Death wobble with leveling kit? Please explain

[BahlSacke]

I have another thread asking about buying, and on my research I've stumbled upon this so called death wobble when adding a leveling kit. I'm considering a 2015 truck that has a leveling kit with slightly larger tires and aftermarket wheels (they look to have an offset to them and stick out slightly from the wheel well) - but nothing ridiculous.

1) Is this death wobble relevant to this year truck? It looks like a lot of convo I saw was on early 2000s trucks, but I couldn't find an answer to if/when this issue was fixed.

2) Is death wobble caused by the leveling itself, or more because its usually accompanied by larger tires/offset wheels?

3) Offset wheels - how badly do they destroy the wheel bearings?

4) I'm half thinking of asking if they'll throw on a set of stock aluminums with the stock 275's - will those fill up the wheel wells enough with the leveling kit, or will it look goofy? I'd rather have less wear and tear on parts and fuel mileage - not really concerned with "cool bigger tires"

Ninja edit 5) Is there a speed that it is most prevalent? I will obviously want to test drive it again and see if there is any shaking/wobbling.

 

[turkeybird56]

Delete

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Go to the Thuren Suspension Technology Site. They have the information you're looking for.

 

[PaulTGarrett]

"Death wobble" is a function of lift and alignment. It is not specific to any model year. When I put the lift on my '75 Bronco back in high school it wobbled at random speeds on random roads at random times. I finally took it to the tire shop and they fixed it. Turned out to be the camber was very in-perceptively cupping the tread on my front tires. Some alignment shims and swap the back tires to the front fixed it.

There are a lot of different components involved in the front suspension of any 4x4 (including the tires), it only takes a couple of them to be out of whack to start a wobble.

Besides the link that G mentioned above, here's another good one:

http://blog.carlisuspension.com/2016/03/the-death-of-death-wobble.html

 

[novelmike]

I didn’t go through and read the links other guys posted. But I thought the death wobble was a solid axle problem. Not the Ram 1500 independent suspension.
What size Ram do you have?

 

[LugsLeadOut84]

I didn’t go through and read the links other guys posted. But I thought the death wobble was a solid axle problem. Not the Ram 1500 independent suspension.

I believe that's true regarding a completely stock truck. But the fact that many truck owners change rims, tires, suspension, etc. is often the root cause. Some excerpts from related articles:

"Death wobble is very common on vehicles with a solid front axle and coil spring suspension that utilize a track bar. Most Jeeps, as well as Dodge and Ford trucks have this style suspension and are known to experience death wobble."

In terms of death wobble, your vehicle’s suspension system is designed with factory components in mind…factory wheels and tires, factory angles on ball joints and other components, etc. Some lift kits (not all) do a very poor job of preserving factory angles, which can lead to death wobble. Likewise, dramatically bigger wheels and tires can accelerate the wear of bushings, push the steering stabilizer past design limits, etc. If you’ve got a lift kit and you’ve got death wobble, you might want to talk to the lift kit manufacturer about your problem.

If you install a lift kit, a large after-market set of wheels and tires, or any other components that alter your vehicle’s suspension geometry, consider investing in heavy-duty suspension components to match. After all, no factory suspension is designed to accommodate a set of 37″ tires riding on heavy after-market rims.

Finally, if you find yourself pushing your vehicle exceptionally hard – jumping sand dunes, heavy-duty off-roading, racing, etc. – you must make a point to inspect your suspension on a regular basis. Even a small bend in a panhard rod is all it takes to cause death wobble.


Summing up, death wobble is mostly about wear and tear. While all vehicle manufacturers could do a better job of “beefing up” the factory suspension systems, the simple fact is that death wobble is easily prevented with periodic inspection and maintenance.

Full article: https://www.wermopar.com/blog/dodge-death-wobble#.XAx_iOJReUk