huh. I meant binding that becomes a problem.

 

negative ghostrider.. the only reason teh heep is all over the road is the lack of proper alignment, tire balance and my loose axle side track bar bolt. my 3 link is sturdy as ****. tho it is indeed a radius arm and not a true 3 link. i have very stiff coils and shocks that help keep all 4 wheels on the ground, even in 20 mph dohnuts on the street.
but to the op: from owning a 4 link and a radius arm i can say that a properly set up 4 link will give you the flex you need to trail on. any extra is for show unless your trying to ride alongside the buggies.

 

I stand corrected then.

 

however, in heavy brakeing the radius arm does get very squirly. since the 8.8 w/ disk brake swap it hasnt been bad at all, but ill feel it dip if i stomp on the breaks. once again that may be the alignment but i would have to get a proper alignment to come back with an accurate result.

 

Ive seen people running radius arms (which bind more than a 4 link) using all the travel of 14 inch shocks.

Do radius arms and 4 links bind? Yes. Can they bind to a point where they hurt your flex? Sure, but that much travel in the front of an xj is more for bragging rights anyway, and can actually hurt your offroad performance.

 

Its not a problem.


Exactly.

 

I typically run my own 4-link, because it rides good and flexes great. Plus I have the confidence of knowing I have 4-joints holding my axle in place(not including track bar). That alone is worth it to me, knowing my family rides in my rigs.

My current XJ was purchased with a RC long arm kit. I personally hate how radius arms feel on and offroad. They do flex great, and are easy to setup.

I have never ran a 3-link, so I cant be much help there. They do bind less, but do you really need any more flex up front than this?



Like KTM said, too much flex can hurt. I probably should have limited this ones travel about 3-4 inches, but I sold it before ever wheeling it.

 

Man I love your Jeep...that exo is the ****. You will be getting my business in the not too distant future to build me an exo/interior roll bar.

 

ok thanks for all the help guys. i have learned that both systems will bind much less than a radius arm but will still bind but not to the point of limiting flex. i am still curious to what system has the best on road abilities since my jeep will be seeing alot of road time? right now im kinda leaning towards the clayton kit because it comes with a crossmember and the rockkralwer doesnt

 

Power73 I like the clayton 3 link kit. it's BEEF

now for my question. I want to build a 3 link because it means I can save a couple bucks on not having the 4th arm. is this the right reason to build a 3 link instead of a 4 link? lol

 

to me, a properly built 3 link means using materials and joints strong enough to compensate for the lack of a 4th link.

It can be cheaper, but if you want to do it right the cost savings are pretty neglible.

If I were to ever produce a "kit" I would put the upper control arm on the passenger side. And have a link tower like this one welded on the axle tube.



This will allow one to use a stronger cartridge joint or heim joint with larger bolts as opposed to the factory rubber bushing and a 10mm bolt.

 

Hmm ok. I was basically looking at buying all the pieces to the Clayton 3 link and building custom arms
Worth my time and effort? Or should I just get the complete kit

 

id get the complete kit.

if you price out building 3 arms you will find that it isnt exactly cheap.

 

Ok I'll price it out and do more research when I'm ready for the upgrade

 

for you guys that do the go fast stuff, will the clayton 3 link handle the dunes good?