anthrax323
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Antonio, TX
The biggest drawback to my RE 3.5" lift (read: 4.5" lift) has unquestionably been the adverse changes to the damn thing's ride quality... I know that it is mostly due to control arm angles (as I'm running adjustable short arms), and I'd really like to get my near-stock ride back.
I've looked at long arms for quite some time now, and they are just seeming to be a bit too costly a solution. Also, with the wheeling I do, I have yet to need or want any more articulation out of the front end.
So, drop brackets have caught my attention over the past few days. Rough Country's brackets seem to drop everything ~4.5", whereas RE's solution drops them closer to 4". I've been keen on the idea of nix'ing my adjustable upper and lower control arms in favor of stock control arms used with drop brackets.
What, you may ask? This stupid bastard wants to get rid of his beautifully beefy IronMan 4x4 adjustable control arms in favor of the flimsy stamped steel pieces of crap that come on the XJ from the factory? Madness. Pure madness.
Well, yes - my logic is as follows:
Am I retarded, or am I onto something here? Matching a 4.5" lift with 4.5" drop brackets and stock control arms seems like it'd be a great way to get lift whilst retaining most of the vehicle's road manners.
In any case, if you have personal experiences with this combination (drop brackets and stock control arms), please share them - I'm particularly interested in the resulting articulation and road manners.
I've looked at long arms for quite some time now, and they are just seeming to be a bit too costly a solution. Also, with the wheeling I do, I have yet to need or want any more articulation out of the front end.
So, drop brackets have caught my attention over the past few days. Rough Country's brackets seem to drop everything ~4.5", whereas RE's solution drops them closer to 4". I've been keen on the idea of nix'ing my adjustable upper and lower control arms in favor of stock control arms used with drop brackets.
What, you may ask? This stupid bastard wants to get rid of his beautifully beefy IronMan 4x4 adjustable control arms in favor of the flimsy stamped steel pieces of crap that come on the XJ from the factory? Madness. Pure madness.
Well, yes - my logic is as follows:
- The stock control arm bushings are rigid as hell, yet supple in the ways of vibration absorption. Good for ride quality, but bad for flex? Well, that begs the next point...
- The stock control arms are often criticized because of the fact that you can "twist them by hand" (well, some people can). Call me crazy, but wouldn't this be a GOOD thing in the realm of flex/articulation? They're not rigid as all hell, sure, but it seems as though they were designed to twist to some degree to allow articulation.
- Not sure how critical a factor this is, but it seems as though the factory control arms were intentionally designed as weak links, or sacrificial pieces - in the event of massive front axle trauma (i.e. hitting a significant obstacle at speed), I think I'd much rather have my control arms break/bend than risk ripping my chassis-side control arm mounts clear off the vehicle.
Am I retarded, or am I onto something here? Matching a 4.5" lift with 4.5" drop brackets and stock control arms seems like it'd be a great way to get lift whilst retaining most of the vehicle's road manners.
In any case, if you have personal experiences with this combination (drop brackets and stock control arms), please share them - I'm particularly interested in the resulting articulation and road manners.