That better be a soy hazelnut mocha latte with ice and whipped cream drizzled in Ghirardelli choclate topped with sprinklesThat’s right. I don’t want to spill my mocha latte when I hit a shopping center speed bump.
I have heard this a couple of times, but I genuinely don't understand the reasoning. Is there something about switching production to IFS on a vehicle that literally has solid axles as a defining feature since it's inception that makes that option more attractive to Jeep in terms of pure sales?
Wait and see. I think people underestimate how many Wrangler owners know.
Also rectangle headlight pods of sorts. But as far as IFS? That’s kind of a deal breaker for me, even though my 13 month old Gladiator with only 14,000+ change miles had developed the dreaded death wobble. It’s just a Sport S with factory 245/75-17 Bridgestone Dueler HT tires I run at 32 psi all around. Back over the last 6 months I’ve felt a very slight wobbly feel in the steering after hitting certain med bumps in the road. But yesterday on a 120 mile round trip 70-75 mph trip at a leisurely 22.5 mph, I had a couple episodes of moderate wobble, enough to warrant slowing down with a slow side to side steering motion to cancel out the wobble, that worked well, of course luckily there was no traffic nearby. I’m about to get the oil changed for the third time, I wasn’t planning on doing to my dealer, but now I have something else to be looked at, there does seem to be a lite stain/seepage? On the bottom side of the steering damper, so I hope that’s all. If so I’m going to try to have the dealer use the warranty to co vs er the labor, but I’ll pay for an upgraded dampener, like Bilstein 5100, to have them installed instead. If they won’t, maybe if the warranty replacement fails nearer to the end of the warranty? Wish me luck.
I also read about this in MT email I get.Funny how I didn't even click the article, and yup 404 error page
Same. The majority of my current vehicles are solid axle now that I think about it.
Why though? What about producing this vehicle in it's current solid axle platform (that has been proven and tested for decades) is prohibitively more expensive than redesigning it and then shoehorning an IFS into it? It just seems like a change that no one is asking for.
I'm just guessing here, but my guess is its going to come down to manufacturing facilities. It's cheaper and more efficient to have production lines and processes set up that can produce multiple models with the same equipment using the same/similar parts vs having specific plants or lines that can only produce solid front axles. And with the import/export game the way it is and so many manufacturing facilities shutting down (not just in automotive), I can see the ability to produce more with less overhead is going to eventually win.
I´m not so sure IFS is less expensive. Might be. But it also appears to be more complex. I might also be wrong about that. I know they don´t care about this, but I like being able to do an alignment with a tape measure in my garage, too, with no worry about camber.
I suppose this makes sense. I am also not versed in the ins/outs of manufacturing at that large a scale. Maybe it's just my wishful thinking to believe that the costs (both direct and indirect, and both in terms of pure monetary expense and brand image) associated with researching, developing, and then producing an IFS Wrangler/Gladiator seem like a risk without a lot of reward.
This was rumored for the JL and Jeep fans were ready to burn Stellantis HQ to the ground.
