Favorite suspension systems and why

[ResurrectionJK]

Personally I don’t think there is really one perfect way of doing a suspension system however, there definitely are some wrong ways. 
 

Lots of good kits out there and lots of really bad ones. 
 

I’d like to hear y’all’s take on your favorite systems and why?

 

Personally cost is a big factor but, I’d rather wait longer, spend a little more and get it right the first time. 
 

I think the Elite system from GR is the gold standard but, it comes at such a high price that it alienate a lot of folks. Kits from Motobilt and Artec are solid contenders if you are looking at a DT 4 link or 3 link system. 
 

The EVO DTD has some really cool features and, if you address some of its short comings I think it’s amazing. 
 

 

[BHaner]

Curious what short comings you found with the DTD.

 

I have been happy with my setup so far.  Biggest issues I have had were with the lack of a good rear bump stop and tuning for the weight of the vehicle.

[ResurrectionJK]

47 minutes ago, BHaner said:

Curious what short comings you found with the DTD.

 

I have been happy with my setup so far.  Biggest issues I have had were with the lack of a good rear bump stop and tuning for the weight of the vehicle.

It’s mostly this. And mostly the issues I ran across working at NR was that the earlier kits had fairly suspect welds on the EVOLEVER arms and used less than quality heims. EVO welds are historically… uh…. Hit and miss anyway. The newer kits seem to be much better in terms of quality of assembly. I do think they need to offer a version that allows for a 3.0 IBP though. But that’s just cuz well… 3.0 IBP lolz. The kit as a whole is awesome and I can see myself running a front DTD and doing some kind of outboard setup in the rear. 

[BHaner]

I have seen the ones that had a solid miss..  A blue rig comes to mind.

 

I must have been lucky because the welds on mine looked great.

 

 

 

 

[ResurrectionJK]

Yeah it’s fairly isolated to the earlier kits and I think it depends a lot on if it was a Monday or Friday kit . It’s still one of the best out there and I do like the front DTD tower. Not many kits can cram that much shit up front without getting into the engine bay. 

[Weebz]

1 hour ago, BHaner said:

I have seen the ones that had a solid miss..  A blue rig comes to mind.

 

I must have been lucky because the welds on mine looked great.

 

 

 

 

We all know my love for them.   I loved their parts for a long time but it appears they suffered with growth and quality.   It’s a shame.  

[BaddestCross]

Does an Currevometflexrugridgercdv8rk lift count?

[Weebz]

1 hour ago, BaddestCross said:

Does an Currevometflexrugridgercdv8rk lift count?

So long as it works.   Lol

[ResurrectionJK]

2 hours ago, BaddestCross said:

Does an Currevometflexrugridgercdv8rk lift count?

I mean. If a RKTERAFALCSYNERGY lift does then yeah 

[KevinG]

23 hours ago, Weebz said:

We all know my love for them.   I loved their parts for a long time but it appears they suffered with growth and quality.   It’s a shame.  

Was it the rear control arm mount?

 

So along the lines of favorite suspension, I have more questions than opinions.   I hope this is more of an open discussion than just a "state your opinion and move on".   

  Alan and I text back and forth about Genright a while ago and he mentioned when he talked with them if you didn't do Currie axles you would have to have extra bumpstop.  So in looking at mine, there just isn't room to let it go up any further.  I got where the tire was just kissing the fender, got rid of some sheet metal to where I could turn it lock to lock but for the life of me I couldn't get to where I could see any problem with the differential hitting.   Is it because it's a three link and has a truss or??  Sorry if this is a pretty novice comment.

 

 

Edit:  I haven't had too many different set ups in the JK so I am probably not qualified to say what my favorite is.  Went from an off the shelf AEV 4.5 to the Evo long arm and bolt ons.   Maybe I'm just so conditioned from looking at it through WOL colored glasses.  I like the idea of a three link and four link, but as long as I'm driving a couple of thousand miles to a trail head I'll probably stick with the track bar in back and four control arms up front until I feel I'm outdriving it.    I'll probably end up with the DTD and Lever until Byron says "stop, I'm tired of helping you with your shit" , or I buck up and buy a way to haul this thing around. 

  

[Weebz]

I wish I had an answer for you on this one as I’m seeing the same thing with mine.   It’s just not an issue.   I’m sure there is a logical answer here but I can’t figure it out either.   

[AJK]

Yeah your both going to see that issue due to pumpkin on the UD and Fusion. Genright designed their kit specifically around the Currie slant back pinion allowing the three link and the pumpkin to tuck up higher in a different area. The UD is huge and because of that I have to set my bumps not based on wheel travel but base on steering and hose clearance make contact. 

 

I had a really good conversation with Tony in person and he said yes the rig would work and feel better BUT I wouldn't gain the full benefits of his system and would have to Frankenstein system. 

[ResurrectionJK]

2 hours ago, KevinG said:

Was it the rear control arm mount?

 

So along the lines of favorite suspension, I have more questions than opinions.   I hope this is more of an open discussion than just a "state your opinion and move on".   

  Alan and I text back and forth about Genright a while ago and he mentioned when he talked with them if you didn't do Currie axles you would have to have extra bumpstop.  So in looking at mine, there just isn't room to let it go up any further.  I got where the tire was just kissing the fender, got rid of some sheet metal to where I could turn it lock to lock but for the life of me I couldn't get to where I could see any problem with the differential hitting.   Is it because it's a three link and has a truss or??  Sorry if this is a pretty novice comment.

 

 

Edit:  I haven't had too many different set ups in the JK so I am probably not qualified to say what my favorite is.  Went from an off the shelf AEV 4.5 to the Evo long arm and bolt ons.   Maybe I'm just so conditioned from looking at it through WOL colored glasses.  I like the idea of a three link and four link, but as long as I'm driving a couple of thousand miles to a trail head I'll probably stick with the track bar in back and four control arms up front until I feel I'm outdriving it.    I'll probably end up with the DTD and Lever until Byron says "stop, I'm tired of helping you with your shit" , or I buck up and buy a way to haul this thing around. 

  

So the biggest issue is where the front axle and most notably the track bar and the diff housing hit at full bump. The GR kit moves the axle forward quite a bit, relocates the track bar and since their kit uses a damn near perfectly straight (just a slight bend) and much longer track bar, it will contact the diff at full bump UNLESS you run the currie housing. There is literally less than 1/16th of clearance on their kit. Using any other axle and the track bar would hit the diff cover because it’s not the roll back style. That is the main part. There are some other clearance issues that if you didn’t run the curries, shit would start hitting in goofy places but that’s the main issue. 
 

If ran a bent track bar it would hit the bottom of the radiator support (I think I remember that correctly). You can use the UD60’s but like Alan mentioned, you’d have to run a really tall lower bump pad to keep shit from hitting. It’s not so much the tire getting into the fender or body. 
 

 

[AJK]

Yeah, GR has their kits so dialed in, its comes done to 16th of a inch of clearance. I can tell you I've always been a fan of them but after wheeling with them with Jerry and seeing those rigs in action, how they flex, how they articulate, and how their setup is designed, is simply amazing and clearly on a different level then others.

[AJK]

My only hang up with DTD is 8 shocks. Fuck that, its to much too maintenance. Is it a sexy looking kit, hell yeah it is and IMO the best looking kit on the market. But if I'm putting that type of money into my rig I want to get rid of rear steer and outboard the rears.

[Weebz]

I think you are missing what both Kevin and I are saying. Full bump the limiting factor is none of the above but tires being into the fenders.   There is no interference.    Now that may change with a 3 king and the truss and or king sitting higher but right now all things equal there is zero interference.   

[KevinG]

C'mon Alan, you don't want 12 shocks???

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19286&gclid=Cj0KCQiAip-PBhDVARIsAPP2xc1iWpA3ZOc7etlfn1fjpmbAQgt3fuhGzqA8k_NkFS6inBBa9zsDdXEaAuMREALw_wcB

 

Jeff:  I think both him and Casey mentioned the front stretch.  Even if it's an inch, I could see where that would start to interfere with steering and getting the diff on a UD60 up in to the oil pan, especially with a V8.  I mean, I don't  even have high steer, so if I were running a 35 I could have a plethora of up travel  

  

Currently I have a ton of up travel available on my passenger side.  There are 3.5 inches of bumpstop somewhere out in the mojave....

 

[Weebz]

I’m with you.  If I were going back then my oil pan would be a problem or maybe forward the lower radiator.    I don’t know.  I’ll find out soon enough I guess when I start putting things back together.  

[KevinG]

Yeah I'm psyched to see both you and east coast Jerry's when they are finished.

[AJK]

19 minutes ago, KevinG said:

C'mon Alan, you don't want 12 shocks???

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19286&gclid=Cj0KCQiAip-PBhDVARIsAPP2xc1iWpA3ZOc7etlfn1fjpmbAQgt3fuhGzqA8k_NkFS6inBBa9zsDdXEaAuMREALw_wcB

 

Jeff:  I think both him and Casey mentioned the front stretch.  Even if it's an inch, I could see where that would start to interfere with steering and getting the diff on a UD60 up in to the oil pan, especially with a V8.  I mean, I don't  even have high steer, so if I were running a 35 I could have a plethora of up travel  

  

Currently I have a ton of up travel available on my passenger side.  There are 3.5 inches of bumpstop somewhere out in the mojave....

 

 What? You lost a bump?

[KevinG]

Not the king but the pad on the axle.  Poor Casey was behind me for the second half.  I kept brake checking him when we were on the last part of the trail.

 

[ResurrectionJK]

Oh man that was funny. Almost tested the durability of that GR bumper of yours more than once

[KevinG]

Every time we hit one of those washes I had a bet with myself what would hit first.  Tire to fender, coilover bottoming out or draglink in to the frame.  Made for a smooth drive back to washington though.

[Redline]

On 1/18/2022 at 11:06 AM, BHaner said:

Curious what short comings you found with the DTD.

 

I have been happy with my setup so far.  Biggest issues I have had were with the lack of a good rear bump stop and tuning for the weight of the vehicle.

If you need help with tuning or rear bumpstop setup let me know. We have made leaps and bounds as far as tuning/modifications with the black jeep since moab. One of the biggest things was bumping higher and shortening the bump stops themselves. Just finishing up redoing the monster jeep Chelsea had out there so we will see how the differences in setup work on that too.

from dealing with multiple evo long arm kits now I can confirm that out of the box their stuff is fine/great to go to the mall and occasionally trail run. Which is completely understandable since 80-90% of their customer base does just that. But to make things actually hold up and perform proper definitely take some extra time, work, fabbing, and redoing. The biggest thing I’m still trying to work out of dtd kit is the rear bump steer at speed. Not very noticeable at cruise speed but when actually moving you feel the side step over full droop stuff way too much.

 

 

[BHaner]

5 minutes ago, Redline said:

If you need help with tuning or rear bumpstop setup let me know. We have made leaps and bounds as far as tuning/modifications with the black jeep since moab. One of the biggest things was bumping higher and shortening the bump stops themselves. Just finishing up redoing the monster jeep Chelsea had out there so we will see how the differences in setup work on that too.

from dealing with multiple evo long arm kits now I can confirm that out of the box their stuff is fine/great to go to the mall and occasionally trail run. Which is completely understandable since 80-90% of their customer base does just that. But to make things actually hold up and perform proper definitely take some extra time, work, fabbing, and redoing. The biggest thing I’m still trying to work out of dtd kit is the rear bump steer at speed. Not very noticeable at cruise speed but when actually moving you feel the side step over full droop stuff way too much.

 

 

Yep.  I do need to spend time tuning it.  I know it could be better than it is. 

 

I need to add bump stops to the rear for sure.  The yellow factory bumps are about done.  I need some fancy hydro bumps.

 

I also need to firm up the front because it will bottom out if I hit something too hard.  It is fine when I have no top and doors... But add in the hard top and all my gear and it ain't good.

 

I haven't noticed anything like bump steer in the rear.  It always seems stable.  I just start hitting the bump stops hard after the 3-4th hit.  I cranked up the compression a few turns at one point and it did help.  It still feels like I need to speed up the rebound and slow down the compression.