Choosing Shocks for the JL

[American Jeeper]

This video goes over the differences in twin and mono-tube shocks and what to look for in a quality product. If you wheel or have experienced really good, dialed in shocks then you already know how important they are, but shocks are overlooked as an afterthought mod all too often!

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[XJrider]

You didnt really talk about:

Matching spring rate ,vehicle weight to a given shock.

Unsprung weight relevance

Shock angle relavance

And what goes into choosing a good match...

Just went over the basics ...

 

[American Jeeper]

You didnt really talk about:

Matching spring rate ,vehicle weight to a given shock.

Unsprung weight relevance

Shock angle relavance

And what goes into choosing a good match...

Just went over the basics ...

Thank you for checking it out! This is meant to be more basic but I did mention getting shocks matched to springs and the added weight of the Jeep from things like bumper, armor, etc. Installation angle is important for twin-tubes, and that was mentioned. Matching to means making sure the shocks are tuned to your vehicle weight, springs, lift height, and intended use.

I did have to draw the line on getting what I believed would be too technical, and chose also to talk about coilovers and more custom tuned shocks with speed sensing valves/zones for another video.

Feel free to add more comments and share your experience and thoughts, as that was the intention of this thread. Love the discussions and I am just one person, so bring on the community Jeep knowledge!

 

[American Jeeper]

So my JL unlimited Rubicon is currently stock with original tires. I drove her on the dunes yesterday pretty hard hill climbing and joy riding. Ran at 15 psi. I could feel the shocks/suspension "bottom out" when i would hit ruts and dips at higher speeds. The jeep drives perfect on the road and i do not wish to do any mods that might change geometry or the current stock road ride but was thinking that a different set of shocks might be the solution to the bottoming out occurrences while out duning. Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. @American Jeeper

I would say that it may be an issue of the JL itself not really being meant to do dune buggy type-jumps. Shocks and springs will help, but unless you have a lift and longer travel shocks/stiffer springs you may still run into the same issue. How fast were you going?

I will be running Radflo shocks soon, but don’t have any significant firsthand experience with them yet. I like what I see so far but I really would like to run them for a bit before I fully recommend them. I do feel like the stock JL shocks should be upgraded, and Radflo seems like an excellent choice.

 

[American Jeeper]

I have an auto and ran in 4H (1 & 2), hill climbing speeds of 30-45 mph. After reading more today i see that it may be a spring issue as well and perhaps a dual rate spring might do the trick.

You are talking about turning the JL into a whole different animal to handle that long term. It would be sweet to see it! A lift would help you have more travel and the shocks should match the springs.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

Lots of information, and that will help people to start their search in the right direction.

A couple things to note, is that while aluminum of the same thickness as steel is weaker but with quality aluminum shocks, the aluminum in our shocks is substantially thicker than most high-end steel body shocks. The biggest gains are heat dissipation, weight and corrosion resistance. Our aluminum shocks weigh half as much as steel, and cool twice as fast. Not all shafts are chrome plated as chrome can chip and create sharp edges that will damage seals, we use Nitrotec shafts which will not unplate ever.

 

[American Jeeper]

Lots of information, and that will help people to start their search in the right direction.

A couple things to note, is that while aluminum of the same thickness as steel is weaker but with quality aluminum shocks, the aluminum in our shocks is substantially thicker than most high-end steel body shocks. The biggest gains are heat dissipation, weight and corrosion resistance. Our aluminum shocks weigh half as much as steel, and cool twice as fast. Not all shafts are chrome plated as chrome can chip and create sharp edges that will damage seals, we use Nitrotec shafts which will not unplate ever.

Thank you! Great points, and I appreciate you sharing insights related to your specific shocks. There are a lot of aluminum shocks out there, and not all are created equal. Same with the quality of pistons, and sounds like you have a nice solution. There are definitely advantages to aluminum as well.

By the way, I am getting ready to order some of your 3.5” springs for my Maximus-3 Geo Lift. Pretty pumped!

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