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Caster angle after lift. Still struggling with "floating"
Modified JK TechTech related bulletin board forum regarding subjects such as suspension, tires & wheels, steering, bumpers, skid plates, drive train, cages, on-board air and other useful modifications that will help improve the performance and protection of your Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X) on the trail.
PLEASE DO NOT START SHOW & TELL TYPE THREADS IN THIS FORUM
I'm starting to wonder if it'll save me money, and a migraine or two, in the long run to just trade this thing in for a jeep that's stock (like I was advised to do in the first place). Seems I just find more and more things that are janked.
Personally, I do not know that right now is the time to be buying a Jeep given how prices have skyrocketed... Perhaps things are cheaper in your neck of the woods!
Stock on my 2 door 2012 JK, my caster was 3.7 on both front wheels. I recently lifted the Jeep using 2.5 inch Terraflex springs - netting just over 3 inches almost everywhere - and installed some Rubi takeoffs with adjustable Core 4x4 Tier 4 lower front control arms with Johnny Joints at both ends. Using the adjustable control arms on their shortest setting I was able to achieve 4.2 degrees on the front left and 4.4 degrees on the front right. Steering feels PERFECT and no vibrations from the new driveshafts I installed that should be at around 1.7 degrees given a built in 6 degrees on the front axle and with an average of 4.3 degrees of caster eating into the pinion angle a little. I personally like a little heavier steering (i.e., more caster) versus more "flighty" steering (i.e., less caster).
Personally, I do not know that right now is the time to be buying a Jeep given how prices have skyrocketed... Perhaps things are cheaper in your neck of the woods!
Stock on my 2 door 2012 JK, my caster was 3.7 on both front wheels. I recently lifted the Jeep using 2.5 inch Terraflex springs - netting just over 3 inches almost everywhere - and installed some Rubi takeoffs with adjustable Core 4x4 Tier 4 lower front control arms with Johnny Joints at both ends. Using the adjustable control arms on their shortest setting I was able to achieve 4.2 degrees on the front left and 4.4 degrees on the front right. Steering feels PERFECT and no vibrations from the new driveshafts I installed that should be at around 1.7 degrees given a built in 6 degrees on the front axle and with an average of 4.3 degrees of caster eating into the pinion angle a little. I personally like a little heavier steering (i.e., more caster) versus more "flighty" steering (i.e., less caster).
Yeah I'm actually setting up an appointment with a legitimate 4x4 shop that's about 25 miles from me. Living out in PA I don't really have a lot of options. If I had a garage I would do all the work myself but my apartment complex kind of frowns upon people doing work on their cars in their parking lot lol. I also like a tighter steering as well coming from driving trucks my whole life.
JKs come stock with 4.7* of caster from the factory (Jeep TJs came with 7*). There is always a difference in caster from right to left- or so we're told- to account for road crown. They drive far better with more caster. JKs front ends are built with 6* of separation. Meaning, with 4* of caster you'll have 2* of pinion angle raised. We would frequently see rigs with 2* of caster with a 4" lift. Adjustable control arms allow you to dial in more caster but at the expense of pinion angle. These junk angles are why companies like Dynatrac add more caster to their JK housings. Instead of 6* of separation, they use 10*. This way you can have 5+* of pinion angle on a lifted rig and still have a MUCH better pinion angle. The steering difference is amazing! It tracks much better than a factory stock JK.
Though not aligned to your original question, what's up with your bump stops? Did you conduct the measurements necessary to "dial in" needed bump stop height?
I am running a 2.5" Terraflex lift with Fox Shocks at the appropriate length for this lift, 33" tires (for now), and stock fenders. The kit I received had the Terraflex bump stop extenders included, but these are made for: 1) a JK with 35" tires; 2) stock fenders; and 3) a Jeep with more weight than mine (i.e., that would allow the springs to return a true 2.5" of lift versus the just over 3" that I netted). Given these factors, I opted to measure clearance and shock length under full droop and full flex to see exactly how much bump stop I needed. I found that 2" in the front was MORE THAN enough; so I used two drilled hockey pucks. I have attached the pic of my setup - this was before I centered my axle again, so please ignore the misalignment in the photo!
Yeah so all of this work I had done by my local mechanic. The ONLY reason I went to this mechanic was because they claimed they do lift kits but they're a RC reseller. Which PROBABLY should've been a red flag. I'm out in Bucks County, Bensalem specifically. So my choice of local options for this type of work on a Jeep is almost non-existent. BUT I did find a garage out in Horsham, Busted Knuckle Garage. Which I will be taking my JK to on the 6th of July. After looking through their work and actually talking to the owner who mentioned they want to actually take a ride with me to get a feel for how it's driving, as well as mentioning a lot of what you all have asked, I'm feeling pretty confident I'm finally gonna get my JK un-roughcountried as well as fixed up and repaired properly. I'll update how things go.
06-15-2021, 10:59 AM
