Any stock Sport/Sahara owners having steering issues?

[LarryB]

I read through many of the countless posts on the JL steering issues. Repeatedly, I saw the words, “Rubicon,” “lifted,” “riding on 35s,” and “KO2s.”

Are any non-lifted Sport/Sahara owners on non-aggressive tires having the issues? Or am I the only one on here with that setup In the first place?

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[Black Jeep Convertible]

My stock sport s had it until I brought it in for steering tsb. New non aluminum steering box is now tight and true

 

[The Fixer]

I read through many of the countless posts on the JL steering issues. Repeatedly, I saw the words, “Rubicon,” “lifted,” “riding on 35s,” and “KO2s.”

Are any non-lifted Sport/Sahara owners on non-aggressive tires having the issues? Or am I the only one on here with that setup In the first place?

IMO, both of our '18's have not had any steering issues that I would complain about. My JL Sport has a little over 11K miles, about 5K of that on Rubicon takeoffs. My wife's JLU Sport S has 18K miles, completely stock. Both handle very nicely on the highway and local roads. We put 1200 miles on my wife's JLU a couple of years ago in one long road trip through the Northeast, and didn't have a single complaint about ride quality, bump steer, death wobble, or anything like that.

When I see people with their vehicle parked, then saw the wheel back and forth and complain about a "dead-spot" that's not really an accurate test. If I'm driving down a windy road and turn the wheel off center to the right or left, the Jeep will move. If people are actually able to move the wheel 2"-3" before there's a change in direction at speed, that's a serious problem. I haven't experienced that at all.

Wranglers have a wheel/tire combo hanging off each corner that (stock) weighs between 50-65 lbs., which is way heavier than your average car tire. Move to a 35" or 37" and it could be pushing 90-100lbs. There's a lot of power assist to overcome the weight of the wheels, which some people might perceive as making the steering feel "numb". OTOH, if you didn't have all that assist, customers would be complaining that the steering was too heavy, like they were driving an old farm truck with a manual steering box.

The other thing that owners may not realize is the gearing of these steering boxes, and how it equates to steering feel. A 2-door JL steering box takes 4 complete turns from lock-to-lock. a JLU is about 3.5 turns from lock-to-lock. Most sports cars are 3 full turns from lock-to-lock or less. If a new owner is used to driving something like that, you'll certainly notice the difference when you put some seat time in a Wrangler. Those same turns that used to require 90* of steering input in a sports car with a quick-ratio steering box now require much more in a Wrangler. The solid front/rear axles also have more of an issue with bump steer, especially compared to an IFS front end, but this JL is light-years better than my old XJ, which shares the same basic steering design.

Sorry for the long-winded response, hope it makes sense!

 

[LarryB]

IMO, both of our '18's have not had any steering issues that I would complain about. My JL Sport has a little over 11K miles, about 5K of that on Rubicon takeoffs. My wife's JLU Sport S has 18K miles, completely stock. Both handle very nicely on the highway and local roads. We put 1200 miles on my wife's JLU a couple of years ago in one long road trip through the Northeast, and didn't have a single complaint about ride quality, bump steer, death wobble, or anything like that.

When I see people with their vehicle parked, then saw the wheel back and forth and complain about a "dead-spot" that's not really an accurate test. If I'm driving down a windy road and turn the wheel off center to the right or left, the Jeep will move. If people are actually able to move the wheel 2"-3" before there's a change in direction at speed, that's a serious problem. I haven't experienced that at all.

Wranglers have a wheel/tire combo hanging off each corner that (stock) weighs between 50-65 lbs., which is way heavier than your average car tire. Move to a 35" or 37" and it could be pushing 90-100lbs. There's a lot of power assist to overcome the weight of the wheels, which some people might perceive as making the steering feel "numb". OTOH, if you didn't have all that assist, customers would be complaining that the steering was too heavy, like they were driving an old farm truck with a manual steering box.

The other thing that owners may not realize is the gearing of these steering boxes, and how it equates to steering feel. A 2-door JL steering box takes 4 complete turns from lock-to-lock. a JLU is about 3.5 turns from lock. Most sports cars are 3 full turns from lock-to-lock or less. If a new owner is used to driving something like that, you'll certainly notice the difference when you put some seat time in a Wrangler. Those same turns that used to require 90* of steering input in a sports car with a quick-ratio steering box now require much more in a Wrangler. The solid front/rear axles also have more of an issue with bump steer, especially compared to an IFS front end, but this JL is light-years better than my old XJ, which shares the same basic steering design.

Sorry for the long-winded response, hope it makes sense!

Thanks for your response. Coming from a sports sedan, I knew not to compare them equally. My steering has not had any wobbles or serious wandering.

I’m still getting used to a solid-axle vehicle, as this is my first Wrangler. I do know that the vast majority of JL owners are likely either content with what they have or have not had any issues, or else it would be bigger news.

 

[cram501]

Are any non-lifted Sport/Sahara owners on non-aggressive tires having the issues? Or am I the only one on here with that setup In the first place?

Stock MOAB/Sahara (See MOAB thread.. hilarious). Steering was fine for me below 60 mph. 60mph and above it started to wander and was terrifying with wind or passing large trucks. I had the TSB completed and it is much more stable 65mph+. It is still a shoebox on wheels but is much less erratic when traveling on the highway/freeway.

 

[SpeedKills]

Yes. The steering on our 2 door sport was terrible. It's mediocre after the TSB. Mediocre is a huge improvement! I also swapped to Rubicon LCAs which seemed to help. I added an upgraded track bar and track bar brace but I don't know that it helped.
After the TSB worked I swapped the springs and shocks to OEM Rubi 4-door springs with no negative impact.

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