Adjustable short arms

[jcshaney]

Like the title says I'm looking for opinions on what are the best bang for your back when it comes to adjustable short arms.

 

[altrocker1]

Drop brackets and stock arms until you can long arm...

 

[Smash Hole]

I'll sell you some Clayton short arms

 

[REWSTER]

Buying used is the best bet. I got a set of fixed lowers for 20 bucks at WF. Just wait for the deals.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

fixed lowers, adjustable uppers.

you dont need 30 points of adjustment (hyperbolizing), and you want your lowers to be robust. not saying adjustables arent, but the chance of bashing threads or a jam nut off of rocks isnt something that id want to risk.

 

[jcshaney]

I have rough country drop brackets and rough country fixed lower on it now but the caster is way off. I am not a big fan of the way the stock caster adjustment is hence the reasons for the adjustable short arms. This thing will likely never get long arms it is more of a mall crawler / dd/ family camping rig. I have hade 2 different XJ's with long arms and was not a big fan of the way they drove on road, worked very well off road just not ideal for lots of street driving.

 

[POLAR_JEEP_04]

fixed lowers, adjustable uppers.

you dont need 30 points of adjustment (hyperbolizing), and you want your lowers to be robust. not saying adjustables arent, but the chance of bashing threads or a jam nut off of rocks isnt something that id want to risk.

why adjustable upper if you're doing fixed lower? you cant really adjust pinion angle too much without cutting and turning inner C's. you might as well get fixed uppers and lower if you're going to take the effort to measure the exact length lowers that you'll need.

 

[Smash Hole]

Or just buy some sweet Clayton arms from me

Johnny joints > all

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

why adjustable upper if you're doing fixed lower? you cant really adjust pinion angle too much without cutting and turning inner C's. you might as well get fixed uppers and lower if you're going to take the effort to measure the exact length lowers that you'll need.

i personally didnt have an issue dialing my caster back to an acceptable level to be happy on 35s while maintaining an acceptable pinion angle with RE fixed length arms and RC control arm drop brackets on 4.5-5" of lift simply using the castor adjuster in the lower control arm bracket. so i really dont see a need for adjustable arms in the first place...

but my arguement is that if one finds a need for adjustable control arms, they do not need 6 points of adjustment simply for castor/pinion angle. why try to balance adjustable upper CAs, lower CAs, and the stock caster adjuster? take variability out of the system, if nothing else but to save money. your going to set it once and then forget about it anyway. probably for 3-5 years, at whick point youll probably sell them anyway. so how is it advatageous to have all this adjustability when your going to use it... once?

im speaking in absolutes here, but you get the idea. now, if the adjustment is needed to fit some sort of special situation, or accomplish an end goal like a little bit of stretch... ok, i can understand the thought process behind that. but for a stock axle, utilizing stock geometry, stuffing a tire in a stock wheel well, at a reasonable amount of lift?

 

[Rubiconkeith]

I have a set of adjustable upper and lowers on my jeep now with drop brackets. The point of them isn't to have threads or jam nuts to screw up. It's all about options having ability to dial something in. Look for something of decent construction that can be rebuilt. It will last a long time and give extra strength where needed. Most on the market are far better for strength over oem. The ability to even move the axle forward one inch could eliminate rubbing. If you look for something used look for a set in good shape. The money you save buying used can be thrown out if you need to rebuild.