Mojito Sport
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So here is the scenario: cloudy, overcast day in the low 30’s.
Got on the turnpike to go on a short road trip in our 2018 JLU Sport, bone stock with the 2.0 (got 24 MPG Average by the way!). Settled in at 70 MPH in the center lane, got about a mile down the road, hit a bridge expansion joint and HOLY SMOKES we got a bad case of the shimmies!!! Had to slow down under 30 to get everything back in order and down the road we went, albeit at 65 in the slow lane the rest of the way.
The steering on this thing has always felt loose, dead, whatever you want to call it. Never really paid much attention to it, just drove it.
I have read pretty much every post on DW, lousy steering and everything steering related prior to this happening so I was well aware of this possibility but it still took me by surprise.
I saw the video from Dr Deathwobble (I think that was his name, it’s in a post somewhere on here) and that got me thinking.
This is the first time I have experienced this in this Jeep, what changed?
We had an extra 400 pounds in the back seat (2 teenage boys) than we usually do plus an extra, say 100 pounds, of gear in the far back. What does this do to caster angle? How does extra weight in the back affect it? If the caster angle is marginal to begin with, wouldn’t adding extra weight in the back make it even more marginal?
I am not a suspension mechanic, I’m an HVAC technician who thinks very mechanically so I don’t know the answers to these questions; just thoughts that popped into my head that, perhaps, could be fodder for someone smarter than me.
Another thought; in their quest to make these things more fuel efficient, handle better, whatever, is it possible that maybe they took too much weight off the front end? Does anybody else notice these things sit almost level compared to the forward rake of a JK, or is it just me?
I know our 2 previous JKs set with the ass higher than the nose. I’m taking it to the dealer (!) tomorrow so they can tell me everything is normal, but before I do I will park it next to a JK, just for comparison. Again, just random thoughts by a HVAC Tech, please chime in with thoughts, opinions, criticisms....
Got on the turnpike to go on a short road trip in our 2018 JLU Sport, bone stock with the 2.0 (got 24 MPG Average by the way!). Settled in at 70 MPH in the center lane, got about a mile down the road, hit a bridge expansion joint and HOLY SMOKES we got a bad case of the shimmies!!! Had to slow down under 30 to get everything back in order and down the road we went, albeit at 65 in the slow lane the rest of the way.
The steering on this thing has always felt loose, dead, whatever you want to call it. Never really paid much attention to it, just drove it.
I have read pretty much every post on DW, lousy steering and everything steering related prior to this happening so I was well aware of this possibility but it still took me by surprise.
I saw the video from Dr Deathwobble (I think that was his name, it’s in a post somewhere on here) and that got me thinking.
This is the first time I have experienced this in this Jeep, what changed?
We had an extra 400 pounds in the back seat (2 teenage boys) than we usually do plus an extra, say 100 pounds, of gear in the far back. What does this do to caster angle? How does extra weight in the back affect it? If the caster angle is marginal to begin with, wouldn’t adding extra weight in the back make it even more marginal?
I am not a suspension mechanic, I’m an HVAC technician who thinks very mechanically so I don’t know the answers to these questions; just thoughts that popped into my head that, perhaps, could be fodder for someone smarter than me.
Another thought; in their quest to make these things more fuel efficient, handle better, whatever, is it possible that maybe they took too much weight off the front end? Does anybody else notice these things sit almost level compared to the forward rake of a JK, or is it just me?
I know our 2 previous JKs set with the ass higher than the nose. I’m taking it to the dealer (!) tomorrow so they can tell me everything is normal, but before I do I will park it next to a JK, just for comparison. Again, just random thoughts by a HVAC Tech, please chime in with thoughts, opinions, criticisms....
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