Rear Too Stiff

[ATLBronco75]

Is it a 22 with the rear sway bar? My 21 4-door Badlands non-sas feel super soft.

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[BroncoBarn]

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.

I totally understand that I have the disco sway bar and used it often while in Moab. My point is that in the Jeep world there are products that allow for quick disconnect of the sway bar ends via quick release pins. I was going out to the garage to look at my Bronco sway bar and compare it to my Wrangler that is sitting right next to it. I’m wondering if there is an alternative to removing the front sway bar. I haven’t really looked at the sway bar yet because I haven’t needed to because I have the Badlands with the disco.

 

[zerk4321]

OK, so I was complaining before about how stiff the rear end feels - it was really bad. I took it out to Peter’s Mill Run a second time, but this time I did it in half the time (I was taking it easy the first time since I had just gotten it). That really flexed the suspension. Now I’ve noticed a really significant difference and the rear end feels good - a lot softer. I’m now very pleased with the overall ride and the rear end is perfect. Base Sasquatch, by the way.

 

[rguest3]

The Sasquatch Goodyears are rated for Max Load at 35psi. Why would anyone go with any higher PSI than this, ever?

Try Lower tire pressure. My 4-Door, V6 has front Average Corner weight of 1470 per side. Rear Average is 1130 per side. Sasquatch tires are rated at 2550 (I think) per corner. Try lowering the tire pressure to 30 Front and 28psi Rear. No, you are not going to damage the tires.

 

[67BroncoG1]

I'm running 30 psi front and 27 rear and it is still too stiff in the back. I'm starting to think that something is wrong. There is no way that the engineers could possibly think that this is right.

 

[rguest3]

I'm running 30 psi front and 27 rear and it is still too stiff in the back. I'm starting to think that something is wrong. There is no way that the engineers could possibly think that this is right.

I'll have to admit, with that tire pressure it should not feel too stiff.

But that's the tire pressure I would go with.

 

[choppersean]

Now I finally have my MY22 Badlands Sasquatch, I can officially have a comment and opinion on this. I wouldn't characterize my ride as having too stiff a rear end as much as the front end is freakin' soft and mushy. Don't get me wrong, it rides REALLY nicely and I do love the ride. It is a bit weird to have to hammer on the brakes and see how the front end dives so much. Oh, well, that is the deal with independent front suspension. My son is a diesel mechanic and works on all the major pickup brands. Someone else mentioned earlier that the Chevy/GMC has a similar feel and my son agreed that the Bronco feels like that.......nice cushy ride up front but stiff in back. He loves how the Chevy/GMC pickups ride.......but only with a rear-end load so that it feels balanced and not so stiff in the front.

I have not had my Bronco off road yet, so it will be interesting to gauge the ride difference and performance once I am able to test that in off-road conditions.

 

[Tex]

Did you guys not properly break in your suspension by getting in some sick jumps first?
You have to hammer the bumpstops with your frame until they get soft and cushy.
My rear end feels great, even my wife says so

 

[Bronco1971]

I'm running 30 psi front and 27 rear and it is still too stiff in the back. I'm starting to think that something is wrong. There is no way that the engineers could possibly think that this is right.

Out of curiosity, do you have prior experience in SRA vehicles? The fact that they transmit road bumps to both wheels can make them act like they're sprung too stiff. i.e. feeling "loose" on rough roads, or the rear dancing on washboards.

Mine actually feels quite soft to me on the street.

It is possible that something is wrong and there's an unusual bushing bind on yours. But, that would most likely be asymmetric. It would probably feel unstable.

 

[67BroncoG1]

Out of curiosity, do you have prior experience in SRA vehicles? The fact that they transmit road bumps to both wheels can make them act like they're sprung too stiff. i.e. feeling "loose" on rough roads, or the rear dancing on washboards.

Mine actually feels quite soft to me on the street.

It is possible that something is wrong and there's an unusual bushing bind on yours. But, that would most likely be asymmetric. It would probably feel unstable.

Yup, I have had jeeps and have a 1967 bronco. There could be a few things going on here. The winch up front had dropped the front about 3/4 of an inch and added more weight ahead of the front axle. I also have the front swaybar removed. The combination has made the front feel soft and moved the shifted more weight forward. Both will make the rear feel relatively stiffer.

Does anyone know how to ID the coils? I would like to verify that it shipped with 2 Door coils and not 4 door coils. Crazier things have happened.

 

[Bronco1971]

Yup, I have had jeeps and have a 1967 bronco. There could be a few things going on here. The winch up front had dropped the front about 3/4 of an inch and added more weight ahead of the front axle. I also have the front swaybar removed. The combination has made the front feel soft and moved the shifted more weight forward. Both will make the rear feel relatively stiffer.

Removing the swaybar will have a pretty noticeable effect while turning, particularly while braking or accelerating, and will definitely make the rear feel relatively stiffer. That shouldn't have any effect while going straight as the bar shouldn't be doing anything in terms of wheel rate. Single wheel bumps will affect the front feel, but shouldn't have a relative impact on the rear.

I would be interested to know the corner weights before the added front weight, and after.

Does anyone know how to ID the coils? I would like to verify that it shipped with 2 Door coils and not 4 door coils. Crazier things have happened.

I'm reasonably certain that all spring manufacturers put the PN on the spring either painted or on a tag.

 

[Ducati1098]

Yup, I have had jeeps and have a 1967 bronco. There could be a few things going on here. The winch up front had dropped the front about 3/4 of an inch and added more weight ahead of the front axle. I also have the front swaybar removed. The combination has made the front feel soft and moved the shifted more weight forward. Both will make the rear feel relatively stiffer.

Does anyone know how to ID the coils? I would like to verify that it shipped with 2 Door coils and not 4 door coils. Crazier things have happened.

Should have a sticker on them with the engineering numbers. Send me the numbers and your VIN and I can double check them for you.

 

[JimboSlice]

Mine is stiff as hell. OBX non-sas. Sas takeoff wheels and tires and a 2 inch zone lift. The whole rear end rattles like crazy over every little bump. I bought the sas suspension hoping to fix this but it's not installed yet.

 

[DBC Offroad]

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 have the exact same feeling. The suspension is very jarring 10-30 mph. Have you found any solutions yet besides going full send with Kings or Fox?

 

[67BroncoG1]

I have the exact same feeling. The suspension is very jarring 10-30 mph. Have you found any solutions yet besides going full send with Kings or Fox?

No I have not. I'm running 25 psi in the rear tires and it helps but it really isn't a fix. My next step is going to be to raise the front by 1 inch with a spacer lift and hope that moves the center of gravity rearward slightly. It might be wishful thinking but I need to level it out a little anyway.

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