If your Wrangler or Gladiator drives worse than it did before the lift, the lift is probably not the problem. The install is. A shop that has spent years correcting other shops' lifts says a modified Jeep should drive better than stock, not worse, and that the fixes are almost always the same handful of things.
That shop is EPIC Adventure Outfitters, a Jeep shop in Western Canada that works only on late model Jeeps. On their podcast 2 Dudes 1 Wrench, hosts Paul and Christian spent an episode titled "Your Lifted Jeep Drives Like Garbage. Here's Why." on what they check when a badly driving lifted Jeep rolls in. We are not a suspension shop, so everything below is their experience, attributed to them, with manufacturer pages linked where a part is named.
1. Tire pressure is set for the wrong tire
This is the first thing EPIC checks and the most common problem on Jeeps arriving from a dealer alignment. Setting pressure is step one of an alignment, and a technician who does not work on modified vehicles sets it to the door placard, a number chosen for the tire the Jeep shipped with. On a 35 or a 37, it is too high. EPIC has seen lifted Jeeps arrive at 45 PSI and up.
What they run instead: a JL on bigger tires usually leaves their shop at 30 PSI and a Gladiator at 32, with most landing between 26 and 32 depending on tire size, load, and driving style. That is a starting point; raise the rear when you load the Jeep. To find your own number, run a chalk test: chalk a line across the tread, drive a short straight stretch, and see what wore off. If only the center scrubbed, the pressure is too high. Airing down for the trail is a separate subject, covered in our airing down guide.
2. Wheel size and offset
EPIC is blunt about 20- and 22-inch wheels on a solid-axle Jeep: a thin sidewall takes the cushion out of the tire and makes the suspension do all the work. They consider 17 inches the practical standard, since it clears the brakes while keeping a real sidewall.
Offset matters just as much. The wrong offset pushes the tire outboard and changes the scrub radius, where the steering axis meets the ground relative to the contact patch. EPIC says the result is vague steering, more stress on steering parts, and rock chips down both sides of the Jeep. Our bolt pattern and torque spec guide covers wheel fitment by generation, the gear ratio calculator shows what a bigger tire did to your gearing, and the tire cover sizing guide covers the new spare.
3. Load range and unsprung weight
This one is not about the lift at all. It is about what you bolted to it.
Tire load range is a capacity rating, and the letters line up with the old ply ratings: C is the equivalent of a 6 ply, D an 8, E a 10. A load range E tire is built to carry what a three quarter ton or one ton truck carries, which means a sidewall engineered to stay stiff under weight a Wrangler never puts on it. Plenty of popular off-road tires only come in E, so people end up on them without ever choosing them.
On a light solid-axle Jeep the result is a sidewall that barely flexes. The tire stops absorbing small impacts and hands them to the shock instead, and the ride gets busy on exactly the surfaces where the tire should be doing the work. It is the same complaint as section one arriving by a different route, and the two compound: an E tire at door-placard pressure is stiff twice over.
Weight matters separately. Unsprung weight is everything the springs do not carry, which is the wheel, the tire, the brake, and part of the axle and suspension. Heavier wheels and tires make that mass larger, and a heavier assembly accelerates and stops more slowly when the road pushes it up and down. The suspension gets worse at following the surface, and the brakes have more rotating mass to deal with. A heavy wheel paired with a heavy E-rated tire adds a meaningful amount of weight in the worst possible place.
Two honest caveats. Owners genuinely disagree about how much of this they can feel, and plenty report running E and D tires at similar pressures without noticing much. And pressure is the bigger lever either way, because the right number on an E tire beats the wrong number on a D. If you are not towing or hauling, a C or D load range in the same size is worth asking about before you buy. Whatever you end up on, the maximum inflation is printed on the sidewall, and that is the number that governs, not the door placard.
4. A spacer on a stock spring is not a lift
Most lifts EPIC installs are 2.5 to 3.5 inches, and 3.5 accounts for roughly 80 percent of what leaves their building. The trouble starts when someone gets that height with a spacer on the factory coil. In their words, you have built stilts: the spring still carries only the weight it was designed for, and nothing about the geometry has been corrected.
One detail they call out: the spring isolators on current Jeeps are ramped and meant to sit in a specific orientation. Put one back in wrong, and the spring doesn't sit straight. A coil that bows at rest can mean a misplaced isolator, an off-center axle, or the wrong spring. A proper lift, by their description, is a coil built for the load, a matching shock, and the geometry work below.
5. Control arms fix caster, not geometry
This is where EPIC spends the most time. After a lift, the usual fix is adjustable control arms. Those set caster and pinion angle, which matters, but they do not change the path the axle takes over a bump. With the frame raised, the lower arms angle steeply down to the axle, so an impact travels back along the arm into the frame instead of up into the spring and shock.
Drop brackets, still a divisive subject, lower the frame-side mounts so the arms sit close to parallel with the road again. According to EPIC, AEV introduced the JK versions and was mocked for years before others copied them. AEV's own page for its JK geometry correction brackets describes them as restoring caster, reducing brake dive, reducing axle precession from uncorrected lift geometry, and slightly reducing front driveshaft angle. AEV also states the brackets are for Jeeps that keep the factory control arms and are not to be used with adjustable arms, so follow the bracket maker's instructions.
EPIC calls the result long-arm handling without the long-arm price, cutting, welding, or permanence. Long arm kits have a place, and older TJs often needed them, but for a daily-driven or overland JL or JT, they consider one more than most owners will use. Our guide to expensive Jeep upgrades and their cheaper alternatives applies the same thinking elsewhere. On arm joints, their preference is the MetalCloak Duroflex joint, which MetalCloak describes as a patented, rebuildable, low-maintenance elastomer joint.
6. Track bar brackets belong on the axle
Lifting a Jeep changes its roll center, and the fix is to move the track bar mount, front and rear. The trap is which end you move. In the JK era, EPIC says cheaper kits shipped a bracket that lowered the frame side because it was easier to make, on the logic that a two-inch lift needs a two-inch drop. That was never based on real measurements, and lowering the frame side makes roll center worse than leaving the stock bar alone. Quality kits raise the mount on the axle side. For most daily or overland use, they say the stock track bars can stay as long as both axle-side brackets are installed, since the brackets also recenter the axles.
7. Riding on the bump stops
EPIC looks under every arriving Jeep for the gap between the axle and the bump stop. They have seen Jeeps a month out of a lift sitting on the stops, with the stop already split. With no up travel left, every bump hits twice: once through the tire and spring, then again when the axle slams the stop.
Two things cause it. First, bump stops are never extended for the new height and tire size. EPIC uses TeraFlex shim pads for this, and TeraFlex's JL strike pad shim kit describes that job: extending the reach of the factory bump stops on lifted Jeeps, with stackable shims and notes for 35, 37, and larger tires. The second cause is weight. Factory springs, in EPIC's words, carry the driver, a slender passenger, and maybe a set of golf clubs. Add a bumper, a winch, a rack, and a fridge, and the Jeep settles, taking its up travel with it.
That leads to a phrase they dislike: my springs sagged. Nine times out of ten, with a reputable brand, the Jeep is overloaded, not sagged. Unload it and see if it returns to height. The real fix is to build the spring rate for the job, which is why EPIC asks what the Jeep is for before recommending a kit. Most overland weight lands in the rear, so they run heavier rear coils and choose front coils for the engine.
8. Aftermarket sway bars trade stability for flex
EPIC sees Jeeps arrive with an aftermarket sway bar such as a Currie Antirock and an owner who cannot understand why the Jeep feels loose on the highway. Their explanation: a bar of that style will never be as stable on the road as the factory bar, and it will never articulate as well as a disconnected bar. It sits in the middle, adding stability on off-camber trail while allowing more flex than stock.
Sway bars also work as a pair. Replace one end and the front and rear are no longer tuned to each other; if only one, EPIC would rather see the rear. Expect more maintenance either way, since heim-jointed end links pick up grit and salt and get noisy long before they fail.
9. A road test, then a real alignment
Some Jeeps reaching EPIC from other shops have control arms adjusted until they touch the spring. Their rule: things should not touch, and every shop should road test a lifted Jeep before handing it back. Then get an alignment from a shop that works on modified vehicles. A general tech looks for green numbers on the rack, and a Jeep can be fully in the green and still drive badly, because the machine does not see a bowed spring or an axle sitting on its bump stops.
One more thing: an alignment does not fix death wobble. The suspension check that is supposed to be part of an alignment is what finds the worn or loose part behind it. Our death wobble guide walks through that inspection part by part.
And one that almost never makes the list: your headlight aim. Lifting rotates the housings upward along with everything else, so a beam set at factory ride height now points high and wide. Federal regulators started rewriting the lighting standards in October 2026, and taller trucks are named as a reason. We cover what that means, and the wall method for fixing your aim in the driveway, in the new headlight rules and your lifted rig.
What to ask a shop before the lift goes on
EPIC says an afternoon of reading covers most of what you should be asking. The short list, from their episode:
- What tire pressure will you set, and why? If the answer is the door placard, keep asking.
- Is this a coil lift or a spacer, and is the spring rate chosen for how I will load the Jeep?
- How are you correcting control arm geometry? Adjustable arms alone set caster and pinion angle.
- Which side are the track bar brackets on? Axle side, front and rear.
- Are you extending the bump stops for the new height and tire size?
- If the sway bar is changing, are you doing both ends?
- Who does the alignment, and do they work on lifted vehicles?
A modified Jeep should be the best driving Jeep you have owned. If yours is not, this list is where a good shop will start.
Based on the 2 Dudes 1 Wrench episode published October 5, 2026 by EPIC Adventure Outfitters, sponsored by onX Offroad. General information, not a fitment recommendation for your specific Jeep.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good tire pressure for 35-inch tires on a Jeep?
There is no single number, because the door placard pressure was set for the tire the Jeep shipped with. EPIC says a JL on 35s or 37s usually leaves their shop at 30 PSI and a Gladiator at 32, with most landing between 26 and 32 depending on tire, load, and driving style. Confirm yours with a chalk test.
Are lifted Jeeps hard to drive?
Not when the lift is done right. EPIC says a modified Jeep should drive better than stock. When one drives badly, the cause is in the install: tire pressure set too high, the wrong wheel offset, a spacer on a stock spring, uncorrected control arm geometry, or a track bar bracket on the wrong side.
What do drop brackets do on a Jeep?
They lower the frame-side control arm mounts so the arms sit close to level again after a lift. EPIC explains that adjustable arms alone only set caster and pinion angle, while drop brackets change the path the axle takes over a bump. AEV describes its JK brackets as restoring caster, reducing brake dive, and reducing axle precession.
Can low tire pressure cause death wobble?
Not on its own. A low, unevenly worn, or out-of-round tire can trigger a wobble on a front end that already has play, but the play is the cause. EPIC adds that an alignment does not fix death wobble either; the suspension check that comes with a proper alignment is what finds the worn part.
How often does a lifted Jeep need an alignment?
Right after the lift, and again whenever you change tire size, control arms, the track bar, or steering parts. EPIC says it should come from a shop that works on modified vehicles, because a technician who only looks for green numbers can hand back a Jeep that is in spec and still drives badly.
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