long arm kit or drop brackets

my XJ rides rough on the roads ( 4.5" RE + 1" spacer)

the way i see it i have 2 options:

1. Pay $200 for control arm drop brackets

or

2. Buy a longarm kit and sell off my control arms

yeah its going to cost more, im not in a hurry and i wanted long arm down the road anyway

i see T&T kits for 849.95, do they ever have sales?or maybe at events?

Clayton kit was 950, I could easily make the clayton kit and buy the Johnny joints, but would still have to buy the kit , make the parts, then sell off the kit

so, where can i get a T&T kit for a reasonable price? and how much is shipping going to be?

Is there any other parts (other than the LA upgrade kit) that I need?

and how come no one uses RE long arm upgrade?

I think Iron Rock Offroad has a long arm kit for $550.

I thought about going the long arm route as I'm going to about 5" of lift in the next week or so, but found a good deal on used RC drop brackets on and am installing them this week. I'll let you know what kind of difference they make.

I'm in the same boat as you, RE 4.5" and 1" spacer. I think it rides fine on the street other than big bumps that are a bit jarring. Since I have the normal TnT belly pan and RE upper and lower arms, I'm going to sell all this stuff and buy the TnT kit. Shit, last time I looked the TnT kit was $750... Well anyways, selling stuff will offset the price enough to justify the whole longarm setup. Can't wait until that day.

After seeing how bashed up my stock chassis-side LCA mounts have gotten by rocks, no way would I even try to get the drop brackets. I know plenty of guys run them, but I don't think they are worth the money over longarms, plus they will kill what little clearance I have.

Long arm kit all the way. I couldn't be happier with mine.

Rustys makes a good one. And if you can afford it I really like the way the RE Ylink rides and performs.

Sounds like you answered it for yourself...... $200 or $900+. Seriously though. I would say it depends on what kind of wheeling you do.

long arm for sure, after i installed my RE LA kit. i will never drive a short arm set up jeep again. its like night and day and much smoother ride and provides so much more flex.

If you want to spend the money long arms are the way to go. But i have the same lift RE 4.5 with spacer up front and run the RC control arm drops and wow what a difference. Even with out sways in it drives better than my 95 tahoe lol.

well I'm looking forward to putting my drop brackets on now. it seems they make a big difference. hopefully my experience will be the same.

not me, Im going to save some cash and get the longarms. Looks like ill be spending the next month researching so I buy the right kit. may have to sell of a gun or two to get them quicker...maybe

i know its a VERY common question, but does anyone have a recommewndation on which longarm kit to get?

I never really debated the whole thing, I wanted DB's from the start and finally found a smoking deal on some RE's w/braces. I'm at 5.5 in the front and 6.5 in the rear. It flexes plenty and rides like a caddy! The couple of LA set-ups I have rode in are scary at highway speed and do not handle panic maneuvers good at highway speed. Mine handles like a stocker, maybe better!

My $.02

benulis55 said:

i know its a VERY common question, but does anyone have a recommewndation on which longarm kit to get?

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Claytons.... do it once, do it right. I am going into my 8th year on Claytons long arms. They have seen ALOT of abuse, and no problems.

I have RE drop brackets with the corresponding braces, and I love them. The ride is 10 times better than my old RE 4.5 short arm kit. I enjoy the DB's, and it is a cheap and easy solution without spending a lot of money on LA's.

If I was to spend money on LA's, I'd look at a 4 link or 3 link, and skip the radius arms. I'm not a fan of the unloading or binding inherent in the radius set up.

XJfire75 said:

Long arm kit all the way. I couldn't be happier with mine.

Rustys makes a good one. And if you can afford it I really like the way the RE Ylink rides and performs.

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Rusty's isn't synonomous with quality, and there are about 5 different kits that are a lot better than the Rusty's kit.

RE does not make the Y-link. TNT (now Treks) makes the Y-link.

I had the 4.5" RE arms in the stock locations. When drooped, the axle really looked like it wanted to fold back under the Jeep. I think my steering was the only thing that kept it from doing so a couple times.

I then installed the drop brackets. It rides great and the Jeep doesn't want to pass the front axle anymore. I smack the brackets a lot though. There has been no damage and they have never hung me up. Most long arms end up about where the brackets are. If I had smacked long arms as hard as I've smacked the brackets, I'm not sure it would have been able to drive it home.

I think I would like long arms, but other than the TNT y-links, most of them don't really give you much more clearance. I also like a true four link like BDS or Full Traction but you loose a lot of clearance under the belly of the Jeep with these kits and the arms aren't really higher than the brackets I have.

So as I see it, my options are keep what I have and just accept that the bracket will hit the occasional rock, or go with TNT y-links and deal with the unloading of the front suspesnion on climbs and possible binding issues while flexing.

I think the drop brackets are fine but I can't help but think there is some perfect set-up that has no drawbacks. I'm still looking.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=956210&highlight=longarms+drop+brackets

My thread:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=937396&highlight=longarms+drop+brackets

I think the 3 link is great, no problems and less binding that many other options. I lucked out and got the la's very cheap, a little more than db's so that was the obvious option for me.

Long arms don't flex more, the flex is based on spring rate and shock length. You don't buy LA's for flex. The negative about drop brackets is the loss of ground clearance, but, if you get one of the standard LA kits that hang the arm mounts down below the frame then you've lost more ground clearance than with the drop brackets. At least with the drop brackets you haven't lost precious break over angle.

I would only compare doing drop brackets or a long arm kit that tucks the arm mounts up nicely inside the frame, like the TnT kit does.

well i have considered both and i am running 6.5" rusty's fixed lowers, and lenghtened stock uppers. I am gonna be buying iron man adjustable uppers. And would like to look into drop brackets since the wheeling i do doesnt really constitute long arms (dunes and occasional seasonal/logging roads)

Would i have to get adjustable lowers? Rusty's lowers have the bend on the axle end.

RK 3-link. got mine for about 550 shipped.

drop brackets seem like a bandaid, and you loose a pile of ground clearance. granted it isnt really in an area that affects your break over angle, but its still a lot.

my RK mounts hang down about 2.5 inches, and are narrow enough that if i ever were to somehow get hung up on it i could drag it over whatever it is.

kmanxj5050 said:

well i have considered both and i am running 6.5" rusty's fixed lowers, and lenghtened stock uppers. I am gonna be buying iron man adjustable uppers. And would like to look into drop brackets since the wheeling i do doesnt really constitute long arms (dunes and occasional seasonal/logging roads)

Would i have to get adjustable lowers? Rusty's lowers have the bend on the axle end.

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Measure your links and then compare them to what RE or RC says on the lengths. I had to do a little bit of work to get the caster right with my drop brackets and after that they were perfect.

Goatman said:

Long arms don't flex more, the flex is based on spring rate and shock length. You don't buy LA's for flex. The negative about drop brackets is the loss of ground clearance, but, if you get one of the standard LA kits that hang the arm mounts down below the frame then you've lost more ground clearance than with the drop brackets. At least with the drop brackets you haven't lost precious break over angle.

I would only compare doing drop brackets or a long arm kit that tucks the arm mounts up nicely inside the frame, like the TnT kit does.

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What do you mean they dont flex more? So is it more based on liek what limits the flex? I have drop brackets at about 7.5" of lift, with RE arms (super flex lowers, and regular RE uppers) and from what it appears to me i would think shocks, my utk inverted-t steering, and my long @$$ RE superflex trackbar are what would limit my flex. What do you think? I considered LAs (mainly building my own off my own belly pan that i'd build onto a fully plated frame..) but then i thought it might be better to invest in high steer and really good drooping shocks. My 35s certainly tuck though, but droop im not so sure...

Right I wouldn't follow the directions for control arm length either.

I followed the directions with drop brackets for 7" (which is what I run) and ended up with a perfect pinion angle but a bowed coil (coil bucket rotated forward)