MetalCloak 2.5" Game-Changer On-Road Handling

[ckuptz]

I have owned a 2020 JLU Rubicon with the 3.6L engine for the past 23 months. After about 9 months and about 11,000 miles, I changed from the stock 285/70/R17 BFG K02s to 315/70/R17 BFG KO2s which I have put another 15,000 miles on. I kept the factory stock wheels. Other than having slightly slower acceleration, I didn’t notice any difference in the on-road performance and handling which I were completely happy with. The tires are inflated to about 35 PSI cold.

Yesterday, I picked up the Jeep after having a MetalCloak 2.5” Game-Changer lift with RockSport shocks, DuroSpring bump stops, and an Adams front driveshaft installed. The factory stock wheels are still being used. The lift raised the height of the Jeep about 4.25 inches. Because it conflicted with the stock muffler, the rear sway bar was removed. The installation shop performed an alignment after the lift was installed.

Everything that I had read about the MetalCloak lift was that the on-road and off-road performance was as good or better than stock. I haven’t taken it off-road yet but have driven it on-road about 150 miles. At speeds below about 45 MPH, the Jeep handles like it did when it was stock except that the shocks are firmer. Between 45 and 65 MPH, the steering starts feeling a bit loose. Above 65 MPH, the Jeep feels like it is being buffeted by winds even though there aren’t any and the steering feels even looser. Something as simple as changing lanes feels sloppy. Is this type of handling typical after lifting the Jeep? If not, any suggestions on what the cause might be? If it is typical, any suggestions on what I can do to make the Jeep handle on-road like it did when the suspension was stock?

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[morlan52]

I have owned a 2020 JLU Rubicon with the 3.6L engine for the past 23 months. After about 9 months and about 11,000 miles, I changed from the stock 285/70/R17 BFG K02s to 315/70/R17 BFG KO2s which I have put another 15,000 miles on. I kept the factory stock wheels. Other than having slightly slower acceleration, I didn’t notice any difference in the on-road performance and handling which I were completely happy with. The tires are inflated to about 35 PSI cold.

Yesterday, I picked up the Jeep after having a MetalCloak 2.5” Game-Changer lift with RockSport shocks, DuroSpring bump stops, and an Adams front driveshaft installed. The factory stock wheels are still being used. The lift raised the height of the Jeep about 4.25 inches. Because it conflicted with the stock muffler, the rear sway bar was removed. The installation shop performed an alignment after the lift was installed.

Everything that I had read about the MetalCloak lift was that the on-road and off-road performance was as good or better than stock. I haven’t taken it off-road yet but have driven it on-road about 150 miles. At speeds below about 45 MPH, the Jeep handles like it did when it was stock except that the shocks are firmer. Between 45 and 65 MPH, the steering starts feeling a bit loose. Above 65 MPH, the Jeep feels like it is being buffeted by winds even though there aren’t any and the steering feels even looser. Something as simple as changing lanes feels sloppy. Is this type of handling typical after lifting the Jeep? If not, any suggestions on what the cause might be? If it is typical, any suggestions on what I can do to make the Jeep handle on-road like it did when the suspension was stock?

I have the same lift kit. That sounds like it might be an alignment issue - you might not have enough caster. Did they give you a report with all of the measurements after performing the alignment? If so, what was the caster? You're going to want it to be 6-7 degrees to drive without "wandering".

EDIT: Caster not camber

 

[ckuptz]

I have the same lift kit. That sounds like it might be an alignment issue - you might not have enough camber. Did they give you a report with all of the measurements after performing the alignment? If so, what was the camber? You're going to want it to be 6-7 degrees to drive without "wandering".

No, they didn't give me a report. I will see what I can find out.

 

[Roky]

I have owned a 2020 JLU Rubicon with the 3.6L engine for the past 23 months. After about 9 months and about 11,000 miles, I changed from the stock 285/70/R17 BFG K02s to 315/70/R17 BFG KO2s which I have put another 15,000 miles on. I kept the factory stock wheels. Other than having slightly slower acceleration, I didn’t notice any difference in the on-road performance and handling which I were completely happy with. The tires are inflated to about 35 PSI cold.

Yesterday, I picked up the Jeep after having a MetalCloak 2.5” Game-Changer lift with RockSport shocks, DuroSpring bump stops, and an Adams front driveshaft installed. The factory stock wheels are still being used. The lift raised the height of the Jeep about 4.25 inches. Because it conflicted with the stock muffler, the rear sway bar was removed. The installation shop performed an alignment after the lift was installed.

Everything that I had read about the MetalCloak lift was that the on-road and off-road performance was as good or better than stock. I haven’t taken it off-road yet but have driven it on-road about 150 miles. At speeds below about 45 MPH, the Jeep handles like it did when it was stock except that the shocks are firmer. Between 45 and 65 MPH, the steering starts feeling a bit loose. Above 65 MPH, the Jeep feels like it is being buffeted by winds even though there aren’t any and the steering feels even looser. Something as simple as changing lanes feels sloppy. Is this type of handling typical after lifting the Jeep? If not, any suggestions on what the cause might be? If it is typical, any suggestions on what I can do to make the Jeep handle on-road like it did when the suspension was stock?

Couple of things are probably causing this. You might be to low on caster, and even though you can run without a rear sway bar, it will change the handling characteristics. I would start by addressing these two things first. Get your caster up round 6.5 ish, and try and find a way to get a rear sway bar on it.

 

[GATORB8]

MC has two rear sway bar drop kits that should help get it back on.

 

[jhackathorne]

Check your tire pressure as well. Kinda sounds like they are overinflated or at least higher than you may want them to be.

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

My 3.6L 2020 JLU Rubicon has a full MetalCloak lift. On mine, we declined to exercise the rear sway bar relocation options 1 and 2 described on page 27, 28, and 29 of the installation instructions. In other words we left the rear sway bar right where we found it and everything works fine.

Good luck!

 

[Matsonian]

@morlan52 give us a call at 916-631-8071, one of my team members can help you diagnose what may be going on. What you are experiencing is definitely not normal. We can also get you set up with the proper rear sway bar set up. We do not recommend it being removed.

 

[GATORB8]

@morlan52 give us a call at 916-631-8071, one of my team members can help you diagnose what may be going on. What you are experiencing is definitely not normal. We can also get you set up with the proper rear sway bar set up. We do not recommend it being removed.

Hey Matson, Any word on 4xe springs from you guys?

OP, sorry for the thread jack.

 

[ckuptz]

Update: I spoke with MetalCloak and went back to the installer. The caster was 5+ degrees. The installer adjusted it to between 6.0 and 6.2 degrees and reinstalled the rear sway bar using the 4" brackets that MetalCloak provides. The installer thinks the rear sway bar will hit muffler or rub against the shocks when off-roading so I will key an eye on that. I also lowered the tire pressure to about 31 PSI. Those changes (the caster, reinstalling the sway bar, and lowering the PSI) greatly improved the handling. We drove 400+ highway miles yesterday at speeds between 65 and 75 MPH and the Jeep handled almost as well as it did before the lift was installed.

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions.

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