ADK_XJ

Hey all, just looking for a gut check for some more experienced tinkerers than myself - I bought a 3.5" Rusty's Offroad AAL kit that also had the HD front coils that I thought I would need to support my now installed full bumper, winch and bull bar replacement. While the added weight leveled out the front, it continued to ride quite hard.

I recently installed a full set of brand new Bilstein 5100s and a Rusty's steering stabilizer, while the handling on road is certainly improved the rig continues to ride hard on uneven pavement (read: everywhere around where I live) and is quite jouncy offroad still.

My question is this - did I make a tactical error in buying the HD coils? Are they too stiff for the limited addition of weight I've made (bumper/winch) or will adding some armor, diff covers and possibly switching out the rear bumper for an all metal and tire carrier setup finally temper the ride quality?

At this point I'm into this lift (tires and shocks included) for parts and labor well over $2,000 and just feeling like I should have more to show for it in performance and ride quality....

elevol92

They will ride hard when brand new, they should loosen up after use

ADK_XJ

Right, so that's part of my concern as I'm coming up on almost a year with the lift kit on, 6 months with the bumper and had the new shocks on for about two weeks. Maybe everything just needs to settle into place as a whole?

stock95sport(for now)

Diff covers, or any weight added BELOW the springs (wheels, tires, brakes, etc.) is UNSPRUNG weight. weight not resting on the springs, so that will not change anything. basically if you rock your jeep side to side, anything that rocks with the body will add weight over your springs. everything that doesnt rock wont

ADK_XJ

That is an excellent description - thanks, that definitely helps. So, bumpers, gas tank cover, skids and rock rails would be the main contributors to adding sprung weight. Good point, I guess I should have thought of it like that...

stock95sport(for now)

NP man, always lookin to help out on that topic also, unsprung weight makes a bigger difference in mpg, etc since the sprung weight sort of doesnt weigh what it actually weighs...if that makes any sense. for example you can grab a bumper of a full size pickup and lift it an inch by hand, where if the truck body was just on jack stands, you wouldnt be able to lift it....kind of confusing, lol. But yeah, as you said bumpers, skids, armor will all help to "squish" those HD springs a bit.