My 3.5" Rides very nice even with my Stiff RE springs and Bilstein 5100's But I also replaced all my bushings when I installed my Adjustable Upper and Lower arms. A well setup short arm will ride great.

 

My little DD Jeep is on RC 3" springs front and rear with those crappy RC2.0 shocks.

WJ lower control arms and OEM uppers.

 

4.5" RE springs sure aren't stiff, they're 3" ones are though

 

+1 them coils are beeeeeefy. My RE 3.5" coils sit at more like 4 or 4.5"

 

Zone 3" coils are super stiff as well. Over the last year since I lifted I have had similar experiences as others with my XJ riding like a dump truck. I have said a few times to friends it reminds me of my lowrider s10 when I first lowered it and learning how to do that right. This has been a similar learning curve I am not past yet. Obviously the definition of nice ride is completely subjective.

I have tossed the AAL and made a bastard pack, added shackle relocators, replaced bushings and bearings, added CAD brackets and new arms it still rides rough. If I could start over I would most definately do things different.

I would find the softest springs I could and couple them with the best shocks. I would keep the CAD and relocators. I really think a sweet setup for light duty and DD would be ACOS with a 1" puck and stock springs in the front and a custom leaf setup using a combo of relocators shackle length and spring arch to get the desired height. I really think these kits are a joke and really designed to meet such a broad range of applications that they inevitably fail at meeting most peoples expectations.

 

Who makes the softest springs?

I'll need 4.5" springs.
My buddy might need, I think, 2" springs.

I just checked out his new Cherokee this afternoon. It looks like a 2" lift, though I don't know what brand. The lift is all spring, and not coil spacers or extended shackles. His shackle angle is the same as mine, but doesn't ride nearly as rough in the rear. The pre-previous owner put on a track bar drop bracket, which looks like the one that came with my Skyjacker kit. I told him to take that off, get an adjustable track bar, which should fix the slight bump steer he has. His shocks are white, but no visible logo or name. His fixed-length LCAs look like mine, too. I'm guessing the shocks and LCAs are skyjackers. But I don't think Skyjacker makes a 2" coil spring for the XJ. I told him to air down his tires to 25 psi, see if that feels better. They are Pro Comp Xtreme MT2s. His jeep doesn't ride quite as bad as mine, but it's still drastically worse than stock (which we both think rides just fine). I think we might be able to get his riding better without dropping hundreds of dollars he doesn't have into making the ride manageable.

 

Soft springs are not always a good thing especially when adding bumpers winches ect. They will help you bottom out , cause more body roll ect. I suggest looking into currie or deaver progressive coils.

 

LOL. That is one thing that never crossed my mind. My sprung weight is much lighter than stock. May be attributing to my harsh ride?

If I added heavy bumpers, winch, tire rack, etc.... It would probably ride great.

 

What have you removed for your Jeep to be much lighter than stock?

 

...you really need to ask? lol

 

I totally agree about the weight. This is ultimately why the kits are made the way they are so they can fit a broad range of applications. After experiencing these things first hand now and with past experience is why I said I would search for the softest springs. What I didnt include was that I would consider current and future plans to determine what I need.

Again this is all subjective. My equipment beyond suspension is all stock and the zone springs I purchased are way too stiff for my application. I can barely force the front down using my body weight which is 250ish so I know they are too stiff. It also takes corners like a sports car which can be taken both good and bad but also indicates way too stiff. Live and learn is all good.

I am not ready to invest in the right setup for me so I havent done a ton of research on how to determine the appropriate spring rate but the info has to be out there. Best of luck on this.

 

I don't have heavy bumper or winch yet. It'll be awhile before I do.

Right now if part of my issue that the springs are too stiff for my build, then I want to know who makes the lightest springs.

 

I installed this lift a few months ago, and it rides pretty nice on the road. Not quite as smooth as stock, but not like a dump truck. It's funny, a broad bump like a speed bump is absorbed easily, but some sharp bumps hit pretty hard. I think part of this is the rigid heim joints in the arms. The springs/shocks can't react fast enough to this sharp impact, and there are no soft rubber bushings like the stock setup to soak it up. I drove down a lightly washboarded road at 55 mph and the suspension felt good but it felt like my tires were trying to float around on the dirt at that speed.

To the OP with the Skyjacker setup, you said you have poly bushings and old rubber bushings in the control arms. That is probably contributing to the hammering feel from every little bump in the road. The suspension can't react fast enough to absorb those, so the impact is transferred up into the body. It's the same with sports cars: ditch the stock rubber bushings for poly or other hard bushings, and now you get better handling but it rides rougher.

If you want the Full Traction kit, talk to AOR in the vendor section. He gave me a great price and was great to deal with.

 

reading a lot of this has me thinking twice and more in depth about lifting my jeep...

I was going with an RE 3.5" lift full springs decent shocks, should I go long arm at this point??

no ones sure of the ride until you lift it. don't want to regret lifting it for sure as it rides great stock but I'd like a little more flex and clearance...

 

nothing wrong with a 3.5" short arm kit. especially rubicon express. don't let the internet scare you, I was only arguing that trying to soften out a short arm suspension a bit futile. it can be done, but unless you're getting cheap or free parts you're probably going to be upset with the minimal results

not everyone can afford a long arm kit. I started off with a RE 4.5" short arm and promised I'd upgrade later to long arms. and I did. I'll never go back. worth every penny for the type of terrain I wheel.

everyone has to start somewhere. with short arms I was using 12" of shock travel. but the problem with the short arms is at 12" of droop your axle is rotating underneath the jeep. check back on pg2 for my diagram to see what I'm saying. after a few months of wheeling I realized that short arms were a huge pain in the *** offroad and it made it a little miserable for me. long arms brought the joy back