Looking for a smoother ride help needed

Beau beau

New member
I have a 2012 2 door Jk and I had a 4" zone lift installed and Toyo 35's. The ride is very stiff and the bumps are hard. I would like a little smoother ride if anyone has any tips please help and pics also. Thanks this is my first jeep and I love it other than the ride.
 

ichthus

New member
Better shocks might be the best place to start. I don't know what Zone includes with their lift, but I found that the Bilstein 5100's are a solid shock to start with. If you're willing to spend the extra coin, Bilstein 5160's add a reservoir...or go allout on some King bypass reservoir shocks
 

Indefatigable

New member
Zone is just a BDS kit with less warranty.

Basic budget entry level kit.

For a superior ride, a full on long arm kit would be the way to go from one of the more niche manufacturers such as Evo, Clayton, etc
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I have a 2012 2 door Jk and I had a 4" zone lift installed and Toyo 35's. The ride is very stiff and the bumps are hard. I would like a little smoother ride if anyone has any tips please help and pics also. Thanks this is my first jeep and I love it other than the ride.

first off, how much air are you running in your tires? toyo's are range e tires and on a set of 35's, you really should be running more than 28 psi.

having said that, is it safe to assume you are running the cheap old school hydro shocks that came with your kit? if so, that won't be helping anything. also, 4" is A LOT of lift and at that height, your suspension geometry will be off enough to effect your ride. long arms will help this out a lot but then, if you really wanted to spend all that money, you wouldn't have gone with a zone kit. needless to say, i would try letting out some of the air in your tires and install a better set of shocks like bilstein 5100's. those two things should help.
 

Beau beau

New member
first off, how much air are you running in your tires? toyo's are range e tires and on a set of 35's, you really should be running more than 28 psi.

having said that, is it safe to assume you are running the cheap old school hydro shocks that came with your kit? if so, that won't be helping anything. also, 4" is A LOT of lift and at that height, your suspension geometry will be off enough to effect your ride. long arms will help this out a lot but then, if you really wanted to spend all that money, you wouldn't have gone with a zone kit. needless to say, i would try letting out some of the air in your tires and install a better set of shocks like bilstein 5100's. those two things should help.

This is the first jeep I have owned and I guess I should have done a little more research before I bit the bullet on the lift. I always had toyotas on 38's 40's and 44's and they were quite stiff also. I guess now that I am older I notice it a lot more. Here on the gulf coast we don't have any rock crawling country and not knowing I thought long arm kits were for that ( more travel ect.). Now that I already screwed that up to start with what is a good tire pressure to run. I guess I will have to save to upgrade my shocks later being I have a 4year old and daycare isn't cheap. Thanks guys
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
This is the first jeep I have owned and I guess I should have done a little more research before I bit the bullet on the lift. I always had toyotas on 38's 40's and 44's and they were quite stiff also. I guess now that I am older I notice it a lot more. Here on the gulf coast we don't have any rock crawling country and not knowing I thought long arm kits were for that ( more travel ect.). Now that I already screwed that up to start with what is a good tire pressure to run. I guess I will have to save to upgrade my shocks later being I have a 4year old and daycare isn't cheap. Thanks guys

it's unfortunate but so many people see long arms in that way. truth be told, long arms only serve to help correct your suspension geometry which becomes quite steep when you get up to 4" or more of lift. the longer arms allow your geometry to sit flatter like stock and that helps to improve your ride ON PAVEMENT and that's where you will see the benefits of them them most.

having said all that, with 35" toyos, you really should try running them at about 28 psi. that will help out some and, as mentioned before, a good nitro shock should help out some too.
 
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