Well this thread got way more interesting that I was hoping for, awesome! Thank you everyone.
I am looking at Dobinson's per the recommendations. Thank you for the info JONBOY345, that perfectly explains what I am experiencing; keep my piston speeds below the knee point, otherwise I might as well be using wood blocks for suspension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aemravan
I mean for one.. I think you're running way too big a tire if you're not actually looking to take advantage of it off road. That going to a 35 over a 33 inch tire added quite a bit of unsprung mass for me so I'm sure that doesn't help.
Bilstein's are a nice entry level shock but you can't expect factory ride quality on an aftermarket option while lifted on 35's unless you spend a bit more money i feel like. Anything in the Fox/King/Icon 2.0-2.5 range will net a much smoother ride quality, and if you splurge a bit more would also give you the ability to dial in the stiffness of the shock a little via the adjustment valve.
The diff drop isn't impacting what you're feeling in the drivers seat, but yes, if you're only going to run a 2" lift you probably wont see much benefit in reducing your cv angle (since it sounds like you're not after using your whole suspension travel anyhow) so you could get rid of it i guess.
For the Long Travel plans.. I'm confused now.. if you don't like your ride height/center of gravity now, it won't get any better if you go long travel.
bottom line though, if you're after a "trail runner" that is actually capable and performs the way you're describing I think an extended reservoir shock is the absolute least you need to be looking at. But keep in mind that with a single shock you have to pick a happy medium of what it does (stiff or soft) since it can't adjust on the fly. This is far from an "intermediate" setup until you go LT later.. you're spending a couple of thousand bucks, waiting a few months, etc.
Not to mention other components like UCA's, ball joints, rear links, etc all will get trashed pretty quick I would think at any sort of healthy trail running pace unless your bombing it through the desert over rolling dunes...
|
I feel like I need to clarify a few things. The tires are 32.7". I like the idea of running this tire size and clearancing the wheel wheels if needed, it is the right kind of lift IMO and adds capability for clearing minor/moderate obstacles. I do agree with you that going bigger would be overkill for my use case.
My main problem with the diff drop is I don't like the diff at a constant angle and I don't like what that might be doing to my front driveshaft. I also don't like that my front skid plate needed to be lowered to clear the diff (seems self defeating if the goal is more clearance).
Why long travel? I want to improve the ratio of track width to center of gravity height for more stability and long travel will give me the wider track width part of that equation.