New JL Owner with Suspension Questions

[justinnx]

Just updated from a 13 JK Sahara 4DR to a 18 JL Rubicon 4DR. Allot has changed since I purchased several years ago and wanted to see what was recommended. Read allot through here and is Rough Country the most popular to maintain stock ride quality? Can I run a 37" tire and 17" or 20" wheel with the RC? Will I need to regear as well? Or better with a 35" x 17"?

Are there other recommendations for combinations of tires/lifts that will maintain stock on road quality? We only get out off roading 6-7x a year.

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[LincolnSixAlpha]

Just updated from a 13 JK Sahara 4DR to a 18 JL Rubicon 4DR. Allot has changed since I purchased several years ago and wanted to see what was recommended. Read allot through here and is Rough Country the most popular to maintain stock ride quality? Can I run a 37" tire and 17" or 20" wheel with the RC? Will I need to regear as well? Or better with a 35" x 17"?

Are there other recommendations for combinations of tires/lifts that will maintain stock on road quality? We only get out off roading 6-7x a year.

It may not be worth it for you to perform a lift if your not offroading every weekend, or at the very least a few times a month. What you might consider is simply throwing on some 35's, and in fact you can even do that with your OEM wheels. You'll gain a little extra height from those OEM wheels due to the fact that they are only 7.5" wide, vs what everyone else throws on with aftermarket wheels @ 9".

As for the lifts. I guess my next question is what is your budget? My thoughts are it's better to buy a more complete lift with everything that will keep your alignments (caster) in check, and therefore said lift should come with appropriate parts to do this. IN my case I went with the Terraflex Sport ST2 2.5" which came with lower control arms that fixed any caster issues as a result of the lift. In fact, I needed no alignment after the lift was installed.

You can indeed run a 37" tire on a 17, 18, or 20 wheels. Your choice. Your decision process is going to be what's the offset (i.e. backspace) for a given wheel. Traditionally, most run with 4.5" of backspace (-12mm offset), but you can get away with a +offset as well since you have a Rubicon which has wider axles.

Seems the sentiment regarding wheel size is in direct relation to "mall crawler" status. Whereas the offroad folks typically run 17's with 35 or 37's the mall crawlers will run 20's or higher with the same size tire or bigger. Essentially you'll want more sidewall for airing down offroad, but since you don't offroad much, you're free to run what you want. If you check out my garage, you'll see mine with 35's and the 2.5" lift. I'd say get some 35's on your OEM wheels, and see what you think. You can safely run those without a lift.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

There are several kits on the market that have glowing reviews of improved ride quality over stock. Which kit is entirely up to you and what you do with your Jeep. From the sounds of it, take a look at our Adventure Series line. Improved ride quality over stock with the Stage 1 shocks and a 17" wheel with C rated tires.

 

[justinnx]

It may not be worth it for you to perform a lift if your not offroading every weekend, or at the very least a few times a month. What you might consider is simply throwing on some 35's, and in fact you can even do that with your OEM wheels. You'll gain a little extra height from those OEM wheels due to the fact that they are only 7.5" wide, vs what everyone else throws on with aftermarket wheels @ 9".

As for the lifts. I guess my next question is what is your budget? My thoughts are it's better to buy a more complete lift with everything that will keep your alignments (caster) in check, and therefore said lift should come with appropriate parts to do this. IN my case I went with the Terraflex Sport ST2 2.5" which came with lower control arms that fixed any caster issues as a result of the lift. In fact, I needed no alignment after the lift was installed.

You can indeed run a 37" tire on a 17, 18, or 20 wheels. Your choice. Your decision process is going to be what's the offset (i.e. backspace) for a given wheel. Traditionally, most run with 4.5" of backspace (-12mm offset), but you can get away with a +offset as well since you have a Rubicon which has wider axles.

Seems the sentiment regarding wheel size is in direct relation to "mall crawler" status. Whereas the offroad folks typically run 17's with 35 or 37's the mall crawlers will run 20's or higher with the same size tire or bigger. Essentially you'll want more sidewall for airing down offroad, but since you don't offroad much, you're free to run what you want. If you check out my garage, you'll see mine with 35's and the 2.5" lift. I'd say get some 35's on your OEM wheels, and see what you think. You can safely run those without a lift.

I was leaning towards a 17" wheel. The wife will be driving allot so that is why the ride quality is important. She does do allot of mall crawling lol. I want to ensure the ride is not more firm and it keeps how it is right now on the stock Rubicon suspension. What would you all recommend with that in mind? Is the RC still a good choice?

 

[justinnx]

There are several kits on the market that have glowing reviews of improved ride quality over stock. Which kit is entirely up to you and what you do with your Jeep. From the sounds of it, take a look at our Adventure Series line. Improved ride quality over stock with the Stage 1 shocks and a 17" wheel with C rated tires.

What I am worried about is the ride staying the same for when the wife drives it. When you say it will be better, how is that? I dont want the ride quality to be more firm want it to ride similar or smoother then the stock Rubicon suspension now. Are C Rated tires the best with your kit? I was looking at the 37" Cooper STT Pros.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

What I am worried about is the ride staying the same for when the wife drives it. When you say it will be better, how is that? I dont want the ride quality to be more firm want it to ride similar or smoother then the stock Rubicon suspension now. Are C Rated tires the best with your kit? I was looking at the 37" Cooper STT Pros.

Putting ride quality into words is tough and, of course, subjective. The best way I can describe the ride on Stage 1 shocks and our springs would be smooth, glassy, even. It takes the edge off of the bumps in the road for sure, more so than stock suspension.

C rated tires are the correct load range tire for a wangler, D's are acceptable, E's are too harsh.

 

[justinnx]

Putting ride quality into words is tough and, of course, subjective. The best way I can describe the ride on Stage 1 shocks and our springs would be smooth, glassy, even. It takes the edge off of the bumps in the road for sure, more so than stock suspension.

C rated tires are the correct load range tire for a wangler, D's are acceptable, E's are too harsh.

Do you have a link to the kit your referring to? Also is there a thread in the forums showing others running these kits and how they look? I was looking to get the Fuel Zephyr 17', which back space do you recommend?

 

[Carlton]

What I am worried about is the ride staying the same for when the wife drives it. When you say it will be better, how is that? I dont want the ride quality to be more firm want it to ride similar or smoother then the stock Rubicon suspension now. Are C Rated tires the best with your kit? I was looking at the 37" Cooper STT Pros.

If you are worried about ride quality being soft and smooth an aggressive MT tire is a poor choice. An AT tire would be a much better choice.

 

[justinnx]

If you are worried about ride quality being soft and smooth an aggressive MT tire is a poor choice. An AT tire would be a much better choice.

Thanks for the input, BFG K02's a good choice?

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

I was leaning towards a 17" wheel. The wife will be driving allot so that is why the ride quality is important. She does do allot of mall crawling lol. I want to ensure the ride is not more firm and it keeps how it is right now on the stock Rubicon suspension. What would you all recommend with that in mind? Is the RC still a good choice?

One thing to keep in mind is that the stock ride is "bouncy". It's nice over bumps, in that it soaks them up well, but any aftermarket spring-shock setup will always be a bit firmer, initially. I say initially in that it takes a little bit for the suspension to set up and break in. Regardless of that, it will never have that bouncy feel like the stock OEM shocks. Where the shocks fail you, in my opinion, is on the highway. They make the vehicle wonder and bounce around a bit. With my new shocks (Falcon 2.1's), and I've thrown on a Teraflex Nexus 2.2 Steering Stabilizer which is awesome. That combined with the firmer ride make for a very smooth, straight, and stable ride. I believe I commented somewhere, "why this JL ever left the factory with this POS suspension (shocks/coils) is beyond me". Anyhow, I love how mine rides now. The steering stabilizer will save the front end from wondering on the highway, or in very heavy winds. Plus it's adjustable.

As to the other comments regarding tires, yes, those are also very subjective as well. I happen to have E tires on, but mine are hybrid mudders. THey do ride easier with less air, around 32psi, but are tougher. Since I do go offroad, and I live in Arizona, we have a lot of rocks, so I wanted tougher tires. If you can find C's in what you want, then they will offer a much more compliant ride.

You can't go wrong with a lift, rather a good lift. If you spend some time investigating you'll learn what you need. As I stated before, it's important to keep the front end geometry in check, as a mentioned caster. Some kits do not offer anything to keep the caster in check. As such their price is lower.

Here's my kit, you'll notice they offer two lower control arms to keep the front end geometry in spec.

https://teraflex.com/shop_items/jlu-4-door-2-5-sport-st2-suspension-system-w-falcon-2-1-shocks

And I believe someone mentioned Rock Krawler which is also very good. They have quite a number of kits, and I'd recommend calling them to find out which is best for you. There are budget kits, so a call would be your best bet. I see some of their kits use an adjustable track bar to keep the geometry in spec, so you have quite a few options.

http://www.rockkrawler.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=2298

I don't know much about Rough Country, but their cheapest kit does not allow for any correction, however, whatever you buy, it's worth keeping in mind that usually the suspension cost is dictated by shocks (quality), and the adjustment factor. The $599 kit and up looks to offer a correction. For what it's worth, my understanding is that the RC setup is very similar to an OEM ride. I prefer a firmer, yet more stable ride, and these falcon shocks are awesome.

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

Do you have a link to the kit your referring to? Also is there a thread in the forums showing others running these kits and how they look? I was looking to get the Fuel Zephyr 17', which back space do you recommend?

I've got the fuel beast D564's. I've circled the part number. If you check out my garage, you can see what they look like, and use for reference. For what it's worth, there's also a +1 offset in that lug pattern, that will fit your Rubicon as well. The offset will have an influence on how the wheel looks as well, beyond the backspacing.

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for the input, BFG K02's a good choice?

The KO2 are the same tire that comes stock on your jeep. If you like them now, you will like them in a larger size. They are quiet and smooth.

If you run 35s you don't need a lift. If you decide to go 37s, the best way to keep your stock ride would be the Rough Country 2.5 spacer lift. It won't change anything but the height as it maintains your factory suspension.

 

[justinnx]

The KO2 are the same tire that comes stock on your jeep. If you like them now, you will like them in a larger size. They are quiet and smooth.

If you run 35s you don't need a lift. If you decide to go 37s, the best way to keep your stock ride would be the Rough Country 2.5 spacer lift. It won't change anything but the height as it maintains your factory suspension.

The Rough Country will not make it any more firmer, it will ride the same over bumps etc..??

 

[Carlton]

The Rough Country will not make it any more firmer, it will ride the same over bumps etc..??

Yes, very similar if you go with the spacer lift, as you still have the stock springs and shocks. If you add geometry correction brackets it may even make the ride a it smoother as it causes the control arms to run more parallel to the road.

 

[Rock Krawler Suspension]

Do you have a link to the kit your referring to? Also is there a thread in the forums showing others running these kits and how they look? I was looking to get the Fuel Zephyr 17', which back space do you recommend?

http://www.rockkrawler.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=JL25AS1-4S1 This kit includes all the geometry correction to make the jeep drive correctly down the road and has tons of suspension travel if you want to go off road. The stage one shocks are very very smooth.

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