Upgrading shocks (with no lift) to go faster off-road

[Rodeoflyer]

You don't need longarms although they will help immensely.. Long arms increase your wheelbase geometrically. It's like taking a small short wheelbase and increasing that wheelbase.

Do you need it for general high speed stuff? No.. you don't. A REALLY good shock will help more than long arms. For HIGH SPEED.. it won't help your travel/wheelbase,

If you want to just go FAST.. shocks are where it's at, and uptravel.

Springs do the 'work' shocks do the damping of that work. Get a spring that works for your load. then get a shock (hopefully a adjustable or bypass) that can make that load feel good offroad at speed.

Sponsored

 

[blnewt]

Thank you everyone for your answers, I really appreciate your help! And sorry for not replying faster, but I was playing around with the garage door. It looks like I was able to push it back enough and gained a few inches of clearance.

My plan for now is the following:

• Install Rubicon take-off suspension (mikem20 I might take you up on your offer, so kind! Will send you a DM)
• Install longer Mopar arms
• Install Teraflex (or similar) softer bump stops
• Install shocks (I will consider remote reservoir, but I might just go with Fox 2.0, at least for now)

For people who have asked, when I talk about going "fast" I am talking about driving on straight dirt roads with minor bumps at 40MPH, I am not planning on jumping, drifting, or anything like that. I understand that a 2-door with solid axles is one of the worst platforms for going fast, but I just want to upgrade it enough to make me more confident when driving it at speed off-road.

The only questions I still have are:

1. Is the clearance in the photo enough? As far as I understand, the Rubi springs shouldn't lift a Sport 2D more than 2 inches.
2. Could the Jeep potentially drive worse on road after these changes? I am really scared of touching something that drives fine.
3. I see that most people who install the Rubicon suspensions also go to 33' tires. Is the Rubi suspension with stock 31' tires still going to give me an advantage? Is the Jeep going to look funky with a lift but smaller tires?

As always, thanks a lot for your help!

I'm putting my Fox 2.0s on this weekend, and my 2dr is set up pretty much exactly as you're planning, except I'll be mounting 35s soon (currently on 295/70s).

Should be a great setup for what you're wanting and even w/ 31s you're still getting the benefits of that extra spring and shock travel, and better overall road and off-road manners. From what I've been told I shouldn't need to do anything w/ the bumpstops since the Fox 2.0s I have are for the 0 to 1.5" lift, but we'll see

 

[3TV]

OP,
I've spent some time in the desert myself. My first AMA National Hare & Hound desert racing trophy, and my last AMA National Hare & Hound desert racing trophy are 30 years apart. Those were on motorcycles, but I have competed in several different vehicle classes as well. I agree with what has been said already, and it sounds like your plan for the Rubicon spring upgrade, with better shocks is a good plan. It sounds like you don't expect your 2 dr Jeep to be a desert racer, which is good, because it isn't. It sounds like you just want a more comfortable ride at what I would consider a reasonable relaxed pace. Your plans will get you closer to that. My first mods on a vehicle are always suspension related. Suspension is the most important part of an off road vehicle. I bought my wife a new daily driver, see photo. It looks like a stock little Rubicon, ...

until you look closer.

I promised my wife I would keep her Jeep stock, but we all know that "stock" just means the engine isn't coming out.

One thing you may wish to consider is purchasing better quality shocks while they are on sale. I purchased the King shocks for my wife's stock JLUR from Northridge while they had a "scratch and dent" sale, for 60% off. That would put them right at your budget of $1000 for shocks. I looked at these shocks pretty well before installing, and if there is a scratch or dent, I can't see it. If you could find another similar sale somewhere it might be worth waiting and just keeping your eyes open. Good luck with your plans.

 

[johnbyron]

Thanks again everyone! I got the Rubi suspensions and Metalcloak bump stops from the great @mikem20 and I am waiting for the longer LCAs to arrive. As soon as I have the LCAs I will do the swap. If I get a good deal on a pair of shocks, I will add those in as well.
Will keep you updated!

 

[3TV]

I've had the chance to put about 400 more off road miles on the King shocks I talked about in the post just above. I can't emphasize enough how much difference the King shocks made on an otherwise stock Rubicon suspension. Handling is much much better, suspension remains compliant, but absorbs impacts much better, with more bottoming resistance, and stays perfectly controlled at all times. The difference compared to the stock Rubicon shocks is truly night and day. I can't count how many times I've hit something on a dirt road and thought, "wow, that sure took that nice". I've owned a lot of Jeeps in my life, with some expensive suspensions on many of them. But this little stock suspension JLUR with King shocks is easily the best driving and best handling one of all of them, especially at higher speeds on dirt roads. Were not taking race speeds, not even close to that. But definitely higher speeds than are comfortable with completely stock suspension.

The springs and bump stops you are switching to will be a good start, but the really big bang for the buck will come when you are able to switch to better performing shocks. Keep looking around, you should be able to find a good sale at some point. Good luck.

 

[3TV]

Something else to invest in at some point is an on board air compressor. I use an ARB Twin that is mounted under the hood with a Grimm Off Road mount. Airing down your tires will also really help ride quality. I wouldn't go lower than 25 psi if you're planning on a fast pace (40 to 60 mph). You can easily go down to 20 psi at a moderate pace (20 to 40 mph). Or, ... 15 psi for slow speed off road (low range).

 

[mikem20]

Good luck on your setup Georgio! Good advice 3tv. If I hadn’t planned on the 37’s, I’d have gone the route you suggested.
Btw, I have the same compressor setup. It’s been really handy and a great mod!!

 

[johnbyron]

I finally found the time to proceed with the installation. I had to ask a shop to help with the LCAs, as I was having a hard time removing the old ones with my limited set of tools.
I got Rubicon springs, Metlcloak bump stops, and Fox 2.0 shocks. I found a good deal on the shocks, might upgrade them in the future. I might also upgrade to 33s when it's time to change tires.
I just had time to take a quick drive on pavement and it drives almost the same as stock, but I can definitely tell bumps are absorbed much better. I also gained exactly 2" of lift.
I will go off-road in two weeks, where I should be able to really tell the difference.
Thanks again for your help!

 

[Pig-Pen]

might be a silly question but are you disconnecting your sway bar? that helps a lot with ride comfort.

 

[johnbyron]

might be a silly question but are you disconnecting your sway bar? that helps a lot with ride comfort.

Good question. I usually don't bother, but I might try

 

[mikem20]

It does make a big difference in ride comfort. It just gets a little sketchy at speeds.
I’m glad to see you got it done! Looks good!

 

[Rodeoflyer]

That's a great explanation video.. I almost bought the kings on my truck from filthy instead of thuren. They know their stuff.

 

[BIOSYN]

I finally found the time to proceed with the installation. I had to ask a shop to help with the LCAs, as I was having a hard time removing the old ones with my limited set of tools.
I got Rubicon springs, Metlcloak bump stops, and Fox 2.0 shocks. I found a good deal on the shocks, might upgrade them in the future. I might also upgrade to 33s when it's time to change tires.
I just had time to take a quick drive on pavement and it drives almost the same as stock, but I can definitely tell bumps are absorbed much better. I also gained exactly 2" of lift.
I will go off-road in two weeks, where I should be able to really tell the difference.
Thanks again for your help!

Jeep looks great man! Looking forward to hearing all the about the results.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

I just watched this video again and it's 100% true.. you're never going to get the ride you want w/o spending $1600-$4000 on shocks.. it just won't happen and it def isn't attainable with fox 2.0's..

I'm on my fourth vehicle with lifts and aftermarket shocks.. its just not attainable without matching shocks to springs OR adjustable shocks, preferably a dual (DSC) compression/rebound.

And even then, you want the softest spring your vehicle weight allows (which changes massively on overland jeeps) and tune your shocks accordingly.

 

[blnewt]

I just watched this video again and it's 100% true.. you're never going to get the ride you want w/o spending $1600-$4000 on shocks.. it just won't happen and it def isn't attainable with fox 2.0's..

The ride you want, and the ride you can afford may be quite different. All I know is the ride is significantly improved (in the short time I've run them) w/ the Fox 2.0s

Now if I had a buddy that had a completely tuned suspension w/ the shock setup that you're talking about, then I'm sure I'd have a much different take on how my lowly setup performs, but I don't have that buddy lol

Sponsored