GreatWhite JK

Ok well I own a 2014 jeep JKUR. Im looking into buying a long arm kit and I don't have a small bodge but, I know one of the main guys from rubicon express (he can get me a deal) and he priced me out a 5.5 long arm kit, drive shafts, fox 2.0 smooth shox, and fox steering stabilizer for about 4,200 bucks. I also have a buddy that owns a shop and he can get me a 6' rough country long arm kit for 1,700 but still have to buy drive shafts and stabilizer. I know that Rough country lifts sag over time and a year or 2 down the rode I can upgrade to tera flex coils, or Rock Krawler coils and the fox shoxs down the rode. I guess my question is should I just got ahead and get the best (and run stock armor for a while) or do I go the cheeper way and spend that extra money on armor and bumpers. If you have a RC long arm kit please tell me what you think about it.
Thanks Mike
(the only reason I'm getting a 5.5 or 6 inch for 37s is because once I make the big jump to 60s and 40s I don't want to have to change my lift.)

Ryan0260

This comes down to what you expect from the lift, and 6" is a lot on these JK's. If it is mainly a daily driver with occasional mild trail use it will probably be ok, but if you really plan on doing some hard wheeling I would spend the extra money for something more durable.

nthinuf

You could start by listing the components for both and doing a side-by-side comparison. For example, does one include a drop pitman that you would want to replace with a much more expensive flip? Trackbar brackets instead of adjustables?

Get a handle on the various components so you can make a fair decision on what is right for you...

meep97

I hope both kits include adjustable trackbars, trackbar brackets, extended brake lines...

You're also going to need a draglink flip at that height.

At $4200 range, you're getting close to bolt on coil overs.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend a RE or a RC lift but I guess that's not what you're asking.

And just to show you some more options;

EVO Manufacturing JK 4 Inch DoubleD Bolt on Long Arm Kit - EVO1084

Rock Krawler JK 5.5 Triple Threat Long Arm System 4 Door (RKJK55TTLA-4)

Rock Krawler JK 5.5 X Factor Coil Over Long Arm System 4 Door (RKJKCOMP55-4)

Have you read the stickies at the top of the modified tech section? What are you planning on doing with your rig? Mall crawler? DD but a weekend warrior?

I'm not sure I follow why you'd have to change your suspension if you moved to different axles...

GreatWhite JK

Well the jeep isn't going to be a dd just a weekend trial rig with the a acational ride through town with the doors off. I was looking at rock krawler also and know that there lift are top notch but Idk if I can get a deal on one I guess I need to just call to see. What I meant by the 60's is that I want to get a big enough lift know to run 40s later. (i know that you can run 40s on a 2 inch but not a lot of flex)

planman

If I was given a Rough Country long arm for $0, I wouldn't run it. Heck, if I was paid $1,700 to run a Rough Country long arm, I wouldn't run it.

The geometry is all wrong. The quality of the joints, bushings, springs, and shocks are subpar.

If you have the money to run 40s with Dana 60s, hydro assist steering, 1350 driveshafts, etc., why would you mess with installing a subpar lift that you'd end up ripping off to replace with something better anyway?

By the way, I run 40s on a 4.5" lift and have more up travel than most people with 4" lifts. I run 3.5" extended bumpstops.

sea bass

Very solid advice right there. Do not skimp on your lift because your buddy can save you a few hundred bucks. You just paid 35-40k on a brand new rubicon - do a little research and get the lift you want. I bet it won't be RC or RE.

planman

So, a few items of interest:

First, you can run 40s with 3.25' extended bumpstops and a 1" body lift without having to as much fender well trimming as I have done with no body lift.

That being clarified, you could run a 3"-3.5" short arm lift, a 1" body lift, and run 3.25" extended bumpstops, and 40s work on and off road. No need for a long arm.

Second, if you are going to run a long arm on a JK, you need to know that because of the location of the body mounts to the frame, most aftermarket long arms have poor geometry designs in the rear because the upper arm lengths are constrained by those body mounts. This causes binding in the system that results in premature bushing and joint wear, and if your shocks allow a good amount of travel, it results in stress fractures on the brackets where they are welded to the frame.

That being clarified, unless you are going to run a Rock Krawler or TnT Customs long arm that are designed with an independent single rear third upper link, you are going to need to limit your rear shock travel to about 10" to avoid the kind of binding problems that happen with most all other designs. Short arm lifts can handle greater than 10" rear travel shocks better than most long arm designs.

So personally, unless you are going to do something custom that involves running a different than stock gas tank, if you want a good amount of suspension travel, the better design is the RK or TnT long arms.


Now, my wife really likes her Teraflex long arm. It handles great on the road and for most of the offroading she does. However, we have had to limit strap the front and rear suspensions so that we don't have the premature joint/bushing wear and frame/bracket/weld damage problems caused by the geometry.


Anyway, if you are just shooting for 40s and won't be doing crazy steep climbs up dry waterfalls, you would be very happy with a 3"-3.5" Rock Krawler, Metalcloak, Teraflex, Clayton, or Currie/OME short arm lift now, and then when you upgrade to 40s, run flat flares and a 1" body lift.

TheDirtman

I don't even know what to say.

DunnyBunny

Is that good or bad.