How does your Xj ride?

[00xj]

Hi,


I just lifted mine and I'm wondering how my ride is compared to yours? Tell me how yours rides and sounds.
(2000, 3in, auto, 235 bft a/t's, shocks that came with kit, non-nitro)

I have a 3in lift. Black Dimond springs up front and RE 3.5 Super Duty packs in the rear.

My new front springs were the same length as my stockers, so they are obviously tight. I like them on the road and trail. I can hear alot more noise from the front. Pot holes are much louder and there is much more clickin and clack up front.

My RE rears are stiff as well. When trail riding especialy. They seem to make the most noise when I am dropping off a ledge, like when you roll over a log. They really bang on the down side, is this normal?






As always Thanks,

Tom

[Rev Den]

Rides? Like a brick truck with no bricks.
Sounds? Like a cement mixer full of pop cans and tennis shoes, and a bad cam.

HTH

Rev

[BrianGibson]

music to my ears

[basalt51]

Stiffer than stock but better in turns. Only really big, sharp bumps feel worse than stock. Sounds like tires, shouldn't have waited so long to rotate them.

[woody]

"Rides? Like a brick truck with no bricks.
Sounds? Like a cement mixer full of pop cans and tennis shoes, and a bad cam."

ROTFLMAO

I was gonna say that mine rides & sounds like a derailed train...complete with screaming passengers. My trail rig is a bit worse...

But they have personality

[andyr354]

My 89 with RE4.5" coils and dakota springs rides real smooth. I do get some thunks from my rusty's LCAs though

[Dann]

When you drop over an obstacle or ledge and your rear kinda bangs, it is. Do what I didn't, and extend your rear bump stops muy pronto. Trust me. Dann

[00xj]

Originally posted by Dann
When you drop over an obstacle or ledge and your rear kinda bangs, it is. Do what I didn't, and extend your rear bump stops muy pronto. Trust me. Dann


???? Explain.

Last night I was scouting out some deer hunting spots and I drove over a 4in high rock on the two track and when I came over the other side I got a bang'n sound. If I go super slow it's fine. I don't think it flexed more than an inch over a small rock like that??

thanks

[Eagle]

00xj --

Have a weighty friend or two help you cycle your rear suspension while the truck is parked. If your new springs have a lot of travel, what may happen is when the springs are compressed the rear shackles swing back far enough to contact the bumper bracket bolts, two of which on each side extend into the spring shackle mount pocket.

By all means, head for a dealer (or a Crown dealer) and get a set of the tall bump stops.

[Lucas]

or you can cut those bolts down. I suppose 4" rocks arent that big of a deal, but on bigger drops you could be bottiming your DS, though that is pretty unlikely.
What it could be is the higher spring rate of the packs unloading and shooting downward really fast as you come off of something. This happens with my springs offroad when I have my adjustable shocks set too low.

[Kejtar]

what about the shocks? Are they the right length????? or too long and you're bottoming out on them?

Kejtar

[Duane]

At three inches of lift it is real common to have binding problems in the front yoke of the rear drive shaft. If the banging happens when the vehicle rebounds and lifts up it could be this.

[RCP Phx]

What brand are the shocks?

[Faux4X4]

I have the skyjacker 6" lift so the heims are loud as all hell. And there are more heims on the shocks. The rear springs are mad stiff so I got rid of the rear sway bar, now it rides like a race car. It is also a unibody so you do not have body mounts to mask the sounds. I just took off the cat and 3000 watts worth of stereo so I just tune out the road noise.

[MudDawg]

Real stiff compared to stock...but it handles MUCH better...as for the noise...nuthin' I can't fix with a couple hundred watts and a Travis Tritt CD....LOL

[2xtreme]

By all means cycle your suspension and see if anything is hitting or binding, that is very important any time you install new components.

New springs are usually reasonably stiff, after they get some use they usually will soften up a bit also. My 4.5" lift is nice and soft, I could never compare it to stock again but it is perfect for what I want.

Michael

[XJguy]

Mine rides like shopping cart on a gravel road.

XJguy

[Weasel]

Rancho 3" coils in the front

Tomken 4" leaves in the rear

Bilstein 5100's

Front rides frim/stiff but smooth. Handles way better then stock is great over the rough stuff. Can blast down just about any rough road with no problem.

Rear is very rough and rides like an unloaded pickup truck, bouncy. Rides real nice when loaded with rear passs and gear though.

[Locrdup]

My stock height 2000 rides like a brick, thats why Im eventually selling her. Getting a C5, mmmmmm........Corvette.

[XJguy]

Jeep or Corvette...hmm different animals. Youll be wishing that rough riding XJ was still in your driveway when mother nature starts dumping white stuff all over again or if your not geographically situated, when the winter rains begin. I say keep em both. If you can afford a new Vette, you surely should be able to hold on to a 2000XJ. I have friends who have Vettes as their only car and I dont see the point, they hardly get to use the thing seems like the weather or time of year is never right.

XJguy

[CheapXJ]

my XJ rides anywhere I want it to.

and that's all that matters ;)

[Locrdup]

Originally posted by XJguy
Jeep or Corvette...hmm different animals. Youll be wishing that rough riding XJ was still in your driveway when mother nature starts dumping white stuff all over again or if your not geographically situated, when the winter rains begin. I say keep em both. If you can afford a new Vette, you surely should be able to hold on to a 2000XJ. I have friends who have Vettes as their only car and I dont see the point, they hardly get to use the thing seems like the weather or time of year is never right.

XJguy

I'm getting a Vette, if I were to keep the Jeep I would build it and put 35s on. I drive way too much on the hwy and here in Alabama weather is fine for a Vette. Im only 21 so I can't afford my Jeep and a Vette, which will be like a 98. My Jeep is paid off by me and I work fulltime and go to college. I Just want a fast car that looks great and is a blast to drive. Plus around here I can get a Vette for cheap. I just found a 98 w/ 14k miles black/black leather m6 for $20k.

[Kejtar]

Originally posted by Locrdup
I Just want a fast car that looks great and is a blast to drive.

In that case, make sure that you plan an additional $$ for tickets and traffic school :)
Also, I'm not sure what you mean about XJ not being fun to drive? I have my 98XJ and I drive about 120miles plus daily and it doesn;t get more fun then that :D

[andyr354]

being only 21 get ready to take out a loan to pay insurance as well!

Originally posted by Locrdup
Im only 21 so I can't afford my Jeep and a Vette, which will be like a 98.

[Amund2]

Mine is way too stiff up front, twice as stiff behind. But still four times softer than stock! :) I have Old Man Emu 2" springs, but have so far kept the stock shocks, I think they're causing a lot of stiffness (don't even know if they're stock or worse, they came with the car, which is an 86). The 31" MT/Rs hum a lot, sounds like four yoga instructors practicing their vibrato (sounds quite strange). I've found that air pressure really changes the car from a derailed train to something that rolls like Royce, however I'm not man enough to run the low pressure as I fear the mileage. (Planning to change shocks though, just need a little money..)

[tdr1213]

Brand new lift. OME 4.5. Very tight and stiff. I hope it breaks in a little. Highway driving is rough and bouncy. Less body roll.....but very stiff.

I have 3" leafs in the back with a 1 ½ teraflex shackles. Now, when I hit a bump, even a little one, I get a solid thump from the rear that sounds like a big tool box in the back is bouncing. Any thoughts on what this noise is?

tim

[Inisadow]

3inches of lift 235 allterrains. zjcoils and 2inch spacer in front (about 3.5inches measured lift), teraflex 1.5" lift shackles and 1.5" block in back, with shucks spring helpers cause my springs be dieing. stock length rancho shocks with lowered shocks mounts helped it some but still rides like a brick. And I run in fulltime constantly now because I get a lot of wheel hop when I have to accellerate hard in 2wd, rear springs look more and more messed up every week wonder when I'll break them:D


I have 3" leafs in the back with a 1 ½ teraflex shackles. Now, when I hit a bump, even a little one, I get a solid thump from the rear that sounds like a big tool box in the back is bouncing. Any thoughts on what this noise is?


probably your shackles hitting bumper mounting bolts I just took off the bolt that it hits on cause I was too lazy to cut the bolt down.

[xj92]

Rides firm/stiff. It feels a lot better since I went with 33's instead of 31's. It feels more balanced, and the extra track width of the new rims made a big difference in the feel around corners. I've mostly noticed I don't mind stiff as long as the whole rig feels solid. It's been better since the T&J Chassis Stiffener. I can't stand it when you hit a bump and everything shakes around. Time for sub-frame and full cage too :).

[Nay]

I don't let my wife drive it.

Nay

[Buck Jackson]

are you guys replying to a post on a thread that was done last August?

[xjaddiction]

You just need a few trail runs to break things in... and to break things.

My ride right now is incredible, like a cadillac. I'm am serious!! It didn't start off that way though...

I started with pro comp 3" about 4 years ago, you know, when the XJ was still considered a siissy soccer mom rig. Oh, how things have changed. That Procomp was very stiff !! Even after trail rides. Then I added a bb and death wobble started. Then to tereflex springs than rubicon express then to 6" Tereflex springs for the front (my wife was gettin' ready to divorce me). The rear are now 6" Rusty non-military wrappers and a Tereflex shackle. I run Rancho 9000's (best shock for a daily driver off-road rig). I have lock-out Warn hubs, currie steering RE drop brackets, Tereflex adj upper and lower control arms, Tereflex quick dc's for the sway bar, no rear sway bar, lockers (no-slip in the rear, lock-rite front). I'm running 10" mickey II's with 35" SS Trxus radial MT's. The diffs also carry 4:56's, perfect for the auto and 4.0 liter 6. the transfer has a tereflex hd sye, that at 7 inches of lift allows me to run the same length d-shaft front and rear. that comes in handy.

After many trail rides, and 70,000 + road miles, my XJ runs and drives great. I now have a daily driver Grand Cherokee (Baby budget boost Grand) so I don't drive the XJ as much. I usually run it once a week on the road. I can drive 70 mph, faster if I wanted to, and it rides and handles superbly. The suspension is soft yet contrilled and the only noise you hear with stereo off is a gentle hum of the Trxus with 20,000 miles on them. It was a long and trying road to get to this point. The parts that are available for the cherokee now are fantastic if you select wisely. Starting off with your first lift, you should have an idea of your final destination of parts. That will save you money. Definately the first thing you want to decide on is the size tire you'll eventually want to run.

All the parts will add up, as you lift you will encounter binding, so steering and ca's are an issue. shocks that you can physically adj for weather (i.e.windy conditions) and off, or on road, and trailer towing demands (get rid off the bar pins while your at it, they make noise too). rancho has that covered. The spring rates are important, I have been pleased with both RE and Tereflex coils, Rusty's rear non-military are doing fine for rear duty combined with a Tereflex shackle. with more lift comes the need for adj ca's and re drop brackets (db's will change a jeep at 7"s of lift to a better than stock ride.)longer brake lines. now with more heighth, you will prob. encounter vibes. shim the rear, warn hubs for the front and tom woods d-shafts can make the annoying hummm go away. tire selection is key too. i ran ltb's for a while. they were great off road and horrible on the road. with the trxus now available, that will cover just about any off-road demand with a very pleasant on road ride.

I never would have believed that I could have such a great on road ride with all that increddible off-road beast unleashed. Running home from work last night on my anticipated weekly XJ run, I felt power under foot, comfort in the handling, and a quiet hummmmm from the trxus... I almost fell asleep. A little Evenescence took care of that.

IS IT DONE, FINISHED??... HELL NO, That XJ is my ADDICTION!!

For what it's worth, Thats my story, (and yes, I'm still happily married)
Greddy

[small pederson]

ya mine rides better than stock. combo 8", 35's, cheapo pro comp shocks, stock steering setup, long arms. We'll see what happens this summer with fullwidths and 38's though :roll:

[BuddhaBudz]

I have a 3" Rancho lift in my 2000 XJ with 31x10.5x15" Wrangler AT/D's. It handles great on the turns, but like many of the other members have been saying ... it's a pretty stiff and rugged ride. Some of my friends HATE riding in my Jeep because they are used to the ride of their 2WD pick-ups.
Oh well ... I have no regrets