Suspension springs shocks and ride

[wanderer]

I have a game changer 2.5 metal cloak lift on my Jeep. I have the black shocks on it. and metal cloak springs Off-road is really is great. On road. It’s not so great. It’s very stiff. It rocks when I come to stop and the ride is generally very choppy
I had a metal cloak 3.5 inch game changer lift with their red shocks on my Jeep gladiator it was much smoother. Still good off-road did not rock when you pulled up to a stop and not choppy on the road at all.

So for all of you have a lot more experience with suspension than I help me understand what controls the ride is it the spring stiffness, the shock stiffness or a combination of the two?

Any idea why two very similar suspension set ups would be behave so differently?

And what are my potential remedies do I go with a softer set of springs and keep the black shocks? Do I change the shocks out to something more compliant? I am running these shocks on the lowest softest rating, which is number one.
I reached out to Metal cloak but I haven’t heard anything back
My understanding is that King’s shocks are much more compliant, but if the springs are the issue or a major part of it, that’s not a solution by itself
What are you guys running? What do you like and why this is a 24 Jeep Rubicon X

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[wanderer]

oh, and it’s not the tires I have bfgs and I’m running him down at 27 psi which helps only marginally

 

[jellis4148]

Aren't the MC Black shocks adjustable?

 

[3TV]

The on-road stiffness is from the shocks. MetalCloak suspensions tend to use rather soft spring rates for maximum articulation. It is a rock crawling suspension, but it is designed for a Jeep that is fully modded for rock crawling, including steel bumpers, winch, stronger than OEM steel rock sliders, skid plates, larger tires, and a load of recovery gear. Is your 2024 Rubicon X a 2-door or a 4-door?

The brief rocking back and forth can be a fairly normal thing with some high-end shocks. My King shocks do that. I think you are used to a vehicle that is set up for mostly sedate on road use, and you are now experiencing the taught and firm (not harsh) feel of a performance suspension. You already have your shocks on setting 1, which is the softest. The stiffness of your Black shocks may decrease some as they break-in. Yes, there is a break-in period for high-end shocks. I would wait for at least 1000 miles of use before deciding that you want to change them.

 

[wanderer]

Yeah, the Rubicon X I have is fairly heavy, steel factory bumpers, winch, steel rock, sliders, steel rear bumper and I’ve got about 2000 miles on the shocks already and it is a four-door. I will be going to 37th. I wonder if that will help much
Do you think the black shocks are pretty stiff in general? They’re an awesome set up
And this system does not ride nearly like my 3.5 game changer did on my gladiator

 

[3TV]

37s will help. The Black shocks need a little work to do, such as controlling a larger tire. The Black shocks on my 2-door do feel stiffer than the King shocks on my 4-door, but there are a lot of variables between the two. My 4-door weighs 6550 lbs. I haven't weighed my 2-door yet, but it probably weighs at least 1500 lbs less.

 

[goose5321]

I have a game changer 2.5 metal cloak lift on my Jeep. I have the black shocks on it. and metal cloak springs Off-road is really is great. On road. It’s not so great. It’s very stiff. It rocks when I come to stop and the ride is generally very choppy
I had a metal cloak 3.5 inch game changer lift with their red shocks on my Jeep gladiator it was much smoother. Still good off-road did not rock when you pulled up to a stop and not choppy on the road at all.

So for all of you have a lot more experience with suspension than I help me understand what controls the ride is it the spring stiffness, the shock stiffness or a combination of the two?

Any idea why two very similar suspension set ups would be behave so differently?

And what are my potential remedies do I go with a softer set of springs and keep the black shocks? Do I change the shocks out to something more compliant? I am running these shocks on the lowest softest rating, which is number one.
I reached out to Metal cloak but I haven’t heard anything back
My understanding is that King’s shocks are much more compliant, but if the springs are the issue or a major part of it, that’s not a solution by itself
What are you guys running? What do you like and why this is a 24 Jeep Rubicon X

I have some feedback if it helps, as I’m running the same 2.5" Metalcloak Game Changer lift with the black shocks on my 392, along with RSE steps and 35" KO2s. My Jeep’s pretty heavy, and I also noticed it felt stiff and bounced when coming to a stop. At first, I had it on setting 1, but it actually felt better around setting 3-4. The ride was smoother and more stable but they really shine off-road and especially during high speed bumps and dips the shocks really helped a lot and made the ride a lot more comfortable.

Here’s what Chris from Metalcloak told me:
“Those are a performance-based shocks and are valved pretty aggressively on the rebound so they will ride stiffer than a 2.0 or a RockSport red. What tire pressure range have you played with? The rocking back and forth is normal for those.”

I’ve heard you can tune these shocks so maybe there’s a company near you that can make them ride better on-road? Hopefully some of this information helps good luck!

 

[wanderer]

Aren't the MC Black shocks adjustable?

Yes and i have them on 1 the softest

 

[Westymike]

I run our 2.5" Gamechanger and RS Black RESI shocks. I don't notice what you are referring to, but I'm also on a 2-door with not too much weight up top. Are you running much upper weight? rack/etc? I keep my shocks on setting 1 around town.

 

[mgroeger]

The on-road stiffness is from the shocks. MetalCloak suspensions tend to use rather soft spring rates for maximum articulation. It is a rock crawling suspension, but it is designed for a Jeep that is fully modded for rock crawling, including steel bumpers, winch, stronger than OEM steel rock sliders, skid plates, larger tires, and a load of recovery gear. Is your 2024 Rubicon X a 2-door or a 4-door?

The brief rocking back and forth can be a fairly normal thing with some high-end shocks. My King shocks do that. I think you are used to a vehicle that is set up for mostly sedate on road use, and you are now experiencing the taught and firm (not harsh) feel of a performance suspension. You already have your shocks on setting 1, which is the softest. The stiffness of your Black shocks may decrease some as they break-in. Yes, there is a break-in period for high-end shocks. I would wait for at least 1000 miles of use before deciding that you want to change them.

Actually had a conversation with (I forget his name) at MC and he said the opposite. He stated that the MC springs run stiff and the shocks are soft. I told him I had Teraflex springs and ADS Racing shocks and it was a bit too stiff for me. He said keep the Teraflex springs because they are some of the softest because Falcon shocks are so stiff. Then he said the MC Reds would offer a softer ride. Voila, he was correct.

 

[CloakedJL]

The on-road stiffness is from the shocks. MetalCloak suspensions tend to use rather soft spring rates for maximum articulation. It is a rock crawling suspension, but it is designed for a Jeep that is fully modded for rock crawling, including steel bumpers, winch, stronger than OEM steel rock sliders, skid plates, larger tires, and a load of recovery gear. Is your 2024 Rubicon X a 2-door or a 4-door?

The brief rocking back and forth can be a fairly normal thing with some high-end shocks. My King shocks do that. I think you are used to a vehicle that is set up for mostly sedate on road use, and you are now experiencing the taught and firm (not harsh) feel of a performance suspension. You already have your shocks on setting 1, which is the softest. The stiffness of your Black shocks may decrease some as they break-in. Yes, there is a break-in period for high-end shocks. I would wait for at least 1000 miles of use before deciding that you want to change them.

The upper spring rates of our coil are lower, but that is to let the upper rates of coils completely collapse at ride height and only open up while flexing the Jeep out. The lower rate is what you actually drive on and it is a higher rate of 220 lbs/in, on the rear JL coils at least. Being a body armor company as well, we have always ran a higher rate to help account for the added weight it brings.

 

[Westymike]

I have a game changer 2.5 metal cloak lift on my Jeep. I have the black shocks on it. and metal cloak springs Off-road is really is great. On road. It’s not so great. It’s very stiff. It rocks when I come to stop and the ride is generally very choppy
I had a metal cloak 3.5 inch game changer lift with their red shocks on my Jeep gladiator it was much smoother. Still good off-road did not rock when you pulled up to a stop and not choppy on the road at all.

So for all of you have a lot more experience with suspension than I help me understand what controls the ride is it the spring stiffness, the shock stiffness or a combination of the two?

Any idea why two very similar suspension set ups would be behave so differently?

And what are my potential remedies do I go with a softer set of springs and keep the black shocks? Do I change the shocks out to something more compliant? I am running these shocks on the lowest softest rating, which is number one.
I reached out to Metal cloak but I haven’t heard anything back
My understanding is that King’s shocks are much more compliant, but if the springs are the issue or a major part of it, that’s not a solution by itself
What are you guys running? What do you like and why this is a 24 Jeep Rubicon X

Ralph, you said that you reached out but hadn't heard back. Did you email or call? We are pretty good about answering all calls/messages, so I'm curious which method you used?

 

[3TV]

The upper spring rates of our coil are lower, but that is to let the upper rates of coils completely collapse at ride height and only open up while flexing the Jeep out. The lower rate is what you actually drive on and it is a higher rate of 220 lbs/in, on the rear JL coils at least. Being a body armor company as well, we have always ran a higher rate to help account for the added weight it brings.

Thanks for the clarification. I don't want to mislead anyone. It was my impression that spring rates on Metalcloak lifts are a little less than some other brands like Clayton, Rockcrawler, etc. Sorry if I was incorrect.

 

[goose5321]

The upper spring rates of our coil are lower, but that is to let the upper rates of coils completely collapse at ride height and only open up while flexing the Jeep out. The lower rate is what you actually drive on and it is a higher rate of 220 lbs/in, on the rear JL coils at least. Being a body armor company as well, we have always ran a higher rate to help account for the added weight it brings.

Hey, quick question. Since the Black Rock shocks are valved pretty stiff, what springs do you think work best with them for better on-road ride? I like how mine feel now but want to see if it can be improved a bit. I also have a spare set of 2.5” Clayton coils. Would those work better?

 

[CloakedJL]

Hey, quick question. Since the Black Rock shocks are valved pretty stiff, what springs do you think work best with them for better on-road ride? I like how mine feel now but want to see if it can be improved a bit. I also have a spare set of 2.5” Clayton coils. Would those work better?

The RS Blacks really aren't valved that stiff, the number 1 setting is the same valving as our RS Red shocks, which if anything customers have told is is too soft. Clayton runs a pretty similar rear coil rate to us, so I am not sure how much that might help.

I noticed in your post you put you are running 35" KO2s, are those by chance E rated? I ran a set of those that were E rated on a 2020 JLUR and nothing would improve the ride with how stiff the tires were

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