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Steering Shimmy on back roads, but good on highway

scottybue

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Need some technical advise here. I have been doing my own wrenching on my 2020 JL Freedom (Sport S for all intents and purposes), except for using shop alignment.

As stated in the subject, highway driving is great, but the steering is a bit squirrelly on back roads and uneven roads.

What’s installed? See below, and all are torqued to correct specs. Track bars also have the cab centered, and sway bars are level.

- 295/70R17 Falken MT01s on stock wheels
- 1.5” Synergy wheel spacers (
- MetalCloak 2.5” True Dual springs
- Bilstein 5100 shocks (not relocated as typical w/ MC lift)
- TeraFlex Sport LCAs (non-adjustable)
- Skyjacker adjustable track bars Front & Rear
- Skyjacker BlackMax steering damper
- MOPAR lift front sway bar end links
- Synergy adjustable rear end links

Do I need to adjust my alignment specs? (Pic attached)

Do I need to swap out some parts? ($500 max budget)

Help! Thanks!


Jeep Wrangler JL Steering Shimmy on back roads, but good on highway EF6BB75B-23F7-4547-8D89-4D71DDD637D3


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MarkY3130

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Its just so hard to give good input on topics like these without hands on experience of the issue and because there are so many things it could be. A retorque, review of tire pressure, confirming bushings are good, etc. is where to start before spending money. Then I'd look to a new tie-rod and drag link.

I wouldn't think 295 tires would be so big as to require the tie-rod and drag link.

The longer I type the more I think I'd review tire pressures. Vehicles get squirrely on dirt roads when the tires are at highway pressures.
 

Roky

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Need some technical advise here. I have been doing my own wrenching on my 2020 JL Freedom (Sport S for all intents and purposes), except for using shop alignment.

As stated in the subject, highway driving is great, but the steering is a bit squirrelly on back roads and uneven roads.

What’s installed? See below, and all are torqued to correct specs. Track bars also have the cab centered, and sway bars are level.

- 295/70R17 Falken MT01s on stock wheels
- 1.5” Synergy wheel spacers (
- MetalCloak 2.5” True Dual springs
- Bilstein 5100 shocks (not relocated as typical w/ MC lift)
- TeraFlex Sport LCAs (non-adjustable)
- Skyjacker adjustable track bars Front & Rear
- Skyjacker BlackMax steering damper
- MOPAR lift front sway bar end links
- Synergy adjustable rear end links

Do I need to adjust my alignment specs? (Pic attached)

Do I need to swap out some parts? ($500 max budget)

Help! Thanks!


Jeep Wrangler JL Steering Shimmy on back roads, but good on highway D30C1090-D714-4397-9551-983F186205E4


Jeep Wrangler JL Steering Shimmy on back roads, but good on highway D30C1090-D714-4397-9551-983F186205E4
What tire psi are you running ?
 
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scottybue

scottybue

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Its just so hard to give good input on topics like these without hands on experience of the issue and because there are so many things it could be. A retorque, review of tire pressure, confirming bushings are good, etc. is where to start before spending money. Then I'd look to a new tie-rod and drag link.

I wouldn't think 295 tires would be so big as to require the tie-rod and drag link.

The longer I type the more I think I'd review tire pressures. Vehicles get squirrely on dirt roads when the tires are at highway pressures.
Thanks Mark! I’m currently at 38-39 psi all around. Perhaps down to 32?

Also, what are thoughts of the caster at 7.2? Too high?
 

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Roky

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That’s pretty high, try 30 psi warmed up, see if that helps. Like Mark said it’s hard to diagnose without having hands on.
 

Headbarcode

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How'd it work out with the lower tire pressures?
 
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scottybue

scottybue

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Went down to 32 (per the Jeep TPMS) all around today. Meant to go to 30, but my old tire gauge was off...

Better, but only slightly. I will try 30 later and see how she goes. Definitely good enough that I no longer feel the need to immediately throw money at the problem.

What’s the general consensus on my 7+ caster? Too much for the lift? I’m wondering if that may be the final nail in the coffin to get it close to stock daily driving feel w/ the mods.
 

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hoag4147

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Went down to 32 (per the Jeep TPMS) all around today. Meant to go to 30, but my old tire gauge was off...

Better, but only slightly. I will try 30 later and see how she goes. Definitely good enough that I no longer feel the need to immediately throw money at the problem.

What’s the general consensus on my 7+ caster? Too much for the lift? I’m wondering if that may be the final nail in the coffin to get it close to stock daily driving feel w/ the mods.
Does steering feel overly heavy? if so, may want to dial caster back some. Get a Tazer, you will be happy you did. Adjust the TPMS settings, tire size, turn off ESS, and many others in the future
 
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scottybue

scottybue

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Does steering feel overly heavy? if so, may want to dial caster back some. Get a Tazer, you will be happy you did. Adjust the TPMS settings, tire size, turn off ESS, and many others in the future
Yeah, I’ve been looking into the Tazer JL Mini. Not sure if they do a Black Friday sale, though.

Regarding the steering, not too heavy. I like how it is, I was just worried that the caster or toe may have had something to do with my mildly squirrelly issues. That was mainly because the numbers I’ve seen here on the forums are slightly off from what I have. That said, I think with the lower tire pressure I’m good for now.

Much appreciated for the help guys!
 

AnnDee4444

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As stated in the subject, highway driving is great, but the steering is a bit squirrelly on back roads and uneven roads.
Could you describe what you mean by squirrelly? Is it that the steering is erratic when one side hits a bump?

If so, this could be due to the increased scrub radius. Try removing the wheel spacers in the front as a test and see if it changes.
 
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scottybue

scottybue

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Could you describe what you mean by squirrelly? Is it that the steering is erratic when one side hits a bump?

If so, this could be due to the increased scrub radius. Try removing the wheel spacers in the front as a test and see if it changes.
I’ve seen it called shimmy on the forums, hence the use. However, it’s definitely not bump steer. It’s almost like more steering is needed to get the same directional change on back roads. Previous to the MC springs, I had the TeraFlex 1.5” leveling kit. I didn’t notice this effect when I put the spacers on pre-puck lift. However, it’s very similar to what I had post-puck lift, but before the longer LCAs (which had corrected the issue when I only had pucks in). With the lower tire pressure, I’m veeeeery close to how I had it with the pucks and MOPAR lift LCAs.
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