200 suspension advice

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C

CRG

10 Year
Joined
May 7, 2015
Threads
6
Messages
36
Location
Va
Need some suspension advice on a 2008 200. It’s the wife’s daily driver, we’ve had it around 7 years, the set-up is- 305x65x18 KO2’s, total chaos UCA, Icon shocks F/R and OME HD rear springs, it’s around a 2.5-3.0 lift. The vehicle will never be taken off road or pull a trailer, and she’s getting tired of the rough ride on the highway and we keep having issues with balancing those damn tires (beaded but still rough and shakes) I want to replace everything to give her a smoother ride. We bought the truck with the current set up and have only replaced tires and rebuilt the UCA’s, maybe the shocks could be rebuilt but I don’t think it will give her what she wants. What are my aftermarket options to attain as smooth a highway ride a possible?

Thanks
 
tony
im currently overseas and dont have access to the truck but i believe the shocks are the stage 1, there are no reservoirs.

itsky
thought about having them rebuilt but im on the east coast and all the approved service centers are west or southwest. when i decide what i want to do i'll want to knock it out in a weekend not wait multiple weeks for someone to rebuild the shocks. I guess I should see if a local shop in my area has experience rebuilding Icons? I imagine it aint rocket science just need to right tools
 
Craig:
Where are you located in VA?
 
lrowe- im in manassas off hoadly & 234

itsky- i put out a feeler through another forum (i use for my car) for info about shock rebuilders in the area. seems most dont work on them in house they send them out ....but thats a 911 forum, i need to find a local 4x4 forum
 
That will be the cheapest route, but if you can't find someone local you could always buy another set (stockers from someone?) While they are rebuilt... I completely understand wanting as little headache on the wife's vehicle but I just had my Kings redone and it was night and day.

If you do get them rebuilt by a reputable shop they will be able to re-valve them for you as well. Might want to go a little softer...
 
if you are not loading up the back of the truck, swap out to OME 2721 springs or the Icon springs.
the icons are super soft, too soft for any load in the back, but when matched with the front they ride like a Cadillac.

since you are running the Icons with no reservoir, think about adding a 10mm spacer to the top of the coilover, then unscrew the preload collar to set the ride height you want. this will soften up the front tremendously.

when getting the shocks rebuilt, you can run stock shocks with a 2" spacer while they are out. SDHQ here in Phoenix does rebuilds, but quotes 2 weeks turnaround time. Icon could do it in 3 days when they were doing regular rebuilds. They farm it all out now unless it is a warranty job.

I would do the springs first, then if it is still not what you are looking for, send the shocks in for rebuild. At 7 yrs, they need it, but that shouldn't be causing stiff ride, if anything leaking/worn shocks will cause softer wallowy ride.
 
Good advice from TexAZ. I'd add that you could probably get your money back from the Icons if you sell them post-rebuild. Lower the lift, soften the springs and get some Michelins.
 
Tried looking for information on TJM springs here in the forums and no luck. Don't want to start a new thread though...
Advice on if HD TJM front and rear springs are a good choice? Running stock suspension right now, assuming I'll need to cough up money for shocks and UCA as well if I go this route correct?
Or should I just save up for OME setup
 
afgman786 said:
Tried looking for information on TJM springs here in the forums and no luck. Don't want to start a new thread though...
Advice on if HD TJM front and rear springs are a good choice? Running stock suspension right now, assuming I'll need to cough up money for shocks and UCA as well if I go this route correct?
Or should I just save up for OME setup
Click to expand...
I run the heavy TJM on the front, regular TJM on the rear. SPC UCAs on the front. No aftermarket front bumper. I think it rides great compared to stock. Obviously stiffer than stock, but I consider that a good thing.
That said, saving up for the BP51 OME will give you a much more compliant ride.
 
A lot of this is going to be subjective based on your wife's likes and tastes.

If I were doing this for my wife and wanted to retain a modicum of lift, added coolness, and measurable more capability than stock; while retaining as much of the stock NVH and ride qualities as possible:

1) Back to stock suspension including springs and shocks
2) Add OEM coil spacer to the front and 20mm spring spacer to the rear for a mild lift (without added ride stiffness)
3) Revert back to OEM upper control arm for the better NVH qualities and long term durability (don't need adjustability of aftermarket UCA with only a mild lift)
4) Michelin LTX A/T 2 tires in 285/65r18

Probably wouldn't even cost much if anything if you get takeoffs from people on this site, and sold your aftermarket goodies. Perhaps contact @Eric Sarjeant for factory new takeoffs from his dealer modified LCs.
 
Thank you for responses. So this is going to be a purpose built rig. I bought it for wheeling and getting out there. Don't have any bumpers yet, but will in the future.
I found front and rear springs on sale for a good price. Curious to if I should buy them and if I will also need to worry about shocks and UCAs, or could run the springs with factory everything else. Also if it's a good cheap investment.
@terdrocket I don't think I'll be doing the BP51 route. But the regular heavy duty OME kit
 
afgman786 said:
Thank you for responses. So this is going to be a purpose built rig. I bought it for wheeling and getting out there. Don't have any bumpers yet, but will in the future.
I found front and rear springs on sale for a good price. Curious to if I should buy them and if I will also need to worry about shocks and UCAs, or could run the springs with factory everything else. Also if it's a good cheap investment.
@terdrocket I don't think I'll be doing the BP51 route. But the regular heavy duty OME kit
Click to expand...

I’m no suspension guru, but a couple things you might consider.

The “heavy kit” springs assume you have the additional weight of the front bumper/winch that they compensate for. So expect a pretty jolting ride without that weight helping to flex those heavy springs.

ABout the BP51s... BPs are only more compliant if you set them to be so by tweaking the coilover preload above the springs in those coilovers . They can be made cushy...or crazy stiff, depending on preload plus compression and rebound settings on the struts in that setup.

Personally, I think if you are going to the trouble of installing front springs, you might want to consider going ahead and replacing the struts too. Otherwise...your heavy springs are going to overpower the stock strut’s ability to dampen rebound. Sorta like feathering your brakes at 5mph bring will you to a stop...but at 30mph...you need more brake pressure. Kinda similar with heavy springs. Struts need stronger resistance to control rebound with stiffer springs.

If you manage to really compress those heavy springs and struts can’t slow rebound...you bounce. Bouncing at high speed or in a bumpy turn isn’t what you wanna do.

Just my 2 cents though.
Gurus abound here... so hopefully they chime in if they feel I’m off on that.. ;)
 
Last edited:
afgman786 said:
Thank you for responses. So this is going to be a purpose built rig. I bought it for wheeling and getting out there. Don't have any bumpers yet, but will in the future.
I found front and rear springs on sale for a good price. Curious to if I should buy them and if I will also need to worry about shocks and UCAs, or could run the springs with factory everything else. Also if it's a good cheap investment.
@terdrocket I don't think I'll be doing the BP51 route. But the regular heavy duty OME kit
Click to expand...
Order shocks too.
 
SQRRRL said:
I’m in CA. I have 2013 OEM suspension you can have + shipping .30,000 mall crawling miles.
Click to expand...

"Have" implying free?!?! :cheers: lol
 
Markuson said:
I’m no suspension guru, but a couple things you might consider.

The “heavy kit” springs assume you have the additional weight of the front bumper/winch that they compensate for. So expect a pretty jolting ride without that weight helping to flex those heavy springs.

ABout the BP51s... BPs are only more compliant if you set them to be so by tweaking the coilover preload above the springs in those coilovers . They can be made cushy...or crazy stiff, depending on preload plus compression and rebound settings on the struts in that setup.

Personally, I think if you are going to the trouble of installing front springs, you might want to consider going ahead and replacing the struts too. Otherwise...your heavy springs are going to overpower the stock strut’s ability to dampen rebound. Sorta like feathering your brakes at 5mph bring will you to a stop...but at 30mph...you need more brake pressure. Kinda similar with heavy springs. Struts need stronger resistance to control rebound with stiffer springs.

If you manage to really compress those heavy springs and struts can’t slow rebound...you bounce. Bouncing at high speed or in a bumpy turn isn’t what you wanna do.

Just my 2 cents though.
Gurus abound here... so hopefully they chime in if they feel I’m off on that.. ;)
Click to expand...

That was a concern of mine. Lacking the weight of bumpers or drawers and only having sliders right now with skids being my next purchase is that too light to run HD springs.

Would I be in a situation where my springs don't have the necessary compression that is needed for a stable ride. I don't want to have the springs at full stretch having me on my tippy toes making the ride uncomfortable, but more importantly putting me in an unsafe situation at highway speeds if I had to suddenly avoid something or hit a bump on a turn.

Seems like I might be safer waiting the heavies out until I can also get the bumpers shortly after
 
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