How are Wranglers at soaking up the high speed off road stuff?
- Thread starter deeve
- Start date
professorkx
Observer
I have a 2014 Rubicon X 4 door, and the stock shocks were awful off road, but the suspension was nice on road. So, I swapped to king 2.5 reservoir shocks and it's a whole different ride, even at speed in the chop. I just lower the tire pressure on the 35" KM2 tires to 20 pounds, hit the sway bar disconnect button on the dash, and the ride is pretty darn smooth, even in potholes and washboard. I can also run the 12-16 inch whoops pretty fast, and unlike the stock shocks that would go from full compression to full extension so fast that the front wheels came off the ground, the tires stay planted with the Kings.
I've had other 4 doors try and run my pace as the terrain deteriorates, and they have trouble going half my speed, and still have stuff flying around in their jeep. Yes, the King shocks cost almost $2,000 for a set of 4, but besides the king shocks, the only other suspension modification is a a Rough Country leveling kit that costs less than $200. IHMO, you don't need major suspension modification on a JK, you just need to control compression and rebound on the suspension you have. I bought the zero deductible 1 million mile warranty from Chrysler when I took delivery of my Jeep, so I am limited in my modification to keep from risking my warranty.
We were so impressed with the Kings on my JK, we are currently converting my youngest son's CJ5 to use King coil over shocks with 14 inches of travel on linked suspension front and rear, and my oldest son's jeep is next to get King shocks like mine, as they want the kind of ride I have on my 2014. We rock crawl, but also like to hit the desert and run sand washes, so need suspension that doesn't beat us to death.
Unfortunately, you are going to get a lot of different opinions on the internet, so you will have to weed through responses to find the right path for you. My 2014 in my 9th jeep, and it's by far the best ride and the most capable in any terrain.
I've had other 4 doors try and run my pace as the terrain deteriorates, and they have trouble going half my speed, and still have stuff flying around in their jeep. Yes, the King shocks cost almost $2,000 for a set of 4, but besides the king shocks, the only other suspension modification is a a Rough Country leveling kit that costs less than $200. IHMO, you don't need major suspension modification on a JK, you just need to control compression and rebound on the suspension you have. I bought the zero deductible 1 million mile warranty from Chrysler when I took delivery of my Jeep, so I am limited in my modification to keep from risking my warranty.
We were so impressed with the Kings on my JK, we are currently converting my youngest son's CJ5 to use King coil over shocks with 14 inches of travel on linked suspension front and rear, and my oldest son's jeep is next to get King shocks like mine, as they want the kind of ride I have on my 2014. We rock crawl, but also like to hit the desert and run sand washes, so need suspension that doesn't beat us to death.
Unfortunately, you are going to get a lot of different opinions on the internet, so you will have to weed through responses to find the right path for you. My 2014 in my 9th jeep, and it's by far the best ride and the most capable in any terrain.
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
Do you have your sway bar setup to disconnect in 4Hi?
If so what did you use, and are you overall happy with it?
Thanks!
I've been considering this, but I keep reading about different issues with the products that provide this function. So I'm still on the fence. Fortunately since the Pro-Cal does the majority of what I'm looking for, it's a wide comfortable fence.
professorkx
Observer
I use the stock electronic disconnect on the Rubicon, and it will work in either Hi or Lo, but unfortunately will reconnect at 18 mph in both. However, the real issue with the sway bar disconnect is at lower speeds, not higher speeds. A lower speed, the suspension just lumbers along, and the tires will drop into every hole/whoop/etc, so the disconnect allows the axle to flex more and walk through and give a smoother ride. At higher speed, the tires don't have time to drop into the bottom of each hole/whoop/etc, so the sway bar disconnected won't have the same impact, and you don't want a bunch of body roll as speeds increase. EVO makes a manual disconnect plate/knob that will disconnect the sway bar all the time, but I have not found a spot that the suspension doesn't work, so have not been motivated to spend the money. In addition, when I am on a side hill and low speed, I reconnect the sway bar by pushing the button to keep the body roll from favoring the low side, as my wife gets nervous on side hills, so reconnecting keeps everything calm in my jeep.
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
Ah OK, I miss understood your post, thinking you were running disconnected at speeds faster than 18mph.
Here-in lays the problem when you start talking about higher speed operation and chassis dynamics. Trucks like the Ford raptor are shorter than their typical F150 cousin, but not radically short like a wrangler. Can the jeep be made to perform? absolutely! its just time and money right?
Your other options (4runner, etc) will likely lend themselves to high speed operation with a lower investment. I should say that they will be more comfortable at speed, not necessarily anything more.
Thanks for all the advice. After looking a quite a few Jeeps, Tacoma's, and FJ Cruisers I finally found an excellent condition Tacoma TRD OR Double Cab. It was the right color and condition that I pulled the trigger on it. Despite how much I like the Jeeps, this Tacoma just felt like the right vehicle for me.
See you on the trai!
DAVE
See you on the trai!
DAVE
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
I had an '09 4 door, and was very impressed with how well it worked on and off road.
Here's to years of trouble free fun! :beer:
Here's to years of trouble free fun! :beer:
Chris85xlt
Adventurer
I would pick my Jeep over my Tacoma for the high speed stuff. Easier and cheaper to get globs of travel with the jeep. Im running 2.5" of lift with 11" front and 12" rear travel shocks. For the tacoma to match or be better i would want to get a Mid-long travel suspension but that's expensive and possibility will need body work.
Either vehicle you go with i think good bump stops and well tuned shocks (add resi if your shocks fade) is key to get you started. im running the TF speedbumps on the jeep and it helps greatly in the rough/whoops sections. I would of bought air bumps but didnt want to deal with the adjusting and maintenance.
Either vehicle i choose i will get destroyed by my friends stock Raptor but the Jeep will put up a good fight before eating its dust. Its mostly from the lack of power
Either vehicle you go with i think good bump stops and well tuned shocks (add resi if your shocks fade) is key to get you started. im running the TF speedbumps on the jeep and it helps greatly in the rough/whoops sections. I would of bought air bumps but didnt want to deal with the adjusting and maintenance.
Either vehicle i choose i will get destroyed by my friends stock Raptor but the Jeep will put up a good fight before eating its dust. Its mostly from the lack of power
SilicaRich
Wandering Inverted
Converting to coil-overs makes a world of a difference. Otherwise, not much you can do when working with SFAs. A good set of shocks and springs is always an improvement though.
Happykamper
Explorer
Depends on what you do with suspension tires etc.... Mine is great JKU . But high speed on flat desert trails to me is 45-50.... I can't drive 55 ! Only the other direction lol. Sammy I'm sorry
Desert Rat 1
Adventurer
On my 2015 JKUR, I installed a very affordable Rubicon Express 2.5" kit (with their Bilstein 5100's shocks) and I lower my tire pressures down to about 20 psi and I can cruise all day the roughest roads at 40+ mph. I can't tell you about the stock suspension because I replace it before using it off-road.