best suspension for washboard roads

Some day I am going to get a 2015 could be 2016 by the time I get it a JKU rubicon. I will likely run 35s on a 2.5 inch or so lift with a fender kit. I am looking for the most compliant suspension that will perform well on washboard roads you the kind with stutter bumps that rattle your whole jeep sideways. It also needs to articulate well, and have the capability to handle loads like a winch and front bumper and a rear bumper tire swing plus expedition level loads.

What have you had good experiences with?
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
The best? My subarus are king of the wash board.. Rally style.. But you need to pack light and no rock crawling. ;-)
 
I like subarus

but not for the trails and the places I go just not enough clearance no low range and no water crossing depth then there is the sand .
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
Some day I am going to get a 2015 could be 2016 by the time I get it a JKU rubicon. I will likely run 35s on a 2.5 inch or so lift with a fender kit. I am looking for the most compliant suspension that will perform well on washboard roads you the kind with stutter bumps that rattle your whole jeep sideways. It also needs to articulate well, and have the capability to handle loads like a winch and front bumper and a rear bumper tire swing plus expedition level loads.

What have you had good experiences with?

Sorry, but do you look anything up before asking? Any progressive rate coil spring will do the job, but your shock valving plays an even bigger role in compression and rebound on washboard or multiple dips on a road.
 
Seriously? your a moderator ?

The search engine on this site and most others sucks period there i said ban me if you think i am wrong, but try it. search those words and what do you get nothing on point. I have searched it many times but lets face the JKU 2015 is new it has different set suspension requirement and no not any progressive spring set up will work. I looked and looked when I put this set up on my current jeep what I found then was that progressive spring rates compressed under heavy loads of front bumper and winch. most lifts used the same spring rates as stock. That rate with my bumper and winch compressed the spring to within a half inch of the bumpstop.

so if your extra weigh compresses the most compliant t portion of the travel, then you have lost travel and compliance. So what i am looking for is direct experience with that particular set of issues.

I am using a set of ome with bilstein shocks
so exactly what set of valving should I be looking for? Who has experience with that sort of thing?
 

mmrocek

Observer
Here is my trick, properly tested on the washboards of Arizona on my XJ. Aired down tires for flexing of the sidewall, long arm suspension (if you're lifted, to get the geometry more correct) and adjustable shocks - I run the Rancho RS9000XL. I set the settings on firm when on the road for handling and soft when off road for comfort. Make sure you have good bumpstops/limiting straps because you will enjoy yourself. :) I really like the shocks because they let me adjust the firmness according to how loaded down with gear I am and what I'm doing. Have fun!
 

rlynch356

Defyota
as stated.. ARB or AEV is good here for the JKU..both have reasonably firm damping, and progressive rate springs(AEV not sure about the carb for the JK) .. and airing down to a reasonable level.. i use 22~18 psi for mostly dirt surfaces, if there are trails/rocks i use 16-18psi.. granted this is an a defender 90 and a JKU but it seems to work at ~45mph on improved dirt roads.
on dirt washboard roads your looking at in "High Speed Damping" characteristics in your shocks - (low speed damping is "major" bumps, high speed is frequency) I won't get into frequency here but you want a shock which can respond quickly to small movement.

if you want to know more your going to need to look into 2 to 4way dampers (koni, king, fox, moton, JRZ and others). Depends on what you want/need - its easy to spend 20k on dampers, just depends on what you need. (most of my damper experience has been with road racing/rally but its critical there - off road is a bit easier on the setup)
 
I am running ome springs

wanted stocks but they were sold out instead ended up with Bilsteins a good shock but now I wonder unless i can find something better then may go that route again
 

wADVr

Adventurer
I would say OME is the best place to start as they are designed for miles and miles of that type of terrain while carrying a load.
 

TreyP

New member
If you can drop $4500 for suspension then the Icon would be a great way to go. But I think you would need to do a lot of other work to keep from breaking other things.


As far as shocks go, I plan on using the AEV 3.5 lift. My experience with Bilsteins has not been favorible. They are usually too stiff and after Joel left it is hard to get proper tuning. I plan on going with Fox as I can meet them in the desert and get the shocks tuned to my liking for free. I have them on my race car,
Raceco%20070-M.jpg

And the difference was amazing. I went from going thru 2-3 foot whoops @ 30 mph and being out of control to going to 60mph and not even knowing it. Don't even feel washboard anymore.

So tuning is the major difference here. My guess is that AEV liked the tuning they did(don't know if I will like them yet) I plan on checking them out first and if I don't like it I will upgrade to Fox that can be tuned to my liking.
 
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