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New Lift - Stiff Ride Q's

M

mgonos

NAXJA Forum User
Location
houston, tx
Background - I just installed a 4.5" lift on a 98 xj. The rear consisted of a s-10 blazer bastard pack and some autozone shocks (Gabriel I think). Also a longer pair of shackles to correct shackle angle. The front consists of coils from a 88 t-bird (v6, base model, progressive rate spring), a 1" bb, and a pair of new procomp 3000 shocks. Also a set of control arm drop brackets from rocky road outfitter. also did a rear H&t sye using a spare xj front driveshaft. Finally both axles were replaced with a pair from an older xj (d35/hp30) sporting 4.10 gears.

Now the ride is extremely rough on the road. I can feel every bump going right through my spine.... WHY? My first thought is that it might be my choice of shocks (kinda ran out of money at the end).... Should I expect it to soften out a bit or should I invest in a good chiropractor? Anything else I should look at?
 
The rear spring pack came from a vehicle of similar size and weight - I wouldn't think that would harshen the ride a great deal. The front springs are also from a vehicle of similar weight, so I don't see how that would make the ride any worse. drop bracket were used to correct control arm length (which some kits don't include). So while it is a "junkyard lift" I don't think that means it necessarily must ride like crap. It's not coil springs from an f350 and a 5" lift block.

If you have a suggestion of what to look at, or an experience you've had with a similar setup (like shocks, shackle angle, whatever) please feel free to give your insight. If all you have to say is I should go buy a $3000+ lift kit then save your time and mine...


About the longer shackle... your right, it does not change the shackle angle (or at least not very much), but it does allow the rear suspension more articulation from what I understand... Right now my rear shackles are at about 15 degrees past vertical, from what I understand around 40 degrees is optimal...
 
:thumbup:I'm afraid if you want a soft ride & a lift you are going about it all wrong. Just spend a bunch of $$$ with O.M.E. Also aren't S-10 bastard packs known for their stiffness? I haven't used the T-Bird springs but F-150 springs are harsh. Buy some R.E. 4.5" coils when your budget allows it. With your drop brackets that'll be the shit. When I replaced my F-150 coils with Pro-Comps my ride improved %100. Now they are in my kids' pos, with a spacer & they are stiffer than they were in my rig without the spacer. It pre loads the coil & that makes them stiff. Get rid of the spacers when you can. It sounds like you've done all the right stuff for a junkyard lift though. I'm building a bastard pack from my leftover stock springs to replace my 2.5" Pro-Comp leaves because they are supposed ride & flex great when you use teflon liners.
 
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for the front, you took care of control arm angle, so i can only see spring rate and/or shocks being the problem.

what size tires and how much air pressure are you running. i run 31' tires at 28lbs of pressure.
 
The t-bird springs are quite a bit softer than the F-150 springs... but I'll be keeping my eyes open for some new re 4.5 coils. How does the spacer preload the coil? Seems to me that the load on the coil is the weight of the vehicle... the coil dosn't know there's a spacer on it.

Are the s-10 bastard packs typically alot stiffer than stock springpacks (or aftermarket lift springpacks for that matter). I read pretty much about them and don't remember a whole lot of people saying they were objectionably stiffer.... but chime in if you've got experience to the contrary. I used the main leaf from the xj and the entire pack from the s-10 blazer (4 leafs).

I'm considering forking out cash for some ome or bilstein shocks, since I think that would help my ride alot... but damn those things are expensive-
 
tires are 32" bfg at - not sure on the tire pressure - got them back from getting mounted and bolted them up - I'll check to make sure they're were they should be...
 
mgonos said:
tires are 32" bfg at - not sure on the tire pressure - got them back from getting mounted and bolted them up - I'll check to make sure they're were they should be...
Click to expand...

everytime i get a car back from getting new tires, they crank the pressure up to 40psi when they balance them. i bet the tire pressure is way too high.
 
mgonos said:
The t-bird springs are quite a bit softer than the F-150 springs... but I'll be keeping my eyes open for some new re 4.5 coils. How does the spacer preload the coil? Seems to me that the load on the coil is the weight of the vehicle... the coil doesn't know there's a spacer on it.
Click to expand...
You're right, with the drop brackets there shouldn't be any preload. Without them on our rig the truck springs with the spacers were stuffed up in there under tension. They bulged forward untill we installed adjustable lowers & to me that indicates preload & they sure rode like it.
 
89xj said:
everytime i get a car back from getting new tires, they crank the pressure up to 40psi when they balance them. i bet the tire pressure is way too high.
Click to expand...

I always run my car tires at 40psi. Of course, I wouldnt run it that high in my rig.
 
89xj said:
everytime i get a car back from getting new tires, they crank the pressure up to 40psi when they balance them. i bet the tire pressure is way too high.
Click to expand...

I run the tires in my Subaru at ~40psi. Of course, I wouldnt run it that high in my rig.
 
I'll definately check the tire presure... free, quick, and easy- and something I didn't think to even look at.

I see what you mean with the spacers causing a more rough ride... but I think thats really an issue with control arm angle more than anything....
 
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checked the tires... they were all around 32-33 psi, went to 28-29- took a little bit of the edge off but still not where I'd like it to be. I guess I'll rty to keep an eye out for some better shocks - In your experiences how much of a difference does shocks really make?
 
mgonos said:
checked the tires... they were all around 32-33 psi, went to 28-29- took a little bit of the edge off but still not where I'd like it to be. I guess I'll rty to keep an eye out for some better shocks - In your experiences how much of a difference does shocks really make?
Click to expand...

huge

im at 4.5" up front with re adjustable upper and lower control arms. i had skyjacker nitro shocks and i blew fuses on a couple of roads it was that jarring, i went with bilstein 5100 and its a night and day difference.

at 4.5" im at the point where drop brackets or mid/long arms are needed.

im amazed that your ride is that jarring with drop brackets, i would have to bet on the shocks being the problem. also, are your control arm bolts over torqued and did you torque them down with the weight of the vehicle on the ground. you could be binding up the control arm bushings.
 
I think shocks are going to make a very big difference for you.
Also: The S10 is similar size and weight, yes - but the S10 is a pickup truck meant for hauling materials / heavy things. It uses a heavier spring rate which not only rides harshly on its own but when combined with the softer XJ leaves in a bastard pack, creates an unevenly flexing pack.
I'd suggest getting some XJ packs and make a double XJ pack, it should ride smoother. That is, if the shocks don't do you some good.
Monroe Sensatrac should be fine if you don't have the coin for Bilsteins. I know I don't - I plan to go Sensatrac on all four corners pretty soon.
 
Drive down the road with 20 psi, it improves the ride a lot! (until you hit a corner) I did that on accident the other day for a good 30min drive.

(seriously, don't do it. Your on the right track, but bastard packs are known to be rough FTW)

~Scott
 
mgonos said:
checked the tires... they were all around 32-33 psi, went to 28-29- took a little bit of the edge off but still not where I'd like it to be. I guess I'll rty to keep an eye out for some better shocks - In your experiences how much of a difference does shocks really make?
Click to expand...

Shocks can make a huge difference. If you get a set of OME's or RE monotube's they will help out a bunch. those are Expensive but still cheaper than Bilstein's! :D
 
Thanks all-

I did the final torque of the control arms with the vehicle on the ground... can the control arm bushings really bind that much though?

I used the leaf springs out of the s-10 blazer (suv), are they the same as Chevy used in the s-10 pickups? Are Durango springs known to be softer? I don't want to be building springpacks every weekend for the rest of winter unless I'm pretty sure it will make a big difference-

I've looked at the sensatrac shocks, and found a set that could work on the rear (with swapping out the lower bushings) but haven't been able to find a set that will work up front with 4.5" of lift... Probably could find some if I did the bpe or did something to eliminate the need for a stud mount on the top....

Finally, it seemed a little softer today when I ran some errands at lunch, could just be my perception, but should I expect that it might get a little softer after some "break-in" time? I haven't even had a chance to really flex out the suspension yet, just have been driving to work and home.

thanks all

-Mike
 
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