Im getting ready for a pretty big suspension upgrade and am looking to do long arms up front. As of now, i am going to be running iro 4 inch front coils. Im hoping these give close to a true 4 inches of lift.

Anyways I have done a ton of research about control arms but would still like some more input. I really am liking what i have seen with the clayton radius arms kit and i have seen this kit run on another members xj with re 3.5 coils. Good option, good company and lifetime warranty. However.... if can save a little bit why not. Also doesnt have a larger skid like the tnt, re, rc or others.

Ive also heard good things about the serious offroad radius arms

The idea of a 3 link is enticing due to what i have read about superiority. However, with a 3 link and lower lift height you run into clearance issues. People say there is a minimum lift height but to me i would think it depends on how much uptravel you allow with your bump stops which is gonna be determined by how much trimming you have done and your tire size.. I plan on running 33s. I was looking at the b lee 3 link and seems like a great price. There is the clayton 3 link as well (warns of minimum lift height), also have looked at the rk 3 link (Do they still sell these?)

A lot of companies do the radius arms though and seems like a tried and true approach. Also is more robust due to the extra upper control arm. My xj will be a daily/weekend warrior so is something to think about as well as road mannerism. Eventually it wil retire to more of just a toy.

The IRO arms are a great price but i really dont like the upper axle side mount and its an extra 100 dollars to have them adjustable.

In the end I guess DOM is DOM, the factors would be price, the joints and the skid.

I have heard poor things about rough country in general as well as their joints however there is a nice skid with the kit and i read somewhere that they were switching to a newer "improved" or alternative joint. Not sure if this happened or not.

What do you guys think? Best bang for the buck for use on 4 inches of lift with 33s.

 

I installed b lee3 link on my daily driver works great for me with 4" r.e coils n leafs at 5 1/2" of lift n 33's no trimmin no rubbin

 

I run Clayton's 3-link and I daily mine. Although I'm at 5.5" and I had clearance issues, but that's because I didn't run bump stops up front. Upper arm went right through my oil pan hahaha. Clayton's would be tricky with the upper arm mounting at your height. Although I plan to drop mine 2-3" sometime soon.

Radius arms are radius arms. I've heard good and I've heard bad about them. My buddy ran REs LA kit on his TJ with tons and they worked. But I've also heard they bind like no tomorrow. You can probably make your own kit for half the price the companies sell them for nowadays

 

I think they (RK) stopped selling it to the XJ market

I have the RK 3 link on my jeep on 4.5 lift. It's ok-ok because of the way they designed the arms to be slightly bent, it keep hitting the bottom of my uniframe when fully stuffed.

I would go with either B-Lee or serious

 

I love my Serious Long Arms. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about them, and Frank is awesome with his service. I would definitely check them out before you pull the trigger.

 

What all else is needed for a long arm or short arm ..... I have a 4.5 zone lift

 

What control arms are you using? Im not familiar with Zone and what they provide in their kits. If you want to stay short arm, get yourself some adjustable uppers and lowers, possibly drops (but I'd try to stay away from them) and that should be it.

Long Arm, you'll need to find a kit you like and whether you want to run a 3-Link, 4-Link or Radius arms. From there, look for a kit you like. Unless you can fab up your own..

 

I have rokmen uppers and the zone kit included lowers ....

 

What's the question on short arms then? Are you having issues with your current setup?

 

FYI, I run a hacked JCR skid with my Claytons. Overall, I'm super happy with my Claytons setup. With the radius arms, you do feel them unload when you start hitting super steep climbs. A suck down winch would pretty much help with that and eventually I'll get around to it. The three piece cross member is a must have in my books.

No matter what you run, at some point you're going to run out of useable flex. Stability is the name of the game.

 

I guess I don't understand... I have a 4.5 inch lift ... But I bought rokmen uppers .... The kit included fixed lowers .... I guess what I am asking what's the difference from a short arm and long arm set up to a normal lift kit .....

 

I hear all this talk about 3 links.... I guess I just don't understand it

 

Research it, here is a start.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/09...basics-part-2/
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ink_suspension

And to clarify the fist post. Radius arm has less attachment points than other systems.
Radius = 2 attachments to chassis
3-link = 3 attachments
4-link = 4
All include the panhard bar (track bar) because the front end of the XJ cannot use a triangulated system.

 

Yes you can run a triangulation 4-li k on an XJ. Visit Pirate4x4 and do a search. It's been done.

 

SeriousOffroad Is right. Nothing is impossible if you can make your own parts. I've met guys that have done it and it works amazing.