Just for fun, would Full Traction/RE Long Arm or AiRock give you more bang for your buck?
Both will improve your on road ride right? Assumingly the AiRock will be smoother?
But which of the two would gain you the more capability off road?

Price wise its ~$3500 (including shocks) vs ~$5500. In the grand scheme of things when you are talking about these figures, the difference is neglible no?

I currently have the RE short arm kit, lets say which would be more useful as an upgrade/addition to the short arm kit and the existing components?

Discuss...

 

one has nothing to do with the other

long arm changes the geometry of your suspension

airrock is just airbags,


its not really fair to compare the AIROCK to anything else out there as its totally different technology

i gues you could compare it to coilovers or air shocks

 

Maybe someone that acutally has the Airock will chime in, but I'd go with the Airock. You have the ability to adjust all 4 corners independently while wheeling, keeping your COG low while on the road, and the cool factor.

 

Just curious, why would a long arm be an unneccesary mod? There seems to be alot of hype around these lifts. Are they no good?

 

Here's all I can say about long arm lifts; They will give you a smoother ride on the road with better handling. I know the argument is that the JKs already have longer arms than the TJ and don't really need long arm lifts for great articulation. The fact is that the JKs, while they do have longer arms than the TJ are still only short-mid length arms; for better articulation you would see an improvement with the long arms. You also have to look into what size tires you are running; if you are running a 35" or smaller tire the benefits of the long arms aren't really seen as much as if you were to go with a 37" or bigger tire.

 

Why do long arm kits have more effect on a truck with bigger wheels?

 

you could do a mutant combination of the 2. get the airock system, and then get just the long arm part of the kit. that would give you the flex on the axle that a long arm would allow, and with the airock springs, you'd have the height adjustment feature. Thats what i'd do, i'd get the airock kit with a new set of control arms.

 

Airock recommends installation with RE's 6" Long Arm kit...as, again, AR's replace the coils...they are not a lift kit in of themselves.

I believe you can ORDER it as a kit, with RE's long arm lift and their air bags though.

 

The jk doesn't need a lift, The Airock is designed to work with stock components on the jk.

The tj need the lift kit.

 

No experience with a long arm kit, but I'll share those with the AiROCK system...

IMO it's a smoother ride on and off road -- specifically, with the airbags, you don't typically have the rebound effect that springs have. So it's a smooth ride -- maybe even too smooth taking away some of the offroading feel.

It also helps prevent some vehicle roll, since after a certain speed, it is always actively monitoring and adjusting the pressure in the bags.

When not offroad -- for my wife, who is 5'2", it's almost a must that I drop it down for ease of getting in and out of the vehicle. Otherwise, it's 10 minutes down the road of complaining how her clothes got dirty getting in.

Some dorky things (according to my wife) that are somewhat useful - when there's an accident on the highway, you can put all 4 all up and see down the road better... or you can quickly disconnect the sway bar (rubi owners) and lean it to the far left so you can see down the road in front of the cars ahead of you ---- CAVEAT -- the speed sensor will put it back to ride height when you hit 35mph.

Offroad wise, you can lean away from trees -- already been there and made the obstacle too easy -- in fact, I would say it's borderline cheating! Climbing steep hills where you can't see ahead -- you can drop front/raise rear and see a little easier and take advantage of the weight shift.

Working on the vehicle -- who needs a jack/lift anymore -- just put all 4 all up (doesn't help if you need to take a tire off) . Same thing with working under the hood -- just drop all 4. Helps with loading the back as well.

Another benefit - all the weight you throw on - winches, bumpers, people, cargo, etc.... the jeep will always remain level or however you set it.

Onboard Air with the York system is also pretty darn cool, but you can add that on regardless.

One gotcha is if you plan on going with a supercharger or something -- you'll have to work with the vendor to figure out how to integrate it with the AiROCK system --- some butt into the space where the control module is, as well the pulley system is changed with the AiROCK for the york.