JACKED88 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I'm running 6" 180lb springs (180's being the softest I could find) and a pair of Pro-Comp ES-3000 shocks. I'm also running adjustable upper/lower arms, adj track bar w/drop and a stock sway bar. What can I do to soften the ride? Would removing the sway bar help? Or would that give the truck too much roll when cornering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Your ride would be helped greatly by a set of control arm drop brackets. If the springs really are what they say, you shouldnt have that rough of a ride. The control arm angle is what youre feeling over the bumps. The higher angle tranfers more road shock to the unibody than a lower angle does. The drop brackets would bring this back to a more bearable angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 :agree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirteatr717 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Either drop brackets or longarms would greatly improve your ride :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 the sway bar has nothing to do with how the truck handles bumps and it's removal can make turning into a hair raising experience. just out of curiosity, what's the air pressure in your tires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 either control arm dops/long arms or better shocks (something monotube) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKED88 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 Thanks guys. I'll take a look at my control arm angles and maybe even take a few pix of um. Which control arms are you talking about needing drops. Upper, lower or both? Air pressure is 28psi. Since they were suggested, how much $$$ are long arms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 My lifted truck runs 4.5" lift springs from Motion Offroad along with 1.75" spacers and shocks meant for some sort of antique Toyota car. Short arms, no drop brackets. Truck rides like a Cadillac. Stiffness has way more to do with shocks and spring rate than it does with control arm angles. Disconnecting the sway bar will cause the truck to roll more in turns, and can allow it to sway side to side on the highway (Pete and Automan saw mine do that on I-75), but will have no effect on the stiffness of the front suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Look under there for some worn out bushings.. But I agree on the control arm angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bighause Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Another vote for better shocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirteatr717 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Longarms can range from the rough country kit from I believe $650 to high end kits as high as 1200 I think for just a crossmember and arms, my Clayton kit came with the crossmember and arms for $950 to my door, I think it's worth every penny 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Your ride would be helped greatly by a set of control arm drop brackets. If the springs really are what they say, you shouldnt have that rough of a ride. The control arm angle is what youre feeling over the bumps. The higher angle tranfers more road shock to the unibody than a lower angle does. The drop brackets would bring this back to a more bearable angle. :agree: Yep ... what he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reece146 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 The problem is likely your ProCrap shocks. That said, six inches on short arms is a bit much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKED88 Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 OK, obviously my next question is gonna be if any yall have a set of used drop brackets for sale? I've priced new ones for a 6" lift from $180 to $220 bucks. (funny how things work out because that's the exact amount I don't have) LOL!!! I did a little homework on suspension geometry and understand how and why my control arms could be/are making my truck ride so rough. Without going into detail ..... I get it. I agree I need new shocks. So who makes a good yet economical shock for mostly street use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would drop 3-4 psi outta the tires and see what happens. I only run about 24 psi in my jeeps. plus it's free to try. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKED88 Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would drop 3-4 psi outta the tires and see what happens. I only run about 24 psi in my jeeps. plus it's free to try. :yes:I'll give it a try but I'm sure yall are right about my arms. I have another problem. (imagine that) My sway bar ends are coming in contact with my springs. It's like the sway bar ends are too long. Question ..... does an 88 2x4 MJ and a 89 4x4 XJ run the same sway bars? I ask because I don't know which one the previous owner used in the 4x4 conversion he had started on this truck. His donor vehicle was a 89 XJ 4x4 Limited. My truck is/was a 88 2x4 Eliminator. Also, the pre-owner used stock end links. Again, I don't know if their the stock MJ links or from the XJ donor. Yes, I know I need to replace them. (or go the cheap route and extend um) How much longer are the end links supposed to be for a 6" lift? Or .... do I need drops for it too? If so, how much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Bilstein or Fox both make some nice bolt in replacement style shocks that would vastly improve ride quality. And drop brackets or LA with that much lift. Or you could lower your truck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Everybody is saying long arms or drop brackets, yet I run 6.25" lift with short arms and it rides like a Cadillac. Explain that one to me. What's the stock spring rate on a Comanche? Get different shocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKED88 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Bilstein or Fox both make some nice bolt in replacement style shocks that would vastly improve ride quality. And drop brackets or LA with that much lift. Or you could lower your truck...Bilstein huh. I was looking at their 5100's and think they'd work fine for my application. (mostly street with the occasional mild offroading) Gonna see about getting some drop brackets too. Any recommendations on who's to buy? As for lowering it .... I considered it thinking it would be easier to get in and out of it. Thing is I wouldn't want to lower it any more than 1 1/2" - 2" inches and that little amount wouldn't be enough to make much of a difference. At 5'-9" I'd still have to climb to get in it. Thanks for the suggestions. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I would drop 3-4 psi outta the tires and see what happens. I only run about 24 psi in my jeeps. plus it's free to try. :yes: Yeah but that's WAY to low. If I'm not wrong 28 psi is to low, I've always ran my truck tires at 35 psi :dunno: Also check into fox a bit more they can be had a few Penny's less then Bilsteins. Either way good luck :D Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 First thing I would do is get rid of the stock sway bar links,you can extend them or do a sway bar drop. The sway bar drop moves the sway bar down about 2" and forward an inch or two to get the links off the springs. I would also look into some control arm drop brackets,IIRC you have straight lowers so at 6" your probably hitting the spring mounts on the axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I would drop 3-4 psi outta the tires and see what happens. I only run about 24 psi in my jeeps. plus it's free to try. :yes: Yeah but that's WAY to low. If I'm not wrong 28 psi is to low, I've always ran my truck tires at 35 psi :dunno: Also check into fox a bit more they can be had a few Penny's less then Bilsteins. Either way good luck :D Brandon um, 35 psi is used on cars and other modern lower profile tires, but taller tires generally don't need that much. :thumbsup: I got about 60k evenly-worn miles outta my 30" bfg ATs. and never was the pressure above 25 (and usually it was way less since the aluminum rims all leaked on me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKED88 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 First thing I would do is get rid of the stock sway bar links,you can extend them or do a sway bar drop. The sway bar drop moves the sway bar down about 2" and forward an inch or two to get the links off the springs.Perfect. That's exactly what I need. Question ..... with only 2 inches of drop, won't I still need longer links? If so, how much longer? I would also look into some control arm drop brackets,IIRC you have straight lowers so at 6" your probably hitting the spring mounts on the axle. Yes, I did have a hitting/clearance issue but I took care of it when I installed the arms. With my truck on a lift and the suspension hanging naturally I ground off a little of the mounts for clearance. If sway bar drops also move the bar forward, I definitely need a set. While I'm at it I'll replace my stock links. Thanks for the helpful tips. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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