[unclejjg]

Might be old news for you guys but I just found the numbers on the Cherokee suspension travel:
Front: 6.7"
Rear: 7.8"
http://www.ammoland.com/2013/03/2014-jeep-cherokee/#axzz2WtcukhD1

As a point of comparison, does anybody know the suspension travel on the Patriot & Liberty?

 

[MoparNorm]

Travel vs articulation. The two are not the same.
The Grand Cherokee has 4.6" of travel, 5.5" of articulation.
The Wrangler has approx. 8" of travel 16"+ of articulation.*
Without a control point and reference, the figures above are meaningless, that is why Jeep once used VCI.



*depending upon model and options.

 

[RVC]

Wouldn't articulation and wheel travel be the same for independent suspension vehicles?

 

[AutoTechnician]

Not necessarily. Travel is just the hard limit of how far one side of the suspension can physically move. Articulation is more or less how much the sides of the suspension can move relative to each other. Articulation is more of a function of the various settings of the suspension, such as spring rate and the anti-sway bar stiffness.

Given that the Cherokee will probably have a "solid" and "confident" ride, it will likely use stiff anti-sway bars and have fairly firm springs which limit articulation.

 

[unclejjg]

Travel vs articulation. The two are not the same.
The Grand Cherokee has 4.6" of travel, 5.5" of articulation.
The Wrangler has approx. 8" of travel 16"+ of articulation.*
Without a control point and reference, the figures above are meaningless, that is why Jeep once used VCI.
*depending upon model and options.

Thanks....fixed it.

 

[MoparNorm]

Not necessarily. Travel is just the hard limit of how far one side of the suspension can physically move. Articulation is more or less how much the sides of the suspension can move relative to each other. Articulation is more of a function of the various settings of the suspension, such as spring rate and the anti-sway bar stiffness.

Given that the Cherokee will probably have a "solid" and "confident" ride, it will likely use stiff anti-sway bars and have fairly firm springs which limit articulation.

Good answer.
Articulation also translates into cabin attitude, in real world terms, "how much does the cabin lean while traversing obstacles?"
If you have 12" of articulation and are traversing over a 14" hole, it might be possible to only alter the cabin attitude by 2".
However as shown in the KL on the Rubicon photos, dropping a wheel into a 30" hole, could result in 18" of air, or cabin tilt.

 

[RVC]

Not necessarily. Travel is just the hard limit of how far one side of the suspension can physically move. Articulation is more or less how much the sides of the suspension can move relative to each other. Articulation is more of a function of the various settings of the suspension, such as spring rate and the anti-sway bar stiffness.

Given that the Cherokee will probably have a "solid" and "confident" ride, it will likely use stiff anti-sway bars and have fairly firm springs which limit articulation.

Ah, forgot about the sway bar connecting the two ends. I was assuming that being two separate halfs they would probably "articulate" to the same extent as their relative wheel travel.

Thanks!

Articulation also translates into cabin attitude, in real world terms, "how much does the cabin lean while traversing obstacles?".

That's another good observation, which together with the inability of IS to basically keep both wheels parallel to the ground (assuming a side-to-side floor gradient) as a fixed axle setup would, is another reason to prefer the latter when offroading I guess,
But I would consider cabin tilt a consequence of articulation, not a metric per se...

 

[MoparNorm]

Ah, forgot about the sway bar connecting the two ends. I was assuming that being two separate halfs they would probably "articulate" to the same extent as their relative wheel travel.

Thanks!
That's another good observation, which together with the inability of IS to basically keep both wheels parallel to the ground (assuming a side-to-side floor gradient) as a fixed axle setup would, is another reason to prefer the latter when offroading I guess,
But I would consider cabin tilt a consequence of articulation, not a metric per se...

Actually, it depends upon how the suspension is set up. Jeep Engineers learned from the real World of Jeepers, to install sway bar disconnects on the Rubicon.
Notice the cabin attitude here, in relationship to the axles. You could not achieve this with IS.

 

[RVC]

Yep that picture illustrates what I meant with the SA keeping the tyres parallel to the ground when on a lateral gradient. A IS would keep them at an angle (unless the whole car was tilted as well).

One question: granted that this level of articulation couldn't be achieved by an IS setup, it wouldn't be necessarily because of the sway bar, but simply because you have two half shafts that link directly to a differential attached to the transmission+car, thus limiting how far down the wheels can go. However, if you were to install a disconnecting sway bar, how many inches (or fractions of inches) do you reckon one would gain? In other words, if they were to allow the sway bar or the KL to disconnect, would that improve things, and by what margin?

 

[Mike V.]

Actually, it depends upon how the suspension is set up. Jeep Engineers learned from the real World of Jeepers, to install sway bar disconnects on the Rubicon.
Notice the cabin attitude here, in relationship to the axles. You could not achieve this with IS.

His left front fender and flare are wishing that he hasn't achieved it :lol:

Mike

 

[MoparNorm]

His left front fender and flare are wishing that he hasn't achieved it :lol:

Mike

That's why they are rubber.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I could use something like that for the potholes around here.

 

[Mike V.]

That's why they are rubber.

That fender isn't rubber :lol: