King Coilovers on Jk ​​​​​​​
 

Hi i’m am pretty new to the jeep scene but have a few questions. Are coil overs like kings better then a high end lift kit form a good company like teraflex? Also for anyone that is running coil overs what else do you have on your suspension and are they hard to install? thanks

To experience the full benefit of the coilover setup, at least in my experience, you need to invest in a good long arm kit to maximize the benefits. Otherwise, it's more cosmetic. What are you wanting to do with your Jeep is the first question.
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I really want to be able to do everything. I live in utah so i want to go down to moab and rock crawl. Also want to get into overland a little bit. But just have a capable rig that can do a bit of everything.

Then like @jordy says get a long arm setup, full skid plates, sliders, lockers, beef up your axles and you should be ready for most anything. Only problem is where do you stop

It's all about set up, most coil over kits out there are poorly designed but give the customer the ability to run fancy shiny shocks. Coil overs and bypasses like pictured give you the ability to fine tune your set up where you can't with a conventional coil and shock set up. Most of the kits out there like the EVO have too little up travel in the system to really make the investment worth it. You really need to be around 6" of up travel in the system to keep the heavy JK from bottoming out, most EVO systems are riding right your 3.5"-4" of up travel which is fine for crawling but once you get some speed the shocks will bottom out. You are basically riding just below the bump zone if you have the bypass. Most people don't want to run the extra 2"-2.5" if lift to get the system in the center of the ride zone.

You also need to do some tuning when you get it installed to make it work like it should. EVO touts it has a special tuned king shock but it is the same progressive stack you see from any shock coming out of kings shop. EVO also uses a short 11" rear shock with fixed res that you can only get parts from EVO. I am a King dealer and they won't even sell me the special parts to rebuild them. Its mainly the body and shaft as the seal kits and valving are the same as the regular 2.0 shocks.

I would not even bother with the any of the bolt on kits like the Eco or Rebel, they are mainly for show. Accutune off-road has a decent kit and they actually do tune the shocks for your jeep, they might be worth talking to.

Most of the long arm kits out there are poorly designed. Only real decent one is from Genright and their elite kit is $$$$. Teraflex and RK long arms suck. The reason why most kits are poor is that they work around the fuel tank which is in the way for a well designed kit that has good clearance. Almost none of them replace axle control arm mounts either.

Another option you might look at is ORI struts as they are tunable and have a more simple set up if you don't want the go fast desert performance. They eliminate the need for limit straps, sway bars, and bump stops. They look expensive at first but are a cheaper alternative in the long run and are better for rock crawling.

Of course budget is something to look at a double shock set up with coil over and bypass with a long arm kit will cost you $25k unless you are doing it yourself then you will have about $10k in parts and about 100 hours of install time if you know what you are doing.

You might want to post up the rest of what you are planning like tire size and axles to get a good idea of what you are looking for.
Good luck.

The goal is to have a rig with 38s a dana 60 in the back and a 44 in front. But it will be a while before the rig looks like that.

I think the Dana 44 is pretty maxed out running 37's. If your goal is 38's you might be better off waiting until you can afford a D-60 for the front as well

I would second you rethink a dana 44 front with 38's. Looks like you have about a $40k build coming. Get saving!

In EVO's defense, and i know your feeling about them all too well, that's how Mel likes to set them up. To his credit, he races the same system and setup at KOH and in several of the Baja races, among others. I've beat on mine on and offroad, and it's never missed a lick. The thinking behind the smaller amount of up travel versus droop, is that if you are going fast, like the system is designed to do, you'll be on top of the bumps and the additional down stroke would be more beneficial. It's pretty common to see in the trophy truck scene. The droop far exceeds the rebound. I could easily take the spanner wrench and run mine up more, but it's already on 40's and plenty tall.


I would at least third this one. Personally, I'd draw the line at 35's with a D44 platform, but I know there are all kinds of people out there who run them with 40's and 42's and don't have a problem. I've got 60's front and rear on mine and am still careful with 40's as that's a bunch of weight. There's always a weak link in the system somewhere and you'll likely find it in the middle of nowhere, on the side of a mountain, as the sun goes down, and a storm blows in. Pay once, cry once.
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Being on the bumps is not beneficial, in racing the key is keeping the wheels on the ground. Its overall travel, a high down ratio is fine in slow rock crawling but you want more up travel in go fast so you are not on the bumps so much, if you are always on your bumps the suspension is not working right. Mel may run the same components as he sells but I can tell you they are tuned and adjusted for racing, its not the same as the bolt on and go that is sold even though they try and tell people that. I have done some light tuning on a rig that came out of Mels shop and the driver just raved about the difference in the ride and how much better some adjustments do. He dropped around $45k at ORE for the double throw down and dynatrac axles.