.......Just trying to figure out my next big purchase for the next time the overtime starts rolling in and my bank account is overflowing. I tried to talk myself into buying a bolt on CO system, and I was close. Luckily I loss my stubborness, and just went with a decent spring/arm kit, to tie me over for a while.
I have to say that "turbineguy" is one of the few guys who had the guts to fight through all the lure of the shiny offroad jewelry known as coilovers and just go with a decent suspension for the right reasons. Good for you brother!
Since you are a newer member here, welcome to the forum! Now don't be offended, as I don't pull any punches when answering a question, I deal in facts, comedy and more facts. As Wayoflife stated earlier, in one way or another, the EVO bolt-on coilover is actually better than any other bolt-on suspension available for a JK. And the Double Throw Down, that is infinitely better than the bolt-on system. But as everyone else has asked; what's the intended use for the jeep? More than likely, living in Houston, TX. you don't need either system......unless your rig will visit our insane wheeling locations out here in the west a few times a year or you just want to go for the over-the-top "look at my jeep's suspension" effect which the DTD does every time. No matter what you decide the reason that you "need" bolt-on coilovers or the DTD, here are some other things to consider if you decide before your purchase:
1- Either system requires additional things to be done to the jeep, and much more so with the Double Throw Down. Things like maintenance will increase, the need for aftermarket drive shafts, removal of stock exhaust/addition of new re-routed aftermarket exhaust, cost of install and fabrication work. It's NEVER just buying shocks at the level of a system like the DTD front and EVO Lever Rear DTD (Which is the same system we race on in the Ultra 4 series/King of Hammers). Again, this is why Wayoflife speaks highly of the DTD, he uses the hell out of his the way it was intended. In fact, the only guy with more miles on the DTD than Wayoflife, is the inventor of it, Mel Wade.
2- If it's going to be a Parking lot Prowling Princess, or the Triple "P" rig, congrats! You will be admired, and hated, all at the same time. Take the time to at least learn every possible specification and capability of the system you just spent $12k on, so you seem like you have been off road. Being capable of regurgitating numbers and measurements and stuff can be quite impressive when stopped by someone asking a question about your vehicle as you are walking into Costco.
3- If the jeep IS for off road, what are your capabilities as a driver. Be brutally honest, leave the ego out of the equation. What have you run before, not just trails, but suspension as a benchmark? Would you even know that an EVO bolt-coilover or DTD is better than what you had before? Either of these systems provides your JEEP much more capability than you can ever imagine, I say again, your JEEP. Heck, a stock jeep gets most people into bad spots they never should have gone. If you plan on building up to the DTD, it will give the jeep the ability to go places that previously only tube buggies and race cars were venturing. My jeep is simply waiting for a better driver to come along, since I am definitely the jeep's limiting factor, and after 30 plus years of wheeling I am still learning new ways to get into deeper trouble
4- If you don't have access to this kind of terrain, a Double Throw Down is really kind of pointless. And for what it's worth, it is the bypass shocks piggybacked to the coilovers that make driving through this kind of terrain at 50, 60, 70 mph or above possible, not just having coilovers.
5- If you are going for the Triple "P" effect, and there is nothing wrong with that, study all forums and threads so people know you have been offroad and learned all the major wheeling spots and larger events by name, pick up a magazine subscription ("JP" if you want to be well rounded, "Crawl" if you want to sound hardcore, "Overland Journal" if you want to come across as a worldly and snobbish) Then just keep your rig clean and polished. Take lots of photos from different angles in different places and try to post a different shot every couple of weeks so you can let your forum friends know you "use" your rig often.
6- Lastly, just to prove that you don't need coilovers just watch any Wayalife film, especially the ones covering the JK Experience since many of the jeep's that attend have traditional coil spring suspensions.....although that is becoming less and less due to the availability of quality coilover set ups like what EVO mfg offers. In the photo below, this two door on 3-4" coil springs went everywhere my DTD rig went, in fact it recovered me after I rolled my jeep over when my rear coilovers "unloaded" while going down a waterfall. You don't need the best suspension to go to bad places, but having the best supension can get you to the bad places quicker and more comfortably.
