How stiff should the ride be?

[mindaugas]

Hard to explain without someone being in the car and feeling it. How stiff are other's VX stock? Mine bounces on hard bumps, and it's hard to keep anything anywhere when it bounces. Don't get me wrong, I know this isn't going to ride like a normal SUV, I just want to see if it's normal.

[hughesdt]

Mine is very stiff also. Seems like the radar detector will come flying off the window every time I hit a bump, and the power connector in the cig lighter will disconnect causing it to reset. I have the original shocks, not lifted in anyway and stock sized tires ('99 16in). I believed it was normal, needed to get the sports car handling that I truly enjoy.

[VX KAT]

Tons of posts about this....use search function.... "OEM shocks", "bump stops", and such.

VERY stiff OEM ride....shocks are extremely rough.

Many have replaced them with Rancho 9000s with the 9 way adjustable settings.

Some of us (myself, vt_mav) have recently cut our rear bump stops in half and have seen a TREMENDOUS improvement in that real jarring/slamming effect on the rear of the vehicle.

[Maddawg]

Many have replaced them with Rancho 9000s with the 9 way adjustable settings.

I've done just that. Still the Rancho 9000's leave something to be desired when it comes to rebound damping. Anyone else have that complaint?? Or is there a better after-market shock available.

[SilverBullet75]

Another member had really bad jarring on his stock VX and he just replaced his tires (to Nitto Terra Grapplers) and it fixed the issue! I personally rode in his VX before the swap. It was BAD. I didn't think that tires could fix this, but lo and behold........
Nova, chime in if you can.

[mindaugas]

Ah, ok. I'll do some better searching, thanks.

[vt_maverick]

To save you the headache, start here: Bump Stops

Lots of good posts with pics of what needs to be done. I would HIGHLY recommend you start by cutting your bump stops, THEN proceed to shocks only if the ride quality is still too harsh for your tastes. Cutting the bump stops can be done with any common saw blade and for only the cost of your time. Shocks can run from $200 on up depending on the brand, so IMHO start with the cheap fix and work your way up.

[mindaugas]

awesome, that bump stop mod looks super easy. hell, I may try it tonight.

[Ascinder]

If you plan on lifting your vehicle at all(or in the future), then I would wait to cut the stops. When you lift, it pushes the bumpstops away from the axle and in several cases(myself included) you actually need extensions in order for your bumpstops to work at all anymore. One of the reasons bumpstops are there is to prevent your expensive shocks from bottoming out and being destroyed. Cut with caution. It may also affect future resale......

[VX KAT]

If you plan on lifting your vehicle at all(or in the future), then I would wait to cut the stops. When you lift, it pushes the bumpstops away from the axle and in several cases(myself included) you actually need extensions in order for your bumpstops to work at all anymore. One of the reasons bumpstops are there is to prevent your expensive shocks from bottoming out and being destroyed. Cut with caution. It may also affect future resale......

I got an extra set from a junkyard just in case I didn't like the outcome....but then was so happy with it I knew I'd never go back, so I shipped the extra set to Mav.....he used them, and his originals are now sitting as his spares. So that's one way around that issue.....get a spare set.

[Maddawg]

The ride drove me crazy for a long time. What I have done is taken the harshness out of the front end by removing the sway bar. Huge improvement and no noticeable difference in cornering. Easily done without even removing the wheels. Before I did my lift, I cut the rear bump stops to half height, then after the 3 inch lift I removed them entirely. Still not the best riding car in the universe but better.

[Maddawg]

I don't think thats it. I just put on Toyo Cross Country 33x11.5, no diff.

I found the overall ride much, much better with the Toyo's. The arse end pogo's out of a dip, thats shocks. Or possible shock settings with the Rancho 9000's. Mine are set at 8.

[Scott Larson]

Do you know if you're running stock springs and/or torsion bars?

[Maddawg]

Do you know if you're running stock springs and/or torsion bars?

Running 3" lift. I think that maybe the Rancho 9000 shock is topping out with the 3" lift I have on my VX.

From what I can gather the Rancho 9000 is 4.125" stroke for the front shock and 6.125 stroke for the rear shock. The Old Man Emu is 5.51" stroke for the front shock and 7.48" stroke for the rear shock.

My complaint is related to the rear. So going to OME on the rear would gain an additional 1.36'' of stroke. Body travel is somewhat vertical but the shock is not, because it is inclined. So the gain in up travel would be less than 1.36" verically. Not sure if there would be much of a ride improvement at all.