Short Arm vs Long Arm - DD & Mild Trail Rig

Hi All,

I recently got back into the XJ thing with the purchase of a stock 97 Sport with AT and 242 TC. My previous XJ was a 94 Country that I did a 2" BB and ran 30's on it, otherwise stock.

For this new rig, I want to run 33" tires but want to keep the lift height down to about 4-4.5". I also don't want to trim sheetmetal...so am thinking proper bumpstopping would help me there. I also know that with a short arm lift, there would be tire to control arm contact on full lock (or less) that can be dealt with via less backspacing on rims or adjusting the steering stops.

Before even buying the jeep, I had been looking at RRO's Trailblazer lift using OME springs/shocks, understanding that OME has some of the best riding springs around. This would have kept my lift cost around $800+shipping...knowing that I'm going to have to do a SYE/driveshaft and I SHOULD regear

After reading more in magazines and here, it sounds like long arms are the way to go for anything over about 3" of lift to give a "better" ride, allow more travel, etc....for any type of rig...hardcore to mild. So I've been researching these as both complete kits and upgrades and have found that my lift cost for the same height basically doubles. The long arm kit I'm considering is a 4" Critical Path from Iron Rock Offroad and includes Bilstein shocks, JKS discos, and all other components that are included in their 5.5" kit for about $1700. This to me sounds like a GREAT deal in the long arm kit world.

My main priority is ride quality as it will be a DD and taking the family on long trips to wheel in places like Ouray and Moab. I don't intend on doing any extreme rockcrawling as I need to drive back home at the end of the trip.

Thanks for all your input. I appreciate all opinions.

I know that in the end it is my rig and my money, but wanted to hear from those that have contemplated the same things or have already been there.

Rob

If you're not interested in wheeling it hard, why not short arms and drop brackets? Rough Country drop brackets are a good deal under $200.00.

Two years ago I was new to XJ it actual had replaced two vehicles, oen which had a long radius arm type supension which was a great ride, I wanted to reproduce this ride on my new jeep. I saved up for about a year and then went nuts doing most of the work my self. I wanted a nice driving truck on the street and a good trail truck, I can follow my old TOY which has 9 inchs of lift and riding on 35 inch tires.

1) Clayton long arm kit which was very complete the only extra piece I had to buy was a drill bit to enlarge to hole for the track bar. I did add their shackles to my order. The stance is perfect and the ride is amazing the rear springs are great with the trucked loaded or unloaded much better then stock. The lift has been on the truck for over a year now and very little sag. If I want to go to 6 inchs of lift all I think I would need is new front springs, for me 4.5 seems to work well.

2) Did a SYE kit and 4.56 gears truing 31.5 tires on stock wheels for winter and Eagle Clasic for summer and yes they have a good amount of rock rash. I am very pleased with this combo it is working well for me as a DD with zero rubbing. My mileage is very near stock with this set up.

Also the Clayton parts are over sized from the arms to the joints it seems they use all top drawer stuff.

I have the BDS long arm 4.5 lift and I think it rides smoother than stock....

Everyone will recommend the high dollar long arm kits such as clayton and TnT, but for the price I think the IRO long arms are pretty tough to beat. I did a lot of research and heard nothing but positive things from OWNERS. I ordered my 5.5" IRO longarm kit last week and will be installing it next week, ill let you know what I think.

After installing my long arms the ride was as good if not better then stock.

At least it seemed that way going from a short arm lift to long arms.

x2 on BDS lifts, I have the 3.5" kit (not long arm ) and it is amazing. Not smoother than stock, but then again its short arms. I run 33x12.50s with the 3.5" kit and love it. Trimmed quite a bit, but I wouldn't have it any other way. You may have to bumpstop quite a bit to keep it from rubbing at all with 4.5" of lift and 33's

x2 on the IRO long arm kit. I have heard nothing but positive from owners as well (why do I think turtle and I read the same thread? :laugh3. As soon as I can afford an SYE and 1.5" shackles/ACOS (as well as necessary shocks, driveshaft(s), etc). I will be getting the IRO long arm kit myself. Great looking setup.

Just avoid RRO,period!

Did you mean IRO? and why? personel expierience

RCP Phx said:

Just avoid RRO,period!

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x2

before i knew any better i got some shackles from them and they took 2 months to get here.

their website and "claims" are a joke. just a bunch of nonsense they put together to try to upsell their products to people new to the sport

ktm racer 419 said:

x2

before i knew any better i got some shackles from them and they took 2 months to get here.

their website and "claims" are a joke. just a bunch of nonsense they put together to try to upsell their products to people new to the sport

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The shipping was ok for me, but the BPEs didn't fit (don't know what the problem was, 3 yrs later, I got the rears to fit, never did get the fronts to work though) and when I called them, their response was, "It's your fault, not ours, but we'll extend this gracious offer: ship em back, on your dime, pay a 15% restocking fee, and we'll refund whatever is left of the $20 or so that they cost above the standard BB". Needless to say I kept them since it would be pointless to spend money to not get a refund.

RCP Phx said:

Just avoid RRO,period!

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x3. Parts are fairly beefy, but service sucks, and have you read his "tech" info?
I'm running Rock Krawler 3 link and it's been great. I'm very happy. Thing with drop brackets is everyone complains about dragging them, but with most long arm kits, you'll drag the brackets for them as well. TNT tucks up nice and high since it's tied into the crossmember. My RK kit has drug on the rocks a couple times since it mounts under the framerails. Shows some scratches but no damage.

hitman34 said:

Did you mean IRO? and why? personel expierience

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RRO is Rocky Road Outfitters, completely different from Iron Rock Off-Road. I'll be going to Minneapolis for work on November 2nd and will be stopping by Iron Rocks shop, we'll see how that goes!:cheers:

Jeeperrick said:

RRO is Rocky Road Outfitters, completely different from Iron Rock Off-Road. I'll be going to Minneapolis for work on November 2nd and will be stopping by Iron Rocks shop, we'll see how that goes!:cheers:

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I am quite interested to hear about it! Keep us posted! (After my floors are in this may be my next purchase).

I was very impressed with their service. I sent them an email asking about why they recommended the long arm kit for only 4.5"-8" of lift and explained that I plan on running 3.5" lift for the next 6 months then go bigger... within hours I had a reply explaining that it was due to the limitations on the caster adjustment, which is what I expected. A relatively small outfit with service like that... I bought BDS years ago because they had good service, now they have become alot more popular. I can already tell you I will be joining those running IRO gear sooner than later with service like that.

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the replies.

Yes, RRO's point of view is that long arms are not for a street driven vehicle, which I can't believe anymore since so many are doing it, including the chief editor of 4WD & SU on a XJ he bought for his daughter...which would be the same mag that RRO claims says long arms are for trail only...Hah!

On the subject of drop-brackets...Whose are the easiest to install and what size lifts are they for? I saw on RC's site that their drop brackets are for 4.5" and up, yet they "recommend" them for their 3" lift...WHAT?

I think this is where the confusion comes in for us who are looking to make a very important decision on where to spend a huge chunk of change...even the manufacturer's websites are misleading or not entirely correct...

IRO offers their long arm with adjustable ends...I don't know which end they would make adjustable...the upper and lower axle mounts or just the unibody/crossmember mount...I haven't asked. It's a $100 option but may be well worth it?

Like I mentioned, the 4" kit from IRO that I was quoted on was under $1400 before upgrades to Bilstein shocks and JKS discos. For what appears to be top notch quality components, I don't think you can beat that with any other long arm system...

I think drop brackets would save me at most about $300-400 vs the IRO long arm system. Which is better? I have no idea...

That's why I'm asking

Rob

TurtleBoyPW5 said:

Everyone will recommend the high dollar long arm kits such as clayton and TnT, but for the price I think the IRO long arms are pretty tough to beat. I did a lot of research and heard nothing but positive things from OWNERS. I ordered my 5.5" IRO longarm kit last week and will be installing it next week, ill let you know what I think.

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I'm very anxious to hear how it goes...take LOTS of pics. I don't know if I'll be able to wait that long though...REALLY got the bug to get something ordered.

I wouldnt own or build anything like IRO's set-up just for safety sakes.Their UCA mounting is just "stupid/weak"!

The Iron Rock longarm kits are proven in the WJ world. What do you have against the UCA mounting?

Leverage,been building races cars for 35yrs now,wouldnt even conceive this!

97stomper said:

On the subject of drop-brackets...Whose are the easiest to install and what size lifts are they for? I saw on RC's site that their drop brackets are for 4.5" and up, yet they "recommend" them for their 3" lift...WHAT?

I think this is where the confusion comes in for us who are looking to make a very important decision on where to spend a huge chunk of change...even the manufacturer's websites are misleading or not entirely correct...

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Drop brackets are good for just about any amount of lift (well kindof..). Ideally you will want to keep your control arms relatively horizontal. They probably claim that the drop brackets are for the 4.5" lift because they are more of a "necessity" with that much lift.. however they would be good for a 3" lift. without looking at them, I would guess that they probably drop your brackets about 3" which would make them nice for a 3" lift but not necessary. I run 3.5" w/o drop brackets. It makes for a rougher ride, but it is bearable. So drop brackets are not necessary, but I suppose you could say they are "recommended"

97stomper said:

IRO offers their long arm with adjustable ends...I don't know which end they would make adjustable...the upper and lower axle mounts or just the unibody/crossmember mount...I haven't asked. It's a $100 option but may be well worth it?

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If you look at it the upper control arm mount is adjustable. The lower control arm mounts are fixed mounts. The upper control arm mount is adjustable so you can properly set your caster.

I would go with the IRO, like I said from people that actually own their products they say they are good, quality build components. As others here have said, they dont trust the adjustable UCA mount.. I do understand where people that make this claim are coming from and can agree that a solid mount in that location would be stronger overall, but for mild wheeling they should hold fine IMO (esp since people who have purchased them have been impressed with the quality from what I hear).

RCP Phx said:

Leverage,been building races cars for 35yrs now,wouldnt even conceive this!

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I would have conceived this! Mind you when I was in school for mechanical engineering we used similar adjusters for several projects... then I changed to electrical/computer engineering because mechanical was my hobby and I wanted to learn something else. heh. I forget what it was we used them on, but I do remember using this type of adjustment