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the Fine Line Of Handling - ome Tj Wrangler Unlimited Rear Coils - Photo 52019289

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  • Immediately, the stock TJ coil springs did not work for us and we switched to Old Man Emu (OME) TJ Wrangler Unlimited rear coils. The spring rate of the OME Unlimited coils was perfect for the rear, but the ride height was left sitting a little tall in the back, giving our XJ the “stinkbug” appearance.
Immediately, the stock TJ coil springs did not work for us and we switched to Old Man Emu (OME) TJ Wrangler Unlimited rear coils. The spring rate of the OME Unlimited coils was perfect for the rear, but the ride height was left sitting a little tall in the back, giving our XJ the “stinkbug” appearance.
After adding 4-inch long-arm kits both front and rear (rear four-link conversion) to our XJ Cherokee, we used the suggested coils as a starting point—4-inch-taller Rock Krawler coils with a stock sway bar and sway bar disconnects in front and stock TJ Wrangler coils in the rear. Immediately, the stock TJ coil springs did not work for us and we switched to Old Man Emu (OME) TJ Wrangler Unlimited rear coils. The spring rate of the OME Unlimited coils was perfect for the rear, but the ride height was left sitting a little tall in the back, giving our XJ the “stinkbug” appearance. We tried again, this time using OME TJ Wrangler (not Wrangler Unlimited) coils. The second pair of coils in the picture are replacement 4-inch front coils after a hard hit bent a bumpstop and bowed one front spring more than we felt comfortable with. We also added shocks with more aggressive valving and added cooling capacity—Bilstein 5160s—to handle faster suspension movement better than a standard twin-tube shock would. The ride height with the OME Wrangler rear coils perfectly matched up to 4 inches of front lift and our Cherokee sat level … but the spring rate was way too soft. The rear bottomed out much too easily and these newest coils were not going to work. The decision was made to go back to the first pair of OME Wrangler Unlimited coil springs and just deal with the extra lift in the rear since spring rate and ride are more important than aesthetics. The newer (clean) coil is the OME Wrangler coil lying next to the OME Wrangler Unlimited coil. The Wrangler coil is actually longer (unloaded) but uses a smaller wire diameter whereas the Wrangler Unlimited coil is shorter but has a larger wire diameter. The 5160 Bilstein remote reservoir shocks proved to have excellent ride characteristics for our XJ after using the valving that Bilstein recommended. We’ve liked other shock types on this vehicle (even other Bilsteins), but none have delivered the continuous good ride like the 5160s—even after hours of extended rough terrain. Through all these shock and spring changes, we had only the stock sway bar with disconnects to try out. It handled well with the factory sway bar, but we’d have to get out and disconnect the sway bar (with the disconnects) from the axle for good off-road articulation. A stock sway bar and disconnects left our XJ either bound up or too floppy. Plus, it was a pain to get out and keep disconnecting or reconnecting the sway bar. We finally ended up ditching the entire sway bar, leaving the Cherokee with more permanent lean than we wanted. The best solution for our sway bar woes was to go with Currie. The Antirock sway bar kit is avaliable for a number of 4x4s as a specific fit, but Currie also offers it as a universal sway bar kit for you to customize. After drilling a couple holes, the XJ/MJ (Cherokee/Comanche) Antirock kit should bolt right on. The rate of the sway bar can be adjusted by using the different holes in the sway bar arms. You can choose from aluminum or steel, and the arms are available in different lengths.
Unfortunately, our sway bar did not bolt right on; we had cut off the axle’s sway bar tabs when an axle truss went on this axle. The original sway bar was already gone, so we never bothered replacing the tabs. Ryan Kibbe of Kibbetech Motorsports lent a hand and TIG-welded some new sway bar tabs so we could use the Antirock sway bar. Ryan also ended up cutting the sway bar arms shorter (by one hole) since this Jeep’s front axle is pushed forward. The closer (on the arms) you put the sway bar links to the torsion bar, the stiffer the spring rate will be. For our purposes, our Cherokee works best with the sway bar links one or even two holes closer on the arms—very convenient since we had to cut off the end hole. With the Antirock sway bar installed, we had a compromise between a stock sway bar and no sway bar, in terms of body roll. While our setup did not allow the XJ to handle quite as well on the street (as with a stock sway bar), the added flexibility allowed for much improved off-road performance while keeping the sway bar connected. Maintenance Improves Handling: Perhaps you have a 4x4 that has more wander and play in it than it used to. Ball joints and suspension joints can wear out more quickly then you think, diminishing handling performance. We replaced or rebuilt all the joints on our long-arm suspension after finding a couple of worn sides. We also used Synergey heavy-duty ball joints in the front end in hopes of getting more miles out of them then stock ones. The difference after changing out those joints was greatly apparent, and we all realized that our Jeep was more out of alignment then we thought once everything was tight.
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