You would not be able to tell any difference off road between the metal cloak suspension vs any other short arm out there including the factory.

Longer travel shocks would be the only increase in articulation.

 

That last picture is awesome haha

 

Should be listed in the details, all the videos from this year have them.

Yeah it's hard for me to film myself while I'm driving. There are some my wife gets with my phone.

 

ranjr,

Thanks for this interesting thread and videos.

I have the Full Traction 4" lift and Fox shock w/ reservoirs.
It is a good suspension, softer than stock yet behaves nicely offroad, slow or fast.
However... I've been having the bug of replacing it with the EVO bolt-on, and now it's either the EVO or Metalcloak with the 6Paks...

The Game-Changer is 3.5", the EVO is tunable from 3" to 5".
With the EVO, the sag due to all the added weight (bumpers, winch, etc') can be compensated for.
With the Game-Changer, the actual lift would be just 2~2.5"... and that's 1.5~2" less ground clearance than I now have.

From your videos, the Game-Changer behaves quite good, but you have 37"s, and I have 35"s... and I have reasons not to switch to 37".

I wonder -- did you have a chance to see both the game-changer and the EVO bolt-on crossing the same obstacles?
If yes, what's your impression of one vs the other?

How soft is the Game-Changer, vs a stock suspension?

 

In fact my friend Jeff, tan JKU in the videos, has the 4" Full Traction bolt on long arm set up with EVO coil overs in the front and EVO Lever setup in the rear. I've only moved his around on the trail and not actually ridden in it more than that though. We are both running 37s, him the Toyos and me the Nittos. I'd say overall they're pretty comparable rigs. I generally use him as a guide to see where I can or cannot go. He just ordered Dynatrac 60s front and rear so that will be changing soon.

As far as actual lift with weight, I'd say I still got 3.5 out of mine. I think they calculated heavy bumpers, winch, etc... into them. Below is the only photo I have on my phone right now but it shows mine with full weight, except hard top but with 5 people and tools, and his behind me. They are about the same height.



Ride is great. He has even commented on switching his control arm joints over to the Metal Cloak ones. We're all a little biased with what we've spent our money on but I researched this system, as best as possible, and am happy with my choice even with the OME shocks. At first I thought I'd be disappointed not running the "6-pack" shocks but now I don't see the need for them. That extra $1600 bought my tires (almost).

 

Neither the metal cloak or the evo lift will do any more for the performance of you rig over what you have now. They all do the same thing.
There are a few things in the full traction kit that can be changed out for better performance but a whole new kit would not be needed.

 

I don't have this setup "yet" but this is correct as I talked to Matson @ MC and he said if you were to install GC 3.5 on a stock rig (weight wise) it would really lift you about 4-4.5 inches. With the weight of bumpers, armor, etc you actually get the 3.5"

 

Thanks for the elaboration!

The only advantage I see for the 6Pak is the extra 2" of wheel travel.

I've seen OME shocks work real hard, for hours, at 46 Celsius, and they performed flawlessly. (At the Dead Sea region, Israel).

 

I've learned to appreciate the Full Traction and Fox combination, and am happy with it. It is comfortable on roads, capable offroad, and tolerates my occasional offroad sprints pretty well.
The two improvements I thought of are --
1) More wheel travel.
2) Even softer DD ride (which already is better than stock), but without weakening the shocks, so the bump stops wouldn't get often hit.

I had test driven a similar JKUR with the same suspension but with long arms, on & off road. There was very little softness difference if any, and long arms tend to get hit on steps.
Installing the Full Traction CRC Link made a very noticeable steering improvement.

What do you mean by "things in the full traction kit that can be changed out for better performance" ?

 

I can easily say you are quite mistaken with that comment I was running a 3" Teraflex spring lift, Bilstein 5100's with Currie JJ Control arms (not long arm) and was really pleased with the ON ROAD RIDE and the OFF ROAD ARTICULATION, but running a wash board dirt road meant you better air down or you are going to beat yourself siilly I changed out the Currrie Control arms for MetalCloak Control arms and the difference in off road ride is very apparent No more airing down necessary on a wash board road, is it a Cadillac? No. But it is way closer with the MetalCloak Control arms. So I say a big "YES!" "you can tell a difference off road between the MetalCloak suspension vs any other short arm out there" Also both MetalCloak and Currie control arms are going to articulate more(w/o being destroyed) and easier than the factory control arms due to the fact the bushings are not fused to both the inner and outer bushing housing. Yes the shock length will be "part" of the limiting factor for articulation distance (sway bar, sway bar links, track bar, springs, brake lines, drive shafts, shocks, tire diameter, must all be factored in as to how much articulation one can have) Personally I enjoy true 4 wheeling (4 tires on the ground articulating like a made man) as compared to 3 tires or even 2 tires on the ground

Not working on a flame here just stating fact. I have personally experienced it and know I'm not alone