What are some handling modifications which will not make the car ride any worse?

Rear swaybar is an obvious one.
How about castor bushes?
Or adding a bit of camber at the front, as it seems these cars wear out the front outer edges maybe this is a good idea overall?
Strut brace?

I've joined lots of on-line and IRL discussion about modifications and often people spout out that the manufacturer spent lots of money on research and you can't possibly improve the <insert subject here>.
Because the manufacturer is trading off performance and comfort and costs., I always argue against that opinion.

Except for your topic where I agree that the manufacturer has already done most of this for you, with the only remaining option being selection of quality components at factory specification.

So, since your car is about 10 years old, new rubber bushes might remove some slop from the suspension if the old ones have sagged / distorted / compressed.
Good quality tyres will improve grip and IMO upgrading to 17" rims if you haven't already got them, will improve handling without much adverse impact on comfort.
High quality shock absorbers & new springs, possibly with a tiny bit of lowering to improve performance without sacrificing much comfort.
eg: Koni Red shocks and custom K-Mac progressive rate springs - get them made to factory specs but maybe 1" lower.
I used K-Mac springs & Konis in a car many years ago and was massively impressed. More recently I put Koni Reds into a 15 year old Toyota and it rejuvenated the car completely "drives like new" I said.

What car is this for anyway?

It's for a KJ2.
Car still has stock 16s, but I plan on getting some 380GT 17s once I find a decent pair.
Currently the car has 18s on it (helping someone out to pass a RWC and I have his rims) and though the ride is much worse I feel the cars does handle considerably better. Hopefully 17s will be the best of both worlds.

Not sure how I feel about the lowering. The idea was not to sacrifice any ride comfort.
Obviously new bushes/shocks would help, but are there any bushes that would help with handling but not affect ride?
I know Whiteline has raved on about those antilift castor bushes but not sure how they work on the 3rd gen.
Also the front camber pins, is this a good idea?

i have the front camber pins on my tj, you get a better wheel alignment with them, I also have kyb shocks and king lows, with a whiteline sway bar. ride is a little stiffer, but not drastically, im also running on 16s and the car is a dream to drive.

What is the stock front camber setting, and what do you have it now Ziek if you know?

Unfortunately your car will only handle as good as its weakest point. Bring the floaty suspension. You can spend thousands on custom swaybars and chassis support but it wil still be a boat on standard springs!

Car still has stock 16s, but I plan on getting some 380GT 17s once I find a decent pair.
Currently the car has 18s on it (helping someone out to pass a RWC and I have his rims) and though the ride is much worse I feel the cars does handle considerably better. Hopefully 17s will be the best of both worlds.
I would possibly give the 380GT rims a miss. They're 17x7". If you want maximum performance I would look at 17x8" rims instead with 235/45/17 tyres.


Not sure how I feel about the lowering. The idea was not to sacrifice any ride comfort. Obviously new bushes/shocks would help
Replacing your worn shocks with new ones will definitely help, but sports-orientated shocks could make the ride firmer.

Hayden is dead right though. Stock Magna springs are very soft. There are huge gains to be had in installing firmer springs.

Stock Magna springs are very soft. There are huge gains to be had in installing firmer springs.

But won't that make the ride worse? I think adding a rear sway bar is the best thing you could do to a stock car for improving handling.

I'm not chasing track car handling, just something that handles safely in the wet and good feel in the dry.
I think a swaybar, decent tires and good condition shocks/bushes will already give me what I want.
I am mostly interested in whether camber pins will help, and more importantly if using antilift kits would help as well?

I'm not chasing track car handling, just something that handles safely in the wet and good feel in the dry.
I think a swaybar, decent tires and good condition shocks/bushes will already give me what I want.
I am mostly interested in whether camber pins will help, and more importantly if using antilift kits would help as well?

Dont bother you wont really notice any difference with those at stock height

Is it the height or the spring rate?
I have considered the possibility of resetting the springs to about 1" lower so long as it doesn't cause issues

But won't that make the ride worse? I think adding a rear sway bar is the best thing you could do to a stock car for improving handling.
Of course lower/firmer springs will make the ride firmer. But if you are sensible with the springs you collect, the difference may not be noticeable. The lowered Dobinson springs I have in my 380 could pass as OEM, as they're firm but still very comfortable. Handles like it's on rails now too...

I wasn't blown away with the King Lows I had in my TJ, but if I was concentrating on handling rather than looks with a 3rd gen, I'd go for a set of King Low SP or Dobinson Lows.

Spetz maybe you should see if an AMC member will take you for a spin in their lowered car to see what you think of it?

What is the stock front camber setting, and what do you have it now Ziek if you know?

Sorry spetz for getting back to you so late, I got no idea what my camber is set at, im assuming factory. I could be wrong, the only reason I went camber pins was because I had the car lowered, I don't think there is much, if any camber adjustment in a magna stock.