I have been pretty busy over the last week, so have not been able to get back to this until now.
From what I have read (here and elsewhere) the options for getting power up on the 4.0L in the TJ are limited, with turbo charger or super charger being the only options that make a big difference. For now I think that is beyond where I want to go, so I will work on the basis of the stock engine for now.
I have been mulling over some of the options. Now please bear in mind, unless I have missed something in my searches the options for parts are far more limited in the UK than the US, so many of the options most of the people on this forum have are not realistic options for me - barring a holiday in the US and trying to smuggle some very heavy cases through customs!
Looking at one of the better sites in the UK I have been looking at options for two different ways forward on suspension.
The first alternative is a 2.5" OME lift. It looks to me as though there are four stages / levels I can go two:
1. Just the 2.5" lift and OME transfer case lowering kit c.£1,000 in parts
2. As per 1. plus a 1" body lift - If I have understood what I have read so far this gets me to 33" tyres c. £200 in parts
3. As per 2. but swap the transfer case lift for SYE, new prop shaft and adjustable control arms c.£2,000 in parts
4. As per 3. plus an ARB locker and regearing kit (4.56) c. £3,000 in parts
The pro's of this option as far as I can see are:
I can move forward in stages building on the previous stage
The costs are more modest, at least to start with
The big con is I will ultimately be limited to 33" max
The second alternative is a 4" lift, there are two canidates for this Teraflex and Trail Master. I suspect the second option is not one that there will be much experience of on this site as it is a European brand and I think aimed squarely at the European market. Again, I can tackle this in stages:
1. The 4" lift from either provider with SYE, new prop shaft and adjustable control arms c.£3,400 (Trail Master) to £3,800 (Teraflex)
2. As per 1. plus 1" body lift and chromoly axle shafts c. £2,500 in parts
3. As per 2. plus an ARB locker and regearing kit (4.88) c. £3,000 in parts
The pro's for this as far as I an see are:
I have scope to go to 35" at stage 2. and ultimately to have a more capable TJ
The con's are that both the initial and ultimate cost are more, and that is not even including brake upgrades as I haven't found a source / understood my options for that in the UK yet.
At the moment I am thinking the higher lift, but only going to stage 1. may be the best route. Essentially the higher lift costs me an extra £600 to £1,000 in parts (depending on manufacturer of lift). There is no reason I can't stick at 33" at that stage and I may never feel the need to take things further, but if I do want to I have the scope.
I would be interested in any general observations as well as one specific question.
The specific question is about the adjustable control arms. The Teraflex kit comes complete with the arms, see link:
4" Lift Kit w/ Flexarms & 9550 Shocks, TJ (1656452) | Jeepey - Jeep parts, spares and accessories If I were to buy the Trail Master kit I would need to buy the arms separately, I could buy the Teraflex arms or I could buy arms from RT Offroad which are a few hundred pounds less than the Teraflex ones. However, the RT Offroad ones say that they use a Johnny Joint (the Teraflex ones do not mention this) and I have read on here that type of joint is highly rated. See link to here
Adjustable Lower Control Arms (RT21013) | Jeepey - Jeep parts, spares and accessories Which option on adjustable arms looks the better one? Does anyone have experience with either of these control arms? And before you say it, I know, I know, Currie arms adjustable at both ends, but I am afraid other than having them shipped from the US at very significant additional cost they do not appear to be an option in the UK.
There are obviously other things I need to do, such as the recommendation on differential breather, bumpers, winches, etc. but that is for another post...