American Gladiator: Taking Suspension to the Next Level

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Taking Our JT From Street-Ready to Fully Adjustable

Project American Gladiator has never been about bolting on parts just for the sake of changing things. We’ve already spent plenty of time turning our Jeep Gladiator into a capable, good-looking truck that works on the street, but like most project vehicles, there eventually comes a point when “good” isn’t good enough. This time around, we’re digging underneath the Jeep and taking the suspension to the next level.

The big change is simple: we’re going from a street-ready suspension setup to a fully adjustable system that gives us much more control over how the Gladiator sits, steers, articulates, and handles on both pavement and dirt.

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At the center of the project is the TeraFlex 3.5-inch Alpine RT3 Long Arm Extended-Travel Suspension System. This isn’t just another lift kit. Adjustable Alpine IR long arms allow us to dial in caster, pinion angles, rear anti-squat geometry, and tire position, while the long-arm brackets help restore better control-arm geometry as ride height increases. Independent Rotation bushings are designed to reduce bind as the suspension cycles, and the extended-travel setup allows up to 16 inches of rear suspension travel.

Steering gets some attention, too. The Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Fast Adjust Steering Stabilizer gives us Soft, Medium, and Firm settings, allowing steering damping to be changed depending on where and how we’re driving.

We’re also adding TeraFlex’s HD Forged Adjustable Front Track Bar and Rear Track Bar Axle Bracket Kit to help get the axles properly positioned as the suspension changes. Out back, a TeraFlex Forged ST rear sway bar will add another piece to the handling puzzle.

Finally, more suspension and bigger tires don’t mean much if you can’t haul everything back down. A TeraFlex Delta Brake System will upgrade the braking at all four corners.

This first installment is about laying out the game plan. In the coming issues, we’ll tear into American Gladiator, install each piece, get everything dialed in, and see just how much difference a properly adjustable long-arm suspension can make.

The goal isn’t simply to sit higher. It’s to make American Gladiator work better everywhere we take it. For now, let’s dig into the parts we are using for this project.

The Falcon SP2 3.3 Fast Adjust Piggyback Shocks give American Gladiator another big piece of the adjustability puzzle. A three-position Fast Adjust knob handles major damping changes, while the Custom setting adds an eight-position dial for finer tuning, letting us dial the shocks in for everything from street miles to rougher off-road terrain.

The Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 Fast Adjust Steering Stabilizer gives us another way to fine-tune how American Gladiator behaves behind the wheel. Its Fast Adjust knob offers Soft, Medium, and Firm settings, while Falcon’s Equal Force design provides balanced side-to-side resistance and a consistent return-to-center feel whether we’re cruising the street or hitting the trail.

Keeping the front axle centered is a big deal once you start adding lift and suspension travel. The TeraFlex HD Forged Adjustable Front Track Bar lets us properly position the axle under American Gladiator while its heavy-duty construction handles the added side loads that come with bigger tires, hard steering inputs, and time off-road.

The TeraFlex Rear Track Bar Axle Bracket helps get American Gladiator’s rear suspension geometry back where it belongs after adding lift. Multiple mounting positions let us dial in the rear axle’s lateral alignment while correcting roll center and helping reduce body roll, giving the JT better control on the street and trail.

The TeraFlex HD Forged Adjustable Rear Track Bar adds the strength and adjustability needed to keep American Gladiator’s rear axle properly centered as the suspension cycles. It’s 50 percent stronger than the factory track bar and uses a turnbuckle-style adjuster, giving us another way to dial in the rear suspension while handling the added side loads that come with hitting the trail.

The TeraFlex Forged ST Rear Sway Bar moves the sway bar from the axle to the frame, opening the door for up to 16 inches of rear wheel travel while maintaining factory-style stability. Forged 4140 construction and curved sway-bar arms give American Gladiator the strength and clearance it needs as we push the new suspension through its full range of motion.

With bigger tires and more suspension under American Gladiator, better stopping power is a must. The TeraFlex Delta Brake System upgrades all four corners with opposed 4-piston calipers and massive 14×1.25-inch vented rotors, giving our lifted JT stronger, more consistent braking while still working with the factory ABS and proportioning valve.

Sources

TeraFlex Suspension
(801) 713-3314

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Chris Hamilton

Chris Hamilton is an automotive journalist, editor, and lifelong truck enthusiast with extensive experience covering custom truck builds, fabrication, performance upgrades, aftermarket products, and a ...