Scary wheel tracking

UpsideUp

UpsideUp

Member
Was driving my '12 JKSU on the highway the other day following a newly installed 4.5" lift and 35x12.5 tires I noticed a drastic increase in road rut tracking. I have the lift tightened to spec and double checked this, had it professionally aligned with no problems found, and all tire pressures are correct.
I understand there will be more tracking of cracks just because of the bigger wheels but in this case at about 75mph I had several scary incidents of feeling like I was getting sucked into a guard rail or a vehicle next to me! There was even one case where a series of cracks had me pulling back and forth so rapidly that it made a death wobble seem like a massage chair in comparison!!
Now...adrenaline rush aside...is there anything I can do to "tune" this to make it less susceptible to these events? I figure race trucks have mastered preventing this type of issue otherwise they would be sucked off trail every rut they hit.
Anybody have any suggestions?
I'm not sure what bump steer is and is this a symptom?
I have a new steering stabilizer. Is this not working correctly?
:dont_know:
 
Rebel JK

Rebel JK

New member
First thing id check is tire pressure. I run my 37"s at 29psi. Pressure makes a huge difference. Post up if it helps.
 
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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Well, bigger wider tires will track more but, it shouldn't to the point where it's scary. What lift kit did you install? Sounds like you might not have enough positive caster. If your lift came with adjustable front lower control arms, you could adjust it by a degree to see if that helps.
 
10frank9

10frank9

Web Wheeler
Rebel JK said:
First thing id check is tire pressure. I run my 37"s at 29psi. Pressure makes a huge difference. Post up if it helps.
Click to expand...

What he said, check your tire PSI. You should be running 28-32 PSI for a comfortable ride. Also when were your wheels last balanced? Are your ball joints new or on their last leg?
 
R

rtguy1

New member
wayalife has you on the right track. "darting" all over the road is usually due to lack of caster.:thumb: i can run my tires at 40psi and I dont dart around...just gets harsh.
 
UpsideUp

UpsideUp

Member
I know I'm going to get crap for it but I went with AEV.:eek: I thought the relocation brackets were adjusted for such things? My wheels were just put on by Americas Tire and judging by how much lead they added to the wheels I would hope they are balanced correctly. Who knows though? And I will check the pressure...I have it set to what AT filled them at so maybe I can try a bit of deflate and run them around 28 psi or so and see if that helps.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
UpsideUp said:
I know I'm going to get crap for it but I went with AEV.:eek: I thought the relocation brackets were adjusted for such things? My wheels were just put on by Americas Tire and judging by how much lead they added to the wheels I would hope they are balanced correctly. Who knows though? And I will check the pressure...I have it set to what AT filled them at so maybe I can try a bit of deflate and run them around 28 psi or so and see if that helps.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

Being that you got your tires from AT, they are probably way overfilled. Lower your PSI and that should help. If that doesn't help, you won't be able to do much more being that you have no adjustable control arms.
 
mkjeep

mkjeep

Junkyard Dog
UpsideUp said:
I know I'm going to get crap for it but I went with AEV.:eek: I thought the relocation brackets were adjusted for such things? My wheels were just put on by Americas Tire and judging by how much lead they added to the wheels I would hope they are balanced correctly. Who knows though? And I will check the pressure...I have it set to what AT filled them at so maybe I can try a bit of deflate and run them around 28 psi or so and see if that helps.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

Does it have the drop brackets for castor adj? If so, its possible they set them for 2.5in of lift instead of 4. If you did your alinement and have or can get the print out , post it up. I'm curious to your actual castor numbers.
 
C

CerOf

Member
No crap for AEV from most here. Perhaps general ribbing, but all in good fun. I run the AEV 3.5 with the flip kit. Yours should also have it. I have none of the issues you speak of.

I'd wager good money that whoever installed the lift used the wrong alignment holes on the drop brackets, like mentioned above. You have option for the 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5".

I run my 'E-rated' tires 29 cold, seems to work well for my 33x12

Wider tires will follow grooves MUCH more than skinny tires. Be more carefully hitting water on the side of the road. It will pull you much harder than the stock.


Sent from a a few tin cans and some string.
 
UpsideUp

UpsideUp

Member
Hey all...just an update...great thing is I think all of you are the right track. Tire pressure was set at 40 psi so I deflated to 30 psi and I'm hoping that will make an immediate difference. My lift is set at the correct height in the geometry correcting bracket to the bottom hole which..per AEV is the proper hole for the 4.5" lift....but after reading the directions foe the lift again it mentions measuring the lower spring rest to the frame. If that distance is greater than 9 inches than adjustable control arms might be needed to properly adjust castor. I'm currently running about 9 1/4" so I think that is adding to my issue as well. Seems some adjustables are in my future. Any suggestions on a great affordable set of control arms? And should I do upper and lowers at the same time or can I get away with either first?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Rock Krawler makes a really beefy arm, also i hear EVO's front lower ares are really beefy as well.

you would need front lowers at least. next would be rear uppers.
 
Rebel JK

Rebel JK

New member
You may want to check your castor as well using writeup. If you have a protracter around the garage it will only take a few minutes to see where your at then go from there. 40 psi is a shitload man. If im even at 35 psi on mine its pretty squirrely.
 

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