Ahhhh, makes sense now. Dealer probably had like 42psi in the tires. They always over fill them. This makes the steering terrible. Night and day steering feel and feedback when you drop that down. Like whole new car difference.
Up or down from door sticker?
I like my stock 33s at 35-36 psi. Much better ride but probably lowers fuel economy a bit. imo well worth trade-off.
I can guess that your "ASE expert" set your caster within stock specifications. But that is a bad idea. The rest of your suspension angles have been modified. So stock specifications, which were pretty poor to begin with, are not going to be enough. You are likely running around 5.25° of caster and you should likely be at least at 6. But again, you modified your vehicle, but took it to the place who deals with stock vehicles. If you bought a new Mustang, then install a aftermarket turbo kit, do you expect the dealer to be able to tune your fuel map and blowoff? You should take it to a qualified tuner. Just like when you modify your suspension. If you don't know what you are doing, seek out the people who do. A 4x4 shop would likely have saved you money and aggravation.1. I specifically mentioned I did not experience the wobble with the stock 33" tires just to be clear that my Jeep did not have an issue from the factory (well, actually it did have an issue- because when we installed the lift we discovered my front left spring did not come from the factory with a spring isolator, so I purchased one from the dealer). I have two coworkers who have experienced wobble with perfectly stock Jeeps within a year of taking delivery. Wobble on a Jeep is not a rare occurrence (that means it's a problem).
2. I am perfectly aware that a 2" spacer lift changes the geometry of the suspension/steering. That's why I had an ASE Master Certified Tech (who is contracted by a local dealership to set up their Jeeps) go over my Jeep and install whatever he recommended (which was a set of adjustable lower control arms). He was able to set the caster just where he wanted it.
3. The wobble started about a week later. I took it to my dealer- who suggested an aftermarket steering stabilizer. Since that is a bandaid at best, I took it back to the mechanic, who went over my Jeep and said he could not find a cause for the wobble- but yes, a stabilizer might mask the problem. Installed a new stabilizer (and track bar), and the wobble is mostly gone.
Stop getting all butt-hurt... there is an issue (wobble) associated with a solid axle that is annoying at best and potentially dangerous. IFS setups have other issues, but usually not wobble. All told I have about $1,800 worth of Teraflex parts under my Jeep to resolve an issue primarily caused by a SOLID FRONT AXLE (and exacerbated by a 2" spacer lift). So dang straight I'm going to suggest Jeep look into creating a better setup.
Good information - first time jeep soon to be owner (4xe ordered in June). Coming from a Yukon denali a little worried about the steering. Test drove a lifted Rubi that wandered a lot. expecting the 4xe with weight distribution; 20in wheels; 275 wide tires to have decent manners though. Looked at the bronco, but the 4xe was a better vehicle for what we wanted, plus, owning a Jeep has been on my wife's bucket list. We are nearing retirement, so rock climbing prob not in our future, but like not staying on the roads. We have a really good Jeep performance shop in town with crazy builds so have good experts to lean on. Hoping for one finger steering - although my wife already wanders on the road quite a bit (enough that the kids in back are perfectly silent - frozen in fear!) Sooo could still be interesting.^^^^^ THIS!! Just my 2 cents since buying a 2019 JLU... I can say i bought mine used with a 2.5 RC lift and 35s. It would scare the shit out of you at 75+, it was horrible, and followed/pulled the wheel on every crown or slope in the pavement. After researching on here i bought LCAs (actually tried relocation brackets first) and I can say that with verified caster at 6+ (one setting was 7.3 and was solid as hell) all steering issues are gone. I have also added a 1.25 body lift and 37x13.50 (~30psi for proper wear and ride) on 20x10s and still One hand driving at 80mph and a 5hr highway trip was like driving any other vehicle (except for the heat buildup in the footwell that eventually required AC and not just the windows down, it was Hot that day). I have seen up to 100mph with zero steering drama. Fix your geometry. Stock specs is NOT "FIXED", It is horrible with a lift and big tires)
Now back to the Bronco bashing...my popcorn is getting cold...
Our 4xe had 46 psi on the fronts and 47 psi on the rear....like seriously, wtf.
Here's what IFS gets you on the Rubicon trail....Hey everyone, just wanted to leave some thoughts after spending some time in the new Bronco and post my driving impressions. I have owned many jeeps ranging from early models all the way to the JL model. I have had a JL rubicon and Rubicon 392. So, I feel like I can at least give some comparison between the two. I'll start off by saying for purposes of this review I am not going to compare it to the 392. It would not be fair the Bronco, but the only thing I will say is that if I ordered a launch edition four door bronco for $63k I would be really tempted to drop that reservation and spend the extra $10k for a 392. That's just my personal opinion after having owned a 392, but of course some people will disagree with that. With that being said I'll be comparing a JLU rubicon to a four door Bronco Badlands without sasquatch package.
The spec of the Bronco: this one was a badlands, it had the high package which give most of the comfort and technology options such as the larger screen, heated seats, leather seats, power seats, etc. This one had a soft top and not the hardtop. No sasquatch package. The engine option on the bronco was the 2.7 ecoboost.
The spec on my Rubicon JL is a 3.6 V6 Etorque with almost all the options offered from jeep. I've also had the 2.0 4cyl turbo Rubicon so I'll leave some thoughts on the comparison between that below.
If someone does not have time to read the whole thing my overall impression in short would be that they do not feel like they're in the same class of vehicles purely from driving on the street. They are completely different in the way they drive, and I think many people who enjoy a jeep actually won't switch to a bronco. If you have the time then please read the whole post because I go into a lot more detail on how I formed this opinion.
Exterior impressions: The Bronco is bigger. It definitely looks chunky because of how wide it is. Also was longer than the JL, but overall height seemed pretty similar. The overall height was almost the same, the bronco was maybe an inch taller in overall length. Chunky would be the one word I would use to describe its appearance. I might be in the minority because I know many people like the design, but I really was underwhelmed when I saw it in person. In pictures, I wasn't a big fan, but figured it might grow on me in person, but it's really just not my style. I prefer the look of a wrangler better, it just has more character and utilitarian look to it because of the fender and hood design on the wrangler. I also like the proportions better on the jeep. Of course this is all subjective because a lot of people will love the design of the bronco. With the design of the bronco the front end is pretty tall so if you stand directly in front of the bronco it seems a lot taller, but in reality the overall height is not that different. This one had a soft top, and one of the things it does is that the rear of the soft top will lift up/raise up a 6 inches or so and be propped up with a rod. I think it was pretty useless to be honest. you have to push a button on either side and then prop it up. So if you were carrying anything you couldn't raise it. You need both hands to raise it.
Interior impression: Certain areas are definitely better in the Bronco, such as having power seats. Not really a big thing having manually adjustable seats like in the wrangler, but to be honest it did feel nice being able to have power seats. It's a minor thing. The screen is big in the bronco, the touchscreen is pretty responsive I did not notice any lag when going through different screens. I only spent 10 minutes going through it so, not too much to add on it. But all the features are there that are in the wrangler. The front camera on the bronco coupled with the larger screen is pretty nice. Really clear view, but no lines on the screen like the wrangler has. The steering wheel felt smaller than the wrangler, which for some is good, but others might prefer a larger wheel. The wheel felt soft in hand. I did not like the button feel on the steering wheel. It did not have a real click/push feel to them. That goes for that buttons on the drive mode selector as well, it just felt like cheap made buttons. Would have imagined it have a better feel or at least a more utilitarian feel to them. The dash trim is plastic, and there is a lot of hard plastic surfaces around the cabin, especially on the door. The soft top quality was okay, I didn't get a chance to take it off so I'm not sure how easy that process is. The rear seat was actually not a spacious as I thought it would be. Having the driver seat adjusted to my comfort (I'm 6'3) I had no leg room in the rear, my knees were hitting the seat in front. However, I did have ample head room. The leather on the seats were soft, and the seat was larger feeling than in the rubicon which on long trips may be more comfortable. The dash is analog and digital. So the speed/mph is analog the rest is digital. No lag between the different modes on the digital dash screen, and the graphics were pretty cool. I was not a fan of the RPM gauge. It's part of the digital screen and is a bar that raises as the engine revs higher. I would rather have a normal design for the revs. In pictures I did not like the half analog and half digital, but in person it actually works okay. Overall, I wish the fit and finish was better, the interior quality just is not as good as I was hoping, and it just did not feel like a finished product, which I will go into more detail below.
Driving impression: The steering is very direct. There is not a loose steering feel like in the wrangler. It has a nice weight to it, and is very direct. This is probably because of the set up difference between the bronco and wrangler. If I was going on long drive across the country, then I would prefer the steering in the bronco. It felt very much like a SUV, and similar to the steering in a 4runner. When driving you definitely feel the difference in size. Bronco feels much bigger, but for me personally it was not comfortable. I actually like having the smaller feel on the road that the wrangler has. I suspect the bigger feel might also make it a little more difficult off road. Because of the hood design it's more difficult seeing over the hood compared to the wrangler. For example, on the wrangler you have a more commanding feel over the road because the driving position and the design of the front end, whereas in the Bronco it did not have that feel. Felt more similar to a regular SUV, it just didn't have that distinct off road/utilitarian feel. The suspension was very well sorted in the Bronco, it handled bumps very well and did not notice much body roll on corners. The engine had good torque at initial offset, but at the higher RPMS it seemed to fall flat. It was smooth though, and went through gears smoothly. However, it did not feel as powerful or quick as the number would lead me to expect. It fell pretty flat at the higher revs even compared to the 2.0 4 cyl in the wrangler. The bronco also did not sound very good, especially compared to the 3.6 in the wrangler. The rear window is really small, and there a lot of blind spots such as between the passenger and second row seating there is a large blind spot and in the rear the set up of the soft top and small windows creates a blind spot. The windshield is not as upright as in a wrangler, it's pretty racked back (doesn't fold down). The rearview mirror was vibrating while driving which really sucked. There were quite a bit of rattles and with only 150 miles on the vehicle there were error messages popping up, and right after I test drove it the sales guy was going to take it to service. Which makes me concerned for those who placed an order because being such a new product it might have many issues or might not really be fully ready for production with the amount of software and technology that it has.
Conclusion: The highlight of the Bronco is that the steering is better (more direct, does not feel like the vehicle wanders). I do not think the bronco rides better than a wrangler I think they are pretty comparable. The bronco feels more bulky/chunky, which some may like, however, I like the way I feel in the wrangler better. The wrangler isn't tiny, but the design and feel of being in it makes it feel narrow and more fun rather than having a wider bulkier vehicle. Jumping back into my wrangler JLUR I was left not impressed with the bronco despite the better steering. The fit and finish in the wrangler seems better, and the overall quality was just better. The feel of being in the wrangler is different than being in a bronco. The bronco has a lot of hype, so maybe I went in with expectations too high. The bottom line is that if you like a wrangler, and you like the character and feel that you get of driving and being in a wrangler you won't necessarily fall in love with the Bronco. The Bronco is more similar to a 4runner than it is to a wrangler. The wrangler and bronco are just really different, they don't feel like competitors, they feel very distinct from one another. The wrangler just has more character and is more enjoyable to me. The wrangler feels like a product that has been in production for a long time and has been tweaked over the years, which gives it a more production ready feel that the bronco just did not have. I really felt like the bronco was just not prime time ready the materials were not great, the design has some flaws, and there were some electrical issues on the test drive. The sales guy mentioned that if I placed in order it won't be here till 2023 which I think is a problem cause by 2023 I'm sure the wrangler will only get better and I personally would not want to wait 2 years for a vehicle. To be completely honest, even if the sales guy had one in stock and gave me top dollar on my wrangler I would not do the trade.
