Steering ?
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 200
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From: Fairborn, OH
Steering ?
Since I've lifted her I've noticed (espescially at highway speeds) every little touch on the steering wheel sends the Jeep heading in the direction. I feel like I'm all over the freakin' road. Anybody else have these issues? Fixes?
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Nov 2006
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How much lift? May want to check caster.
Q: What is Caster? How much do I need?
A: Caster is the angle upon which your front axle sits at in order to help keep your Jeep driving straight. Positive caster, which is what you want, will cause your axle to sit in a way that your pinion shaft will be dipping ever so slightly towards the ground. Too little or even negative caster angle can cause your Jeep to wander and feel 'flighty' or 'darty' as I've heard some people call it. From the factory, your JK will have +4.2° of caster and if you lift it and install larger tires, you will need to increase this amount to help compensate for the modifications. At 3"-4" of lift, I have found that +6°~8° of caster will do wonders to help improve the handling of your Jeep JK Wrangler.
A: Caster is the angle upon which your front axle sits at in order to help keep your Jeep driving straight. Positive caster, which is what you want, will cause your axle to sit in a way that your pinion shaft will be dipping ever so slightly towards the ground. Too little or even negative caster angle can cause your Jeep to wander and feel 'flighty' or 'darty' as I've heard some people call it. From the factory, your JK will have +4.2° of caster and if you lift it and install larger tires, you will need to increase this amount to help compensate for the modifications. At 3"-4" of lift, I have found that +6°~8° of caster will do wonders to help improve the handling of your Jeep JK Wrangler.
JK Jedi Master
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JK Freak
Joined: Dec 2006
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From: Cleveland, Ohio
You should check your toe... sounds like it might be toed out... if it is castor, get some alignment cams to help set it where you want it. but castor shouldn't cause touchy steering as much as toe, or so i would think. castor helps the wheel return to center mostly... either way, check out that link the the basic front end alignment and it should help you out a lot
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 200
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From: Fairborn, OH
I'm running a 3" FT Premium (fixed lower CAs, stock uppers). The wheel returns to center fine. I had an alignment done professionally after install and they said my toe was slightly off and my caster was as good as it was going to get (meaning it was off). They said caster will never be perfect because the Jeep is lifted. I have since had to align it myself do to having to reinstall teh adj. trac bar. Might take it in again.
JK Junkie
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,123
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From: Chattanooga, TN
I'm running a 3" FT Premium (fixed lower CAs, stock uppers). The wheel returns to center fine. I had an alignment done professionally after install and they said my toe was slightly off and my caster was as good as it was going to get (meaning it was off). They said caster will never be perfect because the Jeep is lifted. I have since had to align it myself do to having to reinstall teh adj. trac bar. Might take it in again.