The gojeep link mentions, "always run as much caster as you can without vibes" There is also a chart for general guide:
At 5.5" lift, guide stipulates diff angle 4.25 degrees. True caster hi pinion at 4.75 deg. I am at 5.5" lift, but measure diff angle at 3 deg. and caster at 7 deg.
RCP PHx mentioned he is running a D30 LP with long arms. How does long arms affect the ability to run larger angle differences? I also am running long arms. They are from Tomken Machine. I haven't seen many people run these.
I read much of the 4xshaft article as well. It mentions, "The real benefit to a C. V. (double cardan) drive shaft is smoother operation at higher operating angles and longer life." OK, great. However the photo also shows the pinion angle at the same as the driveline angle, so I am confused. For the angles, the resulting conclusion is that it depends on a lot of factors. I read somewhere that doubling the angle could half the life of the u-joints. But as I put only about 3,000 mi (5,000 km) per year on the Jeep (I live in a small town), halving the life doesn't play a large role for me. The article also mentions to fully drop the axle and run the shaft to ensure it doesn't bind.
As for my front drive shaft, it is a Tom Wood A2XB-131-131 with these specs:
TYPE A, DOUBLE CARDAN, CV DRIVE SHAFT
2" TUBE-FULL LENGTH EXTENDED LIFE SPLINE W/ BOOT
1310 SERIES U-JOINT @ TRANSFER CASE
D=1.0625" E=3.2188"
1310 SERIES U-JOINT @ DIFFERENTIAL
D=1.0625" E=3.2188"
FINISHED LENGTH RUNNING POSITION
CENTER OF JOINT TO CENTER OF JOINT= 31 11/16"
Lift at 5.5"; Tomken longarms; Drive shaft angle at 10 degrees; Pinion angle at 3 degrees; Caster at 7 degrees =========> 7 degrees of pinion-to-shaft misalignment, is it OK? No vibes so far, taken it up to 55 mph. Thanks.