Long story short, my girlfriend has a bulging disc and sciatica so her back is in a lot of pain. She love my jeep but the ride is so stiff that some bumps send a ton of pain up her back. I was thinking of Rancho 9000xl's but I could us some advice om idea's. Is Rancho the best? Bilsteins? Fox? What is the best thing to go with to soften up my Jeep?
Is you jeep stock? If so, that is already a pretty soft ride compared to other options. If stock you could try the ranchos but springs have a great deal to do with the ride quality.
Get the Ranchos and then play around with shock setting and tire pressure. A lot of people like to run their tires a little lower than yours currently, and when you add the adjustability of the Ranchos then you can dial in the perfect comfort zone for you and her.
My wife also hates how bumpy and not smooth the ride is in my stock Sport S. She gets motion sickness easily and is not a big fan of riding in the jeep. Would adjustable ranchos be the way to go, different springs, something else?
I have rk 1.5" coils with rancho 9000 shocks. This really firmed up the suspension without making it harsh. You still feel bumps but you feel it and it's done, the softer stock kind of jiggle like jello.
If you have a 2 door JK it will always ride rougher on the street than a 4 door. What I found with my 2 door is that tires make a huge difference. If you can stand load range SL or load range C tires they will help immensely. Narrower is better for on-road ride comfort. Next is tire pressure. Try 28psi cold. Next is shocks. I like the Rancho 9000xl's, but if you run them at the low settings I found them to oscillate side to side too much. Try some stock Rubi shocks. Very nice on the road with good control. Stock sport shocks aren't good for much of anything. I didn't experiment with progressive springs, but by design they would be a good shot. Hope this helps.
Coil spacers make for a rougher ride, period. Ditch them and install a proper spring lift kit and new shocks like the adjustable Ranchos. When I bought my Rubicon JKU, it had a budget boost spacer lift and Bilstein 5100 shocks. It rode like crap, really. After installing MetalCloak 2.5" Springs, OME shocks, adjustable Core 4x4 control arms, the ride is fantastic. A totally different vehicle. You're really only putting a bandaid over the problem with new shocks unless you get some proper springs. MetalCloak all the way.
I came in her figuring to see a lot of posts like these or people telling the OP to get a new girlfriend. Sorry to hear about her pain, back issues suck
Suspension, or sprung seats* might be worth researching.
* My very limited understanding is that suspension seats will have some give built into the seat cushion bottom, and sprung seats have some sort of ability to absorb shocks through their mounting design.
I hate to point out the 800lb gorilla in the room but it is a Wrangler. There is very little you can do to completely make it ride like a Lexus or Mercedes. It's why it is a lifestyle. I hope you can find a way to accommodate with the springs or seats, but there is little else you can do.
Right and by no means do I wan it to be. I have just heard tons of folks rave about the improvement of ride quality after doing suspension so I thought I'd ask
Doubt you'll find anything softer than stock suspension in the aftermarket without dropping serious money in high performance shocks with adjustable valving.
I think having a 2nd vehicle, like a car or something lower than a Jeep can help, but back issues can be tough to deal with in pretty much anything you seat.
Maybe ask a physiotherapist for seating options, I'm sure there has to be something you can buy to accommodate her in the seat, and give her back the needed cushion.
Seats. I rode in a jk with some aftermarket racing style seats. I cant remember the brand but it wasnt cheapo mastercrafts it was a smaller company. They are life changing.
I have driven in (and actually own) the MasterCraft Baja RS. In earlier models the Baja RS are a great upgrade over stock on the 2013+ I kept the stock seats as there are great, and my Baja RS' are up in the rafters for down the road. :beer:
Stock springs and maybe upgraded shocks would be the smoothest ride. jmho Lower air pressure may help slightly. A high quality aftermarket seat can help. That said it's a Jeep designed for off road it will never give a soft comfortable ride for anyone with a back injury and chronic back pain. Jeeping off road is not in the cards for them. it sucks....
Spring for a Lexus 350 RX. That should pamper her pooper.
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