Radius or 4-Link?

The question is which is better? I know that Skyjacker runs a 4-link setup and everyone else seems to run the radius arm setup(Rusty's, TNT, Rock Krawler, BDS, Clayton, Full Traction, and many more).Which performs better? (Rocks, Street, Trail, ect.) I would like to know the differences between the two types. I plan on running a 8" lift with 35's. Who is running a similar type of setup and what are your opinions? I know alot of people like to bash products that they do not use but I would like this to be a helpful post. If I can get some help with this I would appriciate it very much. I am coming home soon from a 15 month tour in Iraq and I can't wait to build my bone stock 2001 XJ sport and then be with my wife!! Or should I do that in reverse?

...search theres plenty of threads like this. be more specific an you don't need 8 inches to runs 35s

Rock Krawler, and Full Traction arent radius arms. Rock Krawler is a 3 link and Full Traction is a 4 link. I have T&T radius long arms and couldnt be happier with them.

Thanks for the help. I know I do not need 8" but I don't want to hack up my fenders. I forgot to add 3-link in the questions? Thanks for the reminder.

BDS has a 4 link front, that retains 0* caster throughout the range of the suspension travel.

Also, if you want a 4 link rear, Clayton Offroad has that covered.

Ill be doing both this winter.

Just remember if you are going to actually wheel your rig you want to keep the center of gravity as low as you can so I would strongly suggest thinking hard about cutting your fenders. Im not trying to tell you what to do or anything of that nature just giving you my opinion. Alot of people are very happy with the Rock Krawler 3 link and say it flexes great. Many people are very happy with their Clayton long arms, many are happy with T&T. You dont hear about Full Traction as often but I know a guy personally who is in one of the offroad clubs Im in who loves his Full Traction lift. Honestly, you cant really go wrong with any of them. The ones you listed are all great companies and they all work very well.
What kind of wheelin are you going to be doing? Rocks, mud, mild trail, technical trails? Just a couple of things to consider is that Rock Krawler and T&T both have high clearance arms, which some will say the others are strong enough to take the beating and Im sure they are as are T&T's and Rock Krawlers but who wants to beat your suspension on rocks if you dont have to right? Three link set ups are supposed to flex the best out of all of them but they say that the on road manners arent as good, will you be daily driving your rig? Their is alot of things to factor in when making a decision. Also, research how each kit mounts its long arms on the frame side. Some methods appealed to me more then others. Some kits come with transfer case skids some dont.

sjd78 Thanks for the input.
I do various types of wheeling. I had a big dodge and did alot of mud but that phase has deff. passed because of the way mud destroys things. I would say it is a mix of both trails and mild rock. There are not to many huge rock crawling places on the east coast. I will be driving this every day. I am working right now on getting a d44 for the rear and a hp d30 for the front because my 01 has the d35 and lp d30.

i have rustys longarms with about 10" on 36iroks, and use it for dd and the beach. ill tell u the arms make more noise then hell. i was actually suprised how hard the ride is compared to my old xj with 6"lift and pos short arms.

jeepjay90 said:

i have rustys longarms with about 10" on 36iroks, and use it for dd and the beach. ill tell u the arms make more noise then hell. i was actually suprised how hard the ride is compared to my old xj with 6"lift and pos short arms.

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Not surprising with Rusty's at all really. Definitely the lower quality choice of the available options.

jeepjay90 said:

i have rustys longarms with about 10" on 36iroks, and use it for dd and the beach. ill tell u the arms make more noise then hell. i was actually suprised how hard the ride is compared to my old xj with 6"lift and pos short arms.

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You dd with 10'' of lift and iroks? How many miles do you get out of your radial (I assume) iroks?

I'm at 6.25" with 36" TSLs and a TnT longarm. I really want to drop it down to 5.5ish.

What use are fenders??

ive only been on the road since the beginning of summer with the radials,so theres no wear yet. and i dont drive to far each day. i cant believe how smoothe they r on the road and how good they are on the beach.

What is your opinion of Rock Krawler? The seem to make good products for alot of different vehicles and have good performance test.
I want to go different with the tires, I plan on running 35x12.5 R16 Nitto Mud Grapplers. I like being loud and I don't ever see that many people running them. Plus the fact that they look sick on any 4x4.

i have a clayton longarm with rear trilink going in my tj. all i can say is the stuff is super beefy, im sure once its done i wont have a problem. i want to change my rustys arms for either them or rubicon express. i just want the best on road longarms i can get. i spoke with a couple guys who run the rustys, and they all say they make noise, no matter how much grease.

Best on-road mannerisms, your best bet is a 4 link - BDS or Full Traction.