How do Gladiators handle on the highway?

[iammacey]

I wish to God that they would stop making Jeeps for non-Jeepers. The Mojave may enjoy a comfortable highway ride, but that is a byproduct of it being designed for desert racing. Is my Willys with its 32" MT tires too bumpy of a ride for you (even though it rides smoother than my previous TJ Wranglers and ZJ Grand Cherokee - all lifted on 31 to 32" tires)? Then buy a godforsaken AWD Honda Ridgeline. Ugh...

Please do not buy a solid axle Jeep. Please buy a Ford Bronco or Toyota TRD Pro truck and leave a Jeep for someone who knows & appreciates Jeeps.

Sorry if this seems like an attack, but the Mojave trim is really watering-down the bloodline of Jeepers. Not that there is anything wrong with the Mojave... I know for a fact that RWD Porsche enthusiasts hated when AWD became the "norm". So many non-gearheads bought Porsche because of the "now-acceptable" handling and reduced learning curve vs prior rear-engine, RWD track cars. They can "be cool" without suffering any learning curve or bad off-track manners.

I will ignore the attempt at making a point around Jeeps...

What really left me confused was your statement about Porsche. AWD isn't the norm for a Porsche sports car. The 911 base, S, GTS, GT3, GT3 RS, GT2 RS, Caymans, Boxsters, Panameras and Taycans are all RWD. Some have AWD options and the 911 Turbo is AWD only. Is that to what you're referring? Is that what you know as fact? Because I haven't seen a reduction in 911 Turbo sales.

The rear engine placement shifted forward and Porsche has continued to improve the driving dynamics, with each generation getting faster.

Plenty of Porsche loyalists hated the move to water cooled engines. Hated the move to electric steering. Felt the brand was watered down by the introduction of the Boxster, then the Cayenne, then the Panamera, Macan, and even the Taycan. Meanwhile, they continue to move record numbers of cars YoY and maintain an insane resale value, especially in the GT range.

It's almost like creating a range of products is designed to appeal to different buyers with different financials, that can grow their business. While working to maintain their brand ethos.

You what, want Jeep to follow the Harley Davidson business model of aging out their customer base? Look how well that's worked out.

Increased sales and competition lead to greater R&D, innovations in the product line, better value for the consumer, etc...

If Jeep moves too far off the mark for you, buy something else. Problem solved.

Sponsored

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I will ignore the attempt at making a point around Jeeps...

What really left me confused was your statement about Porsche. AWD isn't the norm for a Porsche sports car. The 911 base, S, GTS, GT3, GT3 RS, GT2 RS, Caymans, Boxsters, Panameras and Taycans are all RWD. Some have AWD options and the 911 Turbo is AWD only. Is that to what you're referring? Is that what you know as fact? Because I haven't seen a reduction in 911 Turbo sales.

The rear engine placement shifted forward and Porsche has continued to improve the driving dynamics, with each generation getting faster.

Plenty of Porsche loyalists hated the move to water cooled engines. Hated the move to electric steering. Felt the brand was watered down by the introduction of the Boxster, then the Cayenne, then the Panamera, Macan, and even the Taycan. Meanwhile, they continue to move record numbers of cars YoY and maintain an insane resale value, especially in the GT range.

It's almost like creating a range of products is designed to appeal to different buyers with different financials, that can grow their business. While working to maintain their brand ethos.

You what, want Jeep to follow the Harley Davidson business model of aging out their customer base? Look how well that's worked out.

Increased sales and competition lead to greater R&D, innovations in the product line, better value for the consumer, etc...

If Jeep moves too far off the mark for you, buy something else. Problem solved.

Hey, another GREAT day - I learned something - mostly about Porsche, but heck, I'm a car nut, that's ok.

Poor Harley - there's a company that didn't get it. (not dissing Harleys - just their management)

 

[Gvsukids]

84mph naked feels great! Also very little wander.

 

[eternus]

Don't any dealers know how to set tires to the door jamb sticker?
I've even had trouble with TIRE DEALERS, not just the JEEP dealer, setting Falken A/Ts up to 41 psi in the winter - imagine when they warmed up to 40 degrees.

I set my own air after getting the Jeep home... but, long drives in the heat push that PSI up. Maybe I need to air up with nitrogen so there isn't a 3-6 psi difference based on temperature. Man, I hate that my tires creep up to 40 in the middle of a long drive. )c:

 

[MarkrR6754]

I set my own air after getting the Jeep home... but, long drives in the heat push that PSI up. Maybe I need to air up with nitrogen so there isn't a 3-6 psi difference based on temperature. Man, I hate that my tires creep up to 40 in the middle of a long drive. )c:

Something tells me I'd better check my doorjamb, and my tires. My tires came from the dealership at 42psi. I haven't touched them as they hold that pressure day in and out. Warm up to 42, I may have seen a 43, and I've seen one or two drop to 39 in the morning.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Something tells me I'd better check my doorjamb, and my tires. My tires came from the dealership at 42psi. I haven't touched them as they hold that pressure day in and out. Warm up to 42, I may have seen a 43, and I've seen one or two drop to 39 in the morning.

I can't think of any Gladiator tire factory option that would be "normal" at over 40 psi.

I set mine to the recommended 33 * when the temps were about 60-70 and I see them routinely at 37 after a few highway miles.

* - recommended by a support engineer at General tires. My stock Overland tires have a recommended inflation of 38 on the door jamb sticker

 

[eternus]

I can't think of any Gladiator tire factory option that would be "normal" at over 40 psi.

I set mine to the recommended 33 * when the temps were about 60-70 and I see them routinely at 37 after a few highway miles.

* - recommended by a support engineer at General tires. My stock Overland tires have a recommended inflation of 38 on the door jamb sticker

This. I end up setting mine to 33-34... and when its a bit cool out, deal with the low tire warning. If I set it to 36 so it doesn't ever get down to "low tire warning" then it easily makes it to 40 on the highway.

How unfortunate that I have to babysit my tire pressure so I don't bounce off the highway.

 

[utbee]

1st Jeep 3k miles. Interstate driving in FL. is not for the faint of heart. With that being said, I use my Yukon for anything farther than 2 hours highway time. Anything less, I’ll only drive my Gladiator. If you’re driving a majority of high speed miles I’d get something different and get a trail rig for around town that you can tow.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

1st Jeep 3k miles. Interstate driving in FL. is not for the faint of heart. With that being said, I use my Yukon for anything farther than 2 hours highway time. Anything less, I’ll only drive my Gladiator. If you’re driving a majority of high speed miles I’d get something different and get a trail rig for around town that you can tow.

Then you have a problem with your Jeep.
I've driven mine on several multi-state trips. My wife has driven it and she's a Grand Cherokee person. She's fine with it, interstate, traffic through Omaha or Fort Wayne or Colorado Springs, whatever.
11 hours straight save for a gas stop between here and Colorado Springs, not tiring or fatiguing.

(My son drove up from Florida to visit and said he was stopped in 3 traffic jams - one was a 90 minute wait, and that was before it got through TN. He says traffic down there sucks)

 

[utbee]

Then you have a problem with your Jeep.
I've driven mine on several multi-state trips. My wife has driven it and she's a Grand Cherokee person. She's fine with it, interstate, traffic through Omaha or Fort Wayne or Colorado Springs, whatever.
11 hours straight save for a gas stop between here and Colorado Springs, not tiring or fatiguing.

(My son drove up from Florida to visit and said he was stopped in 3 traffic jams - one was a 90 minute wait, and that was before it got through TN. He says traffic down there sucks)

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll drive it cross country, no problem. But for trips greater than 2 hours at 80 mph it can’t compete with my Yukon in terms of mpg, comfort or luxury.

 

[Haley]

Mine handled like crap, but from the stealership the psi on my Mojave was 42, dropped to 36 and it’s a night and day difference.

Mine wandered a little bit at 75mph. It's done better now that I dropped them down to 37. Not perfect, but noticeably better.

 

[eternus]

My issue with my Gladiator was highway speed + curves or poor pavement quality. I haven't done my same mountain drive since upgrading to Teraflex Falcon piggyback shocks, but I'm optimistic that the quality will have improved. I also ordered a steering stabilizer from them, but they're backordered through the end of the summer (and I ordered it in May.) I won't curse Jeep for making the Mojave and making Gladiators "too accessible" but it does prove that you can make a solid axle vehicle work if you spring it right.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My issue with my Gladiator was highway speed + curves or poor pavement quality. I haven't done my same mountain drive since upgrading to Teraflex Falcon piggyback shocks, but I'm optimistic that the quality will have improved. I also ordered a steering stabilizer from them, but they're backordered through the end of the summer (and I ordered it in May.) I won't curse Jeep for making the Mojave and making Gladiators "too accessible" but it does prove that you can make a solid axle vehicle work if you spring it right.

XJ, ZJ, WJ, all solid front axles, Have owned multiples and all rode and handled fine. My wife loved them all.

 

[ElJeffe77]

Be honest. Asking about stock not modified Gladiators. I was fairly unimpressed when I test drove a Gladiator on the highway. It reminded me of a VW van getting pushed around in crosswinds. Off the highway it felt like any other decent modern vehicle... no issues. But on the highway at 75 mph I wondered how much I would enjoy a 5 hour drive... or not.

I have to ask, being that your profile says you have a 2020 now - how do you like it? PLEASE forgive me if that's answered later in this thread, i'm going to go through it now and look LOL

 

[Hank_]

Just completed a trip from Michigan to Minot North Dakota, to Deadwood South Dakota and back to Michigan. I loved the ride of my jeep. I have 0 wandering issues. The wind noise gets a bit much with the soft top at 83 mph but being able to have the top down at Custer State Park and Spearfish canyon were well worth it. Very happy with the Mojave.

Hank

Sponsored