would 22 5/8" mid arm lowers be a good setup for 3-5" lift?

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

would 22 5/8" mid arm lowers be a good setup for 3-5" lift? or should they be longer? I can always lengthen them if need be

he was also wanting me to make the passenger side upper simple to disconnect, so he could run 3 link only on the trail...

I am going to be using stock JK front lower control arms on my buddy's XJ Heap O' Jeep...

I figure stock is 15 3/4" so they would be 6.875" longer

he is wanting to do this for several reasons...

1. cheap
2. strong
3. has bend for wider tires
4. did I mention cheap???
5. does not want long arms because they are TOO long and "will get hung up on rocks and stuff"

so should I just leave the arms JK lowers as is, or lengthen them...

Lowrange2 · Apr 18, 2011

Personally, I find all of that to be a waste of time...

3-link only on the trail? Who's gunna want to take the upper link out to go ride on the trail. Just leave it off... I haven't had 2 upper links in 5 years.

22" is longer than the short arms and shorter than the long arms so of course it will work. Will if be worth the work it's going to take?... I don't think so but you're doing the work, not me.

bandit455 · Apr 18, 2011

I've been toying with the jk arm idea for a bit as well, I need a good welder though before I delve into doing suspension brackets.

RCP Phx · Apr 18, 2011

You could make one of the uppers wristed,it would be alot easier on the trail.

foxwar71 · Apr 18, 2011

You should save yourself the hassle and just buy my complete upgraded Skyjacker midarm setup. Its pretty sweet and has ~20/22" long LCA's

Goatman · Apr 18, 2011

Sure it will work, pretty well in fact. I wouldn't bother removing one upper on the trail, for what? The trail is harder on stuff than the street, build it for the trail and it's more than adequate for the street. To run one upper on the trail the mounts need to be beefed up anyway, which then wouldn't matter on the street.

What length will the uppers be? Too much difference in length will cause too much pinion angle change.

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

Goatman said:
What length will the uppers be? Too much difference in length will cause too much pinion angle change.

whatever length I decide to make them...

yossarian19 · Apr 18, 2011

Run all four JK arms if at all possible. Should work fine. Wouldn't bother making the 2nd upper removable, see if you can convince him away from that.
Won't be quite like long arms but for a 3-5" lift it should do really well. Less hangup or band-aid appearance than DBs and cheaper / easier than long arms. Go for it.

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

yossarian19 said:
Run all four JK arms if at all possible.

so just run stock JK uppers?

bandit455 · Apr 18, 2011

ericfx1984 said:
so just run stock JK uppers?

yep, there a little bit over 19"

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

bandit455 said:
yep, there a little bit over 19"

wouldn;t it be better to make them the same length?

yossarian19 · Apr 18, 2011

ericfx1984 said:
wouldn;t it be better to make them the same length?

I'd think if there was a compelling reason to run all 4 the same length it would have come that way from the factory, in either the W X T or ZJ or the JK. I mean, I can understand compromises to packaging on one or two, but the full range?
I'd run all 4 stock arms and call it a day. Besides, you can't beat OEM joints for longevity.

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

so as for adjusting I was thinking this would work... I will be making a control arm slider (for the uppers and lowers) that use shims... similar to the way that the XJ lower control arms are adjusted but I might also consider using a cam bolt system...

in4aride · Apr 18, 2011

why do you need longer arms? stock length arms flex fine at that length. make it flex too much and youll run out of coil and it will need limit straps to hold it all in place. seems like a lot of pointless work

for reference.... 3.5" RE with stock length arms.....

the coils barely hang on the bumps and dont fall out....

ericfx1984 · Apr 18, 2011

in4aride said:
why do you need longer arms? stock length arms flex fine at that length. make it flex too much and youll run out of coil and it will need limit straps to hold it all in place. seems like a lot of pointless work.

stock control arms are what he has... I should be able to do the entire build for around $80-100 I can not get a set of control arms for that price...

and this is what he is wanting to do...

also he plans to go to 4.5-5" of lift... so trust me it will be worth it

great PICS BTW

in4aride · Apr 18, 2011

didnt know he was going higher. much more than 3.5" and they would suck

ericfx1984 · Apr 22, 2011

in4aride said:
didnt know he was going higher. much more than 3.5" and they would suck

and yet many people run 4.5" lifts with stock short arms...

ericfx1984 · Apr 22, 2011

so should I use a cam bolt style setup or a shim type setup for adjustment?

time2getdirty · Apr 22, 2011

I am around 4.5-4.75 and am running short arms (extended around 2") without drop brackets, and I have absolutely no problem with flex. It rides nice and wheels great!

ericfx1984 · Apr 22, 2011

time2getdirty said:
I am around 4.5-4.75 and am running short arms (extended around 2") without drop brackets, and I have absolutely no problem with flex. It rides nice and wheels great!

that's what I am talking about... so JK rubicon arms are 22 5/8", stock is 15 3/4"

should flex and ride awesome!

would 22 5/8" mid arm lowers be a good setup for 3-5" lift?

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