My 92 Tracker is very rough when going over bumps in the roads.  So was my 90 and the 1 year old 02 I briefly owned.   I'd attribute it to the age of the vehicles were it not for the nearly new one that was the same.  I've read similar complaints for other about this issue.  Is this just the nature of the beast or is there a fix for it?  I have driven a couple of Wranglers recently and did not find them to be nearly as harsh.  

I have a 94 and did a 1.5" lift with OME parts.  When I pulled the shocks they were toast, the struts were not much better.  You would not believe how nice the ride is after the work.

I've never been in a Wrangler that rode even nearly as nice as my mostly stock '96 Tracker, and the '03 (so, '99+) trumps that by a longshot.  So....seriously??

Gotta be somthing amiss with yours.

I don't think it's a specific issue with my Tracker because EVERY 2 door Tracker I've driven has been like this.  I wonder if the light weight is just not enough to give a smooth ride.  The Wrangler's I've driven have been TJ's, not YJ's.  The 04 I drove this weekend rode very nicely for a short wheelbase truck.

 My car died last week so I'm at a point where I need to decide if I want a Tracker to be my daily driver for the winter or buy something else.  I love my Trackers as toys, just not sure about daily driving one due to comfort issues.

The stock TJ's I've been in do ride smoother on road than the 1st gen Trackers I have owned. But, they get MUCH worse gas mileage and are about dependable as a piece of generic toilet paper under water. A couple of things can really help out the ride on your tracker.

1- OME struts up front (expensive but worth every penny)
2- make sure your shocks are in good shape
3- most importantly... be sure you are NOT running the recommended max tire pressure as listed on the tire (if stock you need to run the pressure recommended in the owners manual. The overinflation makes these little rigs ride like hell.

HTH,
Zig

My 97 4-door Is an amazingly smooth ride on the road... not so much offroad,  but i'm used to a full size 08 ram, which is like driving a cloud. With satellite radio.

3- most importantly... be sure you are NOT running the recommended max tire pressure as listed on the tire (if stock you need to run the pressure recommended in the owners manual. The overinflation makes these little rigs ride like hell.



I totally agree with this statement, I have had 3 Trackers (1st Generation) and usually run around 24 -25 PSI in my tires and found a significant increase in ride qualite.

On a side note, I have owner a 99 (new style) and found it much more smoother. 


by the way, all my Trackers were 2 door except the one I have now, a 97 4 door! 

The stock TJ's I've been in do ride smoother on road than the 1st gen Trackers I have owned. But, they get MUCH worse gas mileage and are about dependable as a piece of generic toilet paper under water. A couple of things can really help out the ride on your tracker.

1- OME struts up front (expensive but worth every penny)
2- make sure your shocks are in good shape
3- most importantly... be sure you are NOT running the recommended max tire pressure as listed on the tire (if stock you need to run the pressure recommended in the owners manual. The overinflation makes these little rigs ride like hell.

HTH,
Zig

X2

Here is what someone on another forum had to say.  He has a built X-90 and is quite knowledgeable about Zuks'.

I speculate that the problem with the Tracker/Sidekick platform is the strut front suspension. My belief is the struts bind with side load resulting in harsh crashing over bumps no matter what you do with shock rates. New struts seem to help but are short lived.

Here is what someone on another forum had to say.  He has a built X-90 and is quite knowledgeable about Zuks'.

Quote

I speculate that the problem with the Tracker/Sidekick platform is the strut front suspension. My belief is the struts bind with side load resulting in harsh crashing over bumps no matter what you do with shock rates. New struts seem to help but are short lived.

I'm not buying it.

Maybe mine is rougher than whatever, but I've been drivin' it for so long it feels fine to me. It least it doesn't rattle or squeak!

Switch over to Bilstein stucks/struts front and rear.  They made a huge difference when hitting the bumps at speed.  Worth the money and I would be shocked if I could do any damage to them from over-heating.

They are a bit stiff in the front end when hitting bumps when driving slowly but I think that is due to the Grand Vit springs I am running up front being a little stiffer then the Bilsteins were designed for.  With a stock suspension or running softer springs they would probably be just about perfect.

Depending on the size and spacing of the bumps though there is nothing you can do.  Some roads are just anti-short wheelbase once they start the vehicle pitching.

I'm scratching my head here.

I've had a:

91 4-door
92 4-door
2 95 4-doors
95 2-door
97 4-door Sport
99 GV

And they've all ridden like a dream over bumps - I don't even slow down for them.

AND - I run 23 PSI in the tires, as recommended, at all times (except when wheeling the Gnewt hard, then I go down as low as 8 psi depending on conditions).

I live in the mountains of Colorado, and my Kicks all ride best at 23 psi.  Take 'em up to 35, and they get just plain squirrely when cornering hard.

I have found that if it has replacement rear shocks they are typically way to stiff for a kick. I had a similar problem and swapped out to el cheapo new shocks and the ride got WAY better. also as most have said the OME front struts make an amazing difference.