3 inch lift ride quality on 37’s

[CreepyJeepy]

By looking at that setup here is my best guess.

Springs are indeed a 3" lift up front, but because they wound so tight it makes me think the rate of those springs is not very high... The weight of that bumper is causing those springs to sag.

I would do this.

1. Set tires at 24PSI and go for a drive and see if it's better. just as a data point

2. Order a 1" spring puck (terraflex or generic (doesn't matter)) (70-100 bucks) (or better front springs) + metal cloak coil isolators (50ish) + adjustable bump stop extensions (yours are too long) (60 bucks) + 3/4" rear daystar pucks (40 bucks) and the rancho geo kit (180 bucks).

2. get a 12 pack of your favorite beer.

3. spend about 3-4 hours tearing it down and setting it up right

If you do the above the ride would be so much improved. You do not have enough up travel.... your caster is too low, and I bet your tire PSI is way to high.

You won't even need an alignment.

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[Im Glad]

Great information! I really appreciate all of it. I’m going to reread this thread a few times and jot down some of the suggestions. I’m also going to take a look at everything mentioned. Just from my visual observation yes the springs are smiling just a bit and the bump stop is indeed only an inch and a half away from bottom. I will check tire pressure when I get home and go from there.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

Great information! I really appreciate all of it. I’m going to reread this thread a few times and jot down some of the suggestions. I’m also going to take a look at everything mentioned. Just from my visual observation yes the springs are smiling just a bit and the bump stop is indeed only an inch and a half away from bottom. I will check tire pressure when I get home and go from there.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Average Oregonian]

What load range (C, D, or E) are the tires?

 

[Im Glad]

What load range (C, D, or E) are the tires?

E

 

[Im Glad]

Lowered my tire pressure to 30 psi. That made a big difference. Took a lot of the jarring and Road feedback away which is good. Might throw a couple hundred pounds of sandbags in the back bed and see what that does. Feels like the rear end is just too tight maybe the springs are a bit heavy for this truck? Otherwise huge improvement. Thanks for the tip on the tire pressure. I was running at about 38 psi before dropping to 30.

 

[NCLife]

What PSI are those tires at?

Great question. Tires are the culprit a lot of times. PSI and brand/model matter. I have 37" Ridge Grapplers but have also had Fallen Wildpeaks on here. The Ridge Grapplers feel floaty compared to the Falkens and KO2's I had. I also wasn't entirely clear what element of the ride you were looking to improve. I have a Mojave with Clayton 2.5" springs on the stock shocks with extensions. I have geo brackets, adjustable LCA's, Steersmarts Trackbar, Drag Link etc. It drives great...for a Gladiator with a 2.5-3" lift. That disclaimer is my point. It damn sure doesn't and won't ever drive like stock, but I knew that. I get that was your point asking if you are pissing in the wind trying to run this down. To a degree yes you are. There is a lot you can do to continue making refinements, but they will only improve things so far. I know someone will come along and say theirs drives like stock, maybe they're right, that has never been my experience. YMMV

 

[CreepyJeepy]

Lowered my tire pressure to 30 psi. That made a big difference. Took a lot of the jarring and Road feedback away which is good. Might throw a couple hundred pounds of sandbags in the back bed and see what that does. Feels like the rear end is just too tight maybe the springs are a bit heavy for this truck? Otherwise huge improvement. Thanks for the tip on the tire pressure. I was running at about 38 psi before dropping to 30.

Awesome. For a 37" tire on a 20" wheel likely that PSI is still Too High.

You can chalk test it. (easy to do) or even drop it down to 26-28 and try.

FYI I run my 35" tires at 29PSI front and 26PSI rear when I am not loaded up for camping / towing.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

It doesn’t look like you’ve got 3” of lift to me front or rear. I’d bet that the springs have sagged bad or they were never the right rate to begin with. The dealer you bought the truck from should make it right IMO.
What size shocks did you buy? Also those E rated tires are making things worse

 

[RS3]

I'm not sure how much sidewall you lose by not running a 17" wheel but I would think that the 20" are going to ride a little rougher. You have lost some of the cushion by not having the extra sidewall height to absorb some of the impact with bumps and such.

 

[JT1]

Great question. Tires are the culprit a lot of times. PSI and brand/model matter. I have 37" Ridge Grapplers but have also had Fallen Wildpeaks on here. The Ridge Grapplers feel floaty compared to the Falkens and KO2's I had. I also wasn't entirely clear what element of the ride you were looking to improve. I have a Mojave with Clayton 2.5" springs on the stock shocks with extensions. I have geo brackets, adjustable LCA's, Steersmarts Trackbar, Drag Link etc. It drives great...for a Gladiator with a 2.5-3" lift. That disclaimer is my point. It damn sure doesn't and won't ever drive like stock, but I knew that. I get that was your point asking if you are pissing in the wind trying to run this down. To a degree yes you are. There is a lot you can do to continue making refinements, but they will only improve things so far. I know someone will come along and say theirs drives lock stock, maybe they're right, that has never been my experience. YMMV

Did you add the geo brackets when you added the lift or after?

 

[NCLife]

Did you add the geo brackets when you added the lift or after?

After

 

[Average Oregonian]

E

This is going to make more difference than often credited for. Gladiators come with stock C range tires. 4 extra plys are almost always going to come with compromised ride quality on such a light truck (especially unloaded).

 

[99probsandajeepaint1]

Brian, if you drop down to a 17x9 and run a km3 37 it would likely ride like a different truck. If your still not happy bite the bullet and order teraflex or metalcloak Dual rate coils. I’m betting you will be much happier in the long run. Just my .02!

 

[Im Glad]

It doesn’t look like you’ve got 3” of lift to me front or rear. I’d bet that the springs have sagged bad or they were never the right rate to begin with. The dealer you bought the truck from should make it right IMO.
What size shocks did you buy? Also those E rated tires are making things worse

Interesting. I really wouldn’t know how to know if it is a true 3 inch lift or not but my paperwork from the dealership and the window sticker from Rocky Ridge says it is a 3 inch lift. Anything I can look at specifically to determine whether it is or is not a 3 inch lift? I have to believe that Rocky Ridge knows exactly what suspension they are putting on trucks considering they do hundreds and hundreds of them and have to provide a three-year factory warranty. But I suppose they could’ve put something else on but I don’t know what else it would be? Not sure about your theory on that. Not likely.
It came with Fox adventure series shocks on it. I changed those out to Fox 2.5 Factory Series internal bypass . Adjustables high and low. They are the shocks that are specified by fox for a 2 to 3 inch lift.

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