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

[Chemy350]

I cant contribute anyore than has already been said. But, maybe give these guys a call: https://accutuneoffroad.com/?gclid=...Lp_PpmQuh2RffQ7tkGSTUFUsjS6qlisBoCPDIQAvD_BwE

I think they have a setup for around $1500 that may do what you need.

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[BIOSYN]

@johnbyron Was wondering if you had a chance to test your new setup yet.

 

[johnbyron]

@johnbyron Was wondering if you had a chance to test your new setup yet.

I just arrived in Moab (first off-road trip after the upgrade). Will write a comprehensive review as soon as I am back

 

[blnewt]

I just arrived in Moab (first off-road trip after the upgrade). Will write a comprehensive review as soon as I am back

Awesome!
Have a blast and look forward to your review, and like mentioned previously, remove that front sway on the trail, simple to do and just zip tie the end links to your sway to keep them from clunking around.

 

[johnbyron]

Alright, I am back!
To recap: my setup is a 2D 2019 Wrangler Sport S with AT tires, Rubicon suspensions, Fox shocks, and MetalCloak bump stops.
I didn't experience a noticeable difference in on-road manners: it drives a little bit straighter, but it might be due to the longer LCAs and/or an alignment I did at the same time. MPG wasn't affected.
The Jeep rides great on smoother and larger bumps, like sandy desert roads, which is exactly what I was looking for: I feel more confident going faster without breaking anything.
The two extra inches and increased articulation are also great: I was able to complete Fins n Things and scraped just once.
When it's time to change tires, I might upgrade to 33s, but for now the 31s are working great for my use case.
The only times when I am still experiencing a very rough ride is when driving on washboards and rocky roads.

 

[mikem20]

Awesome! Good to hear it’s all working out as you’d hoped! Pics are great!

 

[BIOSYN]

@johnbyron , Looks like a great trip! I'm glad to hear the mods showed an improvement. It may be something I look into for our JLUR since the wife made it very clear to me that she is not ready to lift it. I have her talked into some new shocks but I've been a little hesitant to pull the trigger.

 

[blnewt]

@johnbyron , Looks like a great trip! I'm glad to hear the mods showed an improvement. It may be something I look into for our JLUR since the wife made it very clear to me that she is not ready to lift it. I have her talked into some new shocks but I've been a little hesitant to pull the trigger.

Glad it's working well for you, I was really happy I did the same, a big improvement running Rocky Gap a couple weeks ago.

Sounds like you had a nice trip too~WINNING!

 

[blnewt]

@johnbyron , Looks like a great trip! I'm glad to hear the mods showed an improvement. It may be something I look into for our JLUR since the wife made it very clear to me that she is not ready to lift it. I have her talked into some new shocks but I've been a little hesitant to pull the trigger.

JUST DO IT! I'm sure you've been good this year and you deserve a reward under your tree, a set of shocks gives you 4 boxes to unwrap too

 

[BIOSYN]

JUST DO IT! I'm sure you've been good this year and you deserve a reward under your tree, a set of shocks gives you 4 boxes to unwrap too

I'll just give one shock to each of the family per their seating position in the Jeep.

 

[Omotose]

Jumping on this thread….my new 21 XR Rubicon is waiting transportation to me. I don’t plan on lifting it at this time. I’m changing out the factory fenders but I’ll run the 35s for a while. I’m trying to figure out an upgrade shock as well but will the Fox 2.0 no lift be limited because of the ride height of the Extreme Rubicon? Should I consider different bump stops? I don’t know if there’s enough dimensional data on the Extreme Rubicon yet to know what’s what?

 

[3TV]

Jumping on this thread….my new 21 XR Rubicon is waiting transportation to me. I don’t plan on lifting it at this time. I’m changing out the factory fenders but I’ll run the 35s for a while. I’m trying to figure out an upgrade shock as well but will the Fox 2.0 no lift be limited because of the ride height of the Extreme Rubicon? Should I consider different bump stops? I don’t know if there’s enough dimensional data on the Extreme Rubicon yet to know what’s what?

May I suggest a set of these. They are for a 0 - 2.5" lift regular Rubicon, so they would be perfect for a stock XR Rubicon. Ride quality and vehicle control is a huge improvement over stock.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

Just to note, I would always purchase 2-3'' lift shocks for a stock rubi. The suspension and springs will handle it. I'm now running 3.5-4.5'' lift shocks with a 3'' lift and keep reducing my bump.. now at 2'' and I'm still not bottoming the shocks.

 

[Jeepeto]

Alright, I am back!
To recap: my setup is a 2D 2019 Wrangler Sport S with AT tires, Rubicon suspensions, Fox shocks, and MetalCloak bump stops.
I didn't experience a noticeable difference in on-road manners: it drives a little bit straighter, but it might be due to the longer LCAs and/or an alignment I did at the same time. MPG wasn't affected.
The Jeep rides great on smoother and larger bumps, like sandy desert roads, which is exactly what I was looking for: I feel more confident going faster without breaking anything.
The two extra inches and increased articulation are also great: I was able to complete Fins n Things and scraped just once.
When it's time to change tires, I might upgrade to 33s, but for now the 31s are working great for my use case.
The only times when I am still experiencing a very rough ride is when driving on washboards and rocky roads.

So... I think we may have crossed paths in Moab over the week of Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure you and I leap frogged over each other coming through Hurrah pass, and stopped at the same location to take a lunch break.

 

[Themistocles]

Just to note, I would always purchase 2-3'' lift shocks for a stock rubi. The suspension and springs will handle it. I'm now running 3.5-4.5'' lift shocks with a 3'' lift and keep reducing my bump.. now at 2'' and I'm still not bottoming the shocks.

Agree on this...I have 2.5 inch Clayton lift on a JLUR and the Fox 4-6 inch lift shocks are the ones that fit my measurements.

Also, just because there is better doesn't mean everything else is junk. The Fox 2.0s are great shocks...I have used them on one of my vehicles for years. They were a vast improvement over stock and allowed me to do things while running around the desert that most of my passengers thought were insane. Now with that said...when I jumped in our Class 8 race truck (same model and year as my personal) that had 3.0 inch King bypass shocks it was a whole different world. My 2.0 Foxes were not capable of being a full on race shock. But they did a great job for my fun blasts around the desert and some light chase and rescue work. The 3.0 Kings would have been overkill and I never would have taken the time to do all the tuning needed to make use of the bypass.

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