Metal Cloak vs Synergy/Yeti?

[PuddleJumper]

So I've been looking for a sector shaft brace kit to mitigate steer wander with bigger tires. I know Its not 100 percent the cause but I've seen how much the steer box flexes the frame when moving weight. So I'm aware of the more expensive kits that brace the track bar as well. However due to my Mojave having a deisel frame I'll have to do a little cutting. Or save 150-200 bucks and get the Metal Cloak the just braces the box. My Aunt has the Yeti SteerSmarts on her Rubi w/ thier Steer stabilizer. She hates how it tracks, i.e. doesn't want to return to center. She says she preferred her old JLUs steering feel. Personally I can tell her truck doesn't quite back to center like mine does but otherwise i cannot tell a difference. But with that in mind, does the Yeti/Synergy style mess with the steering feel in an undesired way? Or is that extra metal bracing worth the money? I'm not personally having any issues with how my truck drives. Its just my 37s wander a bit more than my stock 33s which i figured they would. I got the Mopar 2in lift LCAs to put in just to get a bit more caster as I think that will affect its desire to go straight much more. Plus the steering dive to whatever the road grade is when heavy braking is annoying. TIA.

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[bleda2002]

Have you seen yours flex or just the videos? When they switched to the iron boxes that frame flex went away so you most likely won't gain anything, I know I didn't and instead just removed the brace once the bearing went bad.

I'd get your caster to 6 degrees or just under, then decide if you still need more parts or adjustment as that will make the biggest difference. Also depending on how soft the sidewalls of your 37s are it will just drive worse than before because of sidewall flex. Best things I ever did was actually replace the draglink and tie rod. Once I did that all my steering issues went away as it just tightened up the steering perfectly

 

[1550jrit]

I’ve got Metal Cloak’s sector shaft brace and it certainly firmed up that dead space in the center of the steering. It also added a bit a that stiffness you described of the steering wheel not wanting to return to center. It really did not bother me, I got used to it over time, and overall I preferred having the steering box supported.

That being said, I just recently added the Mopar extended lower control arms. I really wasn’t expecting much since they are only 1/4” longer than factory LCA’s, and I really only added them because I was installing 3” springs. What I immediately noticed was a huge improvement of the steering wheel wanting to return to center after making a turn. It was an unexpected benefit and I wish I had added them right out of the gate, especially since they were only $90 shipped for the pair.

I say $250 total (MC Sector shaft brace a+Mopar LCA’s) is not a a huge gamble to help improve the feel and performance of your steering with 37’s. I’m happy with mine as a daily, but of course I’m a sample of just one.

 

[PuddleJumper]

Have you seen yours flex or just the videos? When they switched to the iron boxes that frame flex went away so you most likely won't gain anything, I know I didn't and instead just removed the brace once the bearing went bad.

I'd get your caster to 6 degrees or just under, then decide if you still need more parts or adjustment as that will make the biggest difference. Also depending on how soft the sidewalls of your 37s are it will just drive worse than before because of sidewall flex. Best things I ever did was actually replace the draglink and tie rod. Once I did that all my steering issues went away as it just tightened up the steering perfectly

I was just shown a vid and i was like damn! I know mine has the iron box tho. Thx for the advice

 

[PuddleJumper]

I’ve got Metal Cloak’s sector shaft brace and it certainly firmed up that dead space in the center of the steering. It also added a bit a that stiffness you described of the steering wheel not wanting to return to center. It really did not bother me, I got used to it over time, and overall I preferred having the steering box supported.

That being said, I just recently added the Mopar extended lower control arms. I really wasn’t expecting much since they are only 1/4” longer than factory LCA’s, and I really only added them because I was installing 3” springs. What I immediately noticed was a huge improvement of the steering wheel wanting to return to center after making a turn. It was an unexpected benefit and I wish I had added them right out of the gate, especially since they were only $90 shipped for the pair.

I say $250 total (MC Sector shaft brace a+Mopar LCA’s) is not a a huge gamble to help improve the feel and performance of your steering with 37’s. I’m happy with mine as a daily, but of course I’m a sample of just one.

Thats what i was thinking! thanks for confirming.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

I personally went with steer smarts. It pretty much came down to a flip of the coin between synergy and steer smarts. The sector shaft brace portion is good. But, not my primary concern- the shaft is large- unlike the JK, I don’t see this regularly being a break item. The track bar reenforcement is nice and worked really well. The material thickness is slightly thicker steer smarts>synergy…. ??‍. Hydro assist is in the future. These are bandaids but that’s ultimately the long term solution. The brace/bearing “helps”. As far as felt improvement? Slightly? No real “wow” factor.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I personally went with steer smarts. It pretty much came down to a flip of the coin between synergy and steer smarts. The sector shaft brace portion is good. But, not my primary concern- the shaft is large- unlike the JK, I don’t see this regularly being a break item. The track bar reenforcement is nice and worked really well. The material thickness is slightly thicker steer smarts>synergy…. ??‍. Hydro assist is in the future. These are bandaids but that’s ultimately the long term solution. The brace/bearing “helps”. As far as felt improvement? Slightly? No real “wow” factor.

i may just steal my Aunt's then

 

[Jteakus]

I have the MC brace, it is a pretty solid unit. I wasn't trying to fix a problem just adding a little more bracing. If you want a much more robust steering box take a look at the PSC website. No brace necessary.

SG691R (pscmotorsports.com)

 

[Lunentucker]

Metalcloak all the way, especially for the Mojave.

 

[dayusmc]

I have the Steer Smarts on my Mojave and my Wife's JLU High-Tide. They work great. Steer Smartd made several rolling design changes to fit the frame of the Mojave (and I think diesel) frames. I bought mine directly from Steer Smarte, if you buy it from someone else you risk getting one of the old ones that might require modification to your frame.
With my 35s it definitely feels firmer that without the brace. I would also suggest getting the 9/16" track bar bolts. A few people put the brace on and still felt it was not as stiff, then changed to 9/16" track bolts and reported a big difference.
I did the Steer Smarts sector shaft brace and 9/16" bolts at the same time, so I can't comment on the sector shaft brace without the 9/16" bolts...
On your aunt's jeep, it may be the steering stabilizer causing the issue, I highly doubt it is the sector shaft brace unless it was installed incorrectly.
Steer Smarts vs Synergy sector shaft brace... Steer Smarts is thicker and I am not positive but I think you have to add additional bump stops for the synergy one because part of it goes lower than the Steer Smarts one. You would have to check on that.
All in all, the Sector Shaft brace I consider a must have upgrade, but that is just my opinion... I don't like the flexing at the frame part of the track bar mounting point, eventually that will crack

 

[PuddleJumper]

I have the Steer Smarts on my Mojave and my Wife's JLU High-Tide. They work great. Steer Smartd made several rolling design changes to fit the frame of the Mojave (and I think diesel) frames. I bought mine directly from Steer Smarte, if you buy it from someone else you risk getting one of the old ones that might require modification to your frame.
With my 35s it definitely feels firmer that without the brace. I would also suggest getting the 9/16" track bar bolts. A few people put the brace on and still felt it was not as stiff, then changed to 9/16" track bolts and reported a big difference.
I did the Steer Smarts sector shaft brace and 9/16" bolts at the same time, so I can't comment on the sector shaft brace without the 9/16" bolts...
On your aunt's jeep, it may be the steering stabilizer causing the issue, I highly doubt it is the sector shaft brace unless it was installed incorrectly.
Steer Smarts vs Synergy sector shaft brace... Steer Smarts is thicker and I am not positive but I think you have to add additional bump stops for the synergy one because part of it goes lower than the Steer Smarts one. You would have to check on that.
All in all, the Sector Shaft brace I consider a must have upgrade, but that is just my opinion... I don't like the flexing at the frame part of the track bar mounting point, eventually that will crack

does 9/16 fit the oem bar? or is this for an aftermarket bar?

 

[dayusmc]

I believe it fits the OEM bar. If you call Steer Smarts they can tell you. They sell them, $20 for the kit..

 

[Lunentucker]

Metalcloak also makes a reinforcement brace for the track bar.
https://metalcloak.com/jl-wrangler-front-track-bar-reinforcement-bracket.html

I like the Metalcloak sector shaft brace because it uses a maintenance free bearing that appears to be better made and it bolts to the frame on the underside, where the bracing strength is more linear to the the bearing.


The 9/16" bolts only come into play if your OEM bolts are not properly torqued. It's a clamping fit, like the control arms. So it's not the bolt in the hole that's preventing movement. It's the squeeze on the bushings. That said, they can't hurt anything.

"THIS BOLT KIT WILL FIT SNUGLY INSIDE BOTH THE BUSHING AND THE MOUNTING HOLES AND CAN HELP ELIMINATE EXCESS MOVEMENT IF TORQUE FALLS OFF."

https://steersmarts.com/collections...cts/yeti-xd-9-16th-track-bar-bolt-upgrade-kit

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Metalcloak also makes a reinforcement brace for the track bar.
https://metalcloak.com/jl-wrangler-front-track-bar-reinforcement-bracket.html

I like the Metalcloak sector shaft brace because it uses a maintenance free bearing that appears to be better made and it bolts to the frame on the underside, where the bracing strength is more linear to the the bearing.


The 9/16" bolts only come into play if your OEM bolts are not properly torqued. It's a clamping fit, like the control arms. So it's not the bolt in the hole that's preventing movement. It's the squeeze on the bushings. That said, they can't hurt anything.

"THIS BOLT KIT WILL FIT SNUGLY INSIDE BOTH THE BUSHING AND THE MOUNTING HOLES AND CAN HELP ELIMINATE EXCESS MOVEMENT IF TORQUE FALLS OFF."

https://steersmarts.com/collections...cts/yeti-xd-9-16th-track-bar-bolt-upgrade-kit

I might have missed it…. I followed this link and then skimmed the description for the steer smarts xd pro track bar… I did both at the same time- pretty sure this bolt is included in their track bar kit.

I have read a few posts and videos about frustratingly tight fit/stubborn fit…. I loosely installed everything, and then tightened from the sector shaft bearing bracket, track bar bolt, then steering box bolts to tighten to snug and then final tighten…. Seemed to help. I could see a lot of fighting with the sector shaft bearing mount or the track bar bolt if loose Fitment isn’t followed first.

I helped install an older bracket…. When I got to mine I already cut off the 1/4” reenforcement ear by the spring bucket…. Didn’t need to on the new design… but it’s really not an OMG modification/chop…. I don’t really understand why the factory didn’t flush it anyways. ??‍

 

[PuddleJumper]

I believe it fits the OEM bar. If you call Steer Smarts they can tell you. They sell them, $20 for the kit..

I'll McMasterCarr order the bolts. Its cheaper and they are usually the best quality.

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