Walk up a hill put very little weight on 1 foot and drag it as if trying to move forward now put all your weight or even half....the friction increase is a lot more getting traction without wheel spin...as far as shock numbers etc I've been all over this years ago. Pretty familiar with the jk and its range...

I stuff 37s in the wells and raised my lower mounts almost 2" front and rotated em as well as moved them away from frame because I have bent shocks on droop...my rears are moved up 1.4" and angled a bit different to allow swing when drooping out. I can't imagine needing more up travel...that doesn't do a lot on the rocks as much as droppings tire out to get a bite...the vehicle will lift anywase...

Also I sold my 4dr because I got tired of dragging belly over rocks with 37s and 4" lift, that wheelbase needs minimum 19" to be decent and even that's a bit short. I didn't feel like doing d60/14 bolt because I'd want to link and coil over at that point and the wife wasn't having it...
2dr 4" lift before armor and 37" tires then a quick 8" stretck easy 3 link rear and push the front 2" forward with my chopped frame and I'll have a kick @$$ approach and departure with d44s and 37s....

It all breaks down to $ and use I'll build a guys rig any way he/she wants and won't scoff however if it never sees dirt In my opinion that makes me cringe a bit but makes a good buy for the next owner if the price is right ....heck buying em built without abuse can be cheaper than building them....

 

When you say short arm I think TJs, the control arms under JKs are almost twice the length (not exactly but maybe 1.75 times). So its more of a mid arm lift. With mine being a 2 door and ending up with about 3 1/2 inches of lift from a 2 1/2 inch spring, I don't see what you are talking about. Maybe with a 5 1/2" lift I could see more of your point. But with how long the factory arms are, I just can't see it. If you look at the long arm kits for a TJ most of the links are almost 3-4ft long and attach at the center of the vehicle. The purpose for that is to have a more vertical movement of the axle as it pivots. One main thing they help with is your wheel base wont change as much as your suspension cycles. Your control arms aren't going to get "shoved into the frame" with having over 3 1/2" of lift Also the long arm kits for the JK the arms really aren't all that much longer than stock, mainly when compared to the TJ style long arm kits.

I'm just not 100% sold on sleeves, I don't know how else to explain it. But I feel the evap canister skids/relocation kits are a waste of money, I completely forgot to mention that. I dont think I could build a perfect jeep. I've got my old big ass K5 that I'm hoping to get back working on here soon. My jeep might get 35's at the most but its kind of on the back burner till the K5 gets done. That does look a little goofy but it looks alot better than stock. The JKs sit so low from the factory.

 

I ordered my JK when it first came out. Back then, there weren't many lift options for it. I got a 4" skyjacker lift because it was one of the first ones available with adjustable arms. I wheeled it with 35s for 3 years. I blew the front heim joints several times because the geometry of the arms were off. They were being shoved into the frame more than compressing the coils. Now I have a 4" long arm kit and no problems at all. Coincidence? Don't think so.

 

I agree completely that with more pressure on that tire I would have more traction. I was saying even unlocked I faired better than if it was stock 8" travel shocks. I have been looking at the metal cloak springs because of how much droop they allow without taking all the load off of the wheel/tire.

So you raised your front lower mount for more droop? Also I was eye balling the poly performance upper mounts in order to gain 2 inches of up travel out back without cutting a hole in the tub. Also I'm not going for more up travel I am trying to get rid of the 3 inch bumpstop extensions I am running, so I have the factory range of motion plus more droop.

Yeah he 4 doors kinda get into school bus mode on some of the trails with 40 point turns and what not. But they do climb waterfalls much easier.

I know what you mean, but I feel like alot of people get talked into going much bigger and badder than what they actually need. And I feel like a lot of that comes from hype on the web.

 

Were they forged heim joints? did they come teflon coated and did you grease them properly? Like you said you got one of the first lift kits, I'm pretty sure its been refined since then and they fixed that problem. Also aren't heim joints not supposed to be daily driven? I'm more of a fan of metal cloaks joints because they do absorb shock better for daily driven purposes.

 

Sleeves are a must I just replaced a guys front axle that looked like a smiley face last week....had to do his gears etc.....all because his housing was jacked.....

I've had 3 axles straightened and will say that sleeves are mandatory....

Evap relocation is best get that damn thing out of the way I've donated 2 now to the trail....ripped off in the rocks.....and its PIA....I'm relocating the one on my 2dr now its sitting in the garage till I decide on rear end suspension...but it is getting moved as well as the gas tank is on my possible move list...--

Heim joints are loud and clanky they aren't good for daily driving sk are about as good as it gets and another company. Teflon liners go bad and all rebuild able heims are still problematic. They work but aren't the best choice, johnny joints and metal cloak are good for daily driving.

Progressive springs are good but you'll be hard pressed to find a 3" spring for a 2dr that's dual rate or progressive because of collapsed length and available room...usually its 3" 4dr and 4" 2dr springs... but they wallow a bit compared to linear and aren't as stable as a straight rate...on trail love em.......progressive just works....

 

While we're on the subject, why is everyone always sleeves sleeves sleeves? Why not throw a beefy truss on, for arguably more bending strength

 

Oh and I like how this thread has turned into more of a civilized discussion about jeeps

 

Ill look more into it but I'm just not sold. How can just 5 more inches of width cause so many more problems?

Which trails do you normally run? I want to try out marble canyon, sun bonnet, mantino wash all before I make the jump to 35s and beadlocks

I like how metal cloak now sells kits to replace most other joints on your existing arms

Well these rock crawler springs I have up front are progressive and leave one coil compressed at ride height. I'm tempted to go with the metal cloak 3 1/2" springs which I'm not at all worried about the height but more so I they will still stay in the coil buckets while flexing. The metal cloaks are more of a dual rate from what I've learned about them so far.

 

Well as you can see from my picture I have a 30inch right in front of my grill... But when off roading on rocks not too much dust to worry about considering I lead when I have gone (once hahaha). But when the dust come up any HID's kinda suck that's why my fog lights are still yellow so I can use them for what they are made for.