For this statement to sink in I need to set the stage. Imagine that you are driving in your Wrangler down some desert track in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Jeep continuously shakes and vibrates as you navigate the washouts, heavy corrugations, rocks and sand. The shift lever of your manual gearbox shakes violently, occasionally hitting the mechanical stops. And you start to feel the constant jarring behind your eye sockets…

If you haven’t been to Southeastern Michigan in a while, this is what a normal commute feels like every single day. And it does not matter if your route takes you North, South, East or West for some 50 miles. It does not matter if you are on the Interstate, a major highway, some random country road, a city street or the shopping mall parking lot. You cannot drive 500ft without hitting some pothole, uneven concrete patch, overlapping asphalt seam, sunken or protruding manhole cover, or any other continuous dip or bump from years of shoddy or absolutely non-existing street maintenance (remember the Detroit Grand Prix disaster last weekend?). This corner of Michigan is probably the ideal suspension proving ground without ever having to leave the pavement, but you simply cannot get full enjoyment out of your vehicle if the only road available to you is a purposely constructed vehicle suspension test track, 24/7, mile after mile.

Basically for this awesome machine of mine to be more enjoyable I need to somehow tone down the constant jarring. And please don’t give me the spiel of “this is a Jeep built for offroading and therefore the suspension needs to be stiff”. It does not have to be this way. Stiff is fine, and it does not need to ride like a Lincoln, but not like a tank either. This Jeep of mine, as many others, is a daily driver, kid hauler, weekend warrior, grocery getter, occasional trailer pulling not-intended-for-off-road driving kind of vehicle.

So now that the stage is set, here is what I have to content with:
2012 Unlimited 4x4 6-Speed, Sahara base with a non-specified “Performance Suspension” on the window sticker (Arctic Edition). I don’t know if this varies from the standard Sahara suspension or not.

The initial stock driving experience regarding the suspension has reasonable OK. As I wanted more lift without messing too much with the suspension I installed a 2.5 inch TeraFlex BB spacer lift, initially with shock adaptors to reuse the original shocks. On top of this I am running slightly larger 285/70R17 tires on the original rims. As a result the jarring became simply unbearable. As a remedy I had the crazy thought of replacing the original shocks with Skyjacker Hydros as they are supposed to be ‘softer’. I installed these shocks last night and my daughter inquired as to what I was doing. I replied that her drive in the morning with me would become softer as a result of my important work. Well, I certainly did not score any brownie points with her this morning, the ride was simply put @$%&^#$.

So all in all what have I learned from this fiasco. A budget boost aside from the lifted look was an absolute waste of money, considering the local infrastructure. The soft Skyjacker Hydros are not any softer then stock, absolutely positively no way.
Now the question, how do I tame this monster? Basically the only goal I have is to soften and cushion the ride simply to get rid of the mind-numbing jarring. Whatever the final outcome, it needs to be softer than stock and 2.5 inches of lift is sufficient. Please remember that this Jeep will probably never see any serious trail, so 100% of the emphasis can be put on comfort, as much comfort as you can get out of a Wrangler.

I am open for any constructive suggestions and please be specific. There are so many suspension systems and so many brands out there, and there is no clear descriptive guide in my opinion. Ideally I would like to start with coils and keep the Hydros as they are installed now, but if they need to go then so be it. Any help is highly appreciated, especially by my daughter…

Thanks a lot.

 

Rock Krawler 2.5 with Bilsteins isn't your answer. Slightly stiffer than stock and the stiff 35s I added made it much more stiff than stock.

How's your tire pressure?

One issue with a harsh ride is control arm angle. Long arms help this but if that is out of the question look into the AEV control arm drop brackets(the only negative to them seems to be off road clearance).

 

If you have some E load range tires at 50 psi then you are gonna have that. lol. Check your pressure. If you have some E load tires I would run them sub 25psi.

 

I recently had the opportunity to do some light off-roading on the very scenic island of Newfoundland CA. On my way back from my trip I also drove through southern MI. I can vouch for your statements as my off-road part off the trip was much smoother than I-75 south of Detroit. I'm not sure anything would help on that stretch.

 

Our ride is pretty smooth after bumpers, winch, 35's and the TF lift with Bilstiens. With just the lift and shocks it was OK,b ut now it is better than stock. We don't have too many pot holes, but for general bumps it is pretty good.
You might be able to use the poor roads as a reason to need coilovers.

 

I just installed the 3" Rancho Sport system with Rancho 9000's. I currently have the shocks set on 3 which feels just like stock in my opinion. Other than the lift it's 100% stock until tomorrow. When I set them on 1 it was pretty mushy compared to stock. I tried themn on 9 and needed a mouthpiece for my teeth. The roads here are total crap as well. Good luck.

 

I haven't done anything more then add Old Man Emu coils to my 08 2DR. and it softened my ride a lot. My wife even noticed! I feel like I simply roll over the bumps now as opposed to feeling them shoot up my spine like I did. This is my DD and I am not dropping the coin that some guys do on all the rest. Specifically on the front I installed the heavy load coils as I have a winch etc.. and on the back I installed the light load, again for a 2 DR. I got them from Northridge 4x4.. here's the link. Coil Springs - Components - Suspension Hope that helps.

 

This, whats your tire pressure? I had 33's put on and the shop inflated to 45lbs. I almost lost 4 teeth in the first 5 miles here in socal. Pressure now around 28-30 and rides amazing.

 

Tires were initially at 42 out of the shop and I lowered them to the low 30s. I just aired them down to 28 following your posts. I let my daughter be the judge tomorrow and will report back.

 

Its not gonna ride like a Cadillac till you go with coilovers and get everything dialed in $$$$$