Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Jeep steering and ride is sloppy after 35s

17K views 47 replies 16 participants last post by  ASE_MasterTech 
#1 ·
Sorry if this is a repeat thread. Still new to forums and still figuring out how they work.
I had a question and was hoping for some help. I have a JKUR with a 2.5 suspension lift And yesterday I just upgraded from stock tires and wheels to some 35s on an 18 inch rim. This morning for the first drive at a fairly high speed I noticed the steering was so loose and sloppy I almost pulled over and went back home to put on my stocks.

Not worried about road noise or feeling the road more but don't like having my jeep feel like it's about to fly off the road.

Never had this problem with my TJ with 35s.

Help?
 
#2 ·
What air pressure are you at? Also, how long ago did you lift it and did you do the lift or a shop? If pressure is good in tires, you may want to have tires re balanced and also check to make sure all steering components are at correct torque.
 
#4 ·
you probably need to adjust your toe in to the low end of the spec and like was mentioned tire pressure needs to be in the 28psi range. I bet your caster is low too.
 
#6 ·
There are a number of adjustments you're supposed to make when going over anything more than 2''. I've been looking at several options for additional height but so many requires additional upgrades to steering, track bars, etc. to make it run the right way, which I can't afford all at once!

What lift did you get?
 
#7 ·
I just did a 2.5" coil kit with 315's last week, and aside from the feeling of larger tires/contact patch on the road, the Jeep handles just like stock. I have not gotten an alignment.

The trick is to install some geo correction brackets or adjustable control arms...
 
#11 ·
Lower tire pressure does not increase longitudinal stability (light, sloppy, drifty steering). All it does is increase friction and therefore steering inertia. This is similar to adding more steering stabilizers to eliminate DW. On the contrary, lower air pressure decreases stability while turning because the sidewalls become more compliant.

If the JK alignment is setup properly it could be rolling on railroad wheels and it would track straight at higher speed. Due to the larger contact patch, larger tires can make a lifted vehicle feel more unstable because of the larger diameter and the more aggressive tread can tend to lock on faults in the road. The real issue is our old friend the Caster Angle.
 
#12 ·
Lower tire pressure does not increase longitudinal stability (light, sloppy, drifty steering). All it does is increase friction and therefore steering inertia. This is similar to adding more steering stabilizers to eliminate DW. On the contrary, lower air pressure decreases stability while turning because the sidewalls become more compliant.
I disagree. According to this ^ statement's logic, radial type tire design is inferior to bias ply.
The 'steering stabilizer/DW' comparison make no sense to me either.

If the JK alignment is setup properly it could be rolling on railroad wheels and it would track straight at higher speed. Due to the larger contact patch, larger tires can make a lifted vehicle feel more unstable because of the larger diameter and the more aggressive tread can tend to lock on faults in the road. The real issue is our old friend the Caster Angle.
The first sentence is simply not accurate at all.
The underlined portion refers to 'tire scrub radius' influence via tramlining, not caster.

Like I said earlier, without more vehicle info it is difficult to make specific recommendations.
 
#16 ·
'Block type' tire tread designs meant for cleaning mud out (ie-mud tires) do not channel water away efficiently (large tread blocking-no siping) & thus hydroplane quite nicely.

Make sure your front-end/steering components are tight, then do as I suggested earlier.
For $270 & 3hrs of your time at most, you won't be disappointed. The Steering Attenuator really helps manage that 'puddle grab'.

Nitto's are heavy/sidewall stiff/large block tires, lower the psi-trust me. You can always raise it if you think it didn't make a difference.
 
#18 ·
'Block type' tire tread designs meant for cleaning mud out (ie-mud tires) do not channel water away efficiently (large tread blocking-no siping) & thus hydroplane quite nicely. Make sure your front-end/steering components are tight, then do as I suggested earlier. For $270 & 3hrs of your time at most, you won't be disappointed. The Steering Attenuator really helps manage that 'puddle grab'. Nitto's are heavy/sidewall stiff/large block tires, lower the psi-trust me. You can always raise it if you think it didn't make a difference.

A little more info to update to help diagnose. I'm getting a slight DW between 40-50mph. No issues really after hitting 50. Just inside that parameter.
 
#17 ·
Steering damper, low tire air pressure, steering attenuator, damping, damping and more damping. Why not add some friction pads on the steering shaft or turn off the power steering? That is a cheap way to resolve a poorly configured steering system. The real issues lie in the Caster Angle, Toe and Scrub Radius not too mention suspension and steering system geometry.
 
#20 ·
Not trying to start a fight here, but can you make less sense, really?

The 'real issue' is with the live (ie-solid) axle, which by it's very design transmits double the trouble, both ways endlessly.
Every 'vibration-loose part-poor aftermarket decision' is amplified by a factor of 'squared'.. you can do the math.

Here's a reality check:
Wranglers are manufactured to perform off-road best/first combined with livable road manners, that's what most Wrangler buyers demand.
The more you up your off-road ability, the more you lose street-ability.
However, the more money you spend (ie-quality), the closer you can keep those two together.. but that only goes so far also..
 
#24 ·
Wow... I put a 2.5" spacer lift and 35's on my jeep and didn't have to do any of this shit.

I'm no expert but, you changed a lot of factors just by changing the wheels Offset and width. This is likely what you are feeling. Like some of the others have already said. The wider wheels track all the imperfections in the road. The wider track (offset)is also effecting this and changed the steering geometry a taste.

Did your lift kit come with longer sway bar connects? This can be a minor issue with handing also.
 
#25 ·
I got a pocket full of money that says your ball joints and tie rod ends are toast. The stock ones are crap. Mine were shot at 5K and it was about 1600 to replace them all with Moog. 2.5 AEV lift with 35's. 3 out of 4 of my ball joints has zero resistance. Once replaced the rig tracks and drives like it should.
 
#26 ·
UPDATE: had a local shop that specializes in jeeps take a look. It turns out that my hub assembly, drag link ends, and caster was shot. After some control arms, replacing drag links, and new hub assembly my death wobble is gone for now. The owner said it was definitely DW. Not the worst he had seen but was gonna get worse without a little work. Oh and he said my rubicon express adjustable trackbar was flexing at stand still with just a turn of the wheels. He pulled it and put on a factory for now. Apparently RE sent me one for a 3.5 lift and not a 2.5. Will return and get a shorter one. Thought it was a little long...either way. When's payday again?

Thanks to all for your input and help. Much appreciated.
 
#28 ·
I'm putting Money on the TB. My friend had the same issue with his Full traction TB flexing. Everything up front was replaced. He swapped the FT TB with a TF TB ... DW gone.
(That's funny ^^ FT .. TF) lol

In your case .. Yea, all those other issues did not help. A lot of different issues can contribute to DW .. But not the root cause.
 
#29 ·
Ok so I'm having another slide issue. I'm about to take a road trip so I put my stock 32s back on just to ease the road for the trip. Now I'm back to death wobble around 50 mph. After taking it to the shop they cured it for my 35s. Did I throw off the caster again by dropping it down to 32s again?
 
#45 ·
if they are undamaged, quality spacers properly installed and torqued you should be ok. If they are cheap spacers - who knows? Just went thru this with a buddy who left his clips on, had too much air, and needed to balance his tires - 3 different issues that caused a crazy vibration up front that had us starting with on the plan man DW checkList before I drove and realized it was not DW. We took the clips off, reinstalled and torqued the spacers, had Tires rebalanced and lowered the psi on Nitto terra grapplers to 28 psi and it drives great. Good luck.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top