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Third Time's the Charm LJ

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CrawlingForward
Jake
Tonellin
Mark
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AquilesT
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Post  AquilesT 11/17/2014, 4:07 pm

nice lighting.. i was thinking of getting a 50'' lightbar (probably a cheap one like eyourlife from amazon or ebay)myself but with the limited use i would give it i am reconsidering it. With this smaller lightbar since it is under the headlights do you know if you can use it on road?
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Post  dongalonga 11/17/2014, 8:29 pm

I wouldn't use it on road no matter where it is placed. If you get one in a driving only beam pattern maybe.
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Post  dongalonga 11/21/2014, 10:19 pm

Installed the amber lens in my light bar today. Reaimed it inline with the high beams.

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Post  dongalonga 11/23/2014, 2:06 am

Some pics of the light bar and the rig after some cold weather wheeling today

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Post  dongalonga 11/30/2014, 3:02 pm

Took advantage of the 50 degree weather and adjusted my parking brake. It works again and that makes me happy.
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Post  Andrew Miller 12/1/2014, 11:57 pm

Nice!
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Post  dongalonga 12/2/2014, 3:25 am

Jenny mentioned it before she left for her cruise. Happy wife = happy life!
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Post  dongalonga 12/2/2014, 4:52 pm

Today's Jeeping:

Removed passenger seat, disassembled, cut out the old heater elements, installed new heater elements, put seat back together, cleaned and conditioned the leather, and reinstalled in the rig.

The driver seat will get done Saturday and then all of the wiring will be done.
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Post  dongalonga 12/11/2014, 4:58 am

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Post  dongalonga 1/17/2015, 3:11 pm

I'm not selling my Jeep. I know I scared a few people by posting suspension stuff for sale. Now that we have that cleared up...

About a month or so ago  Jenny pointed something out. I don't drive the Jeep nearly as much as Jenny does and she pointed out the "Jeep is very bouncy."  After talking with her the problem was only noticeably in the city on less than ideal roads. Not pot holes but cracked surfaces, frost heaves, etc.

The annoying part is on the highway and through corners at speed the handli is nothing short of fantastic. Naturally I was a little stumped by this as I generally only drive it offroad and on the highway.

I went for a ride around our neighborhood as there are some perfect streets to test this on. Sure enough it handled like a dump truck. The front seemed fine it was the rear end that was all over the place. I checked to make sure nothing was loose or out of adjustment and put the back seat in. No change. Loaded the back up after a BJ's trip and no change.

I figured it must be related to the drop in temperature but Jenny noted it had been like that since I got back from OBX at least. So that ruled out the cold weather theory. After doing some digging I found my answer. My rig is too damn light for the MC stuff. After taking some measurements I realized I actually netted 4" of lift in the rear and just under that up front.

I called MetalCloak and we went through even possible factor that may be an issue and the best we could determine is the rig is very light and the suspesnion wasn't ideal for my rig. The biggest factor are the shocks. They are HD long travel in the rear and the newer Nitro Sport valving. What does all of that equate to? A very tight ride and when you're as light as I am in the rear it makes it feel very bouncy.

After speaking with MetalCloak, Blaine and Gerald from Savvy, and a few other folks I determined I would switch out the springs and shocks to something better matched to my rig. I have no intention of ever adding heavy components to my rig as it is against my entire build philosophy for vehicles. So, I ordered Currie 4" progressive springs matched to my load out and a set of matching Savvy tuned Fox shocks.

The key difference in suspension philosophy between MetalCloak and Savvy/Currie is as follows:
-MetalCloak uses a heavy spring and soft shocks relying on the spring to do a lot of work.
Savvy/Currie uses the lightest spring possible to maintain desired ride height and leaves the shock to handle the real work.

That is straight form the manufacturers themselves. Time will tell which one works better on my particular rig.

I am not looking forward to swapping stuff out in the middle of winter, but I also can't stand how it is riding around town.
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Post  dongalonga 3/10/2015, 5:29 pm

Shocks have been replaced. Here is the full writeup:

Fox Shocks
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Post  dongalonga 3/31/2015, 11:01 pm

I took the rest of my measurements today to give a comparison between the MetalCloak/OME setup and Currie/Savvy/Fox setup. I do need to add a bit more bumpstop in the front and rear. Unfortunately, the MetalCloak bumpstops only go up to 4". I will need to find some longer bolts before I can make a final adjustemt.


MetalCloak/OME

Shocks: Extended/Compressed/Ride
Front 26.69"/15.43"/20.75" (5.94"/11.26")
Rear 24.409"/14.763"/19.586" (4.823"/9.646")

Springs: Extended/Compressed/Ride(Long Side/Short Side)
Front 22.5"/6.75"/15.25"
Rear 19"/6.303"/(L)12.3125"(S)10.6875"

Bumpstop Extension/Ride Height Space(Long Side/Short Side):
Front 2"/(L)5.15625(S)5"
Rear 3"/(L)5.3125"(S)4.90625"

Currie/Savvy Fox

Shocks: Extended/Compressed/Ride(Shaft Showing/Total Travel)
Front 25.150"/15.55"/21.5" (5.9375"/9.6")
Rear 24.750"/15.650"/20.5" (4.875/9.1")

Springs: Extended/Collapsed/Ride(Long Side/Short Side)
Front 22.6"/8.8875"/(L)17"(S)16.8125
Rear 17.75"/5.625"/(L)13.375"(S)11.8125"

Bumpstop Extension/Ride Height Space(Long Side/Short Side)
Front 3"/(L)6.34375"(S)6.15625"
Rear 4"/(L)5.9375"(S)5.4375"
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Post  dongalonga 4/5/2015, 12:38 pm

Here is the current setup:
Currie 4" Springs
Savvy Tuned Fox Shocks
Duroflex Control Arms
MetalCloak Trackbars
Stock Swaybars
33x12.50 Goodyear Duratracs (C Load)

Long story short the suspension is perfectly dampened. Every bump is just that...one bump. Up and down and nothing extra. Read on for more in depth commentary.

With the OME shocks, it was like a pogo stick. One bump would last for several cycles of up and down motion. This was with the MetalCloak springs. I did not test the OME shocks with the Currie springs.

The Fox shocks were tested with both the MetalCloak and Currie springs. The pogo stick effect was gone with both. This is why I did not try the OME shocks with both springs. It was evident they were the issue and not the springs.

Why change the springs then!? The shock length is the simple answer. I didn't want to take the chance of ordering an oddball shock length to fit the MetalCloak springs and have them not work well together. I was still not sold on the shocks being the only cause of the poor ride quality....and I was somewhat correct.

The MetalCloak springs and Fox shocks netted a much more controlled ride. The suspension would cycle as it should after hitting a bump. However, the impact (NVH perhaps) was still a bit harsh. I still noticed a lot of the harshness transmit into the cabin of the Jeep. At that point I really wanted to see what the Currie springs could do.

And then it happened...

Have you ever ridden in a boat of an old car? It seems to glide over the road. The Currie springs and Fox shocks seem to work in perfect harmony. You hit a bump and the suspension cycles once. No goofy extra motion. Just up and down and you're on to the next part of the road. I also noticed an appreciable difference in harshness over really rough roads. There is far less NVH transmitted into the cabin. Why this is, I am not sure. It is a very noticeable difference though.

The one negative, if it can be described as such, is the body control. I can feel the body moving around a lot more now. That rear end wiggle everyone describes is now prevalent. I did not have that with the MetalCloak springs. I am sure this has to do with the fact that the Currie springs gave me another 1" of ride height. That equates into a higher center of gravity. Outboarding the rear shocks is on the to do list now for sure. Not only will it allow me to fine tune my shock travel, but it will help with the wiggle.

Here is Jenny's description of the suspension changes. It seems tighter. The shocks seem stiffer, but in a good way. When I delved into what she meant, she mirrored my thoughts. Everything seems to be more in sync. The shocks are doing what they should and so are the rest of the components. She is a happy camper, which means I am a happy camper.
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Post  Mark 4/5/2015, 2:22 pm

Great to hear that you got the ride somewhat dialed in.
Two happy campers is better than one.
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Post  dongalonga 4/5/2015, 4:52 pm

Other than the bump stops, there is nothing that needs tweaking. The ride is as good as I could ask for.
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Post  Andrew Miller 4/5/2015, 11:47 pm

Hmmm, this makes me really think about what shocks I want to run next. I can't wait to get those Metalcloak springs from you. Awesome write up Shaun!
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Post  dongalonga 4/6/2015, 1:28 am

I would recommend Fox. Measure after you install the springs to refer mine the length that will work best. If I had the right shocks for the MetalCloak springs, I would have been happy with the setup. As it is now I hate the way it looks with 33s and the amount of lift I netted.
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