The Silver Mullet:

[chadjans]

minus 2.5" of foam bumps on the shafts.

The foam compresses quite a bit. Even the homemade ones.

[FortCollinsZJ]

Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm not 100% happy with the flat look of the fenders, but I'll be damned if its going to change.

No straight on profile shots, I'll definitely have some when I get it done.

I was guessing the bumps would compress at least 50%, and I built the suspension and frame clearances to work at 100% bump travel of the shocks, so even without the bumps on the shafts, the shocks would bottom out before the axle or steering contacts oil pan or motor mounts. I'm very glad I chopped the extra 1.5" out of the frame rail, it gained me close to 3".

I would have had this thing drivable this week, but the Poly Performance high misalignment spacers that came in on Monday, were basically standard step down spacers, and won't work for my link. The right ones are coming now (Thanks RuffStuff) and I can get my passenger upper link done, and then finish the brake line routing down the link.

Getting to be a short list of "to do's"

Build upper pas. link
Rout brakeline
Wire up the E fan
Mount winch control box
Bleed brakes coolant fill
Put some ATF back in my 242
Hood pins
Pas fender skin.

And to be done in the coming weeks (after it gets going)

PRP highback seat
New steering wheel
Swaybar
242 SYE.

Snow bash!

[FortCollinsZJ]

Just got back in from a late night test drive. Drove it on a short washed out access road leading to a nearby paved neighborhood.

Initial feelings were pretty good on the straight access road, floats over the ruts and potholes at probably 40% more speed than I used to hit them.

Then came the turns, different story. This thing feels SOO boaty. I mean scary boaty.

Maybe that's just the light/medium rebound in the shocks, maybe its the fact that the ZJ is a heavy pig, maybe its because I've been driving a Saturn for the past 3 months, and compared, this might as well be a boat.

I do really like the firm compression, and I feel I'll be on the bumpstops much less often.

I have this on the way from TK1 racing to HOPEFULLY alleviate some of the body roll. Great pricing on them, much much less than the Currie alternative.

[ATL ZJ]

what's your initial rate? too high a SUR can mandate a stiff swaybar. personally I like to avoid having to run a swaybar due to packaging and cost...

[CrawlerReady]

You'll love that sway bar. I ran the same one for a few years until I put the 60 under. Like Cam though, I now don't want to have to run one again unless it was the only option. It was just one more thing to worry about. I bent those aluminum arms a couple times.

[FortCollinsZJ]

Springs are 275/300. I ordered 250/350, but they were on backorder for the 350 16"s, so I got what I got.

As for packaging, I have plenty of room for a swaybar, it was actually in the plans anyway. I also have a plan to keep the arms from twisting and bending. A way to mount the heim in double shear below the arm, instead of off the side. Was that how your's was bending Tyler? More like twisting?

[CrawlerReady]

No, mine weren't really twisting......they were bending in. I know it had to do with the heim mounted off the side and too much down travel. You idea would probably fix that issue though. I wish I had some pictures to show how they were bent but I don't believe I do. Only happened 3 times IIRC and I just bent them back (so they were obviously more prone to bending a second time).

[FortCollinsZJ]

Ahh I get it. TK has an option for steel arms, if the aluminum gives me issues, I can just go that route.

I think bieng on narrow axles, and moderate lift height with tube uo high on an already heavy rig, at least one swaybar is needed. My rear shocks are somewhat triangulated, and inboarded a bit, so that definitly doesnt help. Wouldn't be a terrible issue if it was trail only, but it's not.

[CrawlerReady]

I agree, I loved my old setup, but being even lower now and A LOT wider, I don't really need the sway bar. You will love it though.

[AgitatedPancake]

Tyler I feel like I've asked before, but do you do much higher speed cruising in your ZJ? Just in the last year is when I've really become aware of my lack of swaybars, because I've started increasing my speed, the momentum pushes and pulls a lot harder. I'm looking to end up with a permenant rear sway bar I think.

The catch for me is I don't have coil overs/good shocks yet to feel how much they can compensate so I just don't know

[CrawlerReady]

I don't do high speeds like KOH.....I'd say I go 55mph at most in 2wd with the front hubs unlocked on dirt roads. There is body roll, but my springs are pretty stiff too so not a whole lot of it.

When I ran the Mini-KOH last year I was in 4lo the entire time so my high speed was 35mph or so. I was hitting those corners fast and had no issues at all.

If I were building a KOH rig or something that I went faster in a lot more, then yeah, I'm sure I'd be running an anti-rock style sway bar to help with the stability.

[Jeeptech01]

AP have you considered taking some triangulation out of your rear shock setup. I bet that would help??

[FortCollinsZJ]

The roll is DEFINITELY all up front. I'm already contemplating how I can fit triangulated uppers, with the right amount of vertical separation at the frame. It would be nice to have a suspension that is designed well, then built, not just links that "fit", where the unibody constraints, limit them to exist. Maybe I am just expecting way too much from this project.

[Jeeptech01]

Yea. Just cut some holes in the floor and put them where they need to be. Then you could actually watch your suspension work.

[AgitatedPancake]

Neil, have you considered trying to shift your track bar up vertically? It might take a few bends to clear the oil pan and such, but by raising both brack bar mounts so the track bar sits higher overall, you're raising the roll center and lessening the tendency a little? I'm sure you already know the concept, but it might be a little more work than you were hoping for.

Unfortunately though, I can't untriangulate my shocks right now. I would love to, but I hardly have enough uptravel as it sits in the rear due to shocks, outboarding them would put them even closer to full bump :/. There is a tradeoff though. In the OEM locations my shocks (Rubicon Express twin tube cheapies) were waaaaay to stiff. Now that I have them triangulated I love how everything moves, while going straight haha. Speed bumps are nice and soft, curbs, etc. It's just the body roll that kills me!

[MUDDTRACKS]

What about moving your front coil mounts out a little on the bottom or in just a hair on the top. When I mounted my springs I mounted them as close to the outer edge of the axle. Then as close to the body as i could at the top so they would be on a angle. It helped a ton with body roll and side hills.

[FortCollinsZJ]

Greg, The panhard axle mount is probably 5" over the axle center line, I cant get away with anymore than that without going full hydro. Also, I cut into my floor and mounted my rear shocks inside the cab, off my cage. It was just about impossible to have a good length shock with stock locations.

The lower mounts on the coilovers are as wide as they'll go on the 30. They mount on the top of the inner C close to the balljont.

This thing is just way too tall, and way to heavy. I think stage 3 may happen a bit sooner than I'd guessed (talking 2 door back halfing it) *Should* be going to pull my HP60 soon too.

Got it out in the daylight for some pictures. You can see the passenger fender still isn't skinned.

[AgitatedPancake]

as I was saying over on JF, you did damn nice work man. And I can't believe you were able to keep symmetry with some of that bending you did!

[biggoofy]

Looks amazing man

[leeanderthal]

That looks sick! Alot of tire clearance. Really like how it's turning out, keep it up!

[Jeeptech01]

Without lowering it some I dont see any other way to make it less tippy without a sway bar or higher spring rates. Even with wider axles I still think it will want to tip due to the cog. This may be a stupid question since Im not terribly fimilliar with coilovers but.. Can you adjust them for height and lower it an inch or two or do you have to change the springs? Might be worth it to drop it a bit to see if it helps.

[FortCollinsZJ]

It really needs to come down 1.5-2.5".

The adjuster, or top nut, adjusts the preload on the springs, and it is backed off almost to the max, so no, no more lowering it with adjustment.

The one upside is that since I know the rates of the current springs, I can measure the length of them under load, and determine my corner weights pretty precisely, allowing me to get the correct spring rates with only one swap. knock on wood.

Wht I don't get, is that the back end feels higher now too, those are only 4.5" lift springs! and a ton of tube added. looks more like 6". I may be trading to some 3.5" springs for the rear.

[zj95maxx]

Needs bigger tyers

[Jeeptech01]

The rear could easily be higher now depending on a bunch of factors. Im sure the weight distrubution changed significantly with all the front end work.

My WJ sat like 1.5" higher in the rear after I lifted my tank and it wasnt because of the 3lb spare tire well that I threw in the trash FWIW.

[chadjans]

Without lowering it some I dont see any other way to make it less tippy without a sway bar or higher spring rates.

Even with wider axles I still think it will want to tip due to the cog.

I see no reason to lower it without seeing what bigger tires will do.

Sway bars will help. But the biggest return would be with wider axles and larger (heavier) tires. This would also allow for the shock mounts to be out wide. This setup yields an extremely stable drive.



I happen to like the stance Neil. I strongly suggest full width axles, bigger tires and wider shock mounts.