Short arm vs long arm lift question

There is another component to going long arm in addition to on-road comfort, which has to do with how leverage is applied to the suspension system, the effects of pinion angle as the suspension cycles and roll center to name a few. There is a lot of math and even more opinions on how best to apply that math. Unfortunately, the packaging of the JK limits the ability to traingulate the rear without going to a rear mounted fuel tank and substantial fabrication. The good new is there are people who do this for a living that have found a nice balance from all out race to road comfort. Look at the Evo DTD for more of a race suspension system and the DD Pro long arm for a budget minded street / off road system.
 
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aTX427 said:
There is another component to going long arm in addition to on-road comfort, which has to do with how leverage is applied to the suspension system, the effects of pinion angle as the suspension cycles and roll center to name a few. There is a lot of math and even more opinions on how best to apply that math. Unfortunately, the packaging of the JK limits the ability to traingulate the rear without going to a rear mounted fuel tank and substantial fabrication. The good new is there are people who do this for a living that have found a nice balance from all out race to road comfort. Look at the Evo DTD for more of a race suspension system and the DD Pro long arm for a budget minded street / off road system.
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Are you saying a 3 link is better?


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TrainWreck618 said:
Are you saying a 3 link is better?


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Yes, in my opinion it is better if you can do a true 3 link without the track bar. But,you cant do that with the JK because the gas tank is to big. Some company's are selling, what they call a 3 link with the track bar but, it is not a true 3 link.
 
3 link is a great setup unless you break the third link. It's a slooowww and dangerous drive back out.
 
TrainWreck618 said:
Are you saying a 3 link is better?


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Not necessarily. You can have long or short 3 link suspensions as well. What matters is the geometry and its effect throughout the suspension cycle. There is no single perfect design. What works for desert racing may not be the best for crawling and so on.
 
aTX427 said:
Not necessarily. You can have long or short 3 link suspensions as well. What matters is the geometry and its effect throughout the suspension cycle. There is no single perfect design. What works for desert racing may not be the best for crawling and so on.
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I haven't seen a 3 link setup that's better and more affordable than the DTD, or that has been tested as much. Regardless, why are we talking about 3 links? I thought this conversation was about short arms vs long arms?


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[emoji23][emoji23] anytime someone brings up three link set ups I just laugh. Have fun being stuck in the middle of no where or the farthest part of the park and try to drive your Jeep out to your trailer or even back home
 
TrainWreck618 said:
I haven't seen a 3 link setup that's better and more affordable than the DTD, or that has been tested as much. Regardless, why are we talking about 3 links? I thought this conversation was about short arms vs long arms?


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I agree the OP brought up 3 links. I am going to a DTD as soon as I get my Jeep in a position to be transported.
 
cozdude said:
[emoji23][emoji23] anytime someone brings up three link set ups I just laugh. Have fun being stuck in the middle of no where or the farthest part of the park and try to drive your Jeep out to your trailer or even back home
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I am with you there. It's a catastrophic failure point.
 
Ahh, the OP may have thought I was referring to a three link from post #37, but that wasn't the intent.
 
Long arm vs short arm

Have any of you been disappointed and regretted installing a long arm kit? What are the biggest drawbacks to the long arm vs standard short arm kits in your real world experience?

I have a 2012 JKU with a 3inch lift on 37s... lift was on the jeep since 2014 when we bought the jeep.

My main off-roading adventures are rock crawling and exploring. I run out of up travel quickly on dirt roads so I keep speed down especially when loaded up with camping gear. Would be nice to drive down a dirt road at 45mph and hit a dip without bottoming out the rear.

Been thinking about refreshing the main suspension items... we've put over 100k miles on her since we've owned her and she's my daily driver.
 
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