Long arm upgrade, worth it?

[wayoflife]

Does it make it higher?

As Mike_JK_Houston_711 said, your ride height is determined by your coils. Long arms only correct your suspension geometry.

Also noticed on some upgrade kits that there's 3 arms for the rear? I'm talking RKs upgrade kit with the rear link.

A true triangulated 4-link or even a tri-link setup would give you nice bind free articulation and would allow you to eliminate your track bar. What you're seeing is a kit that still requires the use of a track bar and there for is simply a kit with one less link. Being that I have personally seen control arms and their mounts fail, I personally like the power of redundancy. Break one of 4 arms and you can still drive off the trail. Break one of 3 arms and your up a creek without a paddle.

 

[deezus]

As Mike_JK_Houston_711 said, your ride height is determined by your coils. Long arms only correct your suspension geometry.



A true triangulated 4-link or even a tri-link setup would give you nice bind free articulation and would allow you to eliminate your track bar. What you're seeing is a kit that still requires the use of a track bar and there for is simply a kit with one less link. Being that I have personally seen control arms and their mounts fail, I personally like the power of redundancy. Break one of 4 arms and you can still drive off the trail. Break one of 3 arms and your up a creek without a paddle.

So, with the RK kit, it keeps the rear track bar right? But what about upper and lower rear arms? Sorry, but im trying to figure this out and im trying to understand why this kit has only 3 arms for the rear.

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[wayoflife]

So, with the RK kit, it keeps the rear track bar right? But what about upper and lower rear arms? Sorry, but im trying to figure this out and im trying to understand why this kit has only 3 arms for the rear.

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Because in theory, 3 links will give you a greater degree of bind free flex. Ideally, you would do this by using a tri-link or triangulated 4-link to replace your upper arms but due to the design of the JK and it's big gas tank that's in the way, this is not possible. So, Rock Krawler decided to just use a single link down the middle but to do this, they needed to keep the track bar. The setup works, I've just seen way too many control arms and/or mounts break in the past and again, you can drive off the trail with 3 links. You cannot with 2. Of course, I have yet to see where my 4-link setup has prevented me from obtaining the kind of flex that I have.

 

[deezus]

Gotcha. And yours is Evo? I ask because i like both but for me, if i do decide to go longarm im not going higher and i prefer RK springs over plush ride and not sure if i could use one with the other.

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[wayoflife]

Gotcha. And yours is Evo? I ask because i like both but for me, if i do decide to go longarm im not going higher and i prefer RK springs over plush ride and not sure if i could use one with the other.

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Ummm, the only reason to go long arm is because you're wanting to run a taller lift and as far as springs go, Plush Rides tend to measure up on the short side of things. Don't know where you're sitting at now but it sounds to me like you really don't need a long arm kit.

EDIT: I just went back to the original post and see that you said you were running 3.5" of lift. At that height, I really would question the need for a long arm kit.

 

[jesse3638]

So, i could do a long arm with a 3.5" lift? Didnt know that....what would be the pros and cons?

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I'm running a 3" full traction long arm lift. I have no complaints. I was told however if I plan on going bolt on coil overs I'll probably go through clevites pretty regularly as they allow more flew compared to shock and coil set ups. We'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Edit: I know going with 3" of lift long arm was over kill but I know I wasn't going to keep things as is and would always be upgrading therfore if I didn't invest the time and money now I'd pay more in time and money later.

pros are just an overall better ride. returns all your geometry back to stock or close to it.

cons - more expensive kits, requires additional costs in labor unless you do it yourself. one more con is that long arms COULD tend to make contact on ledges which could hang you up at times. i've seen a few rigs dragging their long arms on obstacles, where stock arm rigs on same lifts walked up with no contact. but this is a con to be less worried about, really.

^^^This^^ My LCA's and brackets are pretty beat up but they are 2"x.250 wall DOM tubing and 1/4" brackets. I asked if it would be a problem if I hit or dragged them before I decided on this kit and was told they would hold up just fine and they have. The LCA brackets do hang a bit low and I have hung up on them a few times but unless you go with EVO's high clearance kit which requires the use of the EVO Lever I believe (Someone correct me if I'm wrong) they are all going to be there including EVO's bolt on long arm kit.

No longs arms don't make your rig any higher. Ride height is only determined by your springs or coils.


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^^^This^^^

 

[OhNoTheJiggies]

I want to get long arms, but mainly for the better on road ride quality. Since I'm sitting at 4 1/4" lift. Buy I hear it gives you more flex too [emoji12] lol jk


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[deezus]

Now i know the pros and cons,Yes i do believe im gonna stay as is, ty for the input. Even Northridge told me not to and they sell stuff haha

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[Trail Jeeps]

Now i know the pros and cons,Yes i do believe im gonna stay as is, ty for the input. Even Northridge told me not to and they sell stuff haha

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I think that's a good call. Spend the money on some nice shocks, gears, lockers, axle shafts, ect where you will get a better bang for your buck!

 

[deezus]

I think that's a good call. Spend the money on some nice shocks, gears, lockers, axle shafts, ect where you will get a better bang for your buck!

Yea I'm running super long shocks now, I wanna go with king and they are about the same cost as the long arm upgrade....

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