Getting old.. looking to smooth out and quiet my ride

2782 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by johncanfield, 1 mo ago

Altonymous

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

Been toying around with the idea of making some changes to my Jeep to make it friendlier on the road. I’ve found myself having a lot more interest in overlanding & camping; and less in rock crawling.

Not sure the best way to start the transition and figure I’m probably not the first to go through a transition like this.

I have a small home built camping trailer with a RTT, but I’d prefer to not use it. (Was hoping it would give me the best of both worlds.)

I’ve been struggling with the decision to go up to 37” to make the gearing more on-road friendly.. or possibly going down to 33” and re-gearing. Either way I think I’m going to move away from the Discoverer STT Pros to an all-terrain of some sort. I have the feeling that 33s and re-gearing would give a better overlanding ride.

Another thing I’ve been considering is if I want to swap out the MetalCloaks for coil overs. The MetalCloaks are okay for a ride, but a little stiffer than I’d like.. and they seem to have leaks quite regularly that require servicing. I’ve also considered switching back to a standard shock setup; but outboard the rears.. the concern I have is with the rear antirock.. there’s not much space in those areas. Already had to flatten the Antirock arms to get things to fit on the stock axles. (Also considered swapping the axles...)

Then on top of that.. I feel like I have to start considering the gear and sleeping arrangements of making it into an overland vehicle and how that would affect the handling And by extension the suspension, driveline, etc…

No matter which way I think about it.. it feels like taking a slow approach to it would be hard.. and I like to have a plan to work towards.. but I have so many questions.

Here’s my current setup: Snow Patrol

Any thoughts/opinions/advice?

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rlenglish

· #2 · 2 mo ago

Any coil over I have seen make noise. A constant squeak would drive me crazy.
When I updated My JK's suspension I thought hard about this. I like to use it for crawling, higher speed gravel roads and sometime we load it up for a off road trip. I used some progressive coils and some quick adjustable shocks. The shocks made a big difference, especially to tailor ride for vehicle weight.

I have air bump stops on the front which work very well and a set of Sumo spring bumps on the rear. Doing again I would put Sumo's on the front also. A progressive bump will really help with heavier loads.

TJ/LJ Wrangler DuroSpring Replacement Bump Stops, Full Set

Minimize the harsh bottoming out your TJ/LJ Wrangler Jeeps’ suspension with MetalCloak's DuroSpring Upper Front Bump Stop Replacements. Features Include: 2 Upper Front Bump Stop Replacement Pieces 2 Upper Rear Bump Stop Replacement Pieces Superior Performance Over Factory Bump Stops...

metalcloak.com

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inline6

· #3 · 2 mo ago

Seems like you have about a textbook build. Well the metal cloak 6 pack shocks, that is what I assume you are referring to are a bit unique. But overall seems inline with conventional builds.

I might look at making some small changes first. Shocks and springs wear out, might be time to get new ones all around. That would be a simple step. You are not looking for all out rock crawling, so wheel base changes or outboarding the rear shocks may not be needed. Although, both can give a better ride or more travel. Control arms wear out as well...

The step to coil overs turns into a while I am at it project, so there is that. It can take weeks if you send it off, or years if you do it yourself. Coil overs, long arm, axles... It can get out of hand real quick. It may or may not fit your needs. That may be the other real topic at the hart of this.

Too bad the trailer isn't serving your needs. That seems to be a good solution for many.

All this reminds me of a podcast/YouTube interview of sorts with Dave from AEV. His conclusion for overloading is that why try to make the jeep do what a 3/4 ton truck does with small upgrades and better than a Jeep with 20K of upgrades. Not that trucks are cheap by any means. But they do ride better and provide more payload that a LJ will never do.

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Elwarpo

· #4 · 2 mo ago

I am at the same stage. A nice onroad suspension is the airock. Airbags and a LA will torn it into a ******* cadillac to quote Mac.

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johncanfield

· #5 · 2 mo ago

As far as a good all around tire, the All Terrain T/As are a very good choice. Good on the pavement and okay on mild trails. I've run those on my F250 for years.

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Al_S

· #6 · 2 mo ago

Your current build seems great, I'd hate to change it. Going to an all terrain tire should improve the ride and quiet some noise. I'm a bit perplexed by your thoughts of changing gearing or tire size. I run 35's with 5.13 gears with an auto, seems perfect at 70mph, but living in Ohio there is no need to go faster than that.

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Altonymous

Discussion Starter · #7 · 2 mo ago

Al_S said:
Your current build seems great, I'd hate to change it. Going to an all terrain tire should improve the ride and quiet some noise. I'm a bit perplexed by your thoughts of changing gearing or tire size. I run 35's with 5.13 gears with an auto, seems perfect at 70mph, but living in Ohio there is no need to go faster than that.

35s with 4.88 in a 6 speed here. It runs great for crawling, but around town it runs a bit high on the RPMs. I do worry a bit about changing things up to make the road better; the mountains aren't that far away. The area I'm in is not mountainous.. but also not FL/OH flat.

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Altonymous

Discussion Starter · #8 · 2 mo ago

inline6 said:
All this reminds me of a podcast/YouTube interview of sorts with Dave from AEV. His conclusion for overloading is that why try to make the jeep do what a 3/4 ton truck does with small upgrades and better than a Jeep with 20K of upgrades. Not that trucks are cheap by any means. But they do ride better and provide more payload that a LJ will never do.

Yeah.. I was seriously considered switching to a truck instead of making the modifications.. but the prices of vehicles right now.. it's insane. Some of the used ones are more expensive than new!

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RubiconRic

· #9 · 2 mo ago

I'd keep everything the way it is, just change out shocks, tires to something a little more mild, and maybe springs to a progressive style as suggested above.

I have the old-style 3" AEV progressive springs, Fox 2.0 IFP shocks, and 285/75R16 Toyo RT (hybrid AT & MT) and it's great for overlanding. Airing down solely for sake of ride comfort makes a huge difference.

The biggest decision seems to be around sleeping. Are you going to tent camp the old fashioned way, get a roof top tent on your Jeep, or use the trailer?

Besides outboarding the rear, many of your other ideas seem too transformative to be worth the effort... may as well just enjoy your LJ while you can (or sell it + the trailer while the market is hot, and before you change what many would consider a great setup) and research / save up for your ideal truck-based overlanding rig.

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Altonymous

Discussion Starter · #10 · 1 mo ago

I’m thinking about getting some 37” KO2s if I can find some wheels with enough backspacing. See how that changes things before looking at any other changes. I think I’ll need at least 4” of backspacing.

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Norminator

· #11 · 1 mo ago (Edited)

Let me persuade you another way. Your I6 engine is worth keeping. I heard you think out loud about getting a truck. I read even deeper and you listed a lot of possible changes. Sounds like you want change, but are unsure. I’d table it all and do an unrelated activity.

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johncanfield

· #12 · 1 mo ago

Altonymous said:
I’m thinking about getting some 37” KO2s if I can find some wheels with enough backspacing. See how that changes things before looking at any other changes. I think I’ll need at least 4” of backspacing.

My beadlockers had 3.5" backspacing which was apparently the most backspacing feasible in a wheel. Worked great for my LJ.

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Altonymous

Discussion Starter · #13 · 1 mo ago (Edited)

johncanfield said:
My beadlockers had 3.5" backspacing which was apparently the most backspacing feasible in a wheel. Worked great for my LJ.

Mind sharing what wheels you run? I can't find anything with the specs I'm looking for...

Diameter: 17"
Width: 8"
Offset: -24 (I tried -18 as well)

People I'm talking to are telling me there's no such thing...

BobsLJ

· #14 · 1 mo ago

Trail Gear might have what you are looking for.
Mine have 3.75” back space although I believe they are 8.75” wide.

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johncanfield

· #15 · 1 mo ago

Altonymous said:
Mind sharing what wheels you run? I can't find anything with the specs I'm looking for...

Diameter: 17"
Width: 8"
Offset: -24 (I tried -18 as well)

People I'm talking to are telling me there's no such thing...

The wheels on my old (and sold) LJ were Trailready but I don't remember the size. The only wheel cast and machined in the USA.

Reactions: 1

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