SteveMongr

Just some things I have noticed/learned and am still figuring out...

I have been experimenting with 'tuning' the suspension, which on the XJ means replacing parts (coils, leafs) and creating progressive bump-stops. The driving I do is on the beach in deep sand and in the forest. Whoops, rows of camel humps that get the jeep jumping and cycling through the suspension rapidly. Speeds are 20 - 60 mph ( 5 - 20 with the family) with sweeping turns in deep sand which causes excessive body roll.

With the Curry steering system I can notice the effects it has when running whoops. When the suspension cycles (10" travel, 6 up, 4 down) the wheels turn and the axle shifts to one side. This makes for a wild ride and constant corrections.
The reason is the steep angle of the drag-link and track-bar. Seems the only solution is to flatten out the angles so they operate around a neutral axis...

Anyway, I have been reluctant to leave the swaybar off because of the speeds involved. But when I did disconnect it, the front axle was more 'lively', gave a smoother ride and followed the contours of the terrain better, which allowed more power to make it to the ground and more speed.
Problem was body roll during turning, and while off-camber the body would lean over and stay there.

The first thing I did regarding body roll was replace the 'Soft-Ride' leaf packs and rubber bushings with BDS 7 leaf packs with Poly bushings and Clayton oversize shackles... This greatly improved the ride on and off road. Jeep feels more stable. I can 'feel the road' more with these leaf packs, I believe the Poly bushings are the cause of that.
The BDS leafs are not susceptible to loads or weight changes like the 'soft-ride'. And off-camber body roll was greatly decreased.
Next was Prothane Coil Spring Inserts set up with 2" air gap. These were for preventing bottoming-out but the added benefit is they seem to act like a swaybay helping reduce body roll. It is a very noticeable improvement and drives much better now with disconnected swaybar. They also reduce 'diving' during braking and cornering.

1996 XJ 5" lift Bilstein 5100 10" travel
Progressive rate coils
BDS Leaf Packs
Rock Krawler Uppers and lowers (short) with Drop Brackets.
Longarm 4-Link is the long term plan.

Later.....

SteveMongr

Wheeling in the neighborhood.

EagleXJ

Question about the coil inserts: So I've done some searching and haven't really found an answer to this, how do you decide how many rings you need for a particular bump stop height? I need about 3" of bump stop, how would I calculate what I need?

93XJLI

a Y link will "turn" under articulation... thats just the nature of the geometry. and your shocks are no where near stiff enough. and idk what the rate of your coils are but they probably arent stiff enough either.

SteveMongr

Thanks for the reply, I have been looking at steering systems and figure I would need to relocate the trackbar to above the axle and run OTK with the steering. This seems like the only way to flatten out the angles.. Crossover steering like IronRock still has steep angles.

As for shocks, they do get hot.. I'm looking into 7100's for the custom valving and fabricating a mount for them.

I agree about the Coil Rate, it's 170 lbs.
RockKrawler has a higher rate but maybe Deaver springs would be better.

Frame stiffeners are in the future to help hold everything together.

But really, I think I'm asking for too much out of a daily driver and need to get an on/offroad motorcycle for extreme fun.

93XJLI

Yea, you need stiffer coils. If you go to 7100s, just run an off the shelf valve. 360/80 front, 275/78 rear.

SteveMongr

I do not have equipment to do calculations so I 'figure'.
I figure the inserts will have a final stop where they can compress no more. To find this would require a press.

The sure solution is to 'plug' the center of the inserts with a stop since they are hollow, 1.5"diameter hole.
Some have used UHMW (hard plastic) but I think a hard rubber would be better. I used cut-offs from Daystar Extended Bumpstops. Cut them in half and used half in the upper bumpstop tower and the other in the insert.

To add to the 'final stop' measurement is the cap for the inserts which is threaded and 1" deep.
And on the coil bucket are mounted a 1/2" or 3/4" tall stack of washers 1.5" diameter. The inserts fit snugly onto the washer stack and hold it in place.
So the washers, plug and cap all together is my measurement.

For testing, if your shocks do not have boots on them you can put a zip tie snugly around the shaft to see how deep into the travel you are going. Then hit some whoops.