Just bought my wrangler sport (i think its like an X) so far have not done any mods to it. As I'm currently living over in Dubai the off-roading terrrain is mostly soft sand dunes so i want the car setup nicely for that. I tend to drive at a relatively high speed and take some big hits (no jumping though). My old TJ with 31" tyres and no lift scrapes the fender flares quite alot.

I want a little lift (maybe 2-3" max) and am not really worried about the price.

I was looking at Old Man Emu springs as they're a lot stiffer than stock and was also wondering if there are any shocks with adjustable compression and rebound . Has anyone tried fox shocks? As a mountain biker have always found these to be the best, is the cars stuff the same or are there better shocks? Would they work well with OME coils?

Also are there any good 33-35" road tyres that would fit on the stock 17" sahara rims i have. I found road tyres go well in the sand and as it never rains here the less tread the better.

 

Welcome to the site. You will find a lot of helpful folks here. They also have no mercy for the new guys when you make the mistake of calling your Jeep a "car". Every time you do this kittens must die.

The lift you have picked is a good setup and should do very well for what you want. i plan on using Bilstein shocks when I purchase new shocks but and quality system that allows for travel and keeps the oil from foaming and heating up will work fine.

On the tire question I like BFG Mud Terrain for my conditions. I might look at Cooper SST's for sand I think they would work very well in those conditions.

I noticed you are from Dubai. I think we have another member from Dubai and he has some great pictures. Just want to encourage you to post some sand pics because they make very interesting shots to contrast the mud and rocks we have here.

 

LOL

Well, the fatter the tires, and the taller the tires, the better they do in the sand.

Typically, you do not need much lift either, as its mostly flat, and dunes are rarely a break over angle problem unless you crest them improperly. Off camber stability is a prime concern too, as on dunes, you can side slip, and get sideways to the slope, a roll hazard...so keeping the Center of Gravity (COG) low is very functional.

A Body Lift is probably going to make true tire room, and keep the COG low, because the BL has no noticeable effect on the COG compared to an SL, and,...as with or without a Suspension Lift, the tires still compress up to the same point...and if they'd hit without a S. lift, they'd also hit with a S. lift, etc....the BL, rather than the SL, should be used as a primary weapon of choice for dune running.

A 2" BL would allow 35's, or a 2.5 -3" SL and a 1" BL, etc....for only occasional rub, etc.

Bilstein also makes the 7100 series, you can custom valve pack them. King and Fox make great stuff too.

For maximum control, you want the weight of the jeep, and the spring rate of the coils, and the valving of the shocks, to augment each other.

The lift coils are stiffer than stock, so as to support the weight at a higher ride height...and, therefore, the spring rate is higher, and the shock's valving has to control the spring's contribution to rebound/compression cycles - for a 3" lift, figure roughly 20-30% stiffer than stock on the valving.

You want monotube high pressure N2 shocks...NOT Twin Tube Shocks. The twin tubes are not good for high temperature high speed runs, and on undulating dune running type terrain, the twin tube shocks will fade on you, and leave you progressively more and more shock-less as you drove.

As sand is a bog down issue, you don't want tire hop, so the shocks run tend to be a bit softer, and the tires run at low pressures...with flotation as the name of the game...hence your observation that an aggressive tread digs, and a less aggressive tread seems to float over it better, etc.

There are several 17 and 18" versions of AT type treads, and even MT type treads that don't dig due to fat tread contact patches, etc.

35x13.5 or 14.5's would give you a wide stance for stability, and giant contact patches to float over the terrain. You would either install spacers, and/or use rims with about 2.5 - 3.5" less BS than the OEM rims, to provide inboard clearance...if using 12.5" section width tires, typically about 1.5" less BS is required, etc.

Hope that helps!

 

Realistically what would be the maximum width of tyre i could run without affecting on road handling? My rims are 17"x7.5" standard sahara rims. would a 315/70R17 be too wide and handle badly on road?

Also would getting some quality bumpstops be a good idea?

 

They'd be OK if the tires themselves are not poor n that regard (315's in that size are more like 305's in treadwidth equivalent, etc...).....The wider tires won't hurt the on road handling really...the lateral acceleration and braking for example will be improved quite a bit.

If you do NOT do a BL, THEN the bumpstop extensions will be required.

If you have the resources, etc...Bilstein, JKS and a few others make hydraulic bump stops...so that you get more uptravel, but, the impact is cushioned.

If you are coming down hard off of things, getting airborne sometimes, etc...the hydraulic bump stops will be a really nice feature to add.

 

Was thinking along the lines of Goodyear A/T Extreme in the above size.

How much fabrication work is needed to install hydraulic bump stops? Also can anyone fill me in choosing shock length& size? From what I can find I would guess around 15"- 25" ? Also would it be stupid to consider coilover shocks?

 

Bumpstops are easy....they just bolt on.



As for shocks.... first flex it out, and measure the extended length eye to eye mount (upper to lower mount points when fully drooped)...

Then compress the suspension fully and re-measure to get the compressed lengths. (All 4 corners - and- FULL droop is both sides of the same axle dropped straight down, NOT one up/one down)

Give your self an inch fudge factor for over extension/compression safety...and that's the shock sizes.

If you go with Bilstein 7100's, you can have Bilstein custom pack them for your application...just give them the compressed/extended lengths, and the weights F/R for the jeep, and that you will be doing high speed dune running, and they'll fix you up with a good valving solution, maybe 250-280/70-90 or so.

 

Welcome to the club, I live in dubai and always in the desert when time permits me.

I found the best tires for the desert are the following:

MT - Baja Claw
Interaco - STS
Cooper - STT
Good Year MTR

I based these results on trails and having owned them I felt they were the best for control and traction and climbing dunes. I didn’t like the BF’s ATR as I felt they were just useless for the sand.
They have just launched the Nitto Dune Grapplers here in Dubai which I suggest you check out as they really look like they are made for some serious sands. Hope this helps your tire searching easier and narrows down your choice

 

As for suspension, you have a wide variety of choices,SkyJacker,Teraflex,Full Traction, Super lift, Black Diamond, Rubicon Express & your choice OME. Which is an amazing set up I had that kit on my old TJ it was really good for the sand trails. This time round I went for Rubicon Express as I wanted a complete lift kit rather than adding parts latter on. I was looking for a different setup and it was a toss between FT & RE. I went with RE cause I just loved there kit on the TJ plus I had steal deal on the kit.

As you don’t want to go more than 3” I would go with the OME you will really be pleased with the kit, very basic, straight forward and amazing for what you are looking for.