3 inch lift ride quality on 37’s

[Im Glad]

I bought a jeep gladiator new from the dealership and it came with the “Rocky Ridge” conversion. 3 inch lift , fox adventure shocks , 37 inch toyo RC R/T tires. I don’t know what brand the springs are or what brand any other suspension parts are. Rocky Ridge won’t respond to any of my questions, they aren’t on any forums, and only work with dealerships, that doesn’t help the end-user at all. That said , I’m trying to improve the ride quality. My question is , is it even possible to get a comfortable daily driver suspension with a 3 inch lift on 37‘s? Maybe I’m just pissing in the wind and this is as good as it gets? I replaced the shocks thinking they were part of the problem , I installed some fox race series adjustable 2.5 series front and rear. Seem to be really nice shocks with high speed and low speed adjustability however it did not improve my ride quality. I’ve tried it at the soft setting middle setting and stiffer setting . I can definitely feel the weight of the tires gyrating going over bumps and the springs seem stiff to me. Is that just the nature of Highway and city driving on aggressive 37‘s? Would a higher end steering stabilizer dual shock and better Springs be a good place to start? Could the cold weather also be playing a role in the stiff suspension? It has been like 8° here for a while Attached are a few pictures. Thanks in advance.

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[cuellar13]

Steering stabilizer won't do anything for stiff suspension, and I would definitely try to identify the lift kit that was used. Perhaps there are some part/production numbers stamped into the springs that you could cross reference? Maybe ask your sales person to contact Rocky Ridge and find out?

When I went to 37s and a 3 1/2" lift from the OE JTR Fox set up, my ride did seem to improve *a little*, but not enough to write home about.

What is your point of reference in terms of stiffness with the JT? Did you drive another one without this setup and it felt more "comfortable"? Not sure if this is your first, but in my experience, first time owners of straight axle vehicles typically need time to get used to it. They just feel more rigid. The other 3 vehicles in our driveway (66 GMC pickup, 07 Mustang, and 2021 Bronco 2 door) all make my JTR feel like it has cinder blocks for suspension, but it has felt the same way pre and post lift. My JKU was the same way. Just my $.02.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

What PSI are those tires at?

 

[hjdca]

Great Truck. Nice shocks! Red springs and end links look cool also. How do you like that Steering stabilizer setup ? I have not see that double setup like that on the trail. Overall, looks like some great upgrades.

This is what I would do.
1. I would set TIRE PSI between 30 to 32 PSI. Helps with bumps.
2. I would take the truck to an Alignment shop and check the Caster and Toe in. Adjust toe-in to 1/16".
2. If Caster is less than 6, I would add Caster until it gets to just over 6. Like 6.1 to 6.6. Some people like more. This will greatly help your highway driving.

It does not look like you have adjustable control arms. If you do have adjustable control arms -- To add Caster, make your front lower control arms longer - half a turn to full turn; and make your front upper control arms shorter - half a turn to full turn. Note: a little bit makes a big difference.

 

[bleda2002]

Ride quality is very subjective, is it too stiff, too soft, too bouncy? Whats your point of reference as well? I find the ride quality of mine on 37's to be very good. Its still a pickup truck so it will never ride like a well tuned car on the street, but it I also wouldnt want a well tuned car off road unless i want to loose my fillings.

One quick thing you can check is the air pressure in the tires, even 3-4 psi makes a huge difference in ride quality so playing with that could help.

 

[MrFahrenheit]

Since it looks like those are the stock control arms some Geometry Correction brackets would probably do you wonders.

Edit: can't tell if there are adjustable upper front control arms from the pics or not, but since the front lowers are stock (or mopar lift ones, impossible to tell without PN's) I wouldn't imagine the uppers are adjustable.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

Also by the looks of it you only have 1" of up-travel before hitting those bump stops!

That would not be a comfortable ride at all. You want to aim for at least 3" up travel IMO, but by the looks of it you don't have a lot of fender clearance as it sits...

My 2 cents.

Reduce PSI to 29-30PSI (or less)
Add in the terraflex 1" spacer up front on top of those springs, to gain 1" uptravel (assuming the springs don't bottom out, as they are wound really tight already)

Add in rear 3/4" daystar puck to keep the jeep looking level.

I don't think those shocks are adjustable, but if they are, set to soft for on road.

Then if it's not tracking well, add the geo-kit.

 

[cdyoung9799]

As far as the tires go, Toyos are heavy, so you're definitely going to feel their weight. I had them on my last 2 Jeeps. I'm running 37-inch BFG KM3's now, and they're noticeably lighter, and I don't notice them near as much as the Toyos. As others have stated, check your PSI. I chalk-test my tires to find the right pressure for even wear. This has worked well for me in the past.

Awesome rig BTW. Congrats.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

yeah if you look at the ring on your shocks, they have never traveled any further up than that 1"

I bet every time you hit a pot hole... speed bump... its a very abrupt sensation in the front.

 

[bleda2002]

Quick digging and you have a BDS 3" Lift kit. Its what rocky ridge uses on other jeeps, and the bump stops up front are fairly unique and match BDS'.

 

[cdyoung9799]

Quick digging and you have a BDS 3" Lift kit. Its what rocky ridge uses on other jeeps, and the bump stops up front are fairly unique and match BDS'.

I bought my first Jeep with a dealer-installed BDS lift. It was pretty solid. I beat the crap out of that thing and it held up.

 

[OHJeeper]

As far as the tires go, Toyos are heavy, so you're definitely going to feel their weight. I had them on my last 2 Jeeps. I'm running 37-inch BFG KM3's now, and they're noticeably lighter, and I don't notice them near as much as the Toyos. As others have stated, check your PSI. I chalk-test my tires to find the right pressure for even wear. This has worked well for me in the past.

Awesome rig BTW. Congrats.

What did you end up with when chalk-testing on the KM3s? Looking for a ballpark to start mine. I had my KO2's set at 30 and I could see cupping at the bottom (on 7.5" rims, which is part of the problem). I set to 25 psi for the time being, but will be chalk testing when the snow is off the ground.

 

[cdyoung9799]

What did you end up with when chalk-testing on the KM3s? Looking for a ballpark to start mine. I had my KO2's set at 30 and I could see cupping at the bottom (on 7.5" rims, which is part of the problem). I set to 25 psi for the time being, but will be chalk testing when the snow is off the ground.

It's been a few months, but I think I landed on 34psi. I'm on 17x9.5 rims with 37x12.5x17 tires. I probably could have even gone a little lower to 32.

 

[Aonarch]

I bought a jeep gladiator new from the dealership and it came with the “Rocky Ridge” conversion. 3 inch lift , fox adventure shocks , 37 inch toyo RC R/T tires. I don’t know what brand the springs are or what brand any other suspension parts are. Rocky Ridge won’t respond to any of my questions, they aren’t on any forums, and only work with dealerships, that doesn’t help the end-user at all. That said , I’m trying to improve the ride quality. My question is , is it even possible to get a comfortable daily driver suspension with a 3 inch lift on 37‘s? Maybe I’m just pissing in the wind and this is as good as it gets? I replaced the shocks thinking they were part of the problem , I installed some fox race series adjustable 2.5 series front and rear. Seem to be really nice shocks with high speed and low speed adjustability however it did not improve my ride quality. I’ve tried it at the soft setting middle setting and stiffer setting . I can definitely feel the weight of the tires gyrating going over bumps and the springs seem stiff to me. Is that just the nature of Highway and city driving on aggressive 37‘s? Would a higher end steering stabilizer dual shock and better Springs be a good place to start? Could the cold weather also be playing a role in the stiff suspension? It has been like 8° here for a while Attached are a few pictures. Thanks in advance.

Those front bump stops look WAYYYY too big. You'd want a 1-2" bump stop extension with a 3" lift, which doesn't look like that tall of a lift from the photos. Maybe the bumper and winch caused it to sag to 2" or so.

You have an adjustable front track bar so that is good.

I do not see any adjustable control arms, which is bad. Your front springs look like they are not happy and are curved.

Adjustable control arms will help your caster angle (Straight ahead stability) and pinion angle.

For anything over 2" of lift, you really should at the minimum have the Mopar extended LCAs (~$120).

The rear track bar is factory, but I am not sure how much lift you gained in the rear. It still wouldn't hurt to have an adjustable rear track bar.

 

[hjdca]

Also by the looks of it you only have 1" of up-travel before hitting those bump stops!

That would not be a comfortable ride at all. You want to aim for at least 3" up travel IMO, but by the looks of it you don't have a lot of fender clearance as it sits...

My 2 cents.

Reduce PSI to 29-30PSI (or less)
Add in the terraflex 1" spacer up front on top of those springs, to gain 1" uptravel (assuming the springs don't bottom out, as they are wound really tight already)

Add in rear 3/4" daystar puck to keep the jeep looking level.

I don't think those shocks are adjustable, but if they are, set to soft for on road.

Then if it's not tracking well, add the geo-kit.

I agree with you CreepyJeepy ! Nice catch. Those front Springs are too soft for the application. There is barely any space between the springs, and the bump stops are too long... , I fear smaller bump stops would allow the springs to fully collapse and bottom out, but, it is worth a try. If not, I would get the correct springs in there and the correct bump stops with 3 inches of down travel. Here is a pic below of what your spring spacing and bump stops should look like at rest. This kind of spacing will give you 3 inches plus of down travel.

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