Long Arm Kit or........
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 206
Likes: 0
From: Coal Mountain, Ga
Long Arm Kit or........
I have a 3" TeraFlex and am very happy with it, I should have gone bigger the first time though. I want to go to a 4" to 5.5". I dont like body lifts, so my questions are 1) do i need a long arm kit? 2) Would it be cheaper to buy the parts individually or buy another kit? 3) Is there another way?
Sponsoring Manufacturer
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 6,824
Likes: 3
From: Utah
I have a 3" TeraFlex and am very happy with it, I should have gone bigger the first time though. I want to go to a 4" to 5.5". I dont like body lifts, so my questions are 1) do i need a long arm kit? 2) Would it be cheaper to buy the parts individually or buy another kit? 3) Is there another way?
maybe brakelines and a drag link flip/TB drop bracket kit depending if you go with 6"
But if your going tun 37's you can do a 4" and keep those shocks. There's several ways that you can do this.
Trending Topics
JK Super Freak
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,750
Likes: 1
From: WV relocated 2 Dyess AFB, TX
I think it may be cheaper to piece it together rather then buy another lift. Replace the springs with 4 inch or get 1.5 inch daystar spacers for above the springs. Check out my thread on building your own custom lift here.
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modified-jk-tech-2/multiple-manufacturer-assembled-suspension-lift-44547/
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modified-jk-tech-2/multiple-manufacturer-assembled-suspension-lift-44547/
JK-Forum Founder
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 36,534
Likes: 16
From: Laguna Niguel, CA
What a long arm suspension does is it helps reduce the angle of the lower control arms. TJ long arms measure from 20 28 (stock is about 16) in length or so IIRC, and to fit 35 inch tires most TJs need about 5 6 of lift.
With a short arm lift of 5 6 this would cause the lower control arms to be at a pretty steep angle (30 -45 degrees of control arm angularity), causing many severe controllability issues.
Because Jeep designed the JK with longer stock lower control arms (6 ˝ longer then the length of stock TJ arms) and much larger wheel wells, you can fit 35 37 tire with only 3" - 4 of lift, so a long arm lift is NOT necessary.
The gains you would see from a long arm suspension on a JK are minimal until you get in the 38 40+ tire sizes where you would need to run a 6+ lift and you would be able to reap the benefits of longer control arms.
Long story short, do you need adj. control arms? Yes, since your prob. going to need at least 3/8" or more adj. on the length of the control arms to get your Castor/pinion angle back to a good operating angle when running a 4"+ lift.
With a short arm lift of 5 6 this would cause the lower control arms to be at a pretty steep angle (30 -45 degrees of control arm angularity), causing many severe controllability issues.
Because Jeep designed the JK with longer stock lower control arms (6 ˝ longer then the length of stock TJ arms) and much larger wheel wells, you can fit 35 37 tire with only 3" - 4 of lift, so a long arm lift is NOT necessary.
The gains you would see from a long arm suspension on a JK are minimal until you get in the 38 40+ tire sizes where you would need to run a 6+ lift and you would be able to reap the benefits of longer control arms.
Long story short, do you need adj. control arms? Yes, since your prob. going to need at least 3/8" or more adj. on the length of the control arms to get your Castor/pinion angle back to a good operating angle when running a 4"+ lift.
if you're just gonna run 37's and something like a 4" teraflex lift, no, you do not need to go long arm. i am pretty much running this setup now and can tell you that you will love it.
JK Freak
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 605
Likes: 0
From: Chesapeake, VA
HUGE BUMP.....................anyways, so wayalife are you still running the Teraflex 4 inch and 37's with short arms? Would you recomend this setup? Sounds like a good cheap alternative for me instead of going LA right now and I could always upgrade arms later?