Long Arm Upgrade

[Foof50]

I have a 2004 Wrangler X. Back in my younger/dumber years I had a 2" body and 4" suspension lift put on it. Well after many problems with angles and the fact that Dana 35 is crap, I have been able to toss some upgrades. I like the amount of lift and being able to run 35s. The stance makes me happy so gonna stick with the lifts. Suspension came with short arms because long arms scared me because of the permanent modification.
I am wanting to find a long arm option that could utilize my current suspension components as much as possible, if I could, and not have to change out too much just maybe the skid plate and the short arms. Needs to be adjustable, but had a shop do the lift so not exactly sure what all would get changed out aside from shocks, arms, and bumpstops on a suspension lift.

Any information to help me figure this out would be awesome.

 

[rasband]

What problems will a long arm solve for you?

 

[PNW_LJ]

What problems will a long arm solve for you?

ah, the @jjvw approach.

 

[jjvw]

ah, the @jjvw approach.

It's a good approach when everything the OP knows about long arms is incorrect.

 

[PNW_LJ]

I have a 2004 Wrangler X. Back in my younger/dumber years I had a 2" body and 4" suspension lift put on it. Well after many problems with angles and the fact that Dana 35 is crap, I have been able to toss some upgrades. I like the amount of lift and being able to run 35s. The stance makes me happy so gonna stick with the lifts. Suspension came with short arms because long arms scared me because of the permanent modification.
I am wanting to find a long arm option that could utilize my current suspension components as much as possible, if I could, and not have to change out too much just maybe the skid plate and the short arms. Needs to be adjustable, but had a shop do the lift so not exactly sure what all would get changed out aside from shocks, arms, and bumpstops on a suspension lift.

Any information to help me figure this out would be awesome.

You're not going to find a lot of love for long arms on this forum.

The consensus is that bolt-on long arm kits create more problems than they solve, and for most people, a quality short-arm kit is all you need to do the toughest trails. If you need more capability, Savvy Midarm is a great option. Rock Krawler is coming out with an interesting long-arm kit this summer, I'm curious to see how it performs.


Here's a good thread: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/long-arm-lifts-vs-short-arm-lifts.13319/

 

[PNW_LJ]

It's a good approach when everything the OP knows about long arms is incorrect.

Call me lazy, but I'm more a fan of a didactic form of teaching, than the Socratic method.

 

[Kerndone]

I am not going to speak to the long arm conversion, but I also had this lift combo way back in the day, 2" BL with a 4" SL. I had a shop do all the work, and they insisted I need that much lift to run 33" tires.

I have learned a lot since then, and as soon as I start doing my own work, I ditched that 2" BL for a 1.25" and went to 35s (among many other mods). I have yet to swap out my SL, instead staying with short arms but converting to all adjustable and doing a TT to utilize that BL.

 

[jjvw]

Call me lazy, but I'm more a fan of a didactic form of teaching, than the Socratic method.

What problems has this new interesting RockKrawler long arm solved that makes it different than their existing long arm that falls into the same traps as all other long arm kits?

 

[PNW_LJ]

What problems has this new interesting RockKrawler long arm solved that makes it different than their existing long arm that falls into the same traps as all other long arm kits?

Nope, no idea. Not vouching for them, just saying it's going to be interesting to see.

All I've seen so far is some teaser pics of a completely flat belly skid (flush with frame), and weld-on brackets similar to the savvy kit.

 

[jjvw]

Nope, no idea. Not vouching for them, just saying it's going to be interesting to see.

All I've seen so far is some teaser pics of a completely flat belly skid (flush with frame), and weld-on brackets similar to the savvy kit.

None of that is enough to determine anything about it without seeing the brackets.

 

[PNW_LJ]

None of that is enough to determine anything about it without seeing the brackets.

Agreed. Never said it was anything more than interesting.

 

[JMT]

Whenever I go run a trail with a new group someone asks,

“Why don’t you get a long arm?”

“Did I have trouble with any obstacles?”

“No, but they ride better.”

“Maybe you should drive mine.”

 

[jjvw]

Agreed. Never said it was anything more than interesting.

I was hoping you would be more didactic.

 

[psrivats]

Call me lazy, but I'm more a fan of a didactic form of teaching, than the Socratic method.

You are lazy

The questions have a purpose.

You can yell the truth till your throat is sore, but it mostly tends to fall on deaf ears since there are very few that actually want to understand rather than just have validation of their already chosen path. The didactic method doesn't work if one is unwilling to listen

 

[PNW_LJ]

You are lazy

The questions have a purpose. You can yell the truth till your throat is sore, but it mostly tends to fall on deaf ears since there are very few that actually want to understand rather than just have validation their already chosen path. The didactic method doesn't work if one is unwilling to listen

Our job is to direct folks to where they can learn. If people don't want to listen to the truth, that's their problem.

 

[psrivats]

Our job is to direct folks to where they can learn. If people don't want to listen to the truth, that's their problem.

Then all you need to do is point people to the resources section on every single thread. Even better, just shut down general discussion and just have the resources section as the main section. No conversations needed, because all they do is add noise.

Sounds silly, right?

 

[PNW_LJ]

Then all you need to do is point people to the resources section on every single thread. Even better, just shut down general discussion and just have the resources section as the main section. No conversations needed, because all they do is add noise.

Sounds silly, right?

When you search for something specific on Google or at your local library, do you want to find the answer or be met with a line of questions that may or may not lead you to an answer?

It's possible you prefer the latter. But I know what I prefer, and I also know what every single forum I've been on prior to this one has been like.

 

[bluescapegoat]

haha off topic but I can say after being off any TJ forums for a few years and coming back, reading through some older threads and scratching my head reading 20 pages of people just going in circles asking each other the same questions to finally get to an end conclusion that I already knew is tiring.

There are pros and cons. Most of the time, I get it.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I have a 2004 Wrangler X. Back in my younger/dumber years I had a 2" body and 4" suspension lift put on it. Well after many problems with angles
I am wanting to find a long arm option

Still haven't learned?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I have a 2004 Wrangler X. Back in my younger/dumber years I had a 2" body and 4" suspension lift put on it. Well after many problems with angles and the fact that Dana 35 is crap, I have been able to toss some upgrades. I like the amount of lift and being able to run 35s. The stance makes me happy so gonna stick with the lifts. Suspension came with short arms because long arms scared me because of the permanent modification.
I am wanting to find a long arm option that could utilize my current suspension components as much as possible, if I could, and not have to change out too much just maybe the skid plate and the short arms. Needs to be adjustable, but had a shop do the lift so not exactly sure what all would get changed out aside from shocks, arms, and bumpstops on a suspension lift.

Any information to help me figure this out would be awesome.

Having installed a long-arm suspension into my previous TJ all I can say is I'd never install another. First, it didn't perform nearly as well offroad as I was lead to believe it would. Next its long arms were continually getting hung up on trail obstacles like big rocks. as in multiple times a day.

And its ride was no better than my previous short arm suspension and no better than my current short arm suspension. The claims of a better ride with a long arm suspension are complete bullshit at typically installed suspension lift heights. At typical suspension lift heights which are seldom taller than 4-5", short control arm angles are not steep enough to cause a stiff ride. This shows my current TJ's short arm angle with a 4" Currie suspension, you can see the arm angle is nowhere near being steep enough to cause a stiff ride.

My red TJ in the first photo showing it hung up on the rock with its long arms was stolen maybe 12 years ago. Saying I am thankful it was stolen would not be correct but I am sure glad I was able to replace it with a used TJ I found with a good quality short arm suspension from Currie. My present TJ does everything better offroad with one exception, it doesn't get hung up on the rocks nearly as easily.

This is my current TJ and I love its abilities offroad. The only suspension upgrade I'd consider would be a mid-arm suspension from Savvy Offroad. Its arms aren't long enough to get hung up and it has amazing trail capabilities. But I'm retired now and no longer where there's any rock crawling so my TJ's going to live (and live well) with its current short arm suspension.