So what is the real deal on long arms? I see everything from kits that replace the trans crossmember for long arm mounts to just an adjustable lower control arm, and range in price from $100 for adjustable lower arms to a $1000 or more for a long arm kit. I already have 6 inches of lift and control arm drop brackets with aftermarket arms, track bar drop with adjustable track bar, sway disconnect etc, what I'm wondering is if it is worth buying long arm upgrade kit or getting adjustable lowers for the drop bracket setup or do I build my own, and if I do do I build them for the drop bracket setup or go with longer ones that mount further back? My pinion angle is to high right now and it has a lot of bump steer so that is what I'm trying to solve. Ultimately I am after that perfect machine that handles great on the road (paved or dirt) but yet is awesome on the trail too! I dont ask for much do I?

 

I have good flex and once inna while on the highway wacky steering. I think it's a trade off. Your gonna have one or the other no in between. I do hope somebody else has a better answer because I'd like to make it more (user friendly) for my wife.

 

I'm not using this thing as a daily driver, mater of fact it doesn't even see much pavement ( benefit of living in Montana ), but I do travel good dirt roads at nearly 50mph so it would be nice if it drove good

 

elkwagn, whats your lift comprised of? Manufacturer pieces.. any pics?

 

The lift is made up of various peices, to be honest I am still working on figuring it all out, I bought it just as it sits and want to make it better. The front springs are Rusty's with spacers, LCA's are tough country, not sure what the track bar and sway disconnect are, and the rear springs have a number on them but not sure who's they are

 

You have a bit of adjustment in the drop brackets. Fab up some shims and move the lower control arms forward, the shims go between the sandwich bracket inside the drop bracket and the two rear bolts on the bracket. That was made that way so you could adjust caster. The factory mounting location works that way as well. You could move the LCA forward almost an inch and I would bet the steering would be a ton better. BTW I run a simular drop bracket with 8" of lift and did the same thing and it rides fine now.

 

long arms......

 

id atleast buy/build the braces for the drop brackets

 

x2 on the braces, mine came with them.

 

long arms give you more droop which helps with flex. But they also improve the angle of the control arms on lifted vehicles, which makes for a better ride as far as I understand.

 

sway bar discos are rough country. i have the same set sitting in my garage

 

x3 on the braces.. tightens these up.

Part of your hard hitting ride issue is the coils.. Rusty's have a high spring rate as compared to some of the others like Rubicon Express. The shocks arent a very good quality either.

Go to Sears and get yourself an agle finder, we can help you check the pinion angle and caster to help dial in the vibes, and steering. All of this stuff works together, your looking for a working compromise.

While you can adjust the lowers with some shim you may not be able to add enough.. adjustable arms would really help here. And if your buying arms.. thats when you may want to consider longarms. Typically lowers are used to adjust wheelbase and uppers to adjust pinion/castor.

I went through several suspensions trying to get the height i wanted and a good ride. In all the LA's were the biggest single improvement.

 

control arm lengths with and without brackets. measure

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/..._Arm_Chart.htm

 

What are the braces for the drop brackets you are talking about? Any pics of those anywhere? It actually rides fairly decent, I do plan on replacing the shocks for sure, I happen to have a longer set of lower arms that I will put in, and I do have a different set of front springs but not sure from where, I will post pics of the other arms and springs, let me know what you think

 

Looks like Skyjacker springs which are stiff as well and Rough Country arms.