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long arm vs stock length???

G

Gilroyboyxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
gilroy, ca
So I'm new to the xj scene I have a long travel titan so I'm fresh to the jeep speed but just bought a 97 2dr, what is your guys opinion or fact on wether I should run a long arm kit for jeepspeed or stock length ?

Any info would be appreciated thanks !
 
Long arms will get you more articulation. A lot of guys are running short arm kits with drop brackets to get the same suspension geometry.

You should do one or the other.

I'm sure somebody will give you an better/in depth explanation.
 
J Money said:
Long arms will get you more articulation. A lot of guys are running short arm kits with drop brackets to get the same suspension geometry.

You should do one or the other.

I'm sure somebody will give you an better/in depth explanation.
Click to expand...

Hmm where are they running the drop brackets ?

And ya I figured that long arm would drop out better I'm just wondering if its completely needed to run jeepspeed an be going through great or if short arm will still handle decent or the same, I would think LA would handle better seeing as the arms aren't at such an angle to begin with so that way they have less drastic movement then a short arm would, like they would be doing less work. But just curious what guys are racing with so I know for when I start building.
 
As I posted in another thread, find me a past champion that ran a LA kit. You are only dealing with 10" travel. Long arms are not necessary. In fact, I can only remember one team winning a JS race with a long-arm equipped car.

We run RE Extreme Duty 5.5" short arm kit.

Current JS points leader (and last year's champ) runs the Currie SA kit without drop brackets and he flat out hauls.

If you are building to compete, go read the build threads over on the Jeepspeed forums.
 
DieselSJ said:
As I posted in another thread, find me a past champion that ran a LA kit. You are only dealing with 10" travel. Long arms are not necessary. In fact, I can only remember one team winning a JS race with a long-arm equipped car.

We run RE Extreme Duty 5.5" short arm kit.

Current JS points leader (and last year's champ) runs the Currie SA kit without drop brackets and he flat out hauls.

If you are building to compete, go read the build threads over on the Jeepspeed forums.
Click to expand...

Thanks man you hit the nail on the head! That's exactly what I was wondering because the RE 5.5 is what I was looking at, so would you run drop brackets or gusset stocks ?

Thanks!
 
Gilroyboyxj said:
Hmm where are they running the drop brackets ?

And ya I figured that long arm would drop out better I'm just wondering if its completely needed to run jeepspeed an be going through great or if short arm will still handle decent or the same, I would think LA would handle better seeing as the arms aren't at such an angle to begin with so that way they have less drastic movement then a short arm would, like they would be doing less work. But just curious what guys are racing with so I know for when I start building.
Click to expand...

Lower control arm drop bracket, and bracing behind the bracket as well.

in this pic you can see the bracing. probably not necessary for a street XJ.
PHOTO_2038856_27589_2260803_main.jpg



I'm going long arm, but it will be a long, long time until my rig would ever be ready to compete....if i even make it that far. since this will be an all around rig for a while i want the flex.

if i was building a comp only jeepspeed i wouldn't bother with long arm. In the end you can only have 10 inches of travel in the front to compete, so long arm is pretty much a wash unless you get a smoking deal in my opinion.
 
Last edited:
actually that is the skyjacker mid-arm kit shown above. I think either way if done right would be fine, shocks and tuning is what will make you go faster, and strength/chassis stiffening will keep you there:)
 
61scout80 said:
Lower control arm drop bracket, and bracing behind the bracket as well.

in this pic you can see the bracing. probably not necessary for a street XJ.
PHOTO_2038856_27589_2260803_main.jpg
Click to expand...


Ya its not going to be street, right now it is because I'm just getting more insight to the whole JS set up iim used to my long travel titan, but ya it will be a full blow race rig
 
Gilroyboyxj said:
Ya its not going to be street, right now it is because I'm just getting more insight to the whole JS set up iim used to my long travel titan, but ya it will be a full blow race rig
Click to expand...


i suggest going to the next race and checking out the rigs. I spent a lot of time eye humping the ones at the pomona expo and learned a ton about them.

the drivers were all awesome to talk to as well, i didn't find one jeepspeed guy with an attitude. Tim with the black 2 door was especially nice.
 
61scout80 said:
i suggest going to the next race and checking out the rigs. I spent a lot of time eye humping the ones at the pomona expo and learned a ton about them.

the drivers were all awesome to talk to as well, i didn't find one jeepspeed guy with an attitude. Tim with the black 2 door was especially nice.
Click to expand...

Ya I was thinking about doing it! Just because seeing it in person is usually better, are they usually down in socal ? Is there a jeepspeed like race schedule on a site somewhere ?
 
Gilroyboyxj said:
Ya I was thinking about doing it! Just because seeing it in person is usually better, are they usually down in socal ? Is there a jeepspeed like race schedule on a site somewhere ?
Click to expand...


here is a link, next one is henderson nevada

http://www.jeepspeed.com/dates/dates.shtml

There is a lot of good info on the jeepspeed site and forums, but I find it difficult to navigate....
 
i have a short arm and currently debating going to either drop brackets or LA.. after reading this it seems pointless to go LA if everyone says DB are just as good
 
Ryan93 said:
i have a short arm and currently debating going to either drop brackets or LA.. after reading this it seems pointless to go LA if everyone says DB are just as good
Click to expand...


are you planning to compete in the jeepspeed series? the jeepspeed rules limit you to 10" of travel on the front axle.

if you are just a recreational wheeler i would say long arm is better, but i'm also new to the go fast stuff. for slow speed technical wheeling long arm is king for sure. For jeepspeed competition you need to limit your travel no matter what setup you have.
 
yea thats the thing i was wondering about, I do not plan on racing my jeep so in that case you think it would be better for me to just go LA since I can have as much travel as I want?
 
Ryan93 said:
yea thats the thing i was wondering about, I do not plan on racing my jeep so in that case you think it would be better for me to just go LA since I can have as much travel as I want?
Click to expand...

Yea man scout is right, my rig is gonna be 99% race rig so ya for you I'd go LA for sure !
 
Ryan93 said:
yea thats the thing i was wondering about, I do not plan on racing my jeep so in that case you think it would be better for me to just go LA since I can have as much travel as I want?
Click to expand...


Exactly Ryan. From what i understand more travel is more gooder for recreational high speed running. Hopefully some of the guys more familiar with non-jeepspeed competition high speed running will pipe in if i'm wrong.
 
61scout80 said:
if you are just a recreational wheeler i would say long arm is better, but i'm also new to the go fast stuff. for slow speed technical wheeling long arm is king for sure.
Click to expand...


No proof of that. It's just that so many people have done it. The biggest thing you hear from LA guys after they install them is how nice it rides. I've wheeled with plenty of short arm and long arm rigs and they all do the same obstacles. As we've been saying for years, the angle of the arm is what makes a difference, the biggest benefit of the LA is the better angle. But, if you can get better arm angles another way then you have the same benefit of the LA, like with drop brackets.

Same with the thought that LA's give you better articulation, that's not true either. Articulation comes from spring rate, balance, and tuning....not arm length.
 
Goatman said:
No proof of that. It's just that so many people have done it. The biggest thing you hear from LA guys after they install them is how nice it rides. I've wheeled with plenty of short arm and long arm rigs and they all do the same obstacles. As we've been saying for years, the angle of the arm is what makes a difference, the biggest benefit of the LA is the better angle. But, if you can get better arm angles another way then you have the same benefit of the LA, like with drop brackets.

Same with the thought that LA's give you better articulation, that's not true either. Articulation comes from spring rate, balance, and tuning....not arm length.
Click to expand...

x2 !!!

Here is the problem as I see it. Long arm vs drop bracket will always be a debate. I prefer long arm because you can't argue with science. The drop brackets (even if braced) are basically increasing the load applied to the frame with a longer bracket. If you go drop brackets I would brace them from behind (like RE, RC and everyone else does) and also tie them together across the rig somehow.
 
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