Proved Again - Alignment Makes a HUGE Difference!
The last few months or so, the steering has felt "funny" on the Jeep and the gas mileage has been going down. A lot. Usually it's 17-20, and I've been getting a solid 13.
Driving to my parents, I used 6.5 gallons of gas. It's a 75 mile drive. I hopped on the Thruway, went 60 and had a slight tail wind. The outside of the front tires was warm ... but both tires were warm from scuffing.
When I got to my parents, I decided to align it. Going off road is hard on steering components and keeping something that's off roaded in alignment is nearly impossible unless you check the alignment after every trip.
Unfortunately, the "funny" steering is caused by lower ball joints that are set up (common on Cherokees).
The alignment was out by a long shot. The front of my 31'' tires were 1'' narrower than the rear. I'm not sure of the exact angles, but they were pretty bad. I left them toed out 1/16''.
The drive back, I made sure to drive it a bit harder. 65MPH and a slight headwind on the interstate, took off hard from intersections. Ended up using 4 gallons of gas on the way back.
It's amazing how much alignment matters.
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