rough ride

[fzj]

I have a 94 fzj80, it has OME heavy springs in the rear with the Jsprings in the front, I have the OME shocks all the way around. The wife is always complaining about how it rides too rough, is it the shocks, the springs, combination of the two, would different shocks help get a little bit smoother ride without wrecking the whole set-up offroad, anyway just hoping to keep the wife happy and keep modifiying the rig for our off-road expeditions!

 

[OZCAL]

Maybe a second set of wheels with soft "town" tires? I see that often in Queensland. A gigantic lifted 80 with the "town" wheels - it almost looks like someone is using a temporary spare on all four wheels.

 

[Kalawang]

Is it possible that your tires are over inflated ?


Kalawang

 

[fzj]

are the tires a big factor in how rough the ride is, air pressure, sidewalls etc????????????????

 

[fzj]

I have 315 75R16 Durango AT's on 16x10 inch wheels. I run the tires at 32 psi

 

[OZCAL]

I understand the more plys, the stiffer the ride - regardless of size - and sturdier/bigger tires tend to have more plys. This was the $1.98 explanation given me at the tire store. I'm sure there's more to it than that, though.

 

[semlin]

It looks to me like you don't have enough weight. I can't see a winch, no sliders and rear bumper looks stock (can't tell).

 

[fzj]

Semlin you are right on all of that, I have not gotten a winch yet, no slidders, rear bumper is still stock, I do usualy carry about 500lbs or so of camping gear on my road trips! And at times we have 5 to 7 people in the rig, so the weight gets up around 1500lbs, is this too light for the heavy rear springs, would some more mods help smooth this ride out (wouldn't that be a great fix, more mods) the wife may not believe that

 

[concretejungle]

Probably one of two things......1. tire pressure. But it seems that you are running a pretty low tire pressure on a AT tire, so i doubt that's it. 2. weight in the truck. I hav found that with the extra seats in the back out along with the center row seats out, my truck rides like a stiff waggon. The more weight i have in it the smoother it rides.

 

[alia176]

OME does have a softer valved shocks I think. Perhaps a pair for the rear only?

 

[sjcruiser]

If you get that annoying, teeth chattering feel driving over cemented ribs on highway ramps at slow speed, change those OME polyurethane bushings out for OEM rubber ones - that should help alot IMHO.

Are your spring pads still intact? They also effect ride quality as well.

 

[White Shark]

Adding weight will hurt gas mileage, but smooth out the ride. With 850/863's an ARB/Warn and full Kaymar roofrack, the ride is still a little harsh. I had to carry 1200 lbs on the roof rack one day, and it rode like an Escalade. Try adding some weight. I carry 200 lbs of recovery chain, and a few hundred pounds of tools and recovery gear. It helps to smooth out the ride.