PDA

View Full Version : Im no retard (long arm suspension question)



XJ4IV
06-04-2010, 11:15 PM
but I would say you need TWO upper control arms... Now I know they have done their homework but what am I missing to make this work?

http://www.discountjeepparts.com/images/products/rockkrawler/rkxjxflau.jpg

http://www.discountjeepparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/27372

4.3LXJ
06-05-2010, 09:29 AM
There is nothing missing here. You can run a three link, and in fact I am currently. The only thing about is that the stock upper bushings won't last long doing it. This particular set up will work, but the upper control arm being so much longer will tip the housing forward at full droop and rotate it backwards at full stuff, which might be an advantage in some applications. The other thing here is that with no soft bushings in the lower control arms, it will transfer a lot of gear noise to the unibody.

XJ4IV
06-05-2010, 11:40 AM
Any pics of this actually installed I'm kinda intrigued

alwaysxj
06-05-2010, 02:16 PM
a three link will flex a lot better.... i want one on my jeep.

XJ4IV
06-05-2010, 02:48 PM
4.3 can you snap a pic of the setup? where does the upper link connect both axle side and ...frame/crossmember side. Is it CENTERED??? or off to one side using existing factory mounts?

4.3LXJ
06-05-2010, 08:34 PM
It is just a Y link with only one link hooked up on the long arm. Nothing fancy. However, I am starting to strengthen the frame with 1/4" flat iron and will be going to a true 3 link then in preparation for my new axles next winter. You will be much more interested in it then.

Voldemort
06-06-2010, 10:31 PM
That kit runs a upper arm to the frame some kits(Iron Rock offroad) uses I three link radius arm, Most guys do not go four link when they do long arms they do radius arms which runs the uppers to the lowers. I think it is all a matter of what kind of wheeling you are going to do and how much it sees the street.
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-X_LAK&Category_Code=PFX
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/BLACKHILLS07_135.jpg

XJ4IV
06-06-2010, 10:46 PM
WOW look how easy it will be to replace springs LOL never have to compress springs again

4.3LXJ
06-07-2010, 09:15 AM
I never have seen the wisdom of running shocks long enough to do that.

Mudderoy
06-07-2010, 09:43 AM
I never have seen the wisdom of running shocks long enough to do that.

That looks like an excellent example for limiting straps. Very cool though, makes me want long arms more.

I heard at the meet and greet that I may not want long arms due to the bad ON ROAD handling. Thoughts?

4.3LXJ
06-07-2010, 09:48 AM
That looks like an excellent example for limiting straps. Very cool though, makes me want long arms more.

I heard at the meet and greet that I may not want long arms due to the bad ON ROAD handling. Thoughts?

Long arms handle well on road and give a better ride due to less vibration when hitting obstacles. Mine home grown ones handle very well, as least as well as the stock ones ever did.

Mudderoy
06-07-2010, 09:51 AM
Long arms handle well on road and give a better ride due to less vibration when hitting obstacles. Mine home grown ones handle very well, as least as well as the stock ones ever did.

I should have said how the handling is worse, or what I was told. I was told long arms do not do well in turns. Have a tendency to wander around. Sway bar is a must.

4.3LXJ
06-07-2010, 09:56 AM
Sway bar is a must anyway in my opinion. If set up properly with the right castor, tight track bar and sway bar, there will be no wandering.

alwaysxj
06-07-2010, 10:41 AM
when i built my long arm for my 88 that i just had. it rode like a new jeep after i put the long arms on, i never had a front or rear sway bar on the jeep, before the long arm it was hard to keep it on the road at free way speeds. then the long arm came and it was so nice to drive i had nothing bad to say about it as far as ride.

Mudderoy
06-07-2010, 11:03 AM
when i built my long arm for my 88 that i just had. it rode like a new jeep after i put the long arms on, i never had a front or rear sway bar on the jeep, before the long arm it was hard to keep it on the road at free way speeds. then the long arm came and it was so nice to drive i had nothing bad to say about it as far as ride.

Well it wasn't going to keep me from doing the long arms, I was just concerned for anyone else that might be driving the Jeep. My daughters are driving, and near driving age.

alwaysxj
06-07-2010, 12:00 PM
it think you need to be a pretty good driver to drive some of me jeep anyway.... they are never smooth so i would not let my daughter drive it either..

4.3LXJ
06-07-2010, 12:08 PM
Well it wasn't going to keep me from doing the long arms, I was just concerned for anyone else that might be driving the Jeep. My daughters are driving, and near driving age.

That is a legitimate concern. My goal has always been to have something my wife could drive comfortably.

Mudderoy
06-07-2010, 12:50 PM
That is a legitimate concern. My goal has always been to have something my wife could drive comfortably.

Oh yeah I'm not building something that only one person can drive. :smiley-scared002:

XJ4IV
06-07-2010, 06:05 PM
lol I DID I pity the guy who steals MY jeep LOL EVIL LAUGH
JK no only issue I dont have is the sway bar... its nice to have but I have learned to drive more careful... you learn that when you bring your new born child home from the hospital!

TeXJ
06-14-2010, 03:00 PM
If you want long arms, get them for the ON-road manners. A short arm kit with lowering brackets will do just as well as a long arm kit for MUCH less. I have a RE superflex kit up front, it as the johnny joints, the ones that swival, which helps when flexing. Long arms are cool if you drive your jeep on the road a lot.

For me its a jeep and i dont have the $1,000 plus dollars it takes to get long arms. For that thousand i could put it to much better things like, gears, lockers, 4.1 in the tcase....etc.

alwaysxj
06-14-2010, 04:57 PM
If you want long arms, get them for the ON-road manners. A short arm kit with lowering brackets will do just as well as a long arm kit for MUCH less. I have a RE superflex kit up front, it as the johnny joints, the ones that swival, which helps when flexing. Long arms are cool if you drive your jeep on the road a lot.

For me its a jeep and i dont have the $1,000 plus dollars it takes to get long arms. For that thousand i could put it to much better things like, gears, lockers, 4.1 in the tcase....etc.

$1,000 i built mine for like $240 but i did have all the tools to make it so that saved a lot. i don't think a long arm kit is just for on road. i would much rather wheel a long arm jeep now then a short arm jeep. just my 2.cents.

TeXJ
06-14-2010, 05:58 PM
well having the tools/knowledge goes a looong way. however, most dont have those things. So kits run $1k and up depending on what you get.

alwaysxj
06-14-2010, 11:09 PM
well having the tools/knowledge goes a looong way. however, most dont have those things. So kits run $1k and up depending on what you get.
i know that is why i said i had all the tools to make it, that is why it was so cheap...

TeXJ
06-15-2010, 02:16 PM
i know that is why i said i had all the tools to make it, that is why it was so cheap...

never said that you didnt say that.

alwaysxj
06-15-2010, 03:34 PM
never said that you didnt say that.
i think we are both on the same page here.
done..:D

TeXJ
06-15-2010, 07:39 PM
yeah :D

Hey did you use 4 links plus the trackbar or did you angle them so that you dont need the trackbar?

Mudderoy
06-15-2010, 10:48 PM
I don't know how cheap it is to drop the short arms. I mean a set of upper and lower adjustable arms is what $350? The lowering brackets are $150 range? Plus the lowering brackets are great things to hang your rig up on. I'm just going to get the long arm kit from Rough Country for $600.

4.3LXJ
06-16-2010, 10:29 AM
I would say that the price has come down enough on these kits, that I would consider now that it is worth buying one instead of fabbing one. When I built mine, the price of the hardware to go long arm was $1400. So building one with what I considered a better design for $2-300 certainly made sense. But now, it makes sense to possibly buy one and not spend the time it takes to make one, work the bugs out etc. With the prices currently as they are, there is no reason to really use drop brackets in my opinion. The long arm is definitely the best way to go.

alwaysxj
06-16-2010, 11:01 AM
i would agree with steve (4.3LXJ) that the long arms have come along way. and now they are to the price that it might be worth it to buy one, i did not buy one just for the fact that i had all the tools to make my own, and i wanted to learn how to make them so i did. but if i had to do it again i might buy like the t&t y link.

4.3LXJ
06-16-2010, 11:25 AM
My next suspension upgrade will be to a true three link. Also, I plan to go with rear coils. So here is a kit:

http://www.rockkrawler.com/?r_intro=1

I am not going to spend that kind of change for my suspension. Plus, I will be running a different rear axel than a Dana, so the upper truss might need significant modification anyway, plus I would have to modify my cool 3" exhaust system etc. So I will fab the kit due to cost and fitting my needs. But if I could get it all for a real reasonable price, say half of that, then it might be worth it for me to buy. The front I will take care of for less than $100. The rear for less than $500 including coils

XJ4IV
06-17-2010, 10:42 PM
WOW this thread has been Cleaned up LOL anyhow yeah I tend to agree with muddy here about catching those brackets on stuff... You know me high and tight keeps me wheeling strong with might.

TeXJ
06-18-2010, 12:06 AM
You have nothing to worry about with those brackets, what do you think is going to happen to those arms? Some if not most are designed to bend/flex over rocks and then the metal has memory and goes back. Those brackets are stout, and they are close enough to the tire that they will not hit. JeepinJason that is on here has or at least had them. Ask him.

alwaysxj
06-18-2010, 11:03 AM
i have had drop brackets on a jeep of mine, i only noticed me hitting them once or twice. but not bad enough to hurt anything, but i would still have a long arm.

muddeprived
06-21-2010, 04:39 PM
I ran the drop brackets for about a year and took em off for long arms. I can say from experience that running DB's with 31" or smaller tire is a bad idea. It puts the brackets real close to the ground and I banged em on quite a bit of stuff. They were ALWAYS stuffed and packed with soil/mud/trail debris from dragging em. Going over logs at an angle became increasingly difficult cuz the brackets would land on the log and my tires would spin for traction. Now if I had 33's or bigger then I can justify running the DB's again.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/muddeprived/cherokee/arm%20drop/DSCF5528.jpg

But for what's it worth, the DB's with stock arms ran VERY nicely. $190 for a long-arm ride quality ain't too shabby either (but with cheap, comes a downside: clearance loss).

4.3LXJ
06-21-2010, 06:19 PM
I have never personally run DBs. I just went straight to long arms. But if a guy is on a budget, then DBs are a viable alternative. However full long arms are still the best.

muddeprived
06-21-2010, 06:24 PM
I have never personally run DBs. I just went straight to long arms. But if a guy is on a budget, then DBs are a viable alternative. However full long arms are still the best.

No doubt. :thumbsup: