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Short arm VS long arm

SpencerKemp

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Snohomish, WA
so going to build a cherokee with a bds 4.5 inch lift for dd where i live we get abit of snow and i like going up to the passes snowmobiling ect should i go long arm or short arm is it really worth the $800?
 
Long arm is great, but depending on what you're doing, short arm with drop brackets works quite well also.
 
There is absolutely no difference between the two!
Long Arms FTW!

Mine with 4.5" and short arms with no drop brackets was very jarring on the front end. Now with long arms its ride is much better.
Ive never had any drop brackets so i cant speak for the ride with them.
 
With 4.5" of lift, you will definately need either drop brackets and new arms or long arms. I did the drop bracket on my 97 and am going long arm (Froehlich) as cost wise they are about the same my set up is running around $950 shipped. Drop brackets with arms will run not much less.

It is the static angle of the control arms that determines ride quality. In an ideal world, they would be perfectly flat i.e. 0 degrees. At this angle, the arms are free to move up or down without binding as they are in a neutral (centered) position relative to vertical travel. This only happens with stock suspension. As the suspension cycles on a lifted short arm, the control arms resist moving in the up direction as they are below center. This means that the axle has to move foward quite a bit as it cycles which binds the suspension. By going with LA's, you gain not only articulation, but a much better over all control arm angle without dangling a pair of rock catchers (the brackets...) off the bottom of the uniframe.

Individual choice. I am spending the extra even though I am on Social Security (Yah, I'm an old guy) because I feel that it is worth it.
 
By going with LA's, you gain not only articulation, but a much better over all control arm angle without dangling a pair of rock catchers (the brackets...) off the bottom of the uniframe.

In my experience (RE 5.5 Short arm with DB's Vs. TNT long arms) short arms with DB's ride and articulate as well or better than long arms. They do however bang the hell out of rocks, although I've never been stuck on them in the 10 years I've had them.

If I were buying now and cash WAS an issue, Short arms with DB's and don't look back. You won't be disappointed. If cash is a non issue... get the long arms. They slide over rocks with less of a bang!
 
DB's and stock arms, best bang for the buck, and replacing a broken control arm is much easier than welding your FN control arm mounts back together on the trail. (control arm should be the weak link)
 
if you can afford it, go long arm, the ride quality will be far closer to stock, but at only 4.5" inches of actual lift, not sure that you will see that much more articulation as your 3-4" lift shocks are gonna limit your flex. if you bump stop and some how manage to squeeze longer shocks to help with your droop, that long arms will out perform the shortys hands down. Also look into the Iron Rock off road long arm kit.
 
Well I'm not doing very much rock crawling just some snow wheeling, river foring, mud and loging roads on th weekends and comuting every now and then across state to get home from school. so should i drop the $ for the ride quality or spend it on other things?
 
Well I'm not doing very much rock crawling just some snow wheeling, river foring, mud and loging roads on th weekends and comuting every now and then across state to get home from school. so should i drop the $ for the ride quality or spend it on other things?

There's nothing wrong with the drop brackets. If you're looking at the BDS kit, their arm brackets mount below the frame rail too, just a matter of finding the right rock to hang on. If the shocks are your limiting factor, it doesn't matter which system you run. I currently run 10" travel Bilsteins but the arms will droop even further. I see no point in unseating the coils, especially catching air in the dunes when both sides unload.
I've hit the brackets on the rocks but I've hit everything else under the rig too.
 
Well I'm not doing very much rock crawling just some snow wheeling, river foring, mud and loging roads on th weekends and comuting every now and then across state to get home from school. so should i drop the $ for the ride quality or spend it on other things?

That's up to you. Do you want to enjoy driving your Jeep or not?
If so, then decide between drop brackets & short arms or long arms.
If not, just use short arms.

For what you're doing, I think drop brackets would be fine.

I'm at 4" of lift with short arms and the ride is terrible. I'm currently exploring my options as well.

Don't forget, if ride quality is a concern, you need to spring for some decent shocks too.
 
I already had some RE control fixed/adjustable control arms, so bumping it up a notch with DB's was a no brainer for me. I use my Jeep pretty much like you do, such as trail, logging roads, mild stuff, etc. DB's work just fine in my case for the type of wheeling I do, and have allowed me to spend money on other things for my XJ. I make it to "point b" just as well as the folks with Long Arms do, that I ride with....
 
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