Trying to think through front spring options

[ShadowsPapa]

2022 Overland. Will be putting my steel bumper, skid plate and winch back on. (had them on my 2020)
That will add about 150 pounds to the front.
My 2020 had the lighter number Rubicon front springs under it.
Left front - 339
Right front - 340
Those gained about 1" up front when the truck was otherwise stock.
When I put the winch and bumper on, it dropped about .5"
I then added Daystar 3/4" spacers to bring it back up for a net gain of roughly 1.25"

The 2022 Overland has very different spring numbers under it - so if the current Overland springs are stiffer, that means these light Rubicon springs won't gain me as much. There's no way I know of to compare the 2022 front springs to the 2020 front springs.

Another twist in the road - I'm likely to get a snow blade for the JT this fall...............

I want to:

• Keep the ride this truck has as much as possible
• Add the bumper, winch and skid plate
• Have a net gain in height of roughly 1.25" on the truck after the bumper/winch, etc. are added.
• Have the truck not drop to the ground with a blade on it for winter.

I'm just thinking that the current light numbered Rubicon springs aren't going to do it.
No way I can go with 2" or higher lift - not with my wife already complaining getting in and out with bad knees and such. Almost every "lift" is advertised as at least 2" and we know that it ends up being over 2" if you read all the posts from people that use a so-called 2" lift on anything except Rubicon.
Going over about 1.5" means more parts, centering the axle, making up for caster loss and so on.
PLUS - the expense involved of a lift is just not possible. I went the Rubicon spring and Daystar spacer route because it was a mere fraction of any other way - and frankly, the Rubicon springs really didn't change the way the front of the truck handled rough roads.

So looking for ideas, maybe things I have not considered (very possible) and doable for under 400 bucks or so (I don't have that much in the spacers and these lighter Rubicon springs) 300 would be closer.

Sponsored

 

[Rusty PW]

Have you checked this?

https://www.claytonoffroad.com/product/jeep-gladiator-15-leveling-kit-2020-jt

No matter what you decide. The snow plow will drop the front. At the the power plant. We had a F250 with the snow plow package on it. It dropped the front a good 3" raised. What type of snow plow you want? All steel or the plastic/metal?

 

[kevman65]

Save your time and money, these are +1" over stock Rubicons.

https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jl-jlu-jt-front-lift-coil-springs.html?category_id=5992

 

[Jaxmax]

Bill, just for snow plowing , is it just your place or are you going on the road and doing others? How about air bags in the front for plowing, only air up when you need to plow, and not sacrifice the smooth ride you have now. I never heard of air bags on front but why not, I ran them on my Chevy trucks for years in rear never had a problem or problem in winter……Jack

 

[Mr._Bill]

I would start by putting on the bumper and winch, and seeing if it drops any. Depending on what happens, it will steer you in the direction needed. You'll probably need to find a stiffer set, especially if you're going to add a plow.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Have you checked this?

https://www.claytonoffroad.com/product/jeep-gladiator-15-leveling-kit-2020-jt

No matter what you decide. The snow plow will drop the front. That the power plant. We had a F250 with the snow plow package on it. It dropped the front a good 3" raised. What type of snow plow you want? All steel or the plastic/metal?

Not the plastic ones. Talked at length with a forum member last fall about it - he ran plows on Jeeps and showed his setup. The nice thing is that the plow would only be on when needed, most of the year it would be off. They make plows for these trucks that aren't so heavy but are not part plastic, either. I have links saved somewhere.
$800+ is way over complex for me - with the 1.25" I had on the other, there wasn't any need for anything else. The axle was only off by a little bit, caster was fine with the MOPAR lower control arms from the MOPAR lift kit, it was just springs and spacers.

I bet that the 1.5" "leveling kit" would lift the front of an Overland more like 2"

Save your time and money, these are +1" over stock Rubicons.

https://www.synergymfg.com/synergy-jeep-jl-jlu-jt-front-lift-coil-springs.html?category_id=5992

That's a very interesting option, and in budget.

Interesting their notes say they start at 1" over a fully loaded Rubicon -
Their quote -
Lift heights are based off fully loaded Rubicon models. Other models will see more lift.

So if the lightest front Rubicon springs took my 2020 up by 1" and the winch and bumper dropped it by .5", the net gain was .5
So maybe these would end up being only about 1.5" which is so close to goal (and it's so hard to hit exactly numbers with springs, thus the factory using so many different ones)
I like the multi-rate part - perfect for part-time loads.

I would start by putting on the bumper and winch, and seeing if it drops any. Depending on what happens, it will steer you in the direction needed. You'll probably need to find a stiffer set, especially if you're going to add a plow.

That's the plan. I've got a new winch plate that should not interfere with the mounting of the front receiver (another 20+ pounds) and am cleaning up the bumper parts, changed the winch wire route out the right end and am making other preps until the weather COOLS OFF (101 yesterday, close to that today)
So I'll mount the winch and bumper and receiver and take measurements like last time.

Bill, just for snow plowing , is it just your place or are you going on the road and doing others? How about air bags in the front for plowing, only air up when you need to plow, and not sacrifice the smooth ride you have now. I never heard of air bags on front but why not, I ran them on my Chevy trucks for years in rear never had a problem or problem in winter……Jack

Can't do air bags in front because the bump stop is inside the front springs.
It will be just my place. Might help a neighbor but that would be it

 

[NonHyphenated American]

I have a '21 Sport S with Max Tow. I put on a knock off Mopar bumper, 12k winch, and Mopar steel skid. Dropped my front .5 inches on top of the already 2.0 inch rake. I put on 340/343 Rubicon springs and the 1.0 inch Teraflex spacer. The factory rubber isolator is almost .5 inch and I didnt want to run the risk of having the Carolina squat look. Initially I was almost .25 inch high but the front settled to about an 1/8 inch low. The plow might make you droop a little but when its not on should look good.

 

[kilroy173]

What about diesel Rubicon springs for the front? Or these https://www.claytonoffroad.com/prod...-jeep-gladiator-jt-05-lift-front-coil-springs

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What about diesel Rubicon springs for the front? Or these https://www.claytonoffroad.com/prod...-jeep-gladiator-jt-05-lift-front-coil-springs

Synergy springs have been suggested. The nice thing is they are multi-rate and they are aware of the Gladiator using a different spring left to right so they aren't a pair of identical springs. The right one will be different springs like original.
The part that bothers me about the Clayton springs is they are identical left to right, and this comment on their site makes me thing they'd be way stiff under an Overland JT ->
These coil springs can also be used on a Diesel Jeep Gladiator (JT) in order to firm up the front end and provide a solution for the truck constantly bottoming out.

 

[kilroy173]

Synergy springs have been suggested. The nice thing is they are multi-rate and they are aware of the Gladiator using a different spring left to right so they aren't a pair of identical springs. The right one will be different springs like original.
The part that bothers me about the Clayton springs is they are identical left to right, and this comment on their site makes me thing they'd be way stiff under an Overland JT ->
These coil springs can also be used on a Diesel Jeep Gladiator (JT) in order to firm up the front end and provide a solution for the truck constantly bottoming out.

I get your concerns. I have those springs on my JTD and while it is unnoticeable by just looking at it, the passenger side does sit about a 1/4 inch lower than the driver side.

 

[PsyRN]

I just installed the the JTRD front springs on my JTR. And even though I didn't measure before I put them on, it doesn't look like as much front sag. They are rated to hold the additional weight of the diesel motor.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I just installed the the JTRD front springs on my JTR. And even though I didn't measure before I put them on, it doesn't look like as much front sag. They are rated to hold the additional weight of the diesel motor.

But apparently don't do it well based on the JT diesels bottoming out on bird poop.
Would be interesting to know how they changed the springs to handle the weight............. and the shocks as well to match.

The thing with this situation - I have nothing to compare to as far as a frame of reference - if this truck had the same springs as the 2020 I'd know how much change there would be with the lighter Rubicon springs.
But I have to assume this truck is heavier as the payload number is a lot lower than the last one.
So I'm assuming the Rubicon springs I have would yield less than the 1" I got with them under the other truck. But that's a guess or assumption.

The Synergy springs are looking pretty good so far - I may contact them with a couple of questions.

I was going to do as suggested and install the winch and bumper and see how far things settle to help decide on which spring, and other factors, but I decided to powder coat the steel bumper Problem, I'm tied up with customer stuff - and the main bumper part is too big for my oven or my sandblaster so I had to hire that done - 2 weeks. Ugh, that's cutting things close for upcoming trips, my doctor/test appointments and so on.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Has anyone here actually used Synergy front springs - specifically the 8863-10 which is supposed to give a fully loaded Rubicon JT a 1" lift, meaning other JT versions get more than 1" ?

Seems the coils are closely spaced in 1 or 2 pics I've seen.

Is the 2" bump stop bit necessary - I mean if you get 1" lift, closing that bump stop gap by 2" means you lose that 1" of travel or am I thinking about it all wrong........ ?

 

[CrazyCooter]

I think the problem is your wants vs needs.

You can't have a light spring that won't severely sag when you add the weight. A 3" spring like a Synergy will likely sag 2" with your bumper, winch, and plow. Then remove the plow and you are too high for the wife to be happy.

A heavy rate spring like the Clayton will not sag near as much, but it will not ride like OE. I personally liked the Clayton 188lb in my diesel, but they might be firm under a gasser.

Then comes shock valving into the mix.......I put my diesel Rubi springs into my buddy's gas JT to help level it out with his winch/bumper and now it drives horrible on the Fox Rubi shocks because there isn't nearly enough rebound damping. Even his wife asked him what was wrong with his truck!

You could put on a large shaft adjustable shock and increase nitrogen pressure seasonally to help with spring rate and ride height? 75psi in my 7/8 shaft shocks is worth about 1/2". This way you could also match compression damping for the weight as needed? For reference, Fox 2.5's come with 100psi installed.

 

[bleda2002]

Any reason you aren't just looking at like the 1.5 inch teraflex front spacers and 3/4 rear daystars?

Sponsored