Long Arm Lift Kits

Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
So I've been doing some poking around looking at lift kits and I've noticed as soon as a company throws the phrase "long arm" they can automatically throw and extra 1000$ onto the price tag. Whats the advantage of a long arm kit? Im assuming when they say "long arm" they mean that the kit includes longer control arms but could someone give me a "Long arm kits for dummies" walk through please? I plan on buying a lift kit sometime in the near future and I would like to know what the difference is so I can make an educated buy. Thanks.
 
Jersey_Devil

Jersey_Devil

New member
It moves the brackets on the frame for the control arms to a new spot and adds longer control arms.. Here's the diff..... In pic

My Sahara had a 4" Rancho long arm suspension lift

ForumRunner_20130101_192114.jpg

My rubi has a 4" Skyjacker lift with factory control arms

ForumRunner_20130101_192216.jpg

Boh pics were taken in the same exact spot... U can see the difference between them if u look at the rear wheel

U can see u get more wheel travel
 
Last edited:
Skirmish

Skirmish

New member
From what I understand, and I could be way off cause that happens a lot, the long arm suspensions keep the axles in a more consistent position when the frame goes up and down or the axle drops and tucks under it. With standard control arms as the distance increases from frame to axle your wheel base shortens, with longer control arms the difference is decreased. The axle drops more straight and less angled in. It has the same effect when lifting your jeep. If you don't have adjustable control arms as you lift higher over stock the axles get closer together with standard arms and less so with long arms.

That part is geometry, this next part is more hearsay so if I'm wrong please feel free to correct me.

As I've been told, the long arm system gives you a better, more stable ride on the road as you get into 4" and taller lifts. The arms do seem to get dragged across rocks more on the trail but you would maintain a longer wheel base when the springs are unloaded. I'm assuming this would also give you less binding in the joints as you flex your axles.
 
Last edited:
Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
Hmmmm, this is all very interesting. But I dont know enough to make a solid decision, so now I ask your guys opinion: For a DD thats gunna be driven off road every now and then (not near as much as I would like ) with the chance of lots of highway driving in my future (in ALL weather conditions) I wanna Jeep thatll get me around the town, acreage and wherever else I may need to get to. Whatta you guys think? Please, say anything and everything
 
Skirmish

Skirmish

New member
Yeah, there are a ridiculous amount of variables. Personally if you aren't building for the purpose of rock crawling I think 35" look great on a JK and will get you most places without tearing up your axles or costing a ton in upgrades. 33" are also an option but wouldn't be my choice, 32's are fine for most people but then why bother lifting it.

So if we assume 35's are the plan I would suggest a 2.5" or 3" lift in which case long arms aren't really necessary. You will get a good stance and plenty of clearance for 35" or 33" tires.

Another big factor is what performance you want. If you want to run fast on trails or just a smooth Caddie like ride on the road.

The more info you put out the more accurate response you will get.
 
Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
Hahahaha and now the twist. Im pretty sure Im the only guy on this forum running a TJ. Sorry, shoulda thrown that out there first thing. For tire sizes I cant see myself ever needing more than a 33" tire. In the near future Ill be upgrading from my stock 30" GS-A's (easy now, I just got my jeep in june. Im in grade 12 with a part time job, not a whole lot of money coming my way) to a 31.5" Duratrac. As for lift height I was think a 2.5" RC lift would do me nicely.
 
supra_launch21v

supra_launch21v

New member
Stay with the normal lift until you KNOW what you are in for. When you make the move to the LONG ARM, a lot of burden goes with it. It is not just a lift kit, it is drive shafts, voiding warranties, cutting off parts of your frame, trackbars, drag links, etc. Do the research and then make an intelligent decision. It stays with you for the life of your Jeep. I would say that your Jeep would appeal to less people when you go to sell it.
 
Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
Exactly what I was thinking. If things go one way when I graduate then Ill be on the highway during the weekends and only having 3 days off during the week. So I dont have a whole lotta time to be mucking around under my jeep cutting and rewelding things. And yes, I agree with you on the resale value thing, though I may not sell it! Ive got a lotta thinking to do
 
Prime8

Prime8

New member
Long arms add the most benefit to better ON-ROAD driving. So if its mostly a daily driver, its a good investment. Just had the EVO Double D Long Arm Kit put on my 13 JKUR and it rides and handles better than stock.
 
Skirmish

Skirmish

New member
I did an install with a TJ on an RC and wasn't impressed with a lot of the parts. I'm no TJ expert but the control arms seemed to be the limiting factor in the front droop. I think it was a 4" but the shocks should have stopped the axle dropping before the CA's hit the axle. We spent 15 hours on that lift which is an insane amount of time but between getting old parts off and having to build all it the control arm joints plus drilling the frame for a track bar bracket and pulling the pitman arm it was a pain in the ass.

I know there are other current and former TJ owners that can give you a better idea of what you need but I would say long arms for that short of a lift are unnecessary for what you are looking for. 33's will probably do you fine though.
 
Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
Skirmish said:
I did an install with a TJ on an RC and wasn't impressed with a lot of the parts. I'm no TJ expert but the control arms seemed to be the limiting factor in the front droop. I think it was a 4" but the shocks should have stopped the axle dropping before the CA's hit the axle. We spent 15 hours on that lift which is an insane amount of time but between getting old parts off and having to build all it the control arm joints plus drilling the frame for a track bar bracket and pulling the pitman arm it was a pain in the ass.

I know there are other current and former TJ owners that can give you a better idea of what you need but I would say long arms for that short of a lift are unnecessary for what you are looking for. 33's will probably do you fine though.
Click to expand...

Awesome, just what I needed to hear. I think Ill be sticking with a regular 2.5" lift. Thanks guys
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
On a TJ, you really should be looking at a long arm kit if you plan on running 4" or more. At that height, your control arms will be sitting at a steep enough angle that it will adversely effect your ride. You will feel this most on pavement or when driving hard and fast off road. Long arms require you to cut off your control arm mounts on the frame so that you can relocated them more toward the middle of your Jeep. By doing this, you can run much longer arms and that will help correct your suspension geometry - make it flatter and that will improve your ride greatly. On a TJ, most long arm kits come with new transfer case skid plates and that's about where your new mounts are located. All the new brackets and longer arms and skid plate make them more expensive. You should also know that it takes a lot more work to install as well.
 
Renagade119

Renagade119

New member
wayoflife said:
On a TJ, you really should be looking at a long arm kit if you plan on running 4" or more. At that height, your control arms will be sitting at a steep enough angle that it will adversely effect your ride. You will feel this most on pavement or when driving hard and fast off road. Long arms require you to cut off your control arm mounts on the frame so that you can relocated them more toward the middle of your Jeep. By doing this, you can run much longer arms and that will help correct your suspension geometry - make it flatter and that will improve your ride greatly. On a TJ, most long arm kits come with new transfer case skid plates and that's about where your new mounts are located. All the new brackets and longer arms and skid plate make them more expensive. You should also know that it takes a lot more work to install as well.
Click to expand...

Ok, that was the last straw, Im dont think I want to do all of that for the amount of off roading I do :naw:
 
Skirmish

Skirmish

New member
Sorry for the hijack but since we are on the subject, at what lift height would you suggest long arms making a real difference on a JK?
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Renagade119 said:
Ok, that was the last straw, Im dont think I want to do all of that for the amount of off roading I do :naw:
Click to expand...

It is a lot of work but worth it if you're going really tall. If you're just planning to run something like 33's or 35's, I would just do a 3"-3.5" lift and call it a day.

Skirmish said:
Sorry for the hijack but since we are on the subject, at what lift height would you suggest long arms making a real difference on a JK?
Click to expand...

I've run factory arms on my JK with as much as 4" of lift. Fortunately, the factory arms on a JK are much longer than that of a TJ and it's totally doable. Longer arms will help make your ride more comfortable and you can feel the benefits of them with as little as 3.5" of lift but, they're not really "needed" until you get up above 4.5".
 
highoctane

highoctane

Caught the Bug
I saw someone mention earlier that a longarm system gives you more travel. This is NOT true. Suspension travel comes from spring/shock length. The long arms keep the suspension angles in check throughout the arc of the suspension's travel. A benefit is a better and smoother on road ride. If your current short arms are binding, maybe because of the use of rubber or urethane bushings that don't flex(like factory arms, Rough Country arms, Sky Jacker arms, etc), instead of flex joints like a johnny joint(Rock Krawler arms, Offroad Evolution arms, Teraflex arms, Full Traction arms), that is an issue with the current short arms you are specifically running, not all short arms have that problem. While switching to longarms will solve your control arm binding issue, switching to a high quality set of short arms with johnny joints or a similar flex joint will also help you take full use of your shock travel and get back flex you are losing due to control arm bind. But, like Eddie said, once you reach a certain lift height, like 4" on a TJ, or say 5" on a JK, those short arms will have a pretty steep angle to them, and at that point a longarm swap would help you greatly. Below those heights, quality short arms will do great.

I've seen long arm kits that use crap bushings and bind during the arc of the suspension's travel. The SkyJacker JK longarm is the kit I saw. It used stiff urethane bushings, and had minimal flex for what a 4" longarm kit should have. Another I've seen is the Rubicon Express longarm. A buddies JK had the 4.5" RE longarm, and it would practically tear the bushings apart while flexing because it was binding so hard. These are all issues with bushings, not the length of the arms. With a quality flex joint, you likely won't have these issues. Eliminating binding is what allows you to take full use of the length of your shocks, to get maximum flex.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
 
Last edited:
Hightower

Hightower

Member
Renagade119 said:
Ok, that was the last straw, Im dont think I want to do all of that for the amount of off roading I do :naw:
Click to expand...

From personal experience if you already have a strong interest in off roading I would build for the future not the present this has been a personal and costly mistake on my part. I only suggest this option if $$$ is not a major factor. I have built up or pulled off to many suspensions, lights, bumpers extra in an tempt to put lipstick on a pig. Good luck with your build.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom