JulietKilo

"what does wheel base have to do with caster?" The longer wheel base has a longer driveshaft front and rear allowing you to retain the stock drive shaft, therefore no control arms are needed unless you go with new drive shafts. The CV joints eleminate the need for this. If you have a 2 door lifting without control arms will kill your drive line.

flighty steering... Yes I did acknowledge it I said it in my writing. :confused: Its really not that bad and it is not a safety issue. You just have to point it down the road more.

Oh and really???? Bring the families safety into this... Really. If you cared that much you would not lift a top heavy vehicle and you would buy a volvo. Dont get political on me now, your threads are generally useful.

chuck45

I will grant you that the longer wheelbase is better with the stock driveshafts; that is a given. My concern is soley with caster - not driveshaft longevity.

When I installed my lift you have to set it somewhere and as I recall it happened to end up around 2 degrees. I drove it and didn't care for it. My wife drove it and said it "didn't feel connected to the road" which was actually kind of astute for a woman. I had it aligned and brought it to 6 degrees which was a major improvement - actually better than stock (which is set at 4.2 degrees). After I got rid of the stock DS it was too much for my aftermarket DS (a liitle roughness) so I dialed it back to 5 degrees and all is fine. The DS roughness is gone and it tracks beautifully on surface streets and the freeway.

I'm not trying to get political on you. I guess I spent two many years in the car biz and went to too many salvage auctions. My son totalled two SUV's before he was 19 so I may be a tad sensitive to things like that. I do know that when my wife goes on a trip with it in the winter I'll feel better knowing it is dialed in as best I can get it.

And heck, you know a Jeep guy wouldn't be happy with a yuppy Volvo. I prefer my lifted top heavy Jeep. I sure have never seen a Volvo go places I've gone. And I like Jeep folks a whole lot better than I like Volvo people.

JulietKilo

I am not saying never do it. I feel its just not needed right away. I cant wait to get new control arms to fix the flighty feel but hey jeeps are built not bought and unfortunately builing them cost money. I am just taking my time with this one. Its fun through and through.. This is the second Jeep and I am doing it my way with this WrangRubiLimited build.

BTW,
Volvos are safe but at the cost of FUN and off road awesomeness.

mkjeep

True, you do not "need" adj frt control arms or the cambolts(ugghh) for a 4-dr with a four in lift. I've been running mine like this for almost 10,000 miles. Just got some Teraflex lowers and I'm enjoying the difference it has made in the frt end handling. You don't need them, but they sure are nice once you get them on.

JulietKilo

Glad you chimed in, I knew you were the other guy running stockers but I could not remember your handle. I wrote in another thread describing your avatar and Louisianna to someone asking about stock control arms with 4 inch lifts.

RedDavid

I have the OME with HD springs and decided to replace both uppers and lowers as well as track bar all at the same time. My goal was to make the Jeep as comfortable and safe on the highway as possible (I knew it would be fine offroad). I often make a 300+ mile trip down to Mexico on roads with little to no shoulder and lots of pot holes (my wife already drove off it once she doesn't drive it much anymore). Needless to say it can be a taxing drive.

I'm very happy with the setup I have. Could I have gotten away with not replacing arms, probably. But, the ride is excellent and after 6hrs in the drivers seat I'm very happy I did. Plus if i decide to change out the OME for a 4inch I've got almost everything in already.

mkjeep

I really had no probs with that set-up , but I'm slowly gonna work my way up to get adj uppers and lowers all around,maybe. I added my REBB 1 3/4 in puck to the rear, no probs so far, will need to get adj uppers to add my 2 1/2in to the frt. I'm gonna run 37's or 38's- haven't decided yet cause theres a host of other goodies I need to get to effectively run em and not drive like an old lady. My wife drove the JK home tonight and was saying how much better it handled. Me, the bit of flightyness the frt had didn't really bother me. I was used to driving CJ's with 6inches of slack in the steering , so again the jk drove like a caddy to me. But , I can tell the difference with the new lowers and I'm glad I got em. It's a build in process and I'm enjoying it.

chuck45

Well heck, it sounds like we're all on the same page as to the desirability of adj front control arms. We've just prioritized them differently. And hopefully the OP has got some good insight.

lv jk

I think the rule of thumb is---if the jeep feels flighty get the front uppers and lowers so you can align the front right. I have not found a reason to do the rears yet! That being said, they will be done as soon as I get the cash.

chuck45

The reason to do the rears is that you just got a new aftermarket driveshaft and you need to change the pinion angle. If you don't adjust the pinion angle you won't be happy with the way it drives.