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LOW COG suspension setup tricks/tips (REVISED 9-24-12)
04-20-2014, 04:01 AM
#316
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Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L High Output
IRO adjustable arms would be short arms I assume. theres no such thing as mid arms for Cherokees as far as the aftermarket is concerned. only ones I've seen is a DIY kit from dirtbound.
anyway. the best way to measure shocks is to take off all your shocks, flex out your jeep to the max, then take some measurements. then talk to frank at seriousoffroad for which 5100's to order. get the 33's and regear then trade/sell/upgrade and get some 35's if you feel the need
most importantly, I know this thread is full of great tech and low cog dreams. but you're not going to have a true "low cog" rig. ever. just run whatever height is comfortable and whatever fits. my interpretation of the whole thread is that he want's you to understand that you don't need 7" of lift to get "mad flex." that is all. you can run a 4.5" lift and use the same amount of suspension travel.
so quit overthinking the suspension. you (and 90% of the people who read this and think they want a lowcog rig) have got a LONG way to go before your jeep is comparable to KTM's. then even a longer ways to go before your jeep can be built into a true lowcog rig. having a short lift does NOT = lowcog
I like this idea more then more lift. And I like setting goals. Will my rig ever be a true low cog? H€ll no. But do I want it to closer to a low cog lift then a high roller? Yes. I do like the look of higher lifted rigs? Yes I do. But this makes more sense to me. Strangely.
If that makes sense. I'm just trying to do something a bit more different then what most people I know are doing. I am trying to do what you and I believe the original intension behind this thread was. Bigger is not always better.
Oh. And staying the sameish height saves me money to spend on other things that I would like to do.
Now thank you for the answers. I will do all of that. And dang I was hoping they were mid or something cool. Oh well they sit level and not at an angle. Also sorry for the long speech before my thanks. Kinda felt like you were attacking me.
04-20-2014, 04:12 AM
#317
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Location: City of Trees, CA
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Year: 93 2 door
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
why does everyone feel like I'm attacking them. I don't feel like adding smiley faces and LOL's to my responses makes them any more useful. I'm not attacking you
anyway, after running a jeep with only 2" of uptravel I know that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'd much rather have a 5" lift with 4 or 5" of uptravel and long arms than a 3" lift with minimal uptravel. good luck fitting more than 12" of suspension travel in the stock front end locations. like I said just put stuff where it fits and don't think too hard on it. you will rarely notice the difference between a 3" lift and a 5" lift. it's nice to be low, but it's also nice to have uptravel. just slap it together and go wheeling. figure out your preferences and needs later. I'm moving up to a 6" lift because lowcog sucks for anything other than heavy off camber rock crawling at 5mph
anyway, after running a jeep with only 2" of uptravel I know that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'd much rather have a 5" lift with 4 or 5" of uptravel and long arms than a 3" lift with minimal uptravel. good luck fitting more than 12" of suspension travel in the stock front end locations. like I said just put stuff where it fits and don't think too hard on it. you will rarely notice the difference between a 3" lift and a 5" lift. it's nice to be low, but it's also nice to have uptravel. just slap it together and go wheeling. figure out your preferences and needs later. I'm moving up to a 6" lift because lowcog sucks for anything other than heavy off camber rock crawling at 5mph
Last edited by Atmos; 04-20-2014 at 04:14 AM.
04-20-2014, 04:24 AM
#318
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Location: Green Bay Wisconsin
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Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L High Output
why does everyone feel like I'm attacking them. I don't feel like adding smiley faces and LOL's to my responses makes them any more useful. I'm not attacking you
anyway, after running a jeep with only 2" of uptravel I know that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'd much rather have a 5" lift with 4 or 5" of uptravel and long arms than a 3" lift with minimal uptravel. good luck fitting more than 12" of suspension travel in the stock front end locations. like I said just put stuff where it fits and don't think too hard on it. you will rarely notice the difference between a 3" lift and a 5" lift. it's nice to be low, but it's also nice to have uptravel. just slap it together and go wheeling. figure out your preferences and needs later. I'm moving up to a 6" lift because lowcog sucks for anything other than heavy off camber rock crawling at 5mph
anyway, after running a jeep with only 2" of uptravel I know that it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'd much rather have a 5" lift with 4 or 5" of uptravel and long arms than a 3" lift with minimal uptravel. good luck fitting more than 12" of suspension travel in the stock front end locations. like I said just put stuff where it fits and don't think too hard on it. you will rarely notice the difference between a 3" lift and a 5" lift. it's nice to be low, but it's also nice to have uptravel. just slap it together and go wheeling. figure out your preferences and needs later. I'm moving up to a 6" lift because lowcog sucks for anything other than heavy off camber rock crawling at 5mph
Here in Wisconsin on the trails I have been on... there isn't a super need for a lot of up travel. I mean I have alot of up travel with how the PO cut the fenders all crappy like. I have almost a foot from the top of my tire to the body with 31s. So take that how you want.
But with the kind of stuff we have here I just kind of like the idea of being a bit on a low cog area. Which is why I originally said maybe 35s. I think 33s would probably be best if in go bigger. H€ll when I wanted to go to 5" of lift I only wanted to go up to 33s.
I mean remember this is also a DD and well not necessarily a weekend warrior its not a full time dedicates trail rig.
04-20-2014, 04:30 AM
#319
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Year: 93 2 door
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go out on the trail and get some experience. change what you don't like as you realize you don't like it. I recommend getting gears and long arms and 33's before you start nitpicking the suspension. you know? it just doesn't matter as much. you can customize as you go but it's not going to take you far without the 3 major upgrades (lockers, long arms, gears). keep it cheap keep it simple. and most of all remember that it's probably going to change in the near future. doesn't matter if it's a DD or not. good shocks and proper settings will make it ride great at any height whether it's 3" or 6.5"
sorry my tone of text sounds negative. not sure how to change that
sorry my tone of text sounds negative. not sure how to change that
04-20-2014, 04:45 AM
#320
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Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L High Output
go out on the trail and get some experience. change what you don't like as you realize you don't like it. I recommend getting gears and long arms and 33's before you start nitpicking the suspension. you know? it just doesn't matter as much. you can customize as you go but it's not going to take you far without the 3 major upgrades (lockers, long arms, gears). keep it cheap keep it simple. and most of all remember that it's probably going to change in the near future. doesn't matter if it's a DD or not. good shocks and proper settings will make it ride great at any height whether it's 3" or 6.5"
sorry my tone of text sounds negative. not sure how to change that
sorry my tone of text sounds negative. not sure how to change that
I am definitely trying to do lockers and gears. The big thing for me is do I want to upgrade my axles or swap them or not? Do I want an auto locker in the rear and a selectable up front or do I want 2 selectable?
Then because I'm weird I eventually want to do an engine swap to a om617 diesel. So am I gonna want 4.10 or 4.56 gears with that engine? (If for some completely awesome reason you know the answer to this. That'd be freaking sweet)
And then because I'm gonna assume I have to make custom long arms. Gotta get my fabrication skills refined so I can make something that will last and not break/end up killing me you know?
04-20-2014, 05:59 AM
#321
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Carrollton, GA
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Year: 1994
Model: Cherokee
Engine: Inline 6 4.0L High Output
IRO adjustable arms would be short arms I assume. theres no such thing as mid arms for Cherokees as far as the aftermarket is concerned. only ones I've seen is a DIY kit from dirtbound.
anyway. the best way to measure shocks is to take off all your shocks, flex out your jeep to the max, then take some measurements. then talk to frank at seriousoffroad for which 5100's to order. get the 33's and regear then trade/sell/upgrade and get some 35's if you feel the need
most importantly, I know this thread is full of great tech and low cog dreams. but you're not going to have a true "low cog" rig. ever. just run whatever height is comfortable and whatever fits. my interpretation of the whole thread is that he want's you to understand that you don't need 7" of lift to get "mad flex." that is all. you can run a 4.5" lift and use the same amount of suspension travel.
so quit overthinking the suspension. you (and 90% of the people who read this and think they want a lowcog rig) have got a LONG way to go before your jeep is comparable to KTM's. then even a longer ways to go before your jeep can be built into a true lowcog rig. having a short lift does NOT = lowcog
anyway. the best way to measure shocks is to take off all your shocks, flex out your jeep to the max, then take some measurements. then talk to frank at seriousoffroad for which 5100's to order. get the 33's and regear then trade/sell/upgrade and get some 35's if you feel the need
most importantly, I know this thread is full of great tech and low cog dreams. but you're not going to have a true "low cog" rig. ever. just run whatever height is comfortable and whatever fits. my interpretation of the whole thread is that he want's you to understand that you don't need 7" of lift to get "mad flex." that is all. you can run a 4.5" lift and use the same amount of suspension travel.
so quit overthinking the suspension. you (and 90% of the people who read this and think they want a lowcog rig) have got a LONG way to go before your jeep is comparable to KTM's. then even a longer ways to go before your jeep can be built into a true lowcog rig. having a short lift does NOT = lowcog
Every person ever should read this.
04-23-2014, 08:21 AM
#323
Senior Member
04-23-2014, 08:45 AM
#324
Beach Bum
Do you have drop brackets on the short arms? Seems like that would be the only way to get that amount of travel without the axle tucking under, and resisting return.
04-23-2014, 08:49 AM
#325
Senior Member
04-23-2014, 08:54 AM
#327
Senior Member
05-19-2014, 01:58 PM
#330
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L
Okay so I actually read through all 33 pages of this thread, but I think I still have a question unanswered. What would be the best way to roll out these upgrades in pieces for us "budget builders?" Meaning if I was gonna do, say, 1 upgrade a month at a time, where is the best place to start the process, still leaving me with a daily driver, and maximizing the use of each upgrade part individually?
Based on what I've read, it seems like it should go like this:
3" lift
33" tires plus fender trimming
Bump stops
long travel shocks
Brake lines
Quick discos
Track bar
LCAs, either long arm or at least aftermarket short arm that allow for better flex w/o hitting shock mounts
After all these would start the heavier fabbing.
Does that sound about right? If anything seems out of order please let me know your justification.
Thanks
Based on what I've read, it seems like it should go like this:
3" lift
33" tires plus fender trimming
Bump stops
long travel shocks
Brake lines
Quick discos
Track bar
LCAs, either long arm or at least aftermarket short arm that allow for better flex w/o hitting shock mounts
After all these would start the heavier fabbing.
Does that sound about right? If anything seems out of order please let me know your justification.
Thanks