1st time Jeep owner. How to reduce body roll?

[Escape.idiocracy]

When you look at the sway bar from the sides, is it horizontal? Is it pointing slightly up or down at the rear?

I think that this is sound advice “most” of the time. It should be added to always check off road sway bars on a lift/jackstands and the axle at full droop to ensure the sway bar does not invert.
A level sway bar is a rule of thumb and great advise for cars, with off road applications often times they run in the top 1/3-1/4 of the shock travel…. So, if the sway bar were to be leveled under these circumstances the links would invert at full droop.

for sure this is likely NOT the case here with spacers and stock shocks…. The op might be new to tweaking off road applications and not know. ???

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[LouisvEarlleJT]

Go test drive another Gladiator, brand new on the lot, and see how it feels.

Everyone’s talking about check this, check that, but you said yourself this is your first Jeep so for all anyone knows it could be driving normally. These things don’t exactly handle like they’re on rails or anything.

 

[Lunentucker]

The wheels, tires, front bumper, and winch aren't stock.
The wheels likely have your scrub radius out of whack. The lift may have your caster low and the body off-center, further contributing to ill handling.

 

[bd100]

These things don’t exactly handle like they’re on rails or anything.

Well, they CAN... Mine is satisfactory, coming from a sports car. But my truck has stock height, stiff tires at higher pressure, and stiffer shocks. And I feel the little bumps more than many would like. But mountain switchbacks are fun, and I can still offroad when I get up to the trail. Just gotta avoid the nasty trails.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Since I'm a new owner (learning and all), I appreciate the education I get from your answer!

On day one with my ‘21 rubicon, the shocks were terrible. It was borderline scary on interstate curves if there were also bumps.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Well, they CAN... Mine is satisfactory, coming from a sports car. But my truck has stock height, stiff tires at higher pressure, and stiffer shocks. And I feel the little bumps more than many would like. But mountain switchbacks are fun, and I can still offroad when I get up to the trail. Just gotta avoid the nasty trails.

And with expensive shocks, you can have it all.

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

Being lifted already affects your center of gravity, throw on a heavy ass cap over the truck bed and the rest is self explanatory. If you have a spacer lift and no additional components (shock extension brackets or shocks suitable for your lift height, corrected control arm geometry etc) I’d presume it’s a mixture of both missing parts and weight.

 

[RubiDukkie]

Added a Hellwig heavy duty sway bar in the rear to mitigate body roll when cornering. I carry a lot of weight in the rear and the stock sway bar wasn’t handling it well. The extra weight is from the RSI Smartcap and a big locking toolbox with all my tools and recovery gear, etc.

 

[Shopshirt]

I just did the Mopar lift with Bilsteins at 36k miles. Pre-lift the factory shocks had gotten really soft and the truck had more pronounced body roll and brake dive. The stiffer Bilsteins completely changed the handling barely any pronounced body roll or nose dive on braking. It is definitely a stiffer ride and I like the way it handles now. Didn't realize how soft the factory Sport shocks had gotten.

There is a bit more harshness on smaller bumps and washboard roads, however, I may need to adjust tire pressure a bit. (currently running 36 PSI on Factory Wildpeak ATs)

 

[bleda2002]

People are chasing all this other stuff but ignoring the real question which is, what did you come from because thats your frame of reference. If you came from not a truck, welcome to owning a truck, they will definitely have a lot more body roll than anything else you've driven.

If you want to stiffen it up, get stiffer shocks like bilstein (most cost effective) or falcon's which are known for being much stiffer than the stock. The stock shocks of all models are very soft to take big impacts off road better but on the street contribute to a looser feeling on the street.

 

[HorneyBadger]

My understanding is that there is a 2" budget boost and not a lift kit! If the shocks are still OEM then these are the softer Overland shocks for freeway driving and the body will roll. Its normal unless you put stiffer shocks. But do you really want that is the question.

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