Active Centering Stabalizer

[Darkspeed]

On my 6" lift Ram I had installed a "Safe-T-Plus" red 140lb active centering stabilizer just because i had a spare one laying around and the stabilizer that came with my lift kit had worn out. The wandering ram steering was 300% better with it. One day cruising at 80+ on the highway I saw my driver side wheel float up in the air and hover mid air beside my drivers side window before flying off down the road and off into the woods. it turns out someone had tried to steal my wheels and got all the lugs off but two and gave up. so when those studs broke and i lost my wheel, i felt nothing in the cab, truck kept going straight and i just slowed down and then stopped having ice skated on my rotor for a mile. Safe-T-Plus saved my bacon. Now in looking for something similar for the jeep I came across Roadmaster Exact Center and I have ordered a 140lb unit. Il report back what the results are. Anybody here use either of these?

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[JTDay]

Never heard of it but interested. I'm used to driving cars with old or worn out steering but for those who have not, I'd say my gladiator would be borderline dangerous for them to drive at highway speeds.

 

[Darkspeed]

the Safe-t-plus uses opposed springs and a hydraulic damper where the exact center uses two opposed pressurized cartridges. Iv used the Safe-T-Plus on a number of vehicles with awesome results but iv never tried the Exact Center. I have a GMC 5500 that had 1.5" of play in the steering wheel which made narrow roads scary but the safe-t-plus fixed that completely.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Mine drives pretty awesome right now, especially compared to my older jeeps. Not a BMW like ride but it does great.

With that said anything that could improve the ride and drive quality I'd be interested in knowing about.

 

[Darkspeed]

Mine drives pretty awesome right now, especially compared to my older jeeps. Not a BMW like ride but it does great.

With that said anything that could improve the ride and drive quality I'd be interested in knowing about.

Do you have one? If so which one?

 

[Darkspeed]

One of the best benefits in my ram was in high wind or passing a semi didn’t push me around.

 

[bleda2002]

Jl forum has a really long thread on the exact center

 

[GOCAMPN]

At first look that thing looks sweet. Ready to see your install and when my Bilstein Dual Steering Stabilizer wears out I'll keep this in mind.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Do you have one? If so which one?

No I don't have one, I'm just saying I'd be interested in knowing more about a way to improve the ride if it's possible

 

[CrazyCooter]

I've been selling/installing the Safe T Plus on motorhomes and class 7/8 Trucks for the past 28 years, so I'm a believer in that application. They do what they advertize no doubt.

Not sure I'd want one on my Jeep from the extra load it would put on the steering system. We're already borderline with the larger tire packages we install and adding more demand to the system isn't going to help that situation out.

 

[Darkspeed]

The exact center will be my first mod on a brand new JTRD so it should be a good test

 

[TotallyReasonable]

Never heard about them before, but i'm pretty interested in the exact center after doing a little googling. Wonder what, if any, extra wear is caused by the centering force

 

[CrazyCooter]

Just keep in mind that the steering gear has to overcome the forces of the steering stabilizer keeping the axle centered before that energy can be applied to the steering knuckles. Play in the sector shaft, draglink ends, tie rods ends, track bar bushings, and ball joints will be amplified by these forces and lead up to potentially bigger problems.

I have seen increased wear on the left king pin bushings on trucks where the draglink attaches to the left knuckle. I also noted on my own Peterbilt that it took a little bit more steering input to correct after the stablizer was installed. Everything else it improved in the trucks manners was worth that slight offset.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Just keep in mind that the steering gear has to overcome the forces of the steering stabilizer keeping the axle centered before that energy can be applied to the steering knuckles. Play in the sector shaft, draglink ends, tie rods ends, track bar bushings, and ball joints will be amplified by these forces and lead up to potentially bigger problems.

I have seen increased wear on the left king pin bushings on trucks where the draglink attaches to the left knuckle. I also noted on my own Peterbilt that it took a little bit more steering input to correct after the stablizer was installed. Everything else it improved in the trucks manners was worth that slight offset.

The problem is that the original play -and problems, are still there. Masked, but still there. It can only help keep the steering centered while going straight. If the right side has a bad tie rod, that play will still be there and the wheel will be free to take advantage of that play. If there's play in the steering gear - that play will still exist. It's not removing any play at all, because it can't.
The only way that would be possible is if you had a LONG stabilizer that connected to both steering knuckles and forcefully applied pressure to both.
Play is play - play in the tie rods - still there. Play in drag link - still there. Play in steering sector - still there.

 

[Darkspeed]

actually if there is play in the gear and your steering wheel is in any position within the dead spot say .75" +- center, then the active centering device has control of the wheels and its pointing them center forward. only when you steer beyond the dead spot do you have control of the wheels.

VS..

not having the active centering device ,imperfections in the road or wind will have control of the wheels if your steering wheel is in the dead spot.

This is big for me on long trips, no longer having to do the steering wheel shuffle to correct on both sides of the dead spot every few seconds

Think of that old game PONG where both sides of the dead spot are the paddles and your wheels are the ball....

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