIANHO13 said:
Shackle relocation brackets will do wonders for your ride quality.
Click to expand...

I'm working on it. If I win them in the RRC raffle I'll put them on! :laugh3:
 
FlexdXJ - in case you didn't see this in the other thread, apparently I can't do math in my head and I got 3.5" out of them. Thanks to american_zero for pointing this out.
 
kastein said:
FlexdXJ - in case you didn't see this in the other thread, apparently I can't do math in my head and I got 3.5" out of them. Thanks to american_zero for pointing this out.
Click to expand...

Yeah I saw that so i should lose half an inch or so with my ARB and a winch.
 
97stomper said:
I have browsed what he has online...but I should give him a call and see what he can put together or at least validate what I've been looking at...

Thanks to everyone so far...
Click to expand...

I spent 40 min on the phone with him today. He can put together some very custom applications, so yeah you just need to call him.
 
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