resharp001

LOL, once in a blue moon one of these simple "which lifts should I get" threads sure takes off on some tangents, and OP is just along for a ride.

Mike609

No biggie, Learning about the new stuff. Thanks all for the info.

Rednroll

I've seen pics of the RK rear TB that the joint was obviously seized due to rust and the joint was snapped at the section were it screws into the tubing because the joint would not flex. The response I've seen back from RK on that particular problem was that the TB was not properly maintained using a specific type of grease which is my point. I'm sure the joint when new functioned well, but the downside of that is it is an open joint design that is prone to rusting and freezing up over time unless it's maintained to prevent that rust. The last thing I want to do when it's freezing cold outside with the road salt peppering the suspention is crawl under my JK to grease joints and that's the reason I went with TF track bars because their design is an OEM maintenance free joint design. That likely means I didn't get that extra 1/2 inch of flex out of that TB and to that I say oh well, I haven't missed it, just the same as I haven't missed giving special treatment to specific suspension parts in the freezing cold of winter.

Zinc coating is a joke. Every bolt fastener from the local HW store is zinc coated which we all know rusts when installed on a vehicle.

I don't care if the part is 3/4" DOM Chromoly. The part is only as good as it's weakest link in the design which is its joint which has the minimalist rust resistance available.

Rednroll

Where did you get that fact from? Lawsuits definitely are taken into consideration since "safety" is high on the priority list, but it's not the only thing. The biggest reason they do it is for gaining insight into a part's reliability and understanding how that reliability will impact warranty costs. How does salt spray testing that TF stated they performed at FCA cover FCA's ass for lawsuits? People are now suing for rusted parts? Sounds like RK may have some trouble coming their way if that was the case. More so is the case that the JK sold over 200K vehicles a year and over 10 years of production that equated to 2million of a single part which got installed on a JK. Now for easy math purposes say that part costs $100 to replace ($50 part+ $50 labor). That's $200 million out of pocket expense just for 1 $50 part. However, they take it even further by additionally testing it as a system to ensure a part doesn't cause other parts to fail as well. That can be seen with Mopar's accessory warranty. Their lift warranty not only covers the cost of the parts of the lift, it covers the cost to repair any other parts on the vehicle if those lift parts cause the other parts to fail. There isn't an aftermarket vendor on this forum which will provide that type of warranty. Why not? Because they haven't done enough system testing to be able to stand behind their products to provide that type of warranty. You as a customer are their guinea pig that provides them that type of testing for them. They have no confidense to be able to provide that type of system warranty. They don't even know their powder coating is shit until they start shipping parts to customers, and you can see that in RK's response. They tell you their zinc coating works great but that is total BS because if they're honest they would tell you. "We don't really know because we haven't done ANY corrosion resistance testing on it." Instead they base it upon "We haven't received warranty calls from our customers on that aspect." The OEMs don't do business that way, however, that is the norm for aftermarket companies and the parts they sell. They put that part on the 1-4 vehicles they own and drive it around the block closest to their design facility and call it day if nothing happens.

Look, I like aftermarket parts. I also like MC's stuff. I'm just saying "better" just because the part is larger and weighs more is only one aspect of a parts design. My Synergy aftermarket drag link is larger and weighs more than the factory DL and that is the reason I bought it. However, that is one of the parts which needs consistant maintenance since the boots on the joints are constantly popping off while greasing the joints because of their piss poor boot design which are held on by hair tie slinky springs and causes continuous maintenance which never had to be done on the factory DL part. It just goes to show how Synergy didn't even perform any testing to go as far to see what happens if the joint is filled with too much grease. Over greasing a joint should not render the grease boot cover useless. The Synergy DL is also constantly drooping down and banging into my tie rod. So yeah, it's "better" that it seems stronger but falls short everywhere else. They're able to make a part with thicker tubing...I guess we should put them on engineering modern marvels for such an accomplishment while also putting them on Engineering disasters for the rest of the design.

I'll give them credit. They know their customers well. Make a part which looks heavier duty than the factory part. Give it a coat of shiney paint and shiney bolts, throw in a couple stickers and all is well.

Rock Krawler Suspension

We have been building upon our offerings for 15+ years, always making advancements and improvements. We have plenty of real world testing against salt spray, which is easy, since we are in Upstate NY and all drive our products on the daily. But you are right in regards to listening to customers feedback and making adjustments to our procedures to make a well received product.

Mike609

Well, after exhaustive reading I think I may have put together a small lift for my Jeep. I have found of set of 10A coils (Currently 18/59) for 100 bucks and I plan on pairing that with a 1" terraflex front spacer and dis-connectable end links. My front end went down some with my winch install so I need something until I make up my mind on a lift or who knows this may be enough for me. I'm going to measure before and after to see what happened.

TheDirtman

To Redroll, one issue with running a factory style bushing on a track bar vs a so called "open" joint is that as you lift the factory style is that as you lift and continue to use the factory brackets the misalignment of the brackets due to the lift will cause bind in the joints and will limit suspension droop. I know for a fact that the teraflex trackball does indeed limit travel. The longer the travel you have the more misalignment you need in the axle end of the track bar joint. Factory style joints do provide a good maintenance free ride but do have limitations when you are increasing droop and rotating the axle.

jadmt

. I had two sets of rear RK coils sag and the first set I jumped thru all the hoops (RK blamed everything including shocks and pinion angle which shocks were not the issue nor was the pinion angle) and then said it was normal to be look like a dog squatting. Finally gave me a measurement where they were supposed to be and indeed I was way lower than it should have been. they sent new coils but did not even want the sagged ones back to test. I thought that strange. When the replacement set started sagging I went another route and never had a sag issue again. Sorry just don't trust the RK coils. other RK parts may be ok and maybe the pc is better but still not something I would spend my money on again simple because the hoops you have to jump thru are nuts when a simple measurement in the first place should have sufficed.

TheDirtman

You would be surprised on how many people have contacted me about issues with RK and how they got sucked into buying with the social media marketing only to junk the RK stuff and go a different route. Jumping thru the hoops with the warranty is mentioned often. The biggest issues has been coils and joints.

Rednroll

Makes sense. Thanks for the further details. Wouldn't the misalignment concern you mention be corrected by using a raised axle side track bar bracket or is my thinking incorrect? From my understanding you want to keep the TB parallel to the axle. With an adjustable TB you're able to get the length dialed in so the side to side alignment is centered but you increase the angle the more you lift as you outline, and this is where a raised TB bracket assists to correct that misalignment. At least that's how I currently understand it. I do personally prefer the maintenance free aspect of a factory style joint over that of an open joint and the additional flex it provides.