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Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 11:02 am
by colinl
see what you think about these and let me know if they are ok or crap please.
thanks Col
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 11:11 am
by dan_2k_uk
They are iron man heavy duty 2" lift springs by the looks of things.
Mine are also rather hard and I have been meaning to get round too removing a leaf fpr a while bit havent got round too it.
The good news is they do soften up after a while I've done about 2500 miles on mone now (quite a bit of that offroad) and they are noticeably better.
Once you get the correct length shocks fitted you might notice the softening more as they will move more and soften faster.
Dan
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:10 pm
by Darrell
Thanks for taking those pics
Well the general consensus is that its the shocks, but to me they really control articulation apart from dampening impact. Those springs look over the top for an SJ and I would recommend taking a leaf out of each and see how she goes. They can always be put back in !. Those after market shackles are also done up too tight. The original shackles have a stepped bolt which allows you to do it up tight without squeezing the bushes, as these need to rotate within the shackle. I have often wondered about these aftermarket ones as they just use nylock nuts and therefore you adjust how tight they are against the bushes. Looking at your offroad pics I don't think the springs (well the front anyway) are going to drop much more looking at the curve on them, but unless you were doing a wheelie the one spring with the full weight of the front hasn't compressed much. I have seen off road only SJ's with only a couple of leafs on each corner and the ride was great, but obviously that would be no use on a road going one as the stiffer the suspension the better/faster you can corner.
Hope you can find a compromise that suits you
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:13 pm
by Darrell
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:15 pm
by andyrew
welcome to the sj world, from the comfort of a disco your in for a suprise.
id drop a leaf or two out of the the spring packs and take the shocks off to see what travel you get from it, and if it flexs better ,look for longer shocks as said by others. could be worth trying standard length shackles on to give the shackles a tad more angle. they appear to be verticle in the first picture
by the look of the photo its on lift 2 inch springs, lift shackels and a body lift, but fairly small tyres.
this in nothing to do with the suspension but in the photos the steering link arm is bent (assuming it has been bent to suit Spring over axle in the past) may be worth checking if you steering set up is okay.
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:51 pm
by dan_2k_uk
You can see the perches from a previous SPOA in the photos.
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:05 pm
by andyrew
looking again at you photos, could you post pictures of how you shocks are mounted up front?
as the rear shocks have been relocted to the axle in the pictures uve posted.
can tell in the picture but is the front shock mounted above the axles casing, could this be bottoming out?
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:25 pm
by dan_2k_uk
andyrew wrote:looking again at you photos, could you post pictures of how you shocks are mounted up front?
as the rear shocks have been relocted to the axle in the pictures uve posted.
can tell in the picture but is the front shock mounted above the axles casing, could this be bottoming out?
good shout.
My money is now on it having been converted back from SPOA without the shocks being relocated to the old mounts on the spring plates and now the shocks are bottoming out.
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:27 pm
by Darrell
andyrew wrote:looking again at you photos, could you post pictures of how you shocks are mounted up front?
as the rear shocks have been relocated to the axle in the pictures uve posted.
can tell in the picture but is the front shock mounted above the axles casing, could this be bottoming out?
I think you could well be right. It's hard to tell in the photos, but yes the shocks look like they may well bottom out. Certainly don't look fixed to the spring plate as standard.
Re: suspension too hard!
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:41 pm
by Jay18
maybe if you convert it back to SPOA then it would flex better? not sure how it would look on small wheels but im sure it would handle better off road, all youd need to do by the looks of it is remove your shackles then remove the axle and refit the shackles then bolt everything back on underneath the springs instead of on top of the springs...