spencer elliott

ive done tons of research and just cant decide.

im running 3.5"-4" of lift and never plan of going any higher so long arms are not warranted. so im looking for a new set of adjustable upper and lower CAs and soaking in all the options.

Iron Man (liking the looks of these), RE, TnT, Claytons, Synergy, and even IRO, but cannot decide.

the Iron Man stuff looks fantastic, but there is not much info on the net about their performance so im wary of that. then there is RE... i found a fantastic price on adjustable uppers and lowers, but have been reading lately about how RE quality has dropped considerably the last few years...? any truth to this? i ask because i was decided on RE until i read this.

then there is TnT, Claytons, and the others. i really dont want to have to spend 5-6hundy on short arms, but will if they are that much better quality than the RE stuff. i found the RE full set for $400 btw.

like i said i searched a ton and im just looking for some help from those who have experience with multiple sets of these.

any help is appreciated!

Drewjharper1900

I know you said you dont want/need long arms but im at 3" and have clayton long arms. I love em FWIW

spencer elliott

through all of my research ive read and been told that long arms with anything less than 4" is a waste. can you expand upon how they help you at 3"...?

Drewjharper1900

More flex(i need longer shocks now actually), the axle doesent get pulled into the fender when its flexed out, smoother ride, use em as rock sliders, gets rid of the weak stock frame side brackets. They will work as long as there not high clearance, and you are bumpstopped correctly. Heres the distance between my long arms and the frame when fully compressed.

CheapCherokee

long arms are nice, however at 3-4" lift i think short arms are fine. my friend runs short arms at 4" of lift and flex and ride quality are not an issue.

iron man arms run currie johnny joints, which are solid units. their arms are also made of solid stock so they will not break.

i haven't heard anything bad about newer RE stuff, but i really can't say much as i don't personally know people running RE short arms.

have you looked into currie arms? I'm not sure how expensive they are but they are also solid units that my friend on 4" of lift use.

Drewjharper1900

And as for it being a waste, it depends on what you plan to do with it. Im going to extend my upper shock mounts and put long travel shocks on it and get a massive amount of flex out of it. If its just going to be a mild weeler, then i wouldent mess with long arms.

spencer elliott

thanks for the info fellas.

so why would the MFGs only recommend long arms for 4" and up?

Drewjharper1900

Because there "playing it safe" and it will deffently work on a 4" lift. I went through the same thing your going through and i actually called clayton and talked to a guy that had the long arm kit on a xj w/ 3" of lift. So i knew it would work.

spencer elliott

i see...

well my budget just went up 2-3 hundred

i suppose i could look at some slightly used stuff

Drewjharper1900

Haha. By no means am i saying you HAVE to get long arms. Short arms will be fine and get you where you want to go. My reasoning for going with long arms is that a good set of short arms is $600. And i knew i would eventually get long arms. So i just bit the bullet and went all the way.

BNJeepsta

Build your own arms. It's cheaper and you can make them exactly how you want

Drewjharper1900

Its not that simple if its your DD...

BNJeepsta

How so? I'm doing that and mine is my dd

Drewjharper1900

So your gona build a set of long arms all in one weekend?

spencer elliott

oh i know that, but if i can get the benefits of LAs on my 3.5" setup then im all for it. i just thought that the negatives (what are they?) outweighed the positives.

soooo if there really are no negatives other than a higher price then IMO they are a good choice.

i hear good things about these

http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.co...ducts_id=77863

i would love to. unfortunately i do not have the time or resources to do so.