Is Death Wobble more likely on a BB?

As I posted on a different thread, I was just about ready to buy a 2" BB for my 4 door JK but saw yet another DW story.

I really want to lift my JK but as a family adventure rig & DD, I don't want to deal with the whole DW thing at all.

Would a 2" spring & shock lift from OME be just as likely to DW?
I don't mind spending $600 for an OME kit if I know I won't have the DW. But, I'd rather spend 139-250 for a BB but a BB seems so uncertain.

I want a lift but not DW. It seems like BB are more likely. Correct? no? Yes?

 

Not sure about your question, but if you want a cheap lift. Rough Country has a 2.5" Suspension lift around $300.

 

I dont know... when i first got my 3" teraflex suspension lift i had death wobble one time scarred the crap out of me... but it was mainly because I hadnt gotten it aligned yet... now no issues.

 

no - it is more likey on a jeep that isn't maintained or was worked on by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.

no, this is NOT correct. you can have DW with any suspension setup including stock. 99% of all DW is caused by a problem related to your front track bar. most of the time, a slightly loose mounting bolt is the culprit but a worn out bushing or failing mount can allow DW to occur as well.

 

your front end not being aligned in and of itself will not cause DW. more than likely, you had a track bar mounting bolt that wasn't torqued to spec and the alignment shop caught it. a lack of caster can cause DW as well and if you have adjustable control arms, your alignment shop might have been able to add more positive caster and this would have helped as well.

 

No, in general BB's are not more likely. But IMO it seems that way because someone with little or no mechanical skills are more likely to install a BB then a fully adj lift. Usually DW occurs because of loose or broken suspension components and if you dont have much mechanical experience, you are more likely to be the cause of it. Ive seen alot of people install a lift and not torque the suspension bolts. "I used my 1/2" rachet and I tightened the hell outa it" Im 6'5 300lbs and I would have trouble tightenning a suspension bolt to 125lb ft with a 12" long rachet. Hell, even with a 24" torque wrench it can be tough to get enough leverage So that's why suspension bolts ALWAYS need to be properly torqued to spec and re-checked and few hundred miles after an install. The suspension componenets also need to be torqued with the weight of the jeep on the ground. If you dont, you will put a preload on the joint ends that could cause damage and eventually failure of the jont that could lead to death wobble. So IMHO death wobble isnt caused by the lift, its caused by the installer. The only thing you want to avoid using are axle mounted trackbar brackets that dont have any reinforcing. Then can cause too much leaverage to be applied to the factory mount, ripping it off and causing DW.

Honestly though, lifts are not hard to install if you have the tools and do the research so you do it properly.

So to sum up my opinions on DW:

TORQUE TORQUE TORQUE
- to proper factory specs
- with the weight of the jeep on the ground
- recheck after a new install after a few hundred miles
- recheck after wheeling (you should do this even with a stock jeep)

Dont use axle mounted trackbar relocation brackets that arent reinforced. (although I think most of the companies have re-designed thiers to address this issue )