Softest Available Replacement Shocks?

I Searched! I have a 98 XJ Classic 4x4 that is a stock, DD, 99% on-road Jeep. It has 135,000 miles and about 10,000 miles ago I added Quadratec Medium Duty Leaf Springs to get rid of the terrible sag it had. ( I went with heavy duty's first, but they actually lifted the Jeep by almost 2 inches and gave the jeep a funny car look ). I then drove with the stock shocks and those springs for the next 10,000 miles trouble free and comfortable.

Anyways I did a lot of searching on here and some other forums and basically found out that the Monroe sensa trac was basically voted the best shock for stock replacement. I put those on and the thing actaully rides rough compared to the reviews I have read. I am positive I have them installed right and I KNOW I have the right part numbers (They are sensatracs). I will say the Jeep handles a lot better and absorbs pot holes and things like that much better than the worn out OEM's but I can now feel every crack in the road and the jeep actually bounces all over the crappy pavement here in the Chicagoland Area. Not like Cadillac bouncing either, I mean firm, fast bouncing, especially on typically uneven cement roads. It actually gives me a bit of a headache. The 135,000 mile old OEM's were never like this so I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a closer-to-OEM shock. Does Mopar even make the OEM shock anymore? part #'s? Anything similar that wont ride so rough on the crappy Chicago roads? I barely ever tow anything, and if I do, it is light; and I dont need anything for off-road obvioulsy. Any help is appreciated!

ive heard that OldManEmu suspensions ride as good, if not better than OEM parts. i have no personal experience with them though

Meh, I have them on the front of my XJ and they are just shocks. They don't seem much different than any other shock.

True that shocks make a difference. But the shock and spring must work together. Your leafs may still be too stiff (bouncing: losing contact with ground). Try strapping down 200-lbs in rear and use that test first. There's a "reason" JEEP went with too-soft rear springs.

The other item is too obvious: tire pressure. You want factory recommended pressures; OR, 75% of sidewall maximum. The ideal number -- a tire consultant has told me -- is:

after driving steady state for 1.5-hrs minimum, tire psi should not have risen any more than 3-psi. Any more is reason to work pressures upwards. A 5-psi rise is accetable, but not ideal.

If tires are "over" inflated (for load), then keep working them downwards until the 3-psi rise is found.

Tire pressure is a SAFETY measure. Only morons inflate to sidewall maximum (in itself a fairly meaningless number). Tire pressures are factory set as the tires MUST absorb some of the road shock in conjunction with the springs/shocks. (And examine spring bushings for dry rot [hardening]; it's a minor effect, but all pieces need to work well together). A good handling upgrade would be to replace anti-roll bar bushings with poly (I used DAYSTAR, FF & RR).

Tire pressure correction, along with the 200-lb tailgate load (secured) is the best test I know for stiff springs versus shocks.

As you can see in this link:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1002581

the QUADRATEC medium duty is rated 575#, and the standard spring is 405#. Whether this was the stock spring set or not (check part numbers against VIN readout), you can see how a 200-lb load can "negate" the spring increase.

Cheap to try. And, weigh items, don't guesstimate.

I run OME's on my stock 2wd. They're a bit stiff around town, but NOT on the rear axle (stock springs). In the 1960's and into the '70's, guys would increase spring rate for "better" handling. What they found was that

soft springs
very high quality shocks
AND, anti-roll bars front and rear

made for the best compromise in all-around handling (which is ALSO "ride quality"). Losing tire contact, normal driving, is an invitation to a loss-of-control accident.

Good luck

Thanks for all the info SuzysJ! Same to the others who chimed in. I put 260 pounds in the back and that seemed to help smooth it out. Still a bit firmer than the stock shocks but definitely better than no weight at all. When I put the new springs on around 10000 miles ago, they rode great though. Firmer than stock but still very comfortable. Why when I put the sensa tracs on is it so rough then? Anyone think an OEM shock if still available, would ride better? Does OME make shocks for stock height? I didn't think they did? Anyways, its a lot easier to replace the shocks than the springs so does anyone know of anything? How about the Quadratec replacement shocks? Thanks again.

I can tell you that sensatracs are really stiff shocks.

I replaced my stock shocks at 130k miles on my 98', it has the original springs front and rear and prob original bushings too. The stock...worn out... shocks rode like a caddy in that thing it was great ride comfort wise. Ripping around turns was another story, or dips in the highway. So i put on these sensa trac's and they made the XJ handle much better, and more controlled, but it rides rough compared to how it was on the oem shocks. To the OP i agree completely with what you are saying, and was kind of thinking 'WTF are people talking about' when they said these shocks should ride really smooth.

I'm interested in hearing about a smoother shock option, however why would i even take the advice when what i read 1,000x's on this forum was that the best street shock/smooth ride ect came from the sensa trac's..... which turn out to ride completely different!!!!

The comfortably riding vehicle is like coffee ie: some only use honey to sweeten it, some wnat 4 spoons of sugar and others want no sugar at all.
I once had a friend who had a Lincoln Town Car. That thing had enough body rool to give a person motion sickness. He claimed it was the best riding vehicle ever created.

My XJ have right now some 240# ?? coils up front and the mail leaf from a Dakota inserted under the OEM main leaf along with Bilstiens at all 4 corners. Around town it rides a bit too stiff for my likeing. On the highway where i spend most of my time is where the stiffness become a positive for me. I no longer worry about body rool on those fast highway interchnges and exits. I love that about my XJ more than the little of stiffness I feel around town.
NAJA is the best source for info on the web for the XJ build, rebuild or modification. I trool NAJA every day to look ideas even though I have no intention (at this time) of utilizing them. Use the comments and experiance of all contributors to help you to make a descision. Remember, those comments are based on personal experiance and preference. Thanks to the NAXJX contributors who helped me unknowing to themselves to build the perfect riding XJ.
To the OP, I say 'Go ahead, sugar to taste (or do you prefer honey?) and enjoy'.

Around town it rides a bit too stiff for my likeing. On the highway where i spend most of my time is where the stiffness become a positive for me. I no longer worry about body rool on those fast highway interchnges and exits. I love that about my XJ more than the little of stiffness I feel around town.

The very reason we converted both of our 2WD XJ's to run the OME's all around (and steer stab) plus poly bushings. Speed bumps at 30 mph. Etc. But, around town you feel everything. On the front end of on of them it was acceptable. On the remaining one it is too stiff (go figure).

We once used KUMHO ECTSA STZ, but have now changed to GENERAL GRABBER UHP tires.

The OP should also look at European shocks, SACHS or KONI. ROCKAUTO. My guess is that the cheap SACHS is better than OEM.

A properly calibrated shock will not be stiff for the initial short movements, but will stiffen up during longer motion. When I put Bilsteins on my F150, it softened up the ride considerably for the short choppy movements.

962drrhino said:

I can tell you that sensatracs are really stiff shocks.

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i have the same sensatrac shock on my jeep 4 a while and im not sure what they are sensing but its not the road im driving on, They Suck! cant wait to get new shocks but will prob wait for the lift at the same time.

winterbeater said:

A properly calibrated shock will not be stiff for the initial short movements, but will stiffen up during longer motion. When I put Bilsteins on my F150, it softened up the ride considerably for the short choppy movements.

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For sure a longer wheel base and/or a heavier vehicle, the ride will be better.

The XJ ride perfect slow or fast with 5 sacks of cement in the back. That would be perfect except that it uses more fuel to lug all that cement around. Then again it could be due to the fact that the spring shackles are almost vertical.

I have the JK shocks on mine and they are also a little stiff/bouncy. It rides perfect with a full tank of gas, or when I'm giving my "big-boned" neighbor lady a ride somewhere. The rest of the time my dad's F-150 is smoother.

Ok, well this thread seems to say the sensa tracs suck. So has anyone had success with any other shocks. Anyone try new OEM's? Any other aftermarket shocks that ride smoother than sensa trac. I cant seem ot find anything.

i have rusty's shocks on the rear. they seem like a good product to me and i like the ride but they are also pretty stiff. they handle bouncy dirt roads really well at speed though!

yanno im pretty happy with my pro comp es 3000's seems like low speed they are soft and seems like the faster i go over rough washboard terrain, it still as soft as can be expected. as soon as i upgrade to bilstein's 7100 series shocks im sure everything will be a night and day difference.

i'll tell you this, that stiff ride is relating to the fact that your shocks are keeping your tires planted to the ground. so you should have better traction better acceleration better cornering and overall better handling. for crying outloud its a jeep... if you want it to ride like a caddy... go buy a caddy, they both seat 5 people...

if you want super soft... go with the gabriel gardian's... they ride like a good set of worn shocks... they are almost too soft.

MaxxXJ said:

yanno im pretty happy with my pro comp es 3000's seems like low speed they are soft and seems like the faster i go over rough washboard terrain, it still as soft as can be expected. as soon as i upgrade to bilstein's 7100 series shocks im sure everything will be a night and day difference.

i'll tell you this, that stiff ride is relating to the fact that your shocks are keeping your tires planted to the ground. so you should have better traction better acceleration better cornering and overall better handling. for crying outloud its a jeep... if you want it to ride like a caddy... go buy a caddy, they both seat 5 people...

if you want super soft... go with the gabriel gardian's... they ride like a good set of worn shocks... they are almost too soft.

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I agree you'll only be able to garner so much ride quality from a lightweight vehicle with solid axles at both ends. I prefer sensatracs myself for their ride. Granted if you're coming from floating around a set of worn out OE style shocks you might think the ride is stiff when in actuality it's more like the jeep was before it had 150K worth of road roll by underneath it.

lol yanno i was thinkin, just run the sensatrac and disconnect your front anti sway bar... you will soften up that ride alot and find that body roll =)

yeah yeah I know, buy a caddilac if you want a soft ride, but Cadillac's are pieces of shit and I like the bulletproof-ness of the Jeep and how it can take what the shitty Chicago streets and weather can throw at it, unlike most cars. Having said that, the ride this thing has right now is beyond the "It's a Jeep, what do you expect" arguement. If I had a lift and totally new suspension with 3+ inches of lift I would expect the rough ride, but I dont, I am stone stock and want to keep it that way. Anyone who has ridden in the Jeep immediately asks me what the hell is wrong with it because of the ride. I will look into the Gabriels and I also am going to call the dealer tomorrow about some OEM's. Sorry if I sound like a puss, but the supposedly 'best-riding sensa tracs' are anything but. Thanks everyone for your help, its very appreciated.

If you want a nice ride quit buying the cheapest shocks you can find