Best mods / suspension upgrade to optimize on-road performance?

[randyp]

I'm not going to pretend otherwise - my wrangler will be a mall cruiser (well, inner city cruiser) about 90% of the time. I'm not going to crawl rocks or ever go on trails worse than 3.5/10. Just snow, sand and occasional easy trail.

Are there suspension changes or other mods that will improve the on-road handling and comfort?

I'll probably get an Sport S with an auto and premium soft top. Still debating 2 or 4 door, but leaning towards 2-door because street parking is tight where I live.

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[randyp]

I've been reading on other wrangler forums that for good street handling, either keep it stock and get better shocks or get something called a "long arm" lift kit. Still researching this.

 

[macintux]

From one early review, it sounds like the JL already has relatively long control arms, and the on-road ride has been widely praised, so my guess is you'll be fine with it out of the box. Maybe look at nicer shocks.

If you really want to spend money on an improved ride anyway, look at whatever AEV will offer. Their lift packages are well-known for providing an improved ride, but at a respectable cost.

https://www.aev-conversions.com/

 

[Rubi]

Stiffer performances shocks and larger diameter sway bars.

 

[theonerunt]

From one early review, it sounds like the JL already has relatively long control arms, and the on-road ride has been widely praised, so my guess is you'll be fine with it out of the box. Maybe look at nicer shocks.

If you really want to spend money on an improved ride anyway, look at whatever AEV will offer. Their lift packages are well-known for providing an improved ride, but at a respectable cost.

https://www.aev-conversions.com/

AEV lifts and parts are junk. If you want a quality lift and suspension upgrade, look at metalcloak or teraflex.

 

[macintux]

I'll admit I don't have any first person experience with AEV, but I'm very skeptical about "junk" as an accurate label.

Here's a long thread tackling some of their pros and cons. Again, for on-road comfort, I've heard nothing but good things about AEV, but I'm by no means an expert.

http://www.wranglerforum.com/f274/aev-3-5-inch-lift-kit-any-reviews-positive-negatives-205162.html

 

[Renegade]

Any response to this question would be entirely speculative at this time. Buy one, drive it, and see if it meets your needs/expectations.

 

[macintux]

Any response to this question would be entirely speculative at this time. Buy one, drive it, and see if it meets your needs/expectations.

True, but 95% of this forum is speculation.

 

[Renegade]

True, but 95% of this forum is speculation.

Add into it that everyone’s opinion of what is a “good” ride varies widely as well. I prefer soft shocks and springs while others may prefer stiffer shock/spring rates. My point to the OP is that he/she should try it for themselves before asking for suspension advice about a Jeep which none of us have driven at this point. There are generalities which can be made about particular manufacturers, but a lot of their stuff for the JL may (should) be new. Until some testing is done, nobody really knows.

 

[FCrackerJLRubi]

Long arm lift kits are a nonsense upgrade for someone who plans on staying on the street 90% of the time.....its kind of on par with those folks painting their Jeeps some exotic color and throwing every single Fab Fours ridiculously cartoonish looking armor add-on with 22s and low profile street treads.

If you want to improve performance and get that lifted look (that is still functional and not just for looks) then just buy a nice kit with progressive rate coil springs, and a GOOD set of shocks. Everyone has an opinion on shocks, and some are better than others....but a few examples of good name brand shocks are Bilstein, Fox, Old Man Emu, and many others. Stay away from the Rubicon Express, Rough Country, Pro Comp, Zone, Skyjacker lift kits.....before I get blasted on this thread let me just say I am not saying those kits are bad.....but since you said ride comfort is a priority....just stay away from those. Metalcloak is a great brand, but they cost more than most used vehicles.....Rock Krawler use to be a go to name but I heard they started falling off over the last few years....its all opinion based but just make sure you get a good set of progressive rate coils (or hell if money is no option dump the coils/shocks and throw on a set of ORIs)...and good shocks...dont forget good tires too! They add to ride comfort.

EDIT: Tires, the lower the profile the rougher the ride, the higher the profile the more spongy the ride. This is also true when comparing tire width vs rim width. Gotta find the sweet spot. 35x12.50x17 or 35x12.50x18 on 9" wide rims is a good starting point.

Now with the JL having such great ride comfort reviews when compared to the JKs....what use to be big factors in making the ride and handling bad, could just be non issue things now.

 

[Rubi]

Long arm lift kits are a nonsense upgrade for someone who plans on staying on the street 90% of the time.....its kind of on par with those folks painting their Jeeps some exotic color and throwing every single Fab Fours ridiculously cartoonish looking armor add-on with 22s and low profile street treads.

If you want to improve performance and get that lifted look (that is still functional and not just for looks) then just buy a nice kit with progressive rate coil springs, and a GOOD set of shocks. Everyone has an opinion on shocks, and some are better than others....but a few examples of good name brand shocks are Bilstein, Fox, Old Man Emu, and many others. Stay away from the Rubicon Express, Rough Country, Pro Comp, Zone, Skyjacker lift kits.....before I get blasted on this thread let me just say I am not saying those kits are bad.....but since you said ride comfort is a priority....just stay away from those. Metalcloak is a great brand, but they cost more than most used vehicles.....Rock Krawler use to be a go to name but I heard they started falling off over the last few years....its all opinion based but just make sure you get a good set of progressive rate coils (or hell if money is no option dump the coils/shocks and throw on a set of ORIs)...and good shocks...dont forget good tires too! They add to ride comfort.

Any decent lift will run towards $3k. Don’t do any of these budget spring only lifts with shock extenders. Control arm and track bar replacement should be done because any increase in lift offsets the suspension geometry that should be corrected and brought back to OEM specs. I’ve seen so many of these hack job budget lifts which pulls the front and rear differentials out of alignment.

I would consider, after your initial purchase, how you want the vehicle to ride; referring to what Renegade said above. The original post from randyp never specified exactly what he considers his personal onroad handling preferences. Do you want excellent cornering with less body roll? This is normally the main attribute that most people want to achieve with a Wrangler when it’s to be used mainly on the street. This is what I was referring to, from my original post, to obtain and install quality stiffer shocks with larger diameter sway bars.

 

[FCrackerJLRubi]

Any decent lift will run towards $3k. Don’t do any of these budget spring only lifts with shock extenders. Control arm and track bar replacement should be done because any increase in lift offsets the suspension geometry that should be corrected and brought back to OEM specs. I’ve seen so many of these hack job budget lifts which pulls the front and rear differentials out of alignment.

I would consider, after your initial purchase, how you want the vehicle to ride; referring to what Renegade said above. The original post from randyp never specified exactly what he considers his personal onroad handling preferences. Do you want excellent cornering with less body roll? This is normally the main attribute that most people want to achieve with a Wrangler when it’s to be used mainly on the street. This is what I was referring to, from my original post, to obtain and install quality stiffer shocks with larger diameter sway bars.

Agreed, I would never recommend a budget boost....ever....for anything. Budget boost kits will fail you every time (of course not right away, but long before a good kit) and make you ride like a billboard on a spring since they basically attempt to max out your lift capability using mostly stock components and bad geometry. Most budget boosts just add some relocation brackets here or there, and a few spring spacers...even some of the economy lifts may include springs but they are usually equivalent to junk. Good kits will easily set you beyond $1500 and up into the $2k range, but you can still stay out of the $3k+ market (unless we are including installation costs if you dont do it yourself then yea good luck with that).

The only reason I say a long arm is a waste of time and money for a 90% street jeep is because its a very intensive installation and setup that adds a lot of cost instantly without that much of a gain for the non offroader.

Regular lift - bolt it on (for 95% of lift kits), alignment, go drive
Long arm lift - cutting, grinding, welding, reworking the axles, trussing, need new driveshafts, new exhaust system, new tabs and brackets everywhere...etc....then align it....tweak it, realign....tweak it....then go drive.

Do long arms ride like a cloud? In TJs yes they do....in vehicles already equipped with mid arms? Yes but not as dramatic for the cost.

 

[theonerunt]

Agreed, I would never recommend a budget boost....ever....for anything. Budget boost kits will fail you every time (of course not right away, but long before a good kit) and make you ride like a billboard on a spring since they basically attempt to max out your lift capability using mostly stock components and bad geometry. Most budget boosts just add some relocation brackets here or there, and a few spring spacers...even some of the economy lifts may include springs but they are usually equivalent to junk. Good kits will easily set you beyond $1500 and up into the $2k range, but you can still stay out of the $3k+ market (unless we are including installation costs if you dont do it yourself then yea good luck with that).

The only reason I say a long arm is a waste of time and money for a 90% street jeep is because its a very intensive installation and setup that adds a lot of cost instantly without that much of a gain for the non offroader.

Regular lift - bolt it on (for 95% of lift kits), alignment, go drive
Long arm lift - cutting, grinding, welding, reworking the axles, trussing, need new driveshafts, new exhaust system, new tabs and brackets everywhere...etc....then align it....tweak it, realign....tweak it....then go drive.

Do long arms ride like a cloud? In TJs yes they do....in vehicles already equipped with mid arms? Yes but not as dramatic for the cost.

Even a regular 3.5" lift should get aftermarket driveshafts due to the geometry changes in your angles, and if you're running 35s or bigger you'll need re-gearing, and should also install new axle shafts if you want your axle to survive with a heavy gas foot. All too often I see people wanting a lifted look, but not going the distance to make sure their jeep holds up outside of looks factor. A half-way decent lift + supporting components (without tires) will run you at least $4500-5000.

 

[offcamber]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money, the stock ride is probably best. For a cheap list with the same ride, get a budget boost (basically just a 1.5-2" puck/spacer that goes between the spring and mount giving a slight lift. It doesn't change the spring rate so the ride won't be more harsh. Most any lift that isn't serious money is going to use stiffer springs to get you the lift you want. AEV lifts ride and drive great, they just aren't the best option if you are going to wheel the jeep very hard. On my JK I origiinally did an Rubicon Express 3.5" Superflex lift. It rode like crap and over the last couple of years I've replaced all components of it and have my JK riding really well. The biggest addition was a set of Teraflex tuned Fox 2.0 reservoir shocks. They ride absolutely great.

 

[Rubi]

Another tweek that will enhance handling is aftermarket wheels with less backspacing than OEM. This pulls the tires out away slightly from the body giving you much better handling. I would keep the OEM tires, remount them to the new wheels, to save some money. This is a well known option; just not talked about yet on this post.

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