Riding on the highway, hitting bumps, white knuckles at times

[JET_83]

Stiffer dampening mitigates the exact issues described.

The cons are a stiffer ride on expansion joints and mild bumps.

You cant really have both unless you have high and low speed adjustable compression and rebound like a motorcycle. Or a bypass shock.

The lift I ended up with is firmer but only just so. Comparable to rubicon fox shocks but att 30% firmer dampening. They are the metal cloak rocksport shocks.

More expensive shocks can give you adjustability to your liking but generally stiffer all around.

Like the falcon piggyback adjustable?

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[@californiajeeping]

Yes those are good ones they likely wont have the bob and weave discussed here but the expansion joints and cracks in the concrete will be "felt".

Larger tires with lower pressure then makes those less noticeable. On my 2020 gas gladiator i only ran 35" BFG tires and the tire pressure they liked was 24 cold on stock wheels. It was significantly smoother than at 35-37 with stock tires.

 

[Hank_]

I love my overland, dude, ride is night and day so much better than that crappy Mojave with stiff suspension. Gas mileage is improved too

Bizarre. My Mojave rides fantastic. My jeep is in the shop right now for some body work and I have a Nissan Frontier loaner. It makes me long for my Mojave. I feel every crack in the road. My Mojave just glides along.

Hank

 

[JET_83]

Bizarre. My Mojave rides fantastic. My jeep is in the shop right now for some body work and I have a Nissan Frontier loaner. It makes me long for my Mojave. I feel every crack in the road. My Mojave just glides along.

Hank

I dunno bud, maybe I got a lemon, but I literally felt every bump in that thing.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Ride and handling is pretty subjective from person to person.

My 2 door JK dances across the road some on severe bumps or ridges. It'll definitely hop from line to line under the right circumstances. Jeeps just do not handle bad roads as well as an IFS vehicle. With 90K miles driving it now, I'm pretty used to it. It's funny the things that will upset the Jeep that my 2015 Camaro SS sitting a few inches off the ground doesn't seem to be bothered by (two solid axles vs independent front and rear suspension, among other things).

Anyway. Didn't stop me from ordering a 2022 JT Sport Max Tow. Curious to see how that drives. I've only drove a Willys and a Mojave. Both seemed fine to me. At this point though I'm use to my JK on 2.5" MC lift that I am sure has at least one bad front shock - so anything is an improvement.

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

Light trucks, big bumps at 70mph, don’t mix. Unfortunately, this is how the jeep gladiator drives.

 

[JET_83]

Ride and handling is pretty subjective from person to person.

My 2 door JK dances across the road some on severe bumps or ridges. It'll definitely hop from line to line under the right circumstances. Jeeps just do not handle bad roads as well as an IFS vehicle. With 90K miles driving it now, I'm pretty used to it. It's funny the things that will upset the Jeep that my 2015 Camaro SS sitting a few inches off the ground doesn't seem to be bothered by (two solid axles vs independent front and rear suspension, among other things).

Anyway. Didn't stop me from ordering a 2022 JT Sport Max Tow. Curious to see how that drives. I've only drove a Willys and a Mojave. Both seemed fine to me. At this point though I'm use to my JK on 2.5" MC lift that I am sure has at least one bad front shock - so anything is an improvement.

Tires alone will improve the ride quality, I’ve never had the Willy’s but now I’ve owned a Rubicon, Mojave and now Overland, and it rides the best.

 

[Jeepin' John]

Thanks all for the great great information. I am going to try a few of the minor things like lowering the pressure on the tires and few other things and will report back. Far as breaking the bank I think I am almost there already lol. My wish list will take some time to go through. I do love the jeep and everything it offers it being my first one. I came over from a ranger and need the bed and tow capacity for different toys and getting in the pits. will do some experimenting and report back.. To the question about the roads. I am in RI and the roads are terrible!

If the ride is too soft, a shock upgrade will transform the jeep. Most of the oem shocks are too soft relative to the spring stiffness, so you get this floaty and bouncy feel as the springs overpower the shocks. I would recommend Falcon, Fox, Bilstein, etc shock upgrade that will be a little stiffer. I have the Falcon SP2 2.1's set on "soft" and love them. Had the same floaty and bouncy problem before. Jeep rides great now.

The steering can be dramatically improved by a bit more caster angle (reduces wander and wind moving you around - the longer mopar lower control arms are a cheap popular choice), a through-shaft steering stabilizer (reduces bumps traveling through the steering to the steering wheel - again the oem unit is overly soft), and the steering box lash adjustment (nut/shaft on top of steering box - eliminates dead spot in steering wheel so you aren't constantly steering to go straight). Those three will do wonders for the steering.

I have a hellwig rear sway bar but not running it currently. Plans to reinstall. The rear bar does little to nothing for what you're bringing up as what you would like to improve, but it's a great mod. It will reduce understeer sl that the body naturally wants to turn.

 

[JET_83]

If the ride is too soft, a shock upgrade will transform the jeep. Most of the oem shocks are too soft relative to the spring stiffness, so you get this floaty and bouncy feel as the springs overpower the shocks. I would recommend Falcon, Fox, Bilstein, etc shock upgrade that will be a little stiffer. I have the Falcon SP2 2.1's set on "soft" and love them. Had the same floaty and bouncy problem before. Jeep rides great now.

The steering can be dramatically improved by a bit more caster angle (reduces wander and wind moving you around - the longer mopar lower control arms are a cheap popular choice), a through-shaft steering stabilizer (reduces bumps traveling through the steering to the steering wheel - again the oem unit is overly soft), and the steering box lash adjustment (nut/shaft on top of steering box - eliminates dead spot in steering wheel so you aren't constantly steering to go straight). Those three will do wonders for the steering.

I have a hellwig rear sway bar but not running it currently. Plans to reinstall. The rear bar does little to nothing for what you're bringing up as what you would like to improve, but it's a great mod. It will reduce understeer sl that the body naturally wants to turn.

Falcon ride the best out of the Bilstein? Is it similar to the OEM shocks or a softer ride with it on the soft setting?

 

[Klicht87]

Light trucks, big bumps at 70mph, don’t mix. Unfortunately, this is how the jeep gladiator drives.

My 2018 Chevy Colorado was worse than my 2022 JT Willys. That thing hopped all over the place when I hit bumps.

 

[Jeepin' John]

Falcon ride the best out of the Bilstein? Is it similar to the OEM shocks or a softer ride with it on the soft setting?

I only have experience with the falcons, so can't directly compare with bilstein. Although AEV uses bilstein and they obviously know a thing or two about jeeps.

But the falcons set on "soft" are notably stiffer than oem and are a huge improvement in ride control.

I think the takeaway is that the oem shocks (all 5, including the steering stabilizer) are overly soft, there isn't enough front axle caster, and the steering box comes with a sloppy adjustment. This makes for a ride and steering that is all over the place. I've changed all of the above and my jeep drives and rides like a dream. Used to be exactly like what the OP was posting

 

[ZoMojave]

Bizarre. My Mojave rides fantastic. My jeep is in the shop right now for some body work and I have a Nissan Frontier loaner. It makes me long for my Mojave. I feel every crack in the road. My Mojave just glides along.

Hank

Another vote for the Mojave! Amazing ride and zero "wander" issues. Upgraded to 33" KO2's and look forward to driving it every single day!

 

[JET_83]

I only have experience with the falcons, so can't directly compare with bilstein. Although AEV uses bilstein and they obviously know a thing or two about jeeps.

But the falcons set on "soft" are notably stiffer than oem and are a huge improvement in ride control.

I think the takeaway is that the oem shocks (all 5, including the steering stabilizer) are overly soft, there isn't enough front axle caster, and the steering box comes with a sloppy adjustment. This makes for a ride and steering that is all over the place. I've changed all of the above and my jeep drives and rides like a dream. Used to be exactly like what the OP was posting

Thanks for the info, bud. I have the latest steering box so how do I get it adjusted correctly? It’s a 2022 Overland, just took delivery a week ago.

 

[JET_83]

Another vote for the Mojave! Amazing ride and zero "wander" issues. Upgraded to 33" KO2's and look forward to driving it every single day!

Mine was trash, glad you all have good ones. Worst riding pickup I had ever owned.

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

My 2018 Chevy Colorado was worse than my 2022 JT Willys. That thing hopped all over the place when I hit bumps.

Right. It’s just the nature of the beast. People always think there is something wrong with the suspension or they need this and that to fix it.

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