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long arm lift kits vs regual lift kit

blazinjames

NAXJA Forum User
this might be a dumb question but I dont understand what a long arm lift kit is?

what is the differences between a normal lift kit and a long arm? what parts are different, what modifications have to be done for long arms compared to regular

and what advantages and disadvantages are there

thanks
 
"normal" lift kits, or short arm lift kits utilize your stock LCA, and UCA control arm brackets, and some kits will come with new arms to work with whatever lift you go with

long arm kits are just that really, with a wide variety or styles. you move the LCA mount farther back on the frame.

advantages are more flex, less binding, and much better on road ride.
 
this might be a little easier to understand, my brother described it to me like this:

your control arms basically keep your axle in check while it's flexin it up. there is an upper and lower control arm on each side of both axles. The upper connects to the top of the axle and the lower connects to the bottom of the axle. they keep the axle from rolling or twisting front to back. they also guide and support the axle as it flexes and such.

stock, your jeep comes with what are known as short arms. if you looked at the side of your cherokee up near the front wheel and crouched down you'd see the lower control arm connecting to a bracket on the unibody. when you lift a jeep, the angle from that bracket to the axle gets much higher. this will make the ride rougher and it is tougher on that arm and bracket because all the bumps and vibrations are being directed up into the body instead of spread along it. plus, your axle can only go as far as that arm allows it to. with short arms, thats not too far.

a long arm lift kit replaces those short, stubby little arms with longer ones that mount farther from the axle. this lowers that angle, effectively smoothing the ride and making the distribution of pressure along the body more efficient. it also allows that axle to drop down lower when you need that extra bit of flex.

as for parts that a long arm lift comes with, it will come with all of the control arms, as well as the new brackets that attach them to the new positions on the underside of the unibody. to mount these, the old brackets will need to be removed and the new brackets mounted. some kits require the new brackets to be welded on and some are bolt on kits. for the bolt on kits, you need to drill holes in the unibody.

as for a regular kit, it would come with just replacement arms and shocks, etc.

advantages to long arms? more flex, better ride, strength, all kinds of fun stuff like that. the only disadvantage is the price. most long arm kits are pricey. also you have to modify the jeep. it's definitely worth it in my opinion though.

advantages to short arms? well... price i suppose. dont get a lift bigger than 3 or 4 inches though or you will need to get long arms.

haha that was kinda long:wierd: i hope that helped a bit though. pm me if there's anything i left out or you need some more help. and for anyone else, please correct me if i'm wrong, this is just my basic knowledge on lift kits. thanks!
 
Short arm lift kits use replacements for the stock control arms that fit into the stock brackets. A good replacement short arm will be adjustable so you can tweak your geometry post lift.

CA-SFCAK.jpg



A long arm lift kit will use significantly longer lower arms that mount to an aftermarket bracket that is often integrated into an aftermarket crossmember. The upper arms can be configured in lots of different ways. Here is one option where the uppers connect to the lower arms and to the stock axle mounts.

Long arms will give you much better geometry, flex, ride, and they are usually significantly more durable and beefy. They just cost a whole lot more.

UK-XJM.jpg
 
Here's some pic's of a short arm vs. long arm installed on the xj.

(clayton short arm)
2j8brc.jpg



(BDS long arm)
xli1qx.jpg
 
If you get short arm kit best bet it to get drop bracket hear it helps im a slacker and are running my shorts without the ddrop cause havent mounted them on yet.. and i have 8 inchs of lift and am sye free..
 
old thread as already mentioned... but another point. Long arms are about more than making it ride smoother again. Remember that the flatter those lower control arms are, the better it will perform - picture it this way. If your LCAs are at a 45 degree angle to the ground (extremely bad) and you try to climb a 45 degree slope, the front suspension will not compress AT ALL when you hit that slope because the control arm will be perpendicular to the obstacle you're at. However, if you have long arms and they're at a 10 degree angle, most of the force will be directed into the springs. In an ideal world, your control arms would always be close to parallel with the imaginary line tangent to the part of your tire which is touching the ground, as this would place all the weight of the vehicle on the springs and leave the control arms to simply keep the axle located properly under the vehicle.
 
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