Smooth ride gone - Is this normal ? (1 Viewer)

[Beast II]

I have a 97 FZJ80 with Old Man Emu 2.5' all around, heavy in front, medium in the rear, ARB Bullbar with M12000, dual batteries, swaybar dropblocks in front, rear swaybar brackets, front and rear panhard joints and adjustable upper rear control arms.

Now the question - - Since I've installed the panhard joints and adj. rear control arms, I've noticed that when going over mogul type bumps the vehicle moves alot from side to side. While driving on the highway, holes in the asphalt or large bumps are very noticable - in other words, the smooth ride is gone. I've had the entire suspension checked out by Toyota and then by a private mechanic and everything is balanced etc. Understandable, I can't expect to have the best of both worlds, better articulation vs. ride quality - but is this normal or perhaps a symptom of a different problem ?

Thank you - Matt

 

[Junk]

Matt, In my opinion, I think you're just crossing into beaterville where road manners now take a back seat to trail manners. As you say, you can't have the best of both worlds. Ya gotta give up something.

 

[landtoy80]

Did you change your tires? Whan I had stock tires that were passenger rated 4ply I think. The ride was very soft. When I got the LT (light truck) 8ply tires, I could feel the road, evry bump. Try different air pressure in the tires. I have stock suspension.
kurt

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I ran the OME mediums for awhile and thought the ride was pretty good. I now run the OME heavy "J" and the ride still feels pretty good. I'll bet somewhere along the line you increased tire pressure. That's about the only thing that would make such a sudden change. A new suspension is going to be firmer than the mushy stock one, though, so maybe you just need to get used to it. What shocks did you use? It sounds like you are building a nice rig.

 

[Beast II]

I've got BFG 285's and I keep them at around 35 psi. Is that too high ? How likely is it that I blew out the front Old Man Emu Shocks ? There is alot of weight up there.

 

[Hltoppr]

The new BFGs are going to ride stiffer than the stock Michelins by far. The sidewalls are stiffer, plus the added suspension mods are going to change the cushy ride to a more firm feel. I highly doubt that you blew your OME shocks.

Personally, I like the increased firmness in the ride of my OME setup. You might try adding a little weight in the back, which would help keep the rear in check. I know with my 864s in the rear that if I take my 300 pounds of crap out of the cargo area, not only does the ass reach for the sky, the increase in ride roughness is obvious.

-H-

Of course, I'd be willing to trade you my Ramsey 8K winch for your Warn 12K, that'd help you take some weight off the front end....

 

[Beast II]

Funny thing is - I had the same tires before all of these additions and had a smooth ride. Perhaps the panhards have been lengenthed too much and allow for too much side to side movement ? I had the panhards cut and the joints welded in. If everything has been balanced, is it possible that the panhards were adjusted too long and the mechanic adjusted another front suspension component to account for it ?

Thank you -

Matt

 

[semlin]

Matt I'm curious why all those suspension mods for the 2.5" OME lift? My understanding is you can get away with just the caster correction.

Also, do you have front bumpstops installed?

 

[Beast II]

The reason for all of the mods is to increase overall articulation, which has occurred and to account for larger tires which will go on soon - probably 305's. I probably jumped the gun and should have waited, but I like doing these projects.

M

 

[Beast II]

I don't have bumpstops; do I need them ?

M

 

[Rogue]

305/70/16s are a tad shorter than 285/75/16s. Just an FYI.

 

[landtank]

If you go with 315s you probably will as I did. 305s are a 70 series tire I beleive which means all you are gaining is width only and nothing in diameter.
I bought a pair of front bumpstops for a FJ62 which bolt right up to the frame of our 80s however it only releaved the rub on the passenger side. From an earlier post I found out that a 1" shim needs to be added to the driver side to compensate for axle diameter difference between it's ends.

 

[cruiserdan]

305/70/16s are a tad shorter than 285/75/16s.  Just an FYI.

.5 mm it be precise :

 

[Hltoppr]

Yeah, that's a heck of a lot of ground clearance to lose!

-H-