jtjk

i have read allot of the threads on here already and just want to make sure my understanding is correct. with my 2.5 coil lift and 35's in order to fix my flighty steering i need both front lower controle arms and an adjustable front track bar. is the track bar going to make a difference to the flighty steering or am i just spening money were there is no need to. i know it is needed for larger lifts but this is quite a small lift.
thanks

nthinuf

Need? No.
Want? Maybe.

There are several options for caster correction. Adj arms are the most expensive, but arguably the best fix. If you still have a stock front driveshaft, going to 5-6 deg will make a noticeable difference in the handling. With a double cardan, you will probably want to lower the caster to around 4 or so.

For the trackbar, it's a judgement call. It will not affect the flightyness/caster. So if having the axle off-center doesn't bug you visually, and if it isn't causing issues with the computer (esp/braking system) then wait on it.

jtjk

so the adjustable track bar is simply a visual thing and a esp thing. it has no bearing on flighty steering?

MyJeepAteMyWallet

i am going to say.....i dont know
i did put on an adj front trackbar a couple of months after my lift and i did feel an improvement. my LCA's are on backorder but that will fix the geometry back to a stock ride in my opinion.

you will see through your search that everyone will have an opinion and it will sound like this.....when you lift your jeep, no matter how high, it changes all of the stock geometry. if you want it to ride like you drove it off the car lot going 80, you will want the neccessary parts to adjust it back to its stock geometry.

a lot of people add a 2.5 BB lift and love it as is. but again if their driving habits are just driving around town with little or no freeway miles, they may not really know.

BKGM Jeepers

Is it the caster causing the problem? A Double CV front DL will remove the concern for the pinion angle, but not the steering geometry. Only lower CA's will do that. I was just wondering if there's a cheaper solution. Lower control arms should be cheaper than a front CV DL. An adjustable Track Bar should be cheaper than the lower CA's.

I replaced everything on mine and it works fine but I have more lift.

jtjk

what im trying to resolve is the many small corrections i have to make wil driving at highway speeds. visually i do not see andy issue with it or do i have any esp problems it is just how it tracks left and right on the highway

nthinuf

This is generally caused by low caster (how far the axle housing is tilted forward/backward), and not the positioning of the housing from side to side. If you are getting bumpsteer also, look at the angles of your components. (You want the mounting holes of the draglink and trackbar to be roughly parallel.)

Another common cause of excess flightyness would be over-inflated tires. Somewhere around 30psi, plus or minus a bit, is a good pressure for 35's.

jtjk

bump for more opinions

pmedicj

My opinion is a YES!
I just installed the 4dr Teraflex 2.5" coil kit on my 2dr and it was flighty and had some rear driveshaft vibration. I then installed Teraflex front and rear track bars which helped but the biggest and most noticeable difference was with Teraflex front lower and rear upper control arms to set my caster and pinion angles. No more flighty feeling or driveshaft vibration. it tracks, handles and rides better than it did when it was stock! I followed the write up on the do it yourself alignment and I then took it in for an alignment check and everything was dead balls on except a slight adjustment on the toe.

Dave @ northridge sold me on the control arms, he said that the best and most drastic improvement on how it drove was to get the control arms especially because i had the 2dr with the 4dr springs which put it up just over 3" and he was right on the money.

the rear pinion angle was way out of whack and the rear uppers set the pinion and driveshaft perfectly with the 18 3/8" setting Teraflex recommended. I did shorten there specs for the front lowers to 22 3/4" because at there recommended length it handled very well but I had to compromise a little because of front driveshaft vibration. now it's perfect.

Very happy with this setup

chopper3330

I am not even close to an expert but I am considering the 2.5 BB and have been reading threads as much as possible. I cant find the thread but the Teraflex rep said the flighty feeling comes from not following the directions. apparently it is important to put tires on ground with bolts on lift still loose and then bounce on Jeep front back and side to side then snug everything up. I will try to find it but maybe PM Teraflex rep before spending the money on parts you may not need. If this is completely nuts people will correct me quickly I am sure