i just got a 3" full traction economy lift. have yet to install as i have not had time. i do have a question for all out there. any suggestions for adding anything to that lift to make things a little better. my understanding is that lift comes with relocation brackets for the track bars. should i just ditch the relocation brackets and go with adjustable track bars or will the brackets do the job?

i am not a hard core wheeler, but i do get off-road every chance i get... i don't get all crazy though. i understand my limits, and also my monetary limits. i can afford adjustable track bars as they are not that expensive. but mostly i am wondering, if the brackets are sufficient, why spend the extra on adjustable?

also, would the manufacurer of adjustable track bar matter??? meaning in all honesty is one better than another if they are of the same diameter and strength?

i was also thinking of a steering stabilizer because i am not sure of what the factory one can handle. i am running 33" x 12.50" x 16" on a 16" x 10" procomp rim. i forget the backspacing...

thanks for any and all help.

 

Hi stock, and welcome in.
I too went with the TF 3" basic lift.
It wasn't good enough.
I've since added the adjustable track bars and adjustable lower controll arms.
I'm running a 2dr automatic with 35" ATs

The relocation of stock track bars was not good enough to keep tracking centered and true. It came close but at highway speeds on mountain downhills especially it got a little scary. The adjustable track bar removed any sensation of steering runaway even at 90mph downhill turns.

The adjustable lower controll arms are REQUIRED if you want proper castor angle when lifted. Believe me you DO want proper castor angle.
The stock arms work but you only get around 4° of castor (maybe) and will experience a really flighty or darty drive at that. I did not add adjustable uppers as they aren't needed at 3" lift to get proper castor. I did set my lowers to a slightly less than optimum 6.75° castor as I became concerned with the angle change of the drive shaft and differential. So due to that I've got a tiny bit of dartyness still, which isn't really noticable unless your me and holding the steering wheel.

I did upgrade the stabiliser as well but not to remove the dartyness as that issue went away with the adjustable lowers. I added it to smooth out the steering return when offroad. I noticed after having all the proper lift components dialed in that the wheel would WANT to "comeback" to center a bit more agressively than I felt it should off road. On the street it was no issue and the stock set-up was just fine.
The dampening effect really helped reduce fatigue on long hard days.
I mean if your on class 5 to class 8 trails or not trails all day you get very tired. That's fine untill you make your run for home. Thats when you get in trouble due to you ARE tired and your still not on the street. The cliffs and falls I run over would kill me and anyone with me if we went over.

Staying alert when its dark and your out back is seriously required. Every little bit helps.
The cheap price of a good beefy stabilzer upgrade is well worth it IMHO but should not be done until your actual suspension is correctly udjusted. It can serve to mask or hide issues that might indicate serious problems that can be both expensive and dangerous.

Anyway enjoy your jeep!

And once again welcome in.

 

should i go with adjustable upper and lower control arms front and rear? do i need to go that extreme, or what can i get away with?

i am interested in my lift being right, and my jeep and all occupants being safe. i am planning on front and rear adjustable track bars.

also, do i have to use track bars and control arms from full traction, or can i substitute from other manufactuers?

a frankenstein would not offend me as long as things would work. there is just a pretty good amount of money for difference between full traction parts and say...a part that is superlift. about 60 bucks differnce between the full traction adjustable track bar and one from superlift.

daystar offers a kit for around 750 bucks that has the upper and lower adjustable control arms for the front and rear.... someone please help me out.

thanks

 

You can most definitely mix and match parts. There are plenty of people that do this and never have any issues, however when issues do come up it would be very nice to only have to deal with one manufacturer vs trying to deal with multiple to get a fix for a problem. The MFG's will most certainly point the finger at the other guy. If you stick with one they can't do that.

I would say that there is a reason that some parts cost more than others. It could be wall thickness of the tubing used or the type of joint which is at one or both ends of the control arms or track bars. Saving $50 or $60 could mean the difference between having problems at 30,000 miles or 70,000, or might be the difference of having squeaks and moans and groans or not.

I would say that your suspension is fairly important, and you should not worry about trying to save $60. Just my opinion.

 

If you really want to dial everything in, get the FT Ultimate kit, comes with everything you need to really dial it in.
Or you could got the Economy lift, add adjustable trac bars, and then add on untill you feel you get the ride you want.
My advice, if you are really concered about ride quality, get the Ultimate and do it right one time. Also saves a little money to get the Ultimate now vs. adding the components later.

 

BLKRuby,
Are you planning on adding any more to your FT set-up or are you happy with the set-up in your sig?

 

BLKRuby, do you have adjustable lower control arms on your rig? if not does it feel darty, and if you do, did you decide to get them after you installed the lift and maybe had to deal with some of the death wobble?

 

Overall i am pretty happy. It handles fine, a little darty in the wind, but that could be cause it is kinda light with poor aerodynamics.
I will add arms and driveshafts by next summer to get the angles right.

With that said, if i had to do it over, i would no doubt get a kit with adjustable arms included.

 

No arms yet, never had death wobble.