DO I NEED A STEERING STABILIZER?

[Roky]

@Roky

On the contrary. I was asking because I might go to a larger/wider tire in the future.

This brings me to my 2nd question. When running larger/wider tires on a stock jeep, do they contribute to wearing out parts & components?

Ok, for the record, that was John that was doing the ribbing… …… As for your question, yes running larger tires can contribute to wear but it’s not something that happens overnight….. It really depends on how you use your rig, naturally wheeling it often will quicken the process, where mall crawling and Starbucks meetups will take longer….

I chose, a very long time ago, to always be preemptive with my jeeps…Knowing I’ll be using my jeeps as intended, I always ditch the factory parts sooner rather than later…..as long as you stay out in front of it, you’ll never have any problems…. Case in point , I’ve never had DW in any of my jeeps …..I’ve experienced it in other rigs, and I’ve fixed more than I can remember….but I’ve never neglected my steering components to the point of failure…..

Not that I would, but if I was to go buy a brand new jeep , I would bring an aftermarket track bar and adjustable lcas with me and change them in the dealer parking lot before I drove off…. Oh wait, and a real grille

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[jeepingib]

I've got it now. The axles are basically shake weights.

That's actually a decent diagram for what is happening during death wobble.

 

[AnnDee4444]

That's actually a decent diagram for what is happening during death wobble.

I only halfway did it for the shake weight jokes.

But yeah... the axle is the handle, and the tires are the weights. Steering only gets involved because the caster is not zero*, and the weights/tires force the linkage back & forth. This is where the stabilizer comes in. Any worn/loose parts just allow a greater difference between the tie-rod & axle, eventually overwhelming the stabilizer.


*Actually even if the caster was zero, there's still the pneumatic trail.

 

[Flip]

Ok, for the record, that was John that was doing the ribbing… …… As for your question, yes running larger tires can contribute to wear but it’s not something that happens overnight….. It really depends on how you use your rig, naturally wheeling it often will quicken the process, where mall crawling and Starbucks meetups will take longer….

I chose, a very long time ago, to always be preemptive with my jeeps…Knowing I’ll be using my jeeps as intended, I always ditch the factory parts sooner rather than later…..as long as you stay out in front of it, you’ll never have any problems…. Case in point , I’ve never had DW in any of my jeeps …..I’ve experienced it in other rigs, and I’ve fixed more than I can remember….but I’ve never neglected my steering components to the point of failure…..It helps that I work on jeeps all the time though…

Not that I would, but if I was to go buy a brand new jeep , I would bring an aftermarket track bar and adjustable lcas with me and change them in the dealer parking lot before I drove off…. Oh wait, and a real grille

Light off road trails, if I switch to 285/75r17 on my stock Sport what would you recommend to change out immediately?

 

[Roky]

Light off road trails, if I switch to 285/75r17 on my stock Sport what would you recommend to change out immediately?

What tires do you have on now? Shoot me a DM if you want….

 

[jadmt]

totally anecdotal plus I have a tight front end still but on my 2024 with 11,500 miles fair amount of offroading AEV suspension with steersmarts hd track bar but stock TR and DL, 35" MT's at ~30psi there is 0 difference in steering difference on pot holed tar snaked two lane 55 mph speed limit road between stock ss, AEV ss and no ss....on this road there is an old RR crossing that that has been removed and filled in it crosses diagonal as has pretty good humps where the track used to be. all 3 the same ie non issues..

 

[THAW]

The Sahara is the worst (46%) despite having a lower profile than the Sport (255/70R18). With only 0.6" taller diameter, I have no idea why...

Tire sidewall is a damper; the lower the sidewall profile, the less damping done by the tires.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

If DW can’t get started then it can’t happen… The SS is designed to reduce steering wheel vibrations. If you have worn bushings, or loose connections DW will still happen with or without it…. Being that OP got DW without SS on warrants a check of the steering linkages, starting with the track bar… If he puts the SS back on and the same spot doesn’t cause DW that means parts aren’t worn or loose enough to fight past the stabilizer but rest assured, it’s coming…..

I need a new tie rod, drag link, and track bar.. but I've been knowing that.

 

[AnnDee4444]

Tire sidewall is a damper; the lower the sidewall profile, the less damping done by the tires.

I guess so... I found this which shows the tire dampening changes with speed. I assume this is only studied in vertical directions and not horizontal.

Tyre damping tests at different rolling speeds have shown that damping decreases at an increasing speed. At increasing speeds, the effect that lowers the flexing resistance is superimposed by an opposite effect: the deflection of the tyre rolling under load in the contact patch causes the tyre circumference to vibrate beyond the contact patch as a result of forces of inertia that increase with speed. The damping of this vibration produces heat which results in an increased flexing resistance.​

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I need a new tie rod, drag link, and track bar.. but I've been knowing that.

I remember "someone" telling you to get all that at the same time as you do a lift and 37s.....

 

[Deleted User 38384]

I remember "someone" telling you to get all that at the same time as you do a lift and 37s.....

Unfortunately not everyone has $2,000 sitting around to go into the Jeep all at once.

I bought my coils one month for 400 bucks total, and then my shocks the next month for another 400 bucks total. So even just that I had to spread it out over 2 months.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Unfortunately not everyone has $2,000 sitting around to go into the Jeep all at once.

I bought my coils one month for 400 bucks total, and then my shocks the next month for another 400 bucks total. So even just that I had to spread it out over 2 months.

Did you even try looking under the couch?

 

[Ratbert]

I remember "someone" telling you to get all that at the same time as you do a lift and 37s.....

And yet many of us have been successfully crawling rocks for years without investing in those changes.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

And yet many of us have been successfully crawling rocks for years without investing in those changes.

You know that I don't trust people who went 43 over a 63s....

 

[mcaltitude]

I’m still not sure whether or not I need a steering stabilizer. I was thinking about upgrading from factory. Now I’m debating just hacking it off to save weight. Whether I shed weight in the kitchen or garage it all counts amirite?

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