Need some advice here guys. Lately my jeep seems to be riding alot more rough than it used to. When I first put my zone 3" lift on the ride was great, but now I can feel every single little bump in the road to the point where it's making my back hurt. Nothing is vibrating, no death wobble, just feels like I'm in an old model t or something with no suspension. Do you think the coils could be worn out or is it just because my tires don't have the tread on them that they used to??? The coils and tires have ~30K miles on them. Here are some of the details on what it's got:

OME LT shocks (new)
Zone 3" coil springs
35" BFG KM2's
Tire pressure @28 psi
JKS adjustable front trackbar
FT adjustable rear trackbar
Currie adjustable rear upper control arms
Coast rear driveshaft
1" body lift
Teraflex front disconnects
Zone front/rear bumpstop extensions

I'm considering buying some OME HD coils, but I don't want to spend the money if it's not going to change anything.

 

assuming you are running about 28 psi in your tires like you should be, coils do make up the majority of your ride quality and comfort.

 

I'm with WOL on this. But I don't think springs stiffen over time unless they have sagged and just don't have the support they used to? Not that it would make your ride harsh but could have some effect; how are your shocks?

 

Yes I run 28 psi in my tires. What's the life expectancy of a set of aftermarket coil springs? Is it normal to need to replace them after 30k miles? Or do the more reputable brands last longer?

 

The OME LT shocks are brand new. I just put them on this week. I had teraflex shocks before and I bought these hoping that it would improve the ride but it didn't really make any difference.

 

Check your tire tread to see if it is even.

I went through this to realize the nubs on my tires (KM2's) were not wearing even - it is called cupping or scalloping -

Comes from various reasons mainly not rotating every 3-4k miles -

If you do rotate then it is most likely bad shocks -

The cupping usually comes from the front tires,,,,

 

being that you are running the correct psi, i would have to say that your coils are the culprit here. shocks only dampen sudden or harsh hits and will not effect overall ride quality and/or comfort. it is not normal for good coils to wear out so quickly - i might recommend getting a different set from someone like OME.

 

Is there a way to visually check if your coils are worn?

 

If coils sag, they also change effective compression response, but, it simply makes the tire rise faster with less resistance. That means the ride should not be rougher, but softer (Stiffer coils can make the ride rougher...as more road impact is transmitted as motion, rather than compressing the coil as much).

If the coil is not resisting rise as much, the shock now has more compression work to control, as the tire will now come up with more force.

So - that leaves open what is meant by "rougher"?

If it means you're crashing your bumpstops with all that easy compression...well, then more progressive energy dissipation would help to slow the tire down as it rose...the way a catcher pulls the mitt back when catching a fast ball, to soften the impact.

The bump stops can also be too long...so you're simply hitting them early.

Chalking the stops to check for contact would answer that question...and tell you if they are too long.

The suspension can also bind on uptravel, which then transmits the impacts to the frame.

Measuring the gaps for clearance/remaining suspension uptravel...would tell you if they NEED to be that long, or if they CAN be shorter....and reveal binding if present.

IF you are hitting the stops, but need the stops that length to limit uptravel, then you need more progressive compression valving to slow the rise of the tire w/o transmitting the motion to the frame.

The OTHER way to get a rough ride is from limited DOWN TRAVEL...the suspension is binding, or you have too little droop left...and/or the shocks are having trouble matching the rebound cycle to the speed of the actual rebound event.

If the coil is weak, the rebound valving spec'd may be too stiff, as its set to resist a stronger force than might be present (Its stiff legged).


Too stiff a sway bar for example can impact either of the above scenarios....either because the link is too short, so its always in tension, or its bent/unable to twist freely, causing binding.

The track bars and so forth are also potential culprits in this scenario, as they can get bent or twisted, etc, and start rubbing on things/binding, etc.

Again, flexing it out while looking for extremes of travel, and what goes where, on the way in each direction, can tell you a lot.

Well, just throwing this out there in case you need more ammo.