Rear Too Stiff

[RainbowStix]

Im in a 4 door (stock hitachi shocks) and can confirm you’re not the only one that feels the stiffness from the rear. I know it’s not the 3” spacer lift doing that because I had the exact Bronco with no lift on 32s and felt the same thing. I’m currently in the process of doing the stubby bumpstop mod from BigMeats and hoping this’ll soften it up.

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[DogHauler]

Took it for a ride today to see if it was the case. No, it rides pretty smooth on the terrible Northest roads. Not quite as smooth as my Mustang, but much better than my 3/4 ton pickup. Tires at 40psi.

 

[sledboy]

I'm running the front tires at 34 and the rear at 32 psi. This isn't a shock issue but rather a spring rate issue and more specifically a balance in spring rates between the front and rear. As stated the winch and sway bar delete are making it more obvious. I wouldn't ditch the factory sas shocks because it isn't a shock issue but I would consider a softer rear spring. I might try going to 28 psi in the rear tires. I also wonder if leveling the front would help re-balance the truck. Perhaps a small shim under the bottom of front strut where it bolts to the LCA would help.

Serious question... how do you know it's not the shocks? I also agree that the ride when going between 10 and 30 mph over a moderately rough road is very stiff, even harsh. But I am quite sure it is the shocks and here's why.

I'll compare a few things between our Bronco and the Suburban it replaced. First, when I put the same weight on the back of the Bronco (usually trailer weight), the Bronco will set in (sag) almost twice as much as the Suburban does. This is all the springs since it is static weight. Also, as we are slowly crawling over rocks, we get good suspension movement in the Bronco as the shocks have little effect when the shocks are moving very slowly. This indicates to me that the springs are quite soft in comparison to the Suburban.

However, when traveling at moderate speed (10 to 30 mph) down a moderately rough dirt road with 1" to 3" rocks, the ride is bone jarring in the Bronco. The Suburban would travel the same road at the same speed much more comfortably (smoothly). This type of travel would induce moderate shock shaft speed. To me, this indicates that the medium compression dampening of the shocks is set too stiff. Yes, the ride smooths out if I kick the speed up to 40 or 50 mph but this gets dangerous as there are a lot of bigger holes that you do not want to hit that fast or it could cause suspension damage or at lease mess up the alignment.

So I am looking for softer shocks but most aftermarket shocks come even stiffer than stock. I think I will call King next to see if they can custom valve their shocks.

 

[67BroncoG1]

Serious question... how do you know it's not the shocks? I also agree that the ride when going between 10 and 30 mph over a moderately rough road is very stiff, even harsh. But I am quite sure it is the shocks and here's why.

I'll compare a few things between our Bronco and the Suburban it replaced. First, when I put the same weight on the back of the Bronco (usually trailer weight), the Bronco will set in (sag) almost twice as much as the Suburban does. This is all the springs since it is static weight. Also, as we are slowly crawling over rocks, we get good suspension movement in the Bronco as the shocks have little effect when the shocks are moving very slowly. This indicates to me that the springs are quite soft in comparison to the Suburban.

However, when traveling at moderate speed (10 to 30 mph) down a moderately rough dirt road with 1" to 3" rocks, the ride is bone jarring in the Bronco. The Suburban would travel the same road at the same speed much more comfortably (smoothly). This type of travel would induce moderate shock shaft speed. To me, this indicates that the medium compression dampening of the shocks is set too stiff. Yes, the ride smooths out if I kick the speed up to 40 or 50 mph but this gets dangerous as there are a lot of bigger holes that you do not want to hit that fast or it could cause suspension damage or at lease mess up the alignment.

So I am looking for softer shocks but most aftermarket shocks come even stiffer than stock. I think I will call King next to see if they can custom valve their shocks.

i can’t definitely say that it is spring rate vs damper tuning. My bigger complaint isjus that the rear is too stiff but that it considerably stiffer than the front and feels out of balance. I’m seriously looking a metal rear bumpers to add weight way off the back.

 

[RainbowStix]

Forgot to update you on this… so I did bigmeats’ stubby bumpstop mod, and am pretty sure it was just riding on the bumpstop whenever you hit a bump because it’s noticeably smoother than before.

I haven’t even done the front yet!

 

[BroncoBarn]

Does anyone else feel like the rear of their Bronco is too stiff? I have a 2 door Sasquatch which means that I'm damn near sitting over the rear axle. 2 Doors will certainly feel it more than the longer wheelbase 4 door. I also have a RC hidden winch up front and have removed the front sway bar. Both of those effectively soften the front suspension but even before doing that the rear felt over sprung compared to the the front. I don't need a lift or a new suspension but I would sure as hell go for some softer rear springs. That or I'm going to need to add some weight behind the rear seats to get rid of the harshness.

Am I the only one?

Why would you remove the front sway bar?

 

[BroncoBarn]

I feel mine was too stiff before I shaved my bumps....for example we have two railroad crossings here 1000 feet apart, and when I scoot over them I used to feel the rear buck up or a firm "wham" as the rear went over. Now with the overzealous bumps shaved, I no longer feel the rear kick up when taking those impacts.

I still do feel like the rear springs are a bit stiff.

Are the shocks fully compressed now instead of the bump stops preventing them from being fully compressed? Or does the suspension still cycle properly?

 

[techdisaster]

Forgot to update you on this… so I did bigmeats’ stubby bumpstop mod, and am pretty sure it was just riding on the bumpstop whenever you hit a bump because it’s noticeably smoother than before.

I haven’t even done the front yet!

My Google-fu is weak and I couldn’t find information about a bigmeats stubby bump stop mod. Do you have a link?

My rear suspension is not comfortable at all. I thought it was my tires so I aired them down to 35 PSI. That helped a little, but the rear is still very stiff. Comparing my bronco to my Jeep JL on 35inch tires, the Jeep was far more comfortable in the back seat. I’ve only driven 1,500 miles mostly on streets. Maybe they need to be broken in more?

 

[RainbowStix]

My Google-fu is weak and I couldn’t find information about a bigmeats stubby bump stop mod. Do you have a link?

My rear suspension is not comfortable at all. I thought it was my tires so I aired them down to 35 PSI. That helped a little, but the rear is still very stiff. Comparing my bronco to my Jeep JL on 35inch tires, the Jeep was far more comfortable in the back seat. I’ve only driven 1,500 miles mostly on streets. Maybe they need to be broken in more?

Here you go
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...nal-wheel-travel-and-shock-length-pics.38339/

Worth noting he shaved his on both sides while I just cut ~2.5” of the progressive foam off mine (you can see the difference between our’s on his thread). Theoretically, mine will bottom out harder and before his, but will maybe protect more of the other components.

 

[67BroncoG1]

Why would you remove the front sway bar?

because it limits articulation and makes the front ride harsh off road. The downside is that the truck is less stable.

 

[RainbowStix]

because it limits articulation and makes the front ride harsh off road. The downside is that the truck is less stable.

Don’t forget on road too

 

[BroncoBarn]

because it limits articulation and makes the front ride harsh off road. The downside is that the truck is less stable.

I totally understand the benefits of having the sway bar disconnected off road. What I don’t understand is why someone would remove the sway bar from a vehicle that is on road 99.99999% of the time (wild guess but I’ll bet it is a correct estimate). You literally removed it, liked it’s sitting on your garage floor or lying in your gravel driveway?

 

[67BroncoG1]

I totally understand the benefits of having the sway bar disconnected off road. What I don’t understand is why someone would remove the sway bar from a vehicle that is on road 99.99999% of the time (wild guess but I’ll bet it is a correct estimate). You literally removed it, liked it’s sitting on your garage floor or lying in your gravel driveway?

it isn’t my daily driver. It gets a fair amount of use offroad. Yes the bar is removed and in my garage. I’m not unique in having done this.

 

[BroncoBarn]

it isn’t my daily driver. It gets a fair amount of use offroad. Yes the bar is removed and in my garage. I’m not unique in having done this.

I’ve got a Badlands so I haven’t crawled around looking at the sway bar, but is there anyway for a quick disconnect method while leaving it in place? On my little Wrangler the ends can be unbolted easier and there are all kinds of quick disconnect kits so that both benefits can be utilized, having it connected on road and disconnected off-road. I’m guessing not since people are removing them all together. Now I’m going out to the garage to look.

 

[NC_Pinz]

I’ve got a Badlands so I haven’t crawled around looking at the sway bar, but is there anyway for a quick disconnect method while leaving it in place? On my little Wrangler the ends can be unbolted easier and there are all kinds of quick disconnect kits so that both benefits can be utilized, having it connected on road and disconnected off-road. I’m guessing not since people are removing them all together. Now I’m going out to the garage to look.

You have a Badlands...you have a switch which disconnects the sway bar from the driver's seat. One of the few advantages the BL has over all other trim levels.

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