Is a more expensive steering stabilizer better?

Jerry Bransford said:
The term steering 'stabilizer' is actually a misnomer, its correct name and function is that of steering damper. Its job is to protect the steering system by damping out jolts and bumps when driving over dips, bumps, etc. on the road surface. I'd replace it just so the steering system has that protection.

Go with a standard hydraulic steering damper like Rancho sells in their RS5000 kit. Some gas-charged dampers can cause the steering to want to go left due to their trait of constantly trying to expand.
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Jerry is spot on, not expensive but effective for the money.
 
Chris said:
Don't fall into the steering stabilizer b.s. that is especially prevalent amongst JK and JL owners. A $50 steering stabilizer works just as good (better actually) than a $300 steering stabilizer. The worst offenders are the dual steering stabilizers, which are nothing more than a marketing gimmick, and a complete joke.

The one I always recommend is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C53XRK/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Yes, that cheap steering stabilizer works just as good as some $200 name brand one (i.e. Fox). Steering stabilizers do very little on our TJs. In fact, you can test this first hand by removing your steering stabilizer and driving around for a few days. Guarantee you won't even know it's not there... guarantee it.
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Do you still support the above?
 
TJim said:
I see you used to run Monroe steering stabiliser, while now you run fox. Any differences we should know about?
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Chris said:
Absolutely

The only thing better would be PSC hydro-assist, but you don’t need that unless you’re on 35s.
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BTW...
That Monroe is the Rancho with black paint. 😉

That said....
Do they make a difference? Yes...but not on a TJ.

A Superduty Ford...absolutely they make a difference.

A TJ? No...unless having a negative impact you could call a difference.
 
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Rubicon88 said:
BTW...
That Monroe is the Rancho with black paint. 😉
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Is that a fact?
I am between Rancho and Monroe.

The thing is I am not even sure if my 17 year old stock one has a problem or not. It's just so cheap, I can't resist buying a new one.
 
TJim said:
Is that a fact?
I am between Rancho and Monroe.

The thing is I am not even sure if my 17 year old stock one has a problem or not. It's just so cheap, I can't resist buying a new one.
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Fact.

Now...
on the shocks...LOL

Rancho 5000x for a TJ has a
35mm bore..16mm piston rod

OE spectrum (Monroe) for the TJ has...
1 3/8 bore
5/8 piston rod

Guess what 1 3/8 bore equates to in metric...35mm

Guess what 5/8 equates to in metric...16mm

Both are nitro charged.

Rancho says 150 psi.

Monroe won't say...lol...

Owned by same company 😯


You can draw your own conclusions.

The stabilizer is the same with different paint.
 
Rubicon88 said:
Fact.

Now...
on the shocks...LOL

Rancho 5000x for a TJ has a
35mm bore..16mm piston rod

OE spectrum (Monroe) for the TJ has...
1 3/8 bore
5/8 piston rod

Guess what 1 3/8 bore equates to in metric...35mm

Guess what 5/8 equates to in metric...16mm

Both are nitro charged.

Rancho says 150 psi.

Monroe won't say...lol...

Owned by same company 😯


You can draw your own conclusions.

The stabilizer is the same with different paint.
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It's about to be ordered. haha!
Together with a ZJ tie rod.
 
My 2004 tj , put new steering damper on no more death rattle till I hit a bump on the highway and crossing bridges at 65 mph ? Runs great on normal highway. Could I have a bad steering damper? My gas mileage dropped from 18 mpg to 12 mpg last to tank fulls, 4.0 was always decent on gas . Anybody have any suggestions? Thank you
 
TJim said:
I see you used to run Monroe steering stabiliser, while now you run fox. Any differences we should know about?
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I haven't talked about it much. The Fox damper is stiffer than the Monroe. The Monroe is stiffer than OME. The Fox damper absolutely does improve the driving over the Monroe. But it also has a slightly irritating push to the driver's side that I put up with. Though I wonder if adding some caster could reduce this some. Bottom line is that the Fox is better, but it isn't 6x the cost better than the $25 Monroe, especially with the slight push it has.

One thing I do know it's that people need to stop saying that a steering damper doesn't matter or is not needed or that a heavy damper will somehow wear out the steering box. All of that is nonsense.
 
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