Reaching out to those doing their own shock tuning?

[CrazyCooter]

When you change your springs. You might have to change the valving again. On my track car. I have JRZ 4 way coilovers. Twice I had to send them back to be revalved after a spring change.

Absolutely! This is why I'm trying to get the valving to 85% with what I have so I can enjoy the truck until the right stuff comes available.... Otherwise it will continue be like last year on the NV BDR trail...... contemplating deploying my "First Aid" pistol to stop the pain and anger after spending this much money on empty promises.........

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[Mtpisgah]

Did you see this from Clayton?

It has been rumored they are working on something for overlanding trucks. That is all I know though.

 

[Mtpisgah]

@CrazyCooter I am not really sure about the bump spacing, what do I need to look at to determine that? I am running 35s. I do not get binding with the lift, it was before the lift that i would go through the front travel really fast and sagging in the rear. No more sag, just some bounce. I forgot to mention I also have air bags in the bag, I have tried different pressures and think they are good around 25psi.

 

[Mtpisgah]

Fast forward to now where JKS has a set ready to rock! https://jksmfg.com/collections/glad...sway-bar-link-kit-wrangler-jl-and-gladitor-jt These are for vehicles that don't have the E-disconnect bar and I'd like to see them offer a kit version that is cheaper for us Rubi guys who don't need all of those brackets to disconnect it. One of these might be icing on the cake?

Those sound awesome. I am going to talk to my shop about them.

 

[CrazyCooter]

@CrazyCooter I am not really sure about the bump spacing, what do I need to look at to determine that? I am running 35s. I do not get binding with the lift, it was before the lift that i would go through the front travel really fast and sagging in the rear. No more sag, just some bounce. I forgot to mention I also have air bags in the bag, I have tried different pressures and think they are good around 25psi.

Mojave has big fenders like a Rubi? If so you don't need any bump spacing to fit 35's, but you would be limited by when your springs could coil bind. That would dictate what you need for bump spacing. Look at your rear axle and note how much space there is between the axle pad and the poly foam bump cushion.......Then note whether or not there is an extension bolted on top of the welded bump pad. Should be pretty obvious.....

Look at the actual vehicle pic in the description for reference. https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jt-rear-bump-stop-spacer-kit.html

 

[CrazyCooter]

OK....another change in the rear shocks this morning after collaborating with last night @Glamisfan. Steve's self learned experience with tuning has been a huge help and time saver helping me avoid many learning pitfalls.

Same conditions, tire pressures, and trail as yesterday but about 4-5 gals lighter on fuel.

Shocks have 9 clicks low speed and 6 clicks high speed adjustment.
My final adjustments on this run were....Front: 5 clicks low/6 clicks high
Rear: 1 click low speed/4 clicks high

Road feel is firm and controlled....probably a touch firm in the rear, but I can deal with that as it will only get heavier. Head bobble is gone!

I noted at first that my rear air bumps weren't even hitting until I decided that the front needed more compression damping to match the rear.........After that adjustment, the speed picked up even more and soon was touching down on bumps both front and rear....mostly front.

If you noted I am now fully tight on the high speed front shocks.......Now I need more up there. Was thinking I'd be done!

Maybe one more change before my trips....... Hmmmm

Edit: Forgot to mention how much I'm starting to love my truck again!

 

[Mtpisgah]

Mojave has big fenders like a Rubi? If so you don't need any bump spacing to fit 35's, but you would be limited by when your springs could coil bind. That would dictate what you need for bump spacing. Look at your rear axle and note how much space there is between the axle pad and the poly foam bump cushion.......Then note whether or not there is an extension bolted on top of the welded bump pad. Should be pretty obvious.....

Look at the actual vehicle pic in the description for reference. https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jt-rear-bump-stop-spacer-kit.html

Yes, the Mojave has the same fenders as the rubicon. Here is a picture of my rear end. There is not an additional axle pad between the OEM one and the bump cushion? I guess need to look at a stock jeep, bit should there not be a gap? What are the implications of this?

 

[CrazyCooter]

Yes, the Mojave has the same fenders as the rubicon. Here is a picture of my rear end. There is not an additional axle pad between the OEM one and the bump cushion? I guess need to look at a stock jeep, bit should there not be a gap? What are the implications of this?

Yes, not a lot of gap there. Looks like a 2-3" spacer. How much shock shaft do you have showing?

Might be able to ditch the spacer and pop in one of these. Hard tell exactly what the height is, but the fronts are 1" taller. https://metalcloak.com/jt-gladiator-upper-rear-durospring.html

 

[81Mojave]

Sounds like progress has been made!
I’m curious how those bump stops compare to the stock Mojave’s.
I believe I read they are specific to the Mojave

 

[CrazyCooter]

Sounds like progress has been made!
I’m curious how those bump stops compare to the stock Mojave’s.
I believe I read they are specific to the Mojave

Yes, moving right along.....

I was literally just looking for Mojave frame differences as I'm swapping messages with Glamisfan about what has caused the few posted JT frames to bend right in front of the shock mounts. Shocks too long? Shocks too rigid? Too much force placed on the hitch towing off road?

The pic and caption showed a reinforced bump stop bracket, but the actual jounce bumper looks just like mine. The front Durobumps are about 1" taller compressed, tapered, and the material is firmer.....overall just a more progressive stop. Mine worked great and in some ways, I liked them better than my air bumps.

 

[CrazyCooter]

@Glamisfan was asking about my bump stop gaps......

Front: Total shock shaft travel 11"
Extended distance to bump 8.5"
Ride height bump gap 2.5"
Bump travel 1.75"
Total usable vertical travel 10.25"

Rear: Total shock shaft travel 9.85"
Extended distance to bump 7.5"
Ride height bump gap 2.25"
Bump travel 1.75"
Total usable vertical travel 9.25"

My hydraulic scale says rough axle weights are F:3250lb/R:2850 with 3/4 fuel and 2/3 DEF. We have no rear seat (GooseGear plates) and the front seat position is approx 8" forward to wheelbase center-line., so one could guess 58% for the occupant weight will land on the front axle, while anything place in the center of the bed would likely lighten the front since the bad center is forward of axle center-line

I would like to see the ride height up about 1.5" taller F/R and that would bring me right inline to the 50%/50% travel ratio I seek for dual sport multi-use operation.

 

[CrazyCooter]

I had a no show at the shop this morning, so I took that time to soften up the rear low speed compression as I found it a bit firm yesterday when the shocks were warmed up and it was firmer with temps in the mid 30's this morning.

Figured I'd share my numbers so it could help others in the future since we all drive similar vehicles. My initial feelings on sharing any of this was...Why share when so many of the first responses were so negative and useless? Screw you guys......

Then enter Glamisfan offering up what he knows to me with a genuine desire to help and educate others.....He asked me to share my numbers, so it's only fair to pass on that info to my brothers and sisters here......As we all have him to thank on this project.

I hope you people I'm talking about here revisit this thread and learn that not everyone is as ignorant and incapable in this area as you are......maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself (Stop clogging up these threads with useless filler) and learn from others who aren't scared to step out and try new stuff.....this is how we grow. as humans, friends, and as a tech forum overall.

My feelings on this forum as of late have been to withhold any info I have as it seems to pass over 90% of your heads and I get mostly BS filler responses in my threads where people who haven't even read the excessive amount of pages (Due to filler BTW) before commenting with yet another question or response that has ALREADY been covered......The irritation repeats itself.....Why bother?

You see, I come from the generation where you actually had to have something between your ears or know someone who did to have a cool ride. Those of us who cared to learn went to a library and checked out books because that was the only way other than hands on learning. Fast forward 35 years where anything you can imagine is on the internet, accessed by a smart phone, voice to text search, for FREE! This is how the laziness and IQ drop has come from in my opinion.

I'm in the end days of my career in specialty auto repair.....I'm self employed with a 29 year old (20 years open officially to the public) business specializing differentials, brakes, and chassis for mostly Jeeps and trucks. I can't find a younger person who will show up for work regularly and absorb all of this knowledge I have to pass on with the probability of taking the business over when I retire and take it to the next level skipping all the lessons I learned the hard long way. Wish I had that kind of an opportunity when I was in my late teens/early 20s! Anyway, pretty sure I will leave a big hole in the industry locally should I not succeed in finding that worthy person.......

RANT off......

Again much thanks to Steve/Glamisfan for taking a chance on me and investing the time.

Here's when I ended up....I uploaded both the .pdf and took a pic.

Right now I feel the rear is good at the factory recommended 100psi, but feel the front needs more low/high speed compression, so I bumped the pressure up to 200psi and like it for now till I change the springs. Something else to keep in mind is that I like my vehicle to drive tight and controlled yet not beat me up as the speed increases. I HATE head bobble anytime as it hurts my neck after a day of that. If you want the 70's 7,000lb Caddy LaBomba boaty crop duster ride, this is not for you. The OEM or aftermarket Fox 2.0's you would probably like better.........

 

[rharr]

You can also fine tune the oil weight as a stop gap for dampening, while trying to stack shims. You probably already know oil weigh basically acts as full curve adjuster. Moving the whole damping curve up or down.

If you want more damping up front but like the current feed back, try a 10weight and see what that does for increasing damping. If it's to stiff try a 2.5 weight ect...

You mileage may vary but it will give you a quick way to build data points without having to pull the stack apart.

Just a thought....
Not sure you are doing any crossover stacks but I have been warned in the past (dirt bikes) about having to thin of a shims for cross over setups can beat up that shim cause premature wear. Cross over is interesting as it gives you plushness in the first stage and firmness beyond that stage.

 

[CrazyCooter]

You can also fine tune the oil weight as a stop gap for dampening, while trying to stack shims. You probably already know oil weigh basically acts as full curve adjuster. Moving the whole damping curve up or down.

If you want more damping up front but like the current feed back, try a 10weight and see what that does for increasing damping. If it's to stiff try a 2.5 weight ect...

You mileage may vary but it will give you a quick way to build data points without having to pull the stack apart.

Just a thought....

Yes, I used oil weight to get better results on my YJ 5165 shocks where I couldn't or didn't think I could do the valving myself. I wanted like 10% more comp and 30-40% more rebound, but I ended up with too much comp and not enough rebound by replacing 30% of the 5w with 10w. You can guess where that project is probably heading after this ordeal?

In the case of the JT fronts, I'd likely end up with way too much rebound to get enough compression as close as it is right now. My original plan was to add some 10w to them before I got any reponse from Fox, the shim kit, and Glamis jumped in. This outcome is soooo much better.

 

[rharr]

Yes, I used oil weight to get better results on my YJ 5165 shocks where I couldn't or didn't think I could do the valving myself. I wanted like 10% more comp and 30-40% more rebound, but I ended up with too much comp and not enough rebound by replacing 30% of the 5w with 10w. You can guess where that project is probably heading after this ordeal?

In the case of the JT fronts, I'd likely end up with way too much rebound to get enough compression as close as it is right now. My original plan was to add some 10w to them before I got any reponse from Fox, the shim kit, and Glamis jumped in. This outcome is soooo much better.

it's all a balance game, when your compression and rebound adjustment wants are so un balanced then yes a oil weight won't help. Keep postimg, this has been a interesting thread. My RRD shocks are fully rebuildable which means shim games are possible.....

It's a funny thing once you start digging into these things they aren't that complicated and brand starts to mean little, and it's more about the materials used, easy of access and basic design of the components that matter. You start with a good foundation you can adjust from there. (mono tube shocks anyway, the by pass is another animal.)

I have a dirtbike rear shock with a sachs body and shaft, kyb piston and aftermarket adjuster, all parts and pieces as a means to get to a better result.

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