70hemicuda

im trying to figure out ways to increase my ride quality on my jeep. Its a bit squirrely at highway speeds and i want it to have a more solid feeling when driving. I have a 3 inch lift and i am going to 4 inch with 33s, but thats it. I am planning on 1 ton steering. i also need to change out the control arms and dont know whether or not i should go with a good set of short arms or if long arms would be worth it for me at 4 inches of lift. I do offroad but do way more highway driving so really i am focusing on ride quality. any input would be great thanks.

Rogue4x4

Don't buy junk. Also, don't expect stock ride quality with a modded rig...

Spend the money, do it right, quality components will make all the difference.

Don't buy RC and white body shocks and expect results...LOL

unidentifiedbomb

This!

For your intentions stick with short arms, or get drop brackets. What lift setup do you have now? Is your shackle angle closer to 90 degrees and/or toward the front of the Jeep? I'm on 4"s now with 33s, RE control arms, great shackle angle, and my ride is nice and solid. You can check out my build thread if you'd like to get an idea of how my Jeep is setup.

70hemicuda

I know it's not gonna be mercedes quality ride, although that would be nice I just figured there's gotta be room for improvement. My shackle angle is 90 but I'm working on that with relocation brackets. Lift right now is zone and zone shocks but eventually wanna go to bilstien. And I was looking at iron rock offroad adj upper and lower control arms. I don't wanna buy junk I'd rather save up another 2 weeks and get good stuff that will last.

F1Addict

Obviously, all of the things that connect your axle to the chassis should have fresh bushings, that will make a huge difference in both noise and handling. Beyond that, proper alignment (specifically caster and toe). Replace worn steering components.

Replacing window seals (expensive, I know) and door compression seals will significantly reduce the amount of noise coming into the cab so then you'll realize you can't hear those worn out bushings anymore.

Fred/N0AZZ

I was at 3" of lift a Rustys entry level full leaf/coil package and using them increased the lift to 4 1/2" using a 1 1/2" Boomerang Shackle and an ACOS spacer. For steering now all that is done is new ball joints u/l and the ZJ TRE setup, I did leave a stabilizer setup on it but not needed. I really do not see a need for a 1 ton steering setup for what your doing and tire size I'm running 33's and 35's both and not having problems. The HD TRE's did make a difference in mine but the others were worn a bit but not all that bad. You will be doing some trimming to get full use of the suspension that you paid for.


I also have the Bilstein 5100 shocks and a set of Rustys HD Adj. U/LCA's on mine with an SYE. I went with a 4 1/2" lift because I'm planning on a long arm kit and that was about the min height for one to be effective. That said mine runs fine at 75-80 the few times I have had it on the OK. Turnpike straight and without any funny stuff. Any 4x4 lifted with all the extras mine has will ride a bit rough found that out 50 yrs ago lol.


If you can afford a long arm do it as the ride will be improved as well as off road ability.

Fred/N0AZZ

On the door seals if they are worn try forcing a piece of 1/4" nylon rope into the seal all the way around then cut at the end and check for tightness. This should tighten them up abet a bit hard to close for a while but works and for cheap. Get the rope anywhere I suggest black but it usually costs a bit more than yellow or white.

70hemicuda

i plan on doing ball joints as well. im slowly getting to replacing everything. I mean, if a zj tie rod upgrade will be just as good as 1 ton steering ill do that, but if 1 ton will be better i would rather save for that. Im gonna stick with short arms, but get adj upper and lower from IRO. as for road noise i should look into new seals. that would help cause you definitly hear the wind 50 mph +

investinwaffles

Weekend 1 (base-line)
* Saturday
1. Ball Joints
2. Wheel Hubs/Bearings (if they are bad, or factory original)
3. Axle shaft u-joints
4. Check track-bar bushings for any wear or play

* Sunday
1. Sway bar bushings + End-links (if you don't have quick disconnect sway bar links).
2. Front Steering (ZJ tie-rod upgrade is fine if you dont wheel hard) + replace the drag-link tie rod end
3. Adjust steering box, and see if it is salvageable
4. Grease everything until you push fresh grease out of the boots
5. Check all other suspension boots and bushings

Additional upgrades
* Steering box spacer
* Track-bar upgrade if necessary (Go with the IronRockOffroad double-shear if you can afford it)
* Bar-Pin eliminators to eliminate any play in the shock bushings
* Door seal mod using rope -
Google will be your friend - tons of tutorials on everything I listed above.

cruiser54

Adding the later model air blockers helps also.

Fred/N0AZZ

Cool I did that before there was a U-Tube lol. But that shows better what I was saying.

70hemicuda

I just did the rope door seal today, seemed liked it worked pretty well. I have done hubs, u joints, double sheer track bar, i have a steering box spacer waiting to go in. I definitly think my next big purchase will be control arms. But i am having a tough time deciding on which ones. Id like to keep it under 350 for arms upper and lower. any input would be great

70hemicuda

what are your opinions on drop brackets? I dont wheel hard, just simple trails and hill climbs and such where flex would be needed, not climbing through a rock garden. Like i said i am mainly going for ride quality. I cant swing longs arms so would drop brackets be a good alternative?

Rogue4x4

In your situation, yes. Drop brackets will get your short arms on a better geometry, which will improve ride quality. You can still off road, although be aware they stick down further, decreasing ground clearance. For a mainly daily with light off road duty you should be fine.

70hemicuda

okay so i will go with drop brackets then. I was looking at B lee offroad's control arms and steering and the price is awesome along with the quality it seems. one question tho, would heims be a good option for a DD? ive read some controversial things about heims and on road use