Ride Quality

Ok, now once again I am questioning a decision i have made on a future project on my 87 XJ.

The suspension is factory and im guessing all original at 260K, shocks about a year old. Steering is tight and fine, suspension however is shaky at times and really rough on the slightest unsmooth pavement. Now, I know its not a new Mercedes, but i would like a nicer ride in my 4X4 with increased suspension performance.

The question is: Do I do the Rusty's 3" spring pack lift that I have been looking at for quite some time, or do i just replace the leafs, coils, and buy some really high quality shocks?

I want this for my huntin/fishin rig, requires some mild offroading and sometimes some serious mud. I want a bit more clearance which will be added with 31 x 10.50, 15, when and if i do the lift.

What are your opinions on this decision? Lift or no lift? Like i said i want some increased suspension performance as well as a nice ride, a little rough is fine, but i dont want a road howling, bump jumping, and vibrating cruiser on the way to my hunting and fishing locations. Some of which are 200 plus miles away.

Oh, i will pull a 19 foot Starcraft in and out of the river ocasionally, rarely down the highway. Will be buying a boat soon too, so need to take that into consideration. I am trying to save $1k for this suspension project.

So what do you all think, i welcome any and all opinions, the more the better!

Thanks,

Cory

If you want a nice ride, it's hard to beat Old Man Emu. For towing, you'll want the stiffer 3" springs in the back - so it won't be quite as cushy as my 2", but it will still ride great. Besides, you'd probably need 3" lift to fit the 31's anyway. DPG has good prices on OME... http://www.dpgoffroad.com/

The last thing you want is a lift if you want a better ride and less jiggles. I added 1" coil spacers in the front and an add-a-leaf in the rear while removing the 3rd biggest factory leaf, and got about 1.5 inches. Big enough for 30's, but mind you, LT tires (30's or bigger) ride rougher than P tires (P235-75-15-what I have) Tires make a huge difference, too. You don't need ATs unless you are a serious off roader. Get Michelin LTX MS 235-75-15, expensive but incredible tire, long lasting. Also, rancho RS-9000 shocks are awesome, the softer settings make it ride like a caddy, and they have a lifetime warranty, so they are the last shocks you will ever buy. Hope this helps!

AAL's are notorious for causing rough rides. My Jeep rides better on 30's with the OME setup than it did with the stock setup on 215's (or 225's or whatever they were...I hate these metric tire sizes!)

Another thing to keep in mind is tire pressure. Larger tires typically need less air pressure to support the truck. So if you are running the larger tires at the same air pressure as the smaller tires, then they will ride alot rougher! (although, you are right, even at proper pressures, larger tires tend to ride a little rougher, at least, IME)

Thanks!

Ok, now lets hear some positives about lifts...........HE HE.

I know about the tire thing, you also get what you pay for when putting shoes on the vehicle. I myself have been looking at BFGoodrich.....cant remember the name but they are made for offroading as well as the highway, supposed to be smoother than the Dueler A/T's that were on my Dakota, also 31's.

I am going to redo the suspension either way...maybe I have been spoiled with the smooth rides of the newer vehicles and am dreaming. But i think what i want with the lift and comfort are attainable.

Have to look into some of the suggestions.....keep em coming!!

Cory

i bought a low-mileage '87 and immediately put on a 4.5" Rubicon Express lift. I can say that the ride definitely did not get any worse At that age, the suspension components need replaced simply due to wear and fatigue. Even if you were to simply replace everything with new stock parts, it will ride better. whichever kit you choose, replace the rear leaf spring packs- the add-a-leafs will definitely make the ride harsher.

Dirk at DPG offroad also offers rubicon express parts & kits, which cost a little less than OME. With RE kits, you can pick which shocks you want, so you could buy RE hardware with OME shocks.

I'd agree. Even when I lifted to Rusty's 3" lift when my jeep had 100k on it, it rode smoother. That being said a jeep is a work truck, not a sedan and it will never ride like a sedan. Lifting DOES raise your center of gravity making it less stable. I have "heard" that OME is the most comfortable suspension and to get the most of it you need to purchase OME shocks as they are made for their suspension. OK,... that's all in the FWIW Department

Let me give an example of OME versus OEM. Now this isn't a truly fair apples to apples comparison - My Cherokee versus brand new Wrangler Rubicon (with 1" BB). In my truck I can drink soft drinks (without them going flat) and eat snacks while on even difficult trails without issues. Riding in the Rubicon, even simple tasks like getting food into your mouth becomes an ordeal. I recently had a friend of mine acutally fall asleep while running a trail at Windrock near Knoxville.

As for flex, the 2" OME kit will do ~950 RTI @ 20* and doesn't lose traction until the last inch of wheel travel (when there is basically only the weight of the wheel on the ground). Potholes and washboards that used to make the truck skip around are now mostly noticed just by the noise they make, no more skipping around. Excellent control of the axle. Even the WJ Overland luxo-cruiser that I get drive occasionally does not, IMO, match the control and comfort (but it is quieter!) of the OME kit.

One caveat: the 2" comfort springs I have are NOT for towing. They are soft and drop quickly with added weight. I cannot comment of the quality of the 3" HD springs. My guess is that they are stiffer and therefore do not match the control of rough surfaces and the comfort level of the softer springs - but I would imagine they are high quality nonetheless. I'll stop plugging for them now. They should pay me for this :laugh3:

Drewlee77 said:

AAL's are notorious for causing rough rides.

Click to expand...

I call SPOBI.

I ran a Rancho AAL in my old full-size Cherokee, and I installed a home-brew full-length AAL made from a spare set of XJ main leaves into an 88 XJ for an ex-GF. In both cases, the resulting ride was BETTER than before the AAL.

The short (half-length) thick AALs such as the Trailmaster kit are what cause harsh ride in XJs. A full-length AAL doesn't ride harsh.

Eagle said:

I call SPOBI.

I ran a Rancho AAL in my old full-size Cherokee, and I installed a home-brew full-length AAL made from a spare set of XJ main leaves into an 88 XJ for an ex-GF. In both cases, the resulting ride was BETTER than before the AAL.

The short (half-length) thick AALs such as the Trailmaster kit are what cause harsh ride in XJs. A full-length AAL doesn't ride harsh.

Click to expand...

Well, in my defense, the term "notorious" does not imply "fact", but rather implies "perception" - I would hazard to claim that enough people perceive AAL's in general as causing rough rides to warrant the term "notorious". :lecture:

:laugh3: Of course you are right, as usual. I forgot there was even such a thing as a full-length AAL... It was never an option for me, so I never looked into it. I concede... but you should all bow to the superiority of OME, anyway. :laugh3:

Much of the so-called notoriety of AALs and harsh ride are the result of people who have never tried any AAL passing along what they heard from this guy who heard it from so-and-so, who in turn received the information from ...

Sure, OME suspensions ride nicely. They should -- they are engineered as a complete suspension package, and they cost big $$$. My home brew XJ AAL rode at least as well as my new 2000 XJ with Up Country, which I suspect rides about the same as an OME setup. By all means, those who can afford an OME and who want a 2" lift should get the OME. For those who just want to beef up the suspension a bit and improve the ride, the home-brew AAL, perhaps with coil spacers in front to even things out, is a MUCH cheaper alternative.

I have a 88 XJ and in the past 2 years had all the suspension bushings replaced and that finally fixed my steering wondering on pavment and improved the ride.

With the miles you have the rubber bushings are at the end of their life. People over look bushings at times like this. You have up front bushings on the Upper control arms, lower control arms, sway bar. The rear you have bushings in the leaf springs and in the shackles and a rear sway bar if you have one.

replacement of the sway bar bushings is relatively easy for any guy in the driveway. The control arm bushings can be replaced with either new ones pressed in or who new control arms. The upper axle end bushing will have to be pressed out of the axle even if you do have a new uppper control arm.

All that work did make a great improvement in the ride of my XJ. I then installed a set of monroe refles shocks to repalce the blue monroe matics with 30,000 miles on them. Those shocks took out the "nervousness" as i went down the road.

Just remember components wear out, it how the world works. Either replace with stock or aftermarket stuff but that where you need to focus, on the suspension bushings to improve the ride.