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Advice on springs

C

Cody2289

NAXJA Forum User
Location
AZ
In advance, sorry for asking you to feed me but I would like advice. I bought a 1997 XJ with 4 inch Iron Rock Offroad long arm lift and 32x11.5 inch tires. I would like lower it to 3 inches and 31x10.5 tires probably. The rear end, I can just lower the adjustable shackle. My main question is would it really screw up the ride or even be dangerous if I went with softer springs on the front?

My current springs are 4 inch lift with claimed 220 lb rates. The 3 inch lift springs from Iron Rock Offroad claims 200 lb rates. That's a safe bet I'm sure but my use for this car ideally would have just been OME 2 inch lift and 30 inch tires, but this seemed like a good deal so I went with it. I really just wanted a weekend Jeep that could handle a few trails that my Honda Element didn't seem appropriate for. So I do strongly prefer a soft ride and hopefully the smaller tires will help me cruise at 70mph on the highway.

Would Rustys springs with a claimed much softer spring rate cause issues if I'm not changing my rear leaf springs which I assume are much stiffer?

Thanks for any advice you might give,
I've read a lot of threads on spring rates in general and appreciate the answer seems to be everyones different and you gotta see what works for you. Really just wondering if soft front/stiff rear is a real problem I guess. :helpme:
 
Cody2289 said:
In advance, sorry for asking you to feed me but I would like advice. I bought a 1997 XJ with 4 inch Iron Rock Offroad long arm lift and 32x11.5 inch tires. I would like lower it to 3 inches and 31x10.5 tires probably. The rear end, I can just lower the adjustable shackle. My main question is would it really screw up the ride or even be dangerous if I went with softer springs on the front?

My current springs are 4 inch lift with claimed 220 lb rates. The 3 inch lift springs from Iron Rock Offroad claims 200 lb rates. That's a safe bet I'm sure but my use for this car ideally would have just been OME 2 inch lift and 30 inch tires, but this seemed like a good deal so I went with it. I really just wanted a weekend Jeep that could handle a few trails that my Honda Element didn't seem appropriate for. So I do strongly prefer a soft ride and hopefully the smaller tires will help me cruise at 70mph on the highway.

Would Rustys springs with a claimed much softer spring rate cause issues if I'm not changing my rear leaf springs which I assume are much stiffer?

Thanks for any advice you might give,
I've read a lot of threads on spring rates in general and appreciate the answer seems to be everyones different and you gotta see what works for you. Really just wondering if soft front/stiff rear is a real problem I guess. :helpme:
Click to expand...

What shocks do you have? Also tires? There is a min height on Long Arms. I think its 3 inches with the IRO.
 
My shocks are Doetsch Tech 8000 (DT8000)
My tires are BF Goodrich AT KO2's 32x11.5
From IRO website, yeah the lowest height for the long arm is 3 inches.
Also, for what its worth, I've got a really heavy Smittybilt rear bumper/tire carrier.
 
I'm pretty sure my rear leaf is their 3.5" full leaf pack. With my heavy rear bumper, I might not even need to adjust my rear shackle, it might be perfectly level with 3 inch springs in the front. As of now, my front end is higher than the rear.
 
Reducing tire pressure for offroad runs will help a bunch for ride quality. Also, disconnect the front swaybar. And shocks.

For springs, keep in mind that as the front spring rate is reduced, the tendency for oversteer in emergency situations increases. Also, the vehicle will lean more during cornering. IMO, 220 lbs/in at the front is on the firmer side for a near-stock weight XJ driven at a casual pace. I wouldn't be afraid to try 200 lbs/in, but it may be a good idea to first verify the rates of the springs on the vehicle. If you can pile some weight on the vehicle over each axle, you'll get an accurate number. I did this for the rear springs on my XJ recently, and I got 260 lbs/in while the manufacturer spec was 186 lbs/in.
 
Funny you mention tire pressure, the washboard road to Temple of the Sun & Moon in Capitol Reef Utah rattled the bolt off my sway bar so I just bought some quick disconnects I'm installing this week. (I didn't lower tire pressure at all, should have, living/learning/having fun)

I've seen some threads on measuring the rates like that, I'll do that. Your example of 260 vs 186 is pretty wild, guess I can't trust the website numbers.
 
Rapid deflators are very handy for dropping tire pressure. Check out Trailhead Offroad deflators. The more expensive aspect of dropping tire pressure is bringing it back up when getting back on asphalt. Portable compressors can be pretty spendy.

The DT-8000 shocks are supposedly on the firmer side of the spectrum.
 
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