JimL
Well-Known Member
Interesting how much variation there seems to be, but not so surprising to me. My JLUR was pretty irritating in the beginning, but is working better now. All I did was wait for initial component break in AND the tires to start breaking in, dropped the tire pressure a couple pounds....and it definitely got better by itself. I really felt the change as it got toward 2000 miles on the rig, and after I spent more time driving on winding roads in the mountains.
Notes from my experience (45 years in the industry):
- many vehicles are not very stable on the tires when they are brand new. Anyone who has lived in SoCal with grooved concrete freeways knows exactly what I mean. Small, light cars (stuff like Sentra, Kia, Yaris, etc.) are strange until the tires get about 1000 miles or better, on them. Sometimes it was hard to stay in your lane because the sharp corners in the tread are pretty weak and let the tire move around.
- EPS (electric hydraulic power steering) is not quite as linear feeling as straight hydraulic power steering assist, at times. I remember when the electro-hydraulic system showed up in the MR2 (2nd gen). They were a little odd until everything got broken in. Conventional power steering has "available pump pressure" in proportion to engine RPM, but electronic types are not as linear. There has to be residual pressure level maintained BUT this type system must not get into a "constant run" mode or other long term problems can occur.
- Dropping the tire pressure a few pounds can significantly improve the EPS feel and response. Here again, it is the difference in assist input measurement. If it feels like it is lagging your steering inputs, that could mean it is not adding power assist as easily as you might need for your road, speed, conditions, etc. You can test drive with tire pressures dropped about 5 psi, just to see for yourself if this is just a "settling in" issue.
- Never underestimate how much affect the "tightness" in new tie-rod ends, pivots, steering box, column shaft bearings....can affect your ability to easily maintain good control feel. If you don't believe this, just overtighten the steering head bearings on your bicycle and try going for a ride. Try not to fall off!
- My "straight axle" Winnebago (on the Ford F53 Fed-Ex chassis) was a lot more work to drive until things broke in. I dramatically improved it by switching to Sumitomo SteelTransport tires (track nice and straight, but ride a little rough). It felt a lot like this Jeep steering, when it was newer.
There is nothing strange or particularly new with our steering systems, so I really don't suspect there is some singular component problem. Broken stuff doesn't get better by itself, and I am seeing slight improvement as time goes on, but it was pretty ugly in the beginning. I used to be responsible for working with various "car magazine" folks and they have long noted the changes that occur in "long term testing" or cars from press pool that have enough miles on them to work well.
JimL
Notes from my experience (45 years in the industry):
- many vehicles are not very stable on the tires when they are brand new. Anyone who has lived in SoCal with grooved concrete freeways knows exactly what I mean. Small, light cars (stuff like Sentra, Kia, Yaris, etc.) are strange until the tires get about 1000 miles or better, on them. Sometimes it was hard to stay in your lane because the sharp corners in the tread are pretty weak and let the tire move around.
- EPS (electric hydraulic power steering) is not quite as linear feeling as straight hydraulic power steering assist, at times. I remember when the electro-hydraulic system showed up in the MR2 (2nd gen). They were a little odd until everything got broken in. Conventional power steering has "available pump pressure" in proportion to engine RPM, but electronic types are not as linear. There has to be residual pressure level maintained BUT this type system must not get into a "constant run" mode or other long term problems can occur.
- Dropping the tire pressure a few pounds can significantly improve the EPS feel and response. Here again, it is the difference in assist input measurement. If it feels like it is lagging your steering inputs, that could mean it is not adding power assist as easily as you might need for your road, speed, conditions, etc. You can test drive with tire pressures dropped about 5 psi, just to see for yourself if this is just a "settling in" issue.
- Never underestimate how much affect the "tightness" in new tie-rod ends, pivots, steering box, column shaft bearings....can affect your ability to easily maintain good control feel. If you don't believe this, just overtighten the steering head bearings on your bicycle and try going for a ride. Try not to fall off!
- My "straight axle" Winnebago (on the Ford F53 Fed-Ex chassis) was a lot more work to drive until things broke in. I dramatically improved it by switching to Sumitomo SteelTransport tires (track nice and straight, but ride a little rough). It felt a lot like this Jeep steering, when it was newer.
There is nothing strange or particularly new with our steering systems, so I really don't suspect there is some singular component problem. Broken stuff doesn't get better by itself, and I am seeing slight improvement as time goes on, but it was pretty ugly in the beginning. I used to be responsible for working with various "car magazine" folks and they have long noted the changes that occur in "long term testing" or cars from press pool that have enough miles on them to work well.
JimL
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