Has anybody used this kit. I found it on quadratecs website but cant find it anywhere on teraflex. I was also wondering what they use for upper control arms? Ive seen some longarms that have them going down to the lower (long arm) control arm. I want to have alot of flex but not be to big due to it still being a DD. Im also not trying to brek the bank. I was looking at the rough country 4.5 before i found this. Any other suggestions?

Thanks Bryant
http://www.quadratec.com/products/76190_802.htm

Oh and this is a pic from today...

 

cool pics.

one thing I see with that Teraflex kit is that it is an Add A Leaf. I would seriously recommend not going with a add a leaf kit.

I do have experience with RC and the 4.5 kit. I have had it on two cherokees. Both have taken abuse. I like the kit especially the price I paid for it. The ride isn't super smooth but not terrible either. If you call them in person, more than likely they will give you a better price over the phone if you are ready to order. Get the full leaf kit. It already comes with shocks unlike other kits. The two things you will have to get extra is a new trac bar which they sell for like $100, which you need for a lift that big. The steering stabalizer isnt a need but I always get a new one right away.

 

Heres another cool pic.

 

Hey Jake thanks for the quick response. Its going to be a month or 2 till i do anything but thanks for the advice. How did the RC 4.5 flex? Did ou have to get the drop brackets? I knew about the trac bar and shocks and am prepared for that. I just really like the look a long arm suspension and the crazy amounts of flex they have...

 

the teraflex kit has you use the stamped sheet metal stock uca's

it makes for some interesting pinion dive when flexing/jumping

 

Pinion dive? Please Explain. What if i got aftermarket UCAs? Im still in the looking stage so i havent settled on anything yet....

 

KTM read my mind...Using stock UCA's with LA LCA's is pretty insane. Not to mention the new LCA mounting brackets don't look strong enough to me for any sort of abuse. I'd go RC before I got that.

 

its just the geometry of having long lowers and short uppers. as the axle droops the upper control arm has to travel in a tighter arc, while the lower travels in a wider arc. what happens then is the uca mounting point goes back towards the vehicle in a horizontal direction while the lca mounting point travels in more of a vertical direction. Thus causing the pinion to point down on travel. It isn't too much of an issue, but if you run long shocks, allowing a great range of travel or jump your rig, your driveshaft can bind and damage it.

 

Oh ok i guess i should of thought of that for a second. So really there is no point to this "longarm" becuase it still uses the upper?

 

No, I believe they are talking about that specific tera flex kit. Long arm kits like Rubicon Express and TNT Customs are better, more complete kits. But the price shows that.

My Rough Country Kit flex's great with sway bar quick disco's. I believe I have a picture of it under my build on here. Project Northwoods. Otherwise I can dig one up. The picture is of my trip to the Badlands with the front sway bar disconnected. I am running 31" tires.

 

The add a leaf is not desirable, the long lowers and stock uppers cause pinion dive as the others have stated it also causes premature wear on the upper control arm bushings due to differences in the arcs the control arms travel through, not a very good design.

The long arm kits that have the upper arm going to the lower arm are radius arms which is what I'm going to be building for mine but I'm only going to run a single upper on the drivers side as radius arms with both upper links tend to bind but the single upper mount needs to be extremely stout to not break, which is why most of the ones available have 2 upper arms(lower liability). Another option is a true four link or 3 link but they take up alot of room and generally require alot of fabrication.

Do all your research before you buy or build a long arm as they can be great or they can really suck.

I'm building my own because I like Claytons crossmember, but not a big fan of square tube(nothing wrong with it just not for me) which is what there arms are made of. I like RE style flex joints, but there kit is in my opinion more complicated then it needs to be. Rustys long arm is nice but the crossmember requires you to drop most of the suspension to get to the crossmember off. I'm planning to use lower links that are alot more beefy then most other arms are, most are 2" .250 wall DOM mine will be 2.25" 3/8 or I just found out I might be able to get 2.5 .500 wall DOM and my single upper is going to be 1.75" .250 wall with 1/4" link mounts at the frame and axle end.

I also like the T&T Customs(now Treks Offroad) Y-link system.
Then there is also Rock Krawlers long arm.

I have been looking at most all of them for awhile, and have now been thinking and started to collect parts to build mine for the past year. I am currently running a Rusty's 4.5" lift with Rusty's 1.75 spacers and RE boomerang shackles and it does flex OK and could be much better plus the road manners and side effects of the bad control arm angles have been getting to me.

 

I've seen the Tera-Flex long arm on a TJ and it does look odd watching it travel cause of the short upper arm and long lower. Didn't seem to bind, but looked very unnatural in it's travel stroke.

 

Looks weird and doesn't work all that well, I had thought about ordering the upgrade kit then did more research on long arms and actually found someone local who had one on his XJ and wheeled with him, my short arms flex more then his and his upper bushings were shot. He goes through a set every 3-4 months which is where I'm at with my current show arms.

 

Alright so no cheap long arm for me. So i want about a 4.5 lift and around that area is when the control arm angle become undesirable correct? What about the drop brackets RC sells are they needed or not. Keep in mind this is a 75% DD and 25% trails and nothing crazy. I just want a decent ride and something that will FLEX!

 

I can and do drive mine daily, granted you wouldn't want to drive mine down the highway at 75 with it since I have no sway bars. The ride is not terrible the other thing with mine is I arms are fixed I knew when I ordered my lift kit I was going to upgrade to a long arm at a later date so I didn't upgrade to adjustable arms. I'm also running 6" of lift on mine and it does flex OK and drives OK not too harsh or soft. I have a friend with a Rustys 4.5" lift same arms and he loves the way it rides and wheels. I also have a friend with a RE 4.5" lift and drop brackets and it flexs really good.

It depends on what you want more, if you spend more time on the road and wheel every once and a while or wheel easy to moderate trails I would go for the 4.5" RC or Rusty's lift and see how it drives if you feel the arms angle is too sever then install a set of drop brackets, or you could go with a RE 4.5" lift. I myself prefer Rusty's lifts since I never really had any problems with them beside my track bar and I would suggest to upgrade to the TB-200 track bar if you go with Rusty's lift. I would also install what ever lift you get and see how it drives.