You get what I'm saying!! Before my lift it rode wicked nice. I'll recheck the torque on the hardware. It would cost $400 to replace the tire OR shocks. I should have my stock tires mounted up and see if it still does it; at a cost of $50-60 least I'll have that off my list and can focus on shocks/suspension.

What shock tire setup do you have?

Bilstein 5100s and bfg km2 31s.

YES!! I would do that before anything else.

What air pressure are you running in those tires? I run Mickey Thompson ATZ P3 which uses the same carcass as the coopers you have and i found that it rides best at about 22 psi. My Xj is lifted about 5.5" with CAD brackets and control arms. my tires are 285/75/16. so you may need to scale your pressure appropriately.

20psi at the moment

I have IRO 3" coils with 5100's and BFG K02s (at about 32 psi), while it does ride pretty firm I don't mind it too bad, could just be personal opinion. Only thing I can think of is that since 5125's are the "universal" variety of the 5100's yours could be valved incorrectly for the xj, so you might look into that, I don't remember the correct valving off the top of my head, but you should be able to find it out with some research, keep in mind people will tell you different things depending on their personal preferences.

That is a good point Kyle. I too can say from experience that the 5100's are valved pretty firm, and the 5125's might be even more so for such a light vehicle as the XJ.

You can get 5125's in a variety of valving options too, his could potentially be intended for use on a 1 ton truck or something

I think you're right about the improper valving. I would say this rides as bad or a little worse than an unloaded one ton truck. There would be really no way for me to find out the valving as the shocks were prolly just pulled off a shelf and shipped out to me.

I spoke with the famous Jerry Bransford on Wrangler Forum and he was with you guys, thinking it was a shock issue (not tires).

I usually go OME, but he suggested I try out Rancho RS5000X. I see they got great reviews and decently priced so I ordered a set today. I will install them and see if it works.

After airing down to 20psi and still riding like donkey.. It's gotta be the shocks are way too overkill or improperly valved for my light application.

SAME EXACT way mine rides with the bilsteins...and I have a totally different suspension set up, including CAD brackets. The CAD did help some, but it is still way rougher than it was before @ 3" lift and stock arms with wornout rustys shocks.


PLEASE let us know...I may go that route for the mean time.


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Mine (with 5100's) jolts pretty good on "sharp" bumps as well... The variable-rate springs I have are fairly soft on initial compression, so I would blame the shocks too. I like the control they have off-road, but if I could find a shock with the same control that's a bit more forgiving on the road, I would go that route next time.

How about take the front or rear shocks off one end of the Jeep at a time and take a little ride? Be safe.

UPDATE: So I installed a set of Rancho RS5000X today. They did not correct the issue at large. I still get a sharp echoing jolt when I hit thing like cracks in the road, road connectors, and shallow pot holes. However, the shocks performed amazing when tasked against washboards and large dips. There is definitely a noticeable positive difference when moderate/harsh terrain is encountered. But the light (everyday) street bumps and cracks are still a problem. So I can either replace my tires from the stiffer Coopers to a thinner sidewall Duratrac and see if that corrects the issue. I think I'll just accept it (the ride quality) after shelling out $200 for shocks.

So in summary, these shocks are a much better application for my light non-armored XJ. Never had Rancho shocks but these are way better, to me, that the Bilstein 5125s that were removed. If you have Bilsteins and are considering a lighter shock, Rancho 5000X is the shock for you.

If I change up my tires, I will update if that corrected the jolting/jarring.

Thank you all though.

Never loosened up the leaf spring mounting points though?

I have had ranchos before and they were very rough riding, but that was also back when they were about the only off road shock there was....and I'd bet they have changed.

I am looking at doesch tech myself....they were awesome on the truck in my avatar....may go with the lighter valved ones for the jeep.