4-link vs 3-link

Jeep2010

Jeep2010

New member
Hey guys and gals, I've been upset with my lift for a little while with clearance. I only have a 2.5" lift and the lift itself is working great. I went too small for what I am doing. My fault. But I've been looking into synergy 4" long arm either 4 stage or 3 stage. I have a 2010 jk sport. It is my daily driver but I go off roading any chance I can. What are the true pros and cons of either 4 or 3 link. Please and thank you.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
There's something to be said about redundancy. If you break a control arm or mount on a 4-link setup, you still have 3-links that you can still drive on and get you home. If you break your only control arm or mount on a 3-link, you're up a creek without a paddle. I have seen it happen and even once on one of my old Jeeps.

In the end, the amount of flex you have will be determined by the length of your shocks - NOT how many links you have.
 
Jeep2010

Jeep2010

New member
wayoflife said:
There's something to be said about redundancy. If you break a control arm or mount on a 4-link setup, you still have 3-links that you can still drive on and get you home. If you break your only control arm or mount on a 3-link, you're up a creek without a paddle. I have seen it happen and even once on one of my old Jeeps.

In the end, the amount of flex you have will be determined by the length of your shocks - NOT how many links you have.
Click to expand...

I've been wondering about that as well. Being in Ohio, I'm not looking for full coilovers but having them in the rear and fox shocks up front. Will the mix match also limit my travel? And a question about yours, does moby and or rubicat have 4-link? I've been researching this like crazy and most offer the same.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Jeep2010 said:
I've been wondering about that as well. Being in Ohio, I'm not looking for full coilovers but having them in the rear and fox shocks up front. Will the mix match also limit my travel?
Click to expand...

Again, your travel will be limited by the length of your Fox shock up front and coil overs in the rear. Your ride on the other hand will most likely suck as your front end won't be able to keep up with your rear. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but, doing this is really a dumb idea. IF anything, you might want to do it the other way around but, in my opinion, that's pretty dumb too.

And a question about yours, does moby and or rubicat have 4-link? I've been researching this like crazy and most offer the same.
Click to expand...

Yes, both my JK's are running 4-links and if you've seen any of our photos or videos, you would know just how much they limit my flex.
 
hinrichs

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
Just being curious here, what are you trying to do that the 2.5" lift cant handle? Hell I ran a 2.5" teraflex lift with 37s and had no issues.
 
Jeep2010

Jeep2010

New member
hinrichs said:
Just being curious here, what are you trying to do that the 2.5" lift cant handle? Hell I ran a 2.5" teraflex lift with 37s and had no issues.
Click to expand...

My biggest thing is that the underbody is getting torn up. I know sometimes it's a bad line on my part but I'd just like to be a little taller with 37s. I didn't expect to be doing as much off road as I am.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Jeep2010 said:
My biggest thing is that the underbody is getting torn up. I know sometimes it's a bad line on my part but I'd just like to be a little taller with 37s. I didn't expect to be doing as much off road as I am.
Click to expand...

Not sure what a 3-link or a 4-link setup has to do with a taller lift and 37's but I guess I should ask, how much taller are you wanting to go? Also, coil overs in the rear won't keep you from beating up the underside of your Jeep. Hell, I run coil overs front and rear and run 40" tires and still beat up the underside of my Jeep - it's just one of those things. :idontknow:
 
Jeep2010

Jeep2010

New member
wayoflife said:
Again, your travel will be limited by the length of your Fox shock up front and coil overs in the rear. Your ride on the other hand will most likely suck as your front end won't be able to keep up with your rear. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but, doing this is really a dumb idea. IF anything, you might want to do it the other way around but, in my opinion, that's pretty dumb too.
Click to expand...

My problem is that I've never been in a jeep with coilovers and been going off research. I don't go fast off roading and that's the biggest thing I've seen. But I love the travel and performance of them. Seeing the videos it's what I want in mine. Piecing parts together is a little harder than I thought.
 
hinrichs

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
Jeep2010 said:
My problem is that I've never been in a jeep with coilovers and been going off research. I don't go fast off roading and that's the biggest thing I've seen. But I love the travel and performance of them. Seeing the videos it's what I want in mine. Piecing parts together is a little harder than I thought.
Click to expand...

I dont think there will be any more runs this year for the typical east coast guys, but a few of us now have Evo bolt on coilvoers, and cozdude has them on his 2 door and I am sure would be more than willing to let you ride in it. Most of the others are JKU owners like myself but still.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Jeep2010 said:
My problem is that I've never been in a jeep with coilovers and been going off research. I don't go fast off roading and that's the biggest thing I've seen. But I love the travel and performance of them. Seeing the videos it's what I want in mine. Piecing parts together is a little harder than I thought.
Click to expand...

I just looked and see that you're from Ohio. Don't get me wrong, I know you guys have some fun wheeling out there but if it were me and I lived out there, I wouldn't be looking at a set of coil overs in the rear just for a bit more travel. At least for me, it just wouldn't be worth it and by the sound of things, you're working on a budget. If that's true, I'd focus more of your attention on getting a good 3"-4" lift, trim your fenders and run a set of 37" tires. For the kind of off-road parks you have out there, it should be more than enough to get the job done. After you run the same trails over and over a few times, you'll find the lines and you'll find that coil overs aren't as needed as you thought.

Just trying to keep it real.
 
J

JokerJKU

New member
Jeep2010 said:
Hey guys and gals, I've been upset with my lift for a little while with clearance. I only have a 2.5" lift and the lift itself is working great. I went too small for what I am doing. My fault. But I've been looking into synergy 4" long arm either 4 stage or 3 stage. I have a 2010 jk sport. It is my daily driver but I go off roading any chance I can. What are the true pros and cons of either 4 or 3 link. Please and thank you.
Click to expand...

Synergy Stage 3 and Stage 4 lifts are both 4 link designs (Stage 3 is a 3" lift with short arms, Stage 4 is a 4" kit with long arms). Synergy doesn't sell a 3 link kit for JK's. One question, if you have a 2.5" lift currently, why would you even consider a 3" lift? Seems like a lot to spend for virtually no difference in ride height.

Their long arm kit isn't a bad kit (way better than say the Teraflex option), have quite a few friends that run it. It's pretty similar to the non-high clearance long arm kit that EVO sells though I don't think the arms are as stout having picked up both. Ride is much improved over stock arms with a 4 inch lift as you'd expect.

RK, Artec, Genright, and a few others sell 3-link kits for the JK but as Eddie mentioned, you absolutely run the risk of stranding yourself if one of your arms fails while you're wheeling. Bit more margin of safety with a 4-link/trackbar set-up. Probably not as big a deal if most of your wheeling is in parks. Much bigger deal if you're out west and the nearest help is many, many, many miles away over very rough terrain.
 
Jeep2010

Jeep2010

New member
JokerJKU said:
Synergy Stage 3 and Stage 4 lifts are both 4 link designs (Stage 3 is a 3" lift with short arms, Stage 4 is a 4" kit with long arms). Synergy doesn't sell a 3 link kit for JK's. One question, if you have a 2.5" lift currently, why would you even consider a 3" lift? Seems like a lot to spend for virtually no difference in ride height.

Their long arm kit isn't a bad kit (way better than say the Teraflex option), have quite a few friends that run it. It's pretty similar to the non-high clearance long arm kit that EVO sells though I don't think the arms are as stout having picked up both. Ride is much improved over stock arms with a 4 inch lift as you'd expect.

RK, Artec, Genright, and a few others sell 3-link kits for the JK but as Eddie mentioned, you absolutely run the risk of stranding yourself if one of your arms fails while you're wheeling. Bit more margin of safety with a 4-link/trackbar set-up. Probably not as big a deal if most of your wheeling is in parks. Much bigger deal if you're out west and the nearest help is many, many, many miles away over very rough terrain.
Click to expand...

Synergy has a 4" stage 3 and talking on the phone with them, they said stage 4 was 4-link and stage 3 was a 3-link. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. I wouldn't look at a 3 inch lift for the reason of no difference. I get that point completely.
 
BumpStick

BumpStick

New member
A properly engineered 4 link will have just as much "usable" axle travel/flex as a 3 link. "Usable" because ultimately if its engineered properly your limiting factor will not be binding of any joints it will be the travel of your shocks... Do I have a degree in engineering, No. That is why I leave suspension design up to an engineer on my jeep. I dont want to deal with all the angles and calculations required, leaving it to someone who does it everyday. Most bolt on 3 links will flex better than a 4 link (bolt on and mass produced suspensions have compromises; ease of installation, price-point, on-road vs off-road ride quality). But a 4 link will be more stable at high speeds than a 3 link.... A rock crawling set up will not work well or be as stable desert running as a Desert Racing set up. And the Desert racing set up will not be as good in the rocks. There are always compromises that have to be made. It really boils down to what you are going to do with your rig and how much you are willing to spend.

Even if budget is no option, look at the King Of the Hammers guys, its High Speed desert and rock crawling. They have find a balance between the 2 that fits their game plan and drives style.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
BumpStick said:
But a 4 link will be more stable at high speeds than a 3 link.... A rock crawling set up will not work well or be as stable desert running as a Desert Racing set up. And the Desert racing set up will not be as good in the rocks. There are always compromises that have to be made. It really boils down to what you are going to do with your rig and how much you are willing to spend.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm no engineer either but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express once. That being said, I live up in Northern Nevada and have both the wide open desert to bomb through as well as trails like the Rubicon in my back yard. Being that there are "always compromises" that have to be made, perhaps you can educate me as to what they are so that I can make an informed decision as to how I should build my Jeep.

Even if budget is no option, look at the King Of the Hammers guys, its High Speed desert and rock crawling. They have find a balance between the 2 that fits their game plan and drives style.
Click to expand...

You do know that pretty much all the Ultra 4 cars that win and or at least finish KOH are running IFS/IRS, right?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
BumpStick said:
I did not know that only Ultra 4 cars run and finish KOH
Click to expand...

They aren't the only cars to run KOH but they ARE pretty much the only ones that do finish. Not that I've ever been to KOH or helped to pit for a team there or anything so you can take what I have to say with a grain of salt. :cool:

EDIT: I should add that KOH is an Ultra 4 event as in, you need to be in the 4400 class to race it. Now, I understand that you might be referring to the "Everyman's Challenge" but, that's not really the same thing. Tough as hell for sure and one that very few people finish but, not the same.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom