Liberty Handling

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jnaut

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Interesting, I've never heard nor had this complaint before. Last thing I'd ever describe the KJ as is sensitive or go-kart like. I guess it's all relative.


Your tires will play a big part, as well. The OEM street tires I had were actually pretty good for on-road performance. Then I bought my yoko's and my off-road performance increased dramatically, but now my KJ 'hunts' on the freeway with the natural grooves on the road.

It's a little aggravating, but I'll live with the slight on-road dip in performance for the significant gains I made in off-road performance.
 

Mike64

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We are running up to 118 mph here on german highways and everything is fine with the handling. The only thing to think about are the brakes and the weight of the vehicle. You must be very careful an foresighted at this speed.

Mike
 

tulsa

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We are considering purchasing a Liberty to tow behind our motorhome. We have test driven a few and don't care for the freeway handling. The Liberty seems very sensitve and squirrely at freeway speeds. Is there any way of improving it and (I can't believe I'm saying this) making it less sensitive?
Thanks,
Ike

Ike,
I had the same feeling when I first started driving my '05, the feeling went away after a few hundred miles. My '05 actually handles very well on the highway and is without peer in the city(Mall Rated).
Lewis
 

Treyz02KJ

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I know its blasphamy .. but i bought shorter tires to improve acceleration and highway handling. (and aluminum wheels). I've noticed cornering to be a lot less top heavy. The way i drive on pavement this is very important. *235/60 R-16 on 16x7" wheels
 

ChiefRudy

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I've seen a few motorhomes/motorcoaches towing small SUV's behind them and I can't imagine why. The gas mileage of them is almost as bad as the motorhomes/motorcoach :D. For the record a stock Liberty typically gets 22 MPG and weighs about 5000 lbs.

If you're not planning to any offroading then perhaps you could choose a lighter 2WD car for a tow vehicle.

They tow the small SUVs b/c there easier to tow than Cars. Most cars require a dolly. It's hard to find a car the can be flat towed with little or no mods.

FYI A Class A motorhome (Gas engine) gets about 8mpg. thats a far cry from 22 of the liberty. Plus that 8mpg is with it being fully loaded and towing a Vehicle. Thats concidered good mpg for an RV.



To Ikster:
I say get the Liberty. It's an ideal towing Vehicle thats only 4000lbs (The average Car weights 3500lbs). Search the forums on Trailerlife.com I'm sure they can help you out too.
 
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kjpilot

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Your tires will play a big part, as well. The OEM street tires I had were actually pretty good for on-road performance. Then I bought my yoko's and my off-road performance increased dramatically, but now my KJ 'hunts' on the freeway with the natural grooves on the road.

It's a little aggravating, but I'll live with the slight on-road dip in performance for the significant gains I made in off-road performance.

My KJ was stock until about a year ago. My other cars are a '94 Miata with a factory race package... basically a go-kart, & a '94 BMW, known for sensitive communicative steering. Compared to those, the KJ is numb & handles like the QEII:).

Like I said It's all relative.
 

Ry' N Jen

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Last weekend coming home from the Seattle Int. car show (which was a total joke to keep it polite) Jen and I both noticed that the handling was total crap compared to when we drive in B.C. I narrowed it down to the concrete road surface on the I 5. Then drive across freshly grooved concrete road surface and it is even for enjoyable :(
When we were on the return journey back to Canada the rain tarted coming
down hard and anything over 65 MPH and it was instant hydroplaning.
The first words out of my mouth was Hmmm... Need new tires!
Maybe the KJ was house sick, but once we back in B.C. I didn't have any issues with the tires.
 

Ikster

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Why a Liberty

We are considering a Liberty as we do Geocaching and there are great "hides" out in the Arizona desert. So we need a smaller 4WD. It would also be our full time car except when we are in transit with the RV. I know the 2008 Liberty has a wider track and lower CG to improve handling. I just hoped that there were a few things that would make it a little less sensitive on the freeway. Appreciate the positive input.
 

tommudd

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Ikster, go for it, they are a great vehicle, I would buy a older model KJ before the new improved Liberty but thats JMO. Set of higher rate springs will help a great deal along with larger tires which you will need anyways if going out into the desert
 

LibertyOrDeath

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Last weekend coming home from the Seattle Int. car show (which was a total joke to keep it polite) Jen and I both noticed that the handling was total crap compared to when we drive in B.C. I narrowed it down to the concrete road surface on the I 5. Then drive across freshly grooved concrete road surface and it is even for enjoyable :(
When we were on the return journey back to Canada the rain tarted coming
down hard and anything over 65 MPH and it was instant hydroplaning.
The first words out of my mouth was Hmmm... Need new tires!
Maybe the KJ was house sick, but once we back in B.C. I didn't have any issues with the tires.

No from Ft. Lewis to Canada I-5 is a really crappy chuck of road. At least you didn't have to pull over because you thought all 4 tires had popped, which is what I did first time I drove I-5
 

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