I added a Fox steering stabilizer so you didn't have to

SO today I added a new fox steering stabilizer to Gru. The high-pressure one with the IFP.
I wanted to clear a few things up.

I've read about these steering damper on various forums, the typical response looks like a bunch of monkeys trying to f*** a football to be the FIRST to tell the thread starter that:

1. YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A STEERING STABILIZER! YOU ARE JUST MASKING OTHER PROBLEMS!

This is just silly. My jeep drives fantastic. has no shakes, wobbles, flutters or vibrations at any speed on any terrain. It doesn't have any problems to mask. It's solid in the corners and steers as good as anything else I've ever driven with a live front axle. And you absolutely need a steering damper.

2. JUST BUY THE CHEAPEST PARTS STORE CRAP YOU CAN FIND! LOOK FOR THE BARGAIN CHINA BIN. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!

Again, silly. I've been replacing them on a rate of about one a year, the last one leaked out of the box. Pretty tired of that shit. Hopefully, the Fox will hold up.

3. IT'S STUPID TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THIS, I WOULDN'T SPEND MY MONEY ON THIS!

Thanks, it's my money and I'll spend it however I like AND I couldn't care less about how you spend yours.

4. A HIGH-PRESSURE STEERING DAMPNER WILL CAUSE YOUR JEEP TO STEER TO THE LEFT ALL THE TIME, YOU WILL HAVE TO HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT!

This one I was actually curious about, does it have enough push to cause unintentional steering? It does not. not even close. I can take my hands off the wheel and it tends to follow the crown of the road just like before. There is no push steer in parking lots, or the interstate.

On my last trip out, as soon as I hit the pavement I could tell the damper had blown its seal, the steering was soft and weak, too easy to turn the wheel. Kinda like a limp handshake. Yuk. When I got home it left a nice little puddle of oil in the driveway. So I ordered a fox replacement from amazon. Fit and finish are as to be expected: Fox does not disappoint there. I could feel the difference before I was out of the driveway. The steering wheel has a nice firm feel to it, like an expensive car. Feedback is muted but still present. I don't like a very light touch steering wheel, it feels cheap to me. Like one of those video game wheels in the arcades from our childhoods. Just not my thing.

So, that's my opinion, its free and you got exactly what you paid for.

View attachment 111676
horsehocky
 
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FWIW, I have been running a Fox damper for the last several months. It absolutely improves the steering compared to the forum favorite Monroe. But I can't say it improves the steering 6x better for the cost. What I don't like about the Fox is that mine does have a noticable push to the driver's side on the highway. But so far, I put up with it because the overall steering is nicer.
 
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Reviving an old thread ..

I heard about this product called the "Exact Center" on the jlwrangler forums. Not sure if it's all snake oil or if there is some goodness behind the design.

There is a bit in the video on the roadmaster link below where they show a RV backing up a Jeep (which has this contraption installed) and the Jeep tracks straight. They do caution it's to be used only for short backing up distances. There is also another video in the first link where they show a Jeep driving 30mph on a dirt road with hands off the steering wheel and it tracks straight.

Thoughts @mrblaine? Useful or pointless?


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...y-roadmaster-explained-by-the-inventor.87515/

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/rss/exactcenter.php
Exact Center centering.jpg
 
It looks like two air springs joined together to replace the damper. It simply adds extra centering force on the steering on top of what your caster, and camber do. It won't cure DW, it'll just mask it the same way a damper does, by limiting the amount of movement in the steering. It might be helpful in backing up a towed vehicle, or you could just learn to drive.
 
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I could see this Exact Center product being useful in a couple of cases. For example, when one is forced to run minimal caster to reduce driveline vibrations. This product could restore some of the lost centering force from the loss of caster. You would need a very large amount of force to fully replace caster, but a modest amount could lower the threshold of minimum caster to create adequate centering feel.

As a "cure" or even "band-aid" to death wobble, that would depend on a lot of factors. Death wobble is a divergent resonating oscillation among the steering components and the road-tire interface. The product shown would change one factor among many, and might reduce death wobble in one circumstance but worsen it in another. The product, relative to normal steering damers, simply increases the centering stiffness of the system, likely increasing the resonant frequency of the system. Most steering "stabilizers" are in fact viscous dampers, and are designed to remove energy from the system and convert it into heat, to increase the threshold at which the entire system has zero overall damping. Increasing local damping is likely to have a much larger effect at raising that threshold over simply adding stiffness. That said, assuming this product does both, I could see it having a modest benefit in a select few cases (but potentially worsening it in others).
 
Great post for a newer member and the new resident steering damper expert. Condescension takes away all your credibility and will get you no where.

That's my opinion, its free and you got exactly what you paid for.
This post aged well.
 
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Reviving an old thread ..

I heard about this product called the "Exact Center" on the jlwrangler forums. Not sure if it's all snake oil or if there is some goodness behind the design.

There is a bit in the video on the roadmaster link below where they show a RV backing up a Jeep (which has this contraption installed) and the Jeep tracks straight. They do caution it's to be used only for short backing up distances. There is also another video in the first link where they show a Jeep driving 30mph on a dirt road with hands off the steering wheel and it tracks straight.

Thoughts @mrblaine? Useful or pointless?


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...y-roadmaster-explained-by-the-inventor.87515/

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/rss/exactcenter.php
View attachment 312396
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sUkkRwGFdyZgysAh6 TJ gets Exact Center this morning
 
Reviving an old thread ..

I heard about this product called the "Exact Center" on the jlwrangler forums. Not sure if it's all snake oil or if there is some goodness behind the design.

There is a bit in the video on the roadmaster link below where they show a RV backing up a Jeep (which has this contraption installed) and the Jeep tracks straight. They do caution it's to be used only for short backing up distances. There is also another video in the first link where they show a Jeep driving 30mph on a dirt road with hands off the steering wheel and it tracks straight.

Thoughts @mrblaine? Useful or pointless?


https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...y-roadmaster-explained-by-the-inventor.87515/

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/rss/exactcenter.php
View attachment 312396
TJ gets Exact Center 2-28-22 https://photos.app.goo.gl/sUkkRwGFdyZgysAh6 TJ mount being checked for fit also see other stills
 
For those of us not wanting to watch 10 minutes of portrait video, can you TLDR? Are you affiliated with them?
My name is john d shepherd I did invent this device Roadmaster is selling and we PIWcorp Gaylord, Michigan are the first dealer. The first gas spring steering stabilizer I invented 22 years ago was sold by BlueOx as TruCenter. It was good and very complicated as it used a single gas spring that was compressed in right or left turns. this is much better, this has a single shaft with a push gas spring on one side and a pull/traction gas spring on the Other. Their default position is Exact Center movement as little as 1/2 mm hits full design pressure push back to the center. Movement of the two springs is limited to the Exact Center, this unit can travel 100mm as it is pushed or pulled the return pressure ramps up to 140%. A 100lb EC ramps to 140 lb push or pull back. We have done near 400 lbs on a large RV, there the power steering makes the pressure invisible and you can turn the steering wheel with one finger. This hold fights anything that tries to turn the steered wheels. On an RV wind is the biggest driving issue and a blowout is a thing this will stop from causing the wheels to turn. Think of having two 350 pound linemen holding your steering wheel, one from each side nothing but power steering will move the Exact Center. This is the first new steering device in 40 years or more. This will enhance the drive on any steered vehicle and it will take a Wrangler that is a problem driver and make it your favorite drive. Because Forums have rules about sales do not buy this device, but please do learn about it. and do visit SAVE THE STRAIGHT AXLE on Facebook and post comments good and bad.
 
Because Forums have rules about sales do not buy this device, but please do learn about it. and do visit SAVE THE STRAIGHT AXLE on Facebook and post comments good and bad.
I'll watch the product, it does seem interesting though I'll probably just go hydro assist instead (as I assume many here will). I don't use that awful website.
 
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I'll watch the product, it does seem interesting though I'll probably just go hydro assist instead (as I assume many here will). I don't use that awful website.
I might say there are more than a few people there that might need a big hug from their mothers, they seem to be vary angry about many things that should not be all that important if you do have a life.
 
I might say there are more than a few people there that might need a big hug from their mothers, they seem to be vary angry about many things that should not be all that important if you do have a life.

And some hot chocolate too. And some need to be told to sit in a corner and never speak unless directly spoken to.
 
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Don't know about the Tru Center device, but my kid would kill to have his MJ sit like your grandson's. I'd have to carry a stool to ride with him, though.
 
For those of us not wanting to watch 10 minutes of portrait video, can you TLDR? Are you affiliated with them?
TLDR
For all those who want the short explanation of how Exact Center works, do this. Hold your arms level in front of you with your fists together and push as hard as you can, ask someone to try to pull your fists apart. It won't be easy, each push stops at Exact Center, this is what Exact Center does it holds center just like you had strong guys doing it. That is the idea, very simple.
exact-center-centering-jpg.jpg



fists-together-jpg.jpg
 
There are two things we find the unit does. If you have a Jeep that has the often quoted Jeep issues, wandering, fuzzy center feel, hard to keep straight, old-style steering blues etc but never had Death Wobble a low-pressure unit will make you think you have a new car, If you have had DW you will need a much heavier version, right now I would tell you to see if you can fix the DW. We are working on a DW version, but that will be a bandaid and not a fix. Do the fix first if possible. This will make a good Jeep great. 30 units of higher pressure are going out this week to JL users they will start telling you how they like theirs on JL Wrangler Forums.