[Los Federales]

Greetings all. Purchased my first Wrangler a month or so ago. Always been a GM guy; 2014 Silverado w/ 9" lift, 2008 Z71 Suburban w/ 7.5", Tahoes and Escalades dropped 5 inches, etc. Decided to go the Wrangler route due to my work moving me to a location where a Wrangler is ideal.

I am a big proponent of doing things right the first time, paying more up front than in the long run fixing cheap stuff, etc. Which brings me to where I am now. I am super bummed with the driveability of my TeraFlex 2.5 Budget Boost lift. This JK is a pavement princess, and always will be, so I wanted to get enough lift to fit 35s, and be decent while driving. I was considering much more complete and expensive kits, but after reading a giant 20+ page thread (can't remember if on here or elsewhere) about the 2.5 TF BB being the best complete starter kit to fit 35s, I pulled the trigger. Nearly every post on there said it was, bolt, 35s and ride. People were saying it drove like a dream with all stock parts and the kit, including the stock track bar and suspension components, and no other supporting mods were needed.

Kit is installed, and this thing is terrifying to drive at highway speeds. Even at 45-50, it floats all over the place. At highway speeds, I am gripping (not holding) the steering wheel. Forget about steering with you knee for a split second while you plug your phone charger cord in, it immediately starts to go off course if not firmly or death-gripping the wheel. This can't be normal and 'driving like a dream' like many stated, so I am looking for your help is getting this thing where it needs to be.

>2014 JKU, Sahara. 41K miles. One previous owner, never offroaded. Drove straight and true when 100% stock.
>TeraFlex 2.5" Budget Boost, with shock extenders.
>35x12.50x18 Toyo Trail Grappler M/T. My choice tire, run this on nearly every lifted vehicle I've done, which is 10+. Tires and Moto Metals balanced well.
>Installed by a professional tech, who has done many Wrangler and other vehicle lifts
>I lowered air pressure on the tires to give them some more flex over variations in the road, which helped marginally, but the issue is still there.
>All bolts are parts are installed and torqued correctly. No play in components on the ground or on a lift in the air.

Alignment was done on a very modern rack. Numbers are even and good, nearly everything in the green. Caster is in the red, but nearly identical on bot sides; 2.9 and 3.1. Doing additional research, it seems like caster can a factor in the JKs wandering and floating all over the road.

Any other suggestions gentlemen? Reason I started with the rant above about doing things right the first time, is I would have gladly bought a more expensive kit that has caster adjustment parts in it, a track bar if that is recommended, and whatever else if dozens of posts hadn't said the BB as good as or better than stock out the box. Any input on what I need to add to make this thing safe to drive is much appreciated!

 

[Los Federales]

Front specs post-alignment.

 

[BeyondYourFrontDoor]

"Caster is in the red"

Wranglers are extremely reactive to caster... a fairly easy fix for this would be AEV or Rancho geometry correction brackets, or adjustable lower control arms (or both if you want more options). There are also cam bolts that are a very cheap way to restore your numbers. Several kits use cam bolts.

As for the TF kit... they have lots of kit to target different users, and the budget kit is just that - it's meant to jump out at you for price, and a promise to run big tires. There are 1000's of people here that provide their feedback on gear that simply don't drive in the same manner as others. There are folks here that have never dealt with 'hood flutter' because they never drive on two-way highway with wind. Folks that like cheap kits might seldom drive over 60mph...

It's hard to say, but even stock the JK isn't known for stability... and it certainly is an easy one to screw up.

 

[Lee H]

Yup, easy to fix, just some more money. It’s called a budget boost for a reason, it’s cheap and does not have all the parts to get the suspension and steering geometry corrected. Also, as beyond stated, JKs have never been know for there stability at speed, even when stock. Lift, add larger tires, and change the geometry and you have what you have.

 

[MPitchford72]

Yeah, something isn't right. I have a Rancho 2" lift and it drives better than it did stock.

 

[Elknut]

What air pressure in the tires? Our JK & JKU are both all over the road when we get the tires rotated & the shop fills them with 40 psi

 

[phxchargerfan]

41k Miles? How old are the shocks? I have the 2.5 lift on mine and it drives fine.


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[BlueBabySound]

That caster is terrible, IMO add the Rancho control arm brackets for $150ish and call it good.

 

[Jeepster1228]

Installed teraflex 2.5 lift with 35" toyos rattled a bit at 75MPH installed rancho brackets smooth after that at 75+ get the brackets you won't be sorry.

 

[NDTransplant]

'nearly everything is in the green'......

That is unacceptable!!!

I am running a TeraFlex 2.5 as well (not the BudgetBoost) on stock Rubicon wheels/tires; it drives very nice on the highway.

 

[Los Federales]

Thanks all for the quick replies. If there's one thing that my Jeep buddies always talk about, it is the knowledge base and community of Wrangler owners. You guys have proven that knowledge in a matter of minutes.

What air pressure in the tires? Our JK & JKU are both all over the road when we get the tires rotated & the shop fills them with 40 psi

They were at about 37/38. I dropped them to around 32, TPMS shows 30 on the display. Was noticeably better, but not the core issue.

That caster is terrible, IMO add the Rancho control arm brackets for $150ish and call it good.

Installed teraflex 2.5 lift with 35" toyos rattled a bit at 75MPH installed rancho brackets smooth after that at 75+ get the brackets you won't be sorry.

Great, thanks. I'll see if any of the vendors on here sell them, so I can support one of them. Will update down the road when I receive and install.

41k Miles? How old are the shocks? I have the 2.5 lift on mine and it drives fine.


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Unknown, probably original. If the above recommended Rancho brackets don't fix it, I will look to replace shocks next.

 

[4fit]

Thanks all for the quick replies. If there's one thing that my Jeep buddies always talk about, it is the knowledge base and community of Wrangler owners. You guys have proven that knowledge in a matter of minutes.


They were at about 37/38. I dropped them to around 32, TPMS shows 30 on the display. Was noticeably better, but not the core issue.





Great, thanks. I'll see if any of the vendors on here sell them, so I can support one of them. Will update down the road when I receive and install.



Unknown, probably original. If the above recommended Rancho brackets don't fix it, I will look to replace shocks next.

Here's a link to the brackets. You can get a discount code my PMing the vendor here.
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...ncho-control-arm-geometry-correction-brackets

 

[Los Federales]

Thanks @4fit. Some others, such as Pressurized on other threads, are recommending replacement control arms for kits 3" or less, as opposed to correction brackets. Thoughts on that?

 

[Jeepster1228]

I considered going control arms all around but I'm staying at 3" and under if I was going 4" lift I would probably get control arms down the road.

 

[4fit]

Thanks @4fit. Some others, such as Pressurized on other threads, are recommending replacement control arms for kits 3" or less, as opposed to correction brackets. Thoughts on that?

If you were going to be taking it offroad, I would recommend control arms so you don't lose any ground clearance with the brackets. But since you stated that you will be strictly on pavement, then the loss of ground clearance with the geo brackets isn't a big deal. The brackets will also allow you to get the stock control arms back parallel to the ground where they are most effecient, giving you the best ride.

 

[AirForceAngler]

I run the TeraFlex Alpine adjustable lower control arms. Very easy to work with and install. Made a world of difference in handling and control!

 

[Flimsychicken3]

I’m trying to sell the Rubicon Express geo brackets I had with my 2” Mopar lift. See my thread if you’re interested. They really do make a ton of difference. The Jeep was pretty wild before I put them on.

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Don’t forget Metalcloak sells some really nice Geo. Correction brackets and nice lower control arms

 

[d2mini]

Your problem is fixed with the $150 geo correction brackets. Nothing else needed.

 

[rednroll]

I'm not familiar enough with this lift, and your caster is definitely not in the optimal range. However, I think there may be something else going on here besides needing caster correction.

The reason I say that is because I have the Mopar 2in lift and also installed adjustable front lower control arms where I originally set them too short and my caster numbers were very close to yours, actually worse than yours, but my experience was nowhere close to yours. The only thing I noticed is that it road rough over bumps.

Here were my caster numbers and I drove like this for a year with no problems on 35s.

I feel you may have some problems with the stock front track bar and running the 35in tires. Running 35's with the stock track bar is definitely not recommended. I'ld be highly surprised if correcting just the caster fixes all your problems. You could benefit from a HD track bar, as well as some steering upgrades such as a HD tie-rod and HD drag link.

I would start by inspecting the lift install by checking to make sure your springs are properly seated, and that your front and rear track bar bolts are properly torqued. Then if those things are ok, then the next obvious thing to address would be the caster by adding some geo brackets. If that doesn't fix it, then you're onto front HD Track bar and steering component upgrades