H&R Spring Review

[WheelNut]

Time for an update on my H&R springs. My ride height is now at 20.25" in the front and 20.5" in the rear. So, there is certainly some settling that has taken place. The fact that the spring rates are stiffer than factory still bothers me and it is noticeable over any sort of rough terrain. On large compressions you can feel that the spring rate is bit higher than the damper rate and there is a very slight amount of bounciness to the ride. In off-road driving the performance is great and my skid plate is rarely hit now and the overall capability of the KJ is much higher, so I'm quite pleased. It should also be noted that my KJ is totally stock with no additional weight added by bumpers or additional equipment.

 

[uss2defiant]

Thank you for the update.
so in city DD isn't the greatest w/ H&R?

 

[WheelNut]

It's fine around town. The KJ didn't really ride that well to start with (solid rear axle can only do so much), so springs that feel 10% stiffer don't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. As far as I know the OME springs also achieve their mission of raising ride height by employing higher spring rates as well. I have never driven a KJ with OME springs though, so I can't make that comparison from experience. Our OP in this thread has stated the ride of the H&Rs is better than the OMEs though, so there is one example to back up that theory.
I would certainly prefer if these springs achieved their lift by being longer than factory with a Lbs/in rating similar to the oem springs. Changing the preload of the spring ala Bilstein 5100 would give a person the ability to raise their ride height without changing the ride feel of the vehicle.

 

[Erskine]

I really appreciate this review and discussion and as a result have ordered the components for this lift. Here in Great Britain we are really having a financial squeeze put on us this winter, this route may be a compromise but there is so much else I'm having to stock up on before massive price rises in October. Even with using top quality KYB shocks all round it's running me half the price of the preferred OME/Blitstein route and 2/3 the price of the EFS/EFS route. A 20" settled ride height will be enough to get me about the landscape I need to traverse. (I'm scraping along at 18" currently).
I won't be fitting it straight away, I just needed to purchase before things get silly. I am assuming that since the springs are pretty much the same height as standard units that I will not need to get hold of extended front bump stops for the front and hockey pucks for the back?
In the words of the great philosopher Mr M. Jagger:
"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you'll find
You get what you need"

 

[WheelNut]

Hi Erskine, I think us Canadians in this thread have been cursed with the same problem: OME springs cost a fortune outside of the USA.

If you aren't running oversized tires or extended length rear shocks you won't need to change anything in regards to your bump stops. I'm using 245/70R16 tires and I have not had any issues with contact betwixt the fenders and tires.

 

[Erskine]

Hi Erskine, I think us Canadians in this thread have been cursed with the same problem: OME springs cost a fortune outside of the USA.

If you aren't running oversized tires or extended length rear shocks you won't need to change anything in regards to your bump stops. I'm using 245/70R16 tires and I have not had any issues with contact betwixt the fenders and tires.

The 4 springs are £240 inc UPS courier from Germany with import tax paid, which is about $363 Canadian.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[lerry]

I'm intrested in this set up of h&r coils. what's up bud ?

 

[Erskine]

I'm intrested in this set up of h&r coils. what's up bud ?

What do you mean 'what's up'?
Can you translate that into English please?
Two great nations divided by a common language!

 

[tommudd]

It's fine around town. The KJ didn't really ride that well to start with (solid rear axle can only do so much), so springs that feel 10% stiffer don't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. As far as I know the OME springs also achieve their mission of raising ride height by employing higher spring rates as well. I have never driven a KJ with OME springs though, so I can't make that comparison from experience. Our OP in this thread has stated the ride of the H&Rs is better than the OMEs though, so there is one example to back up that theory.
I would certainly prefer if these springs achieved their lift by being longer than factory with a Lbs/in rating similar to the oem springs. Changing the preload of the spring ala Bilstein 5100 would give a person the ability to raise their ride height without changing the ride feel of the vehicle.

Using the 5100s with any type of stronger springs is ill advised
SITTING SOMEONE UP WITH A BAD PROBLEM

Anyone thinking or wanting to use the Bilstein 5100 adjustable front shocks , think again
If you do want to use them, not sure why but,.....
You should not install them any more than sitting at the 0 mark, that is it
Any higher and it will create a disaster , degrading the springs within a few months
It preloads the springs which is very bad much like cheap spacer lifts do
These shocks should of never been built in the first place
4600s are cheaper , are the same internally , and are built for the KJs/KKs to keep the same spring perch at stock distances
Jeepinjarhead and I have discussed this and just today I seen a discussion suggesting someone use them
Please do not , unless you want to spend the extra money , set them at 0 just to say you have them

 

[CheaperJeeper]

@WheelNut do you get any coil contact with the upper control arm on these H&R springs? I have a set sitting in the garage but I’m having second thoughts about installing them because I don’t want to open a can of worms with needing after market UCAs.

 

[tommudd]

@WheelNut do you get any coil contact with the upper control arm on these H&R springs? I have a set sitting in the garage but I’m having second thoughts about installing them because I don’t want to open a can of worms with needing after market UCAs.

As long as you stay below 3 inches you will have no issues with UCA/ coil contact
and with H&Rs not giving that much without extras you should be good

 

[Erskine]

All present and correct now. The courier company handling the shocks managed to lose them for ten days. I had a sense of humour failure.
They arrived today. I'm going to do the rears then take to the garage to have the fronts swapped and re-aligned week Wednesday. Will let y'all know the outcome.

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[Erskine]

So the new suspension went on yesterday. Both rears and fronts were uneventful, save that the lower rear shock bolts were fairly corroded tight. Split a socket in two and exploded a ratchet before applying a little heat and they undid like butter. I shall be seeing how good the lifetime guarantee is on the tool but will omit the length of scaffolding tube also involved.

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I then took it down to my garage for them to do the fronts, which was totally straight forward, everything came apart easily, the new coilovers were assembled using original shrouds and lower isolators.

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The tracking was reset, well the toe-in was. The camber was acceptable and the garage said that it would be needing new UCA's for the MOT and they would get it bang on then.

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And now the findings after a 100 miles on the motorway, A,B and C roads, farm tracks and fields:
It's sitting at bang on 20" both front and rear and the front drive shafts are parallel with the ground. The front cross member was 7" off the floor, now 9".
Driving, well, it's road manners were just fine before and have remained good, the ride is not harsher but feels more supple. High speed down the fast lane threw no worries, on undulating roads the ride was better. The big improvements came on farm tracks, dips and potholes no longer a nose dive and no longer need to drive at a crawl. In the fields it is a different beast altogether, I'm very pleased.

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In summary, I would say this is not so much a lift, as a return to how Dr Jeep intended before the nanny state of California got involved and wanted it lowered. As the honorable gentleman from Ohio conjects, 'will it last more than 40,000 miles?', who knows! Time and abuse will tell. It's not a great big lairy lift but it does look much better, come new tyre time I will decide whether to stick at 235 or go up to 245.
So that's 3 reviews now on the H&R +45mm set up.

 

[tommudd]

With only an inch of lift, ( from 19 new , stock height to 20 now ) 245 75 16s would be really tight in the wheelwells
I would go 245 70 16s is it
California had nothing to do with lowering it back in 02

 

[KJowner]

Encouraging review of the H&R setup, my Jeep needs a suspension refresh as well & this is way cheaper than the Ozzie/American imports, just found a Polish company that make poly bushes for sensible money too - Tedgum. I haven't ordered anything from them so can't speak for the quality yet but can't be worse than the Chinese ones on ebay!

 

[Erskine]

Encouraging review of the H&R setup, my Jeep needs a suspension refresh as well & this is way cheaper than the Ozzie/American imports, just found a Polish company that make poly bushes for sensible money too - Tedgum. I haven't ordered anything from them so can't speak for the quality yet but can't be worse than the Chinese ones on ebay!

I'm over 500 miles in on the upgrade and very happy with it. Every single one of my 'petrol head' mates have said it just looks right now.
The Polish make lots of off road up grades, it's kind of forgotten that the Poles are great engineers. My brother gets a lot of stuff for his Landcruiser from Poland.

 

[KJowner]

Good to hear!, I'm currently welding up my Jeep, the sills are shot to bits, the only outers I could find are from Poland so I assume they must have a few Jeeps there.

 

[Erskine]

I contacted H&R technical team regarding spring rates, below is the reply:
Thank you for your e-mail.
Presumed, the springs you have are marked with “29203”:

Single front spring

Weight: 4,4 kg

Spring rate: 91 N/mm

Single rear spring:

Weight: 4,1 kg

Spring rate: 36 N/mm

 

[KJowner]

Interesting, that puts them at 520lbs, higher rated that the OME springs!
Is it still driving nicely?

 

[Erskine]

Interesting, that puts them at 520lbs, higher rated that the OME springs!
Is it still driving nicely?

Yes, but with a caveat. The KYB rear shocks blew after 1,500 miles and I believe it was a manufacturing fault, I was refunded without any issues. I have put the old (original?) ones back on which are okish bearing in mind the passenger side one is on its way out. I ordered some Bilsteins B6's (stock length) which are being hand made to order at the factory in Germany and expecting them at the end of next week. The front KYB's seem to be fine with that spring rate.