Iron rock offroad long arm upgrade

[sunburned]

Sure, the BDS and Clayton kits are better, but I just can't bring myself to spend more on a lift kit than I did for the whole Jeep.

I understand budget conscious. But I also understand paying a bit more for parts that I KNOW for sure are going to last. Like I said before, I'm not buying a kit that will always have me thinking "I sure hope that caster adjuster doesn't fail on this trail" or on the highway when I hit a bad pothole at 70 mph.

As far as price and options.

The IRO kit is $600. If you want adjustable length arms, (why wouldn't you?) it's $700.

TnT and Rubicon Express radius arms run around $1000, but you get adjustable arms and a huge beefy skid plate instead of just a small crossmember.

BDS is $1000 but it's a true adjustable four link.

Poly Performance and Clayton are both selling true 3 and 4 link kits starting at $900.

And after looking at all the options, I'd say the Serious Offroad kit is a perfect budget option. $750 gets you adjustable radius arms and a crossmember with some TC protection, all built with big strong joints like all the other normal radius arms.


Is saving $200 really worth the hassle in the long run to get a much better kit? And with the Serious kit, it's only $50 more than IRO!



A funny point: on the IRO site, they tell you how crazy beefy their arms are, and how thick all the steel is, and how much the kit can flex, but don't even mention their 'revolutionary' caster adjuster anymore...

 

[ktm racer 419]

A funny point: on the IRO site, they tell you how crazy beefy their arms are, and how thick all the steel is, and how much the kit can flex, but don't even mention their 'revolutionary' caster adjuster anymore...

wow, not even a mention anymore. They still bash the proven threaded joint that every company uses without issue though.

No threaded rod to rust, bend, mangle on rocks, or worse yet wear out and clunk!

If you have that much thread showing for rocks to get at it, and don't know how to tighten jam nuts, you are doing it wrong. I live in New England, drove my jeeps through every snowstorm with salt being dumped on the roads, and have had no issues with any of that. They treat threaded joints like they is the devil!

I wonder why they don't use a revolutionary adjuster for thier other components....

 

[kastein]

So the same guys preaching to spend the money on the most heavy duty parts and do it right the first time don't? You mean to tell me you guys run known weak links just to get out and wheel? After reading your posts, we were all ready to park our jeeps in fear and wait until we could afford all the most hardcore parts.

ones that I can replace in 15 minutes on the trail for $30 genius, not ones that blow up a half dozen other parts :looser:

and I didn't pay $750 for the privilege of risking my steering, shocks, driveshaft, and pinion yoke, either.

 

[babyhuey]

I ran the "iron-y" for several years worth of whelling without any problems, i knew it was different and possibly could cause an issue. I just wanted to try it out, it worked good(aside from eating upper control arm bushings) but i have an issue with the company themselves. I had a proper alignment done and at 5.5in's of lift i was unable to adjust enough caster into it. After several calls and photos back and forth with them they agreed that it was more than likely made wrong. They wanted me to ship my arm back to them on my dime and then they'd inspect it and possibly warranty it.
F-that! i sold it and built my own suspension.

 

[scottmcneal]

Man this thread will still be going when i get over this FLU.Thanks for the laughs.Does make me feel better.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

$200 is alot of money when it comes to a tight budget build. That price alone will cover a lunchbox locker. Or rancho shocks. Or even a membership to AAA.

Your really overlooking my argument of budget.. Not everyone plans a $10k build.. Hundred here, hundred there, makes a huge difference..


For myself, I already have a trashed Trail rig that has alot of money in it

A DD xj will get IRO long arms at 4.5" lift, Spartan lockers. And used bilstiens. All on 32" craigslist tires with a used Warn winch.. And I know it will be dependable and capable Offroad as a weekend warrior..

The point of a budget rig IMO, is to make a standard simple short requirements parts list. And get it all checked of for as cheap and reasonable as you can.

There are people that say stay away from used, stay away from lunchbox lockers, stay away from IRO arms. Regear with anything bigger then a 30" tire.

There's hundreds of people that do just fine with it tho.

Like I said, XJs have alot more options for long arms, than Zj's and WJ's. and grands are heavier with more power, yet for every negative review of IROs front kit on Naxja, there's hundreds of good reviews there.. Maybe it's true. Naxja is just that much more hardcore:dunno:



Who here is running spicer joints instead of CTM? There's only a $250 price difference... I've broken 50 spicer joints.

 

[chedisme]

I was on a budget too when i did my long arms. I got 5.5 inch RE radius arm kit used for 500ish.

Im sure you will be fine cause it sounds like you baby your rig. But alot of people on naxja like to beat on their rigs(maybe its just a NAC thing) so for anyone who plans on hitting a rev limiter everynow and then or bump an obstical kinda hard sould stay away.

Forgive my spelling im on my phone and spell check sucks.

 

[MoparManiac]

Who here is running spicer joints instead of CTM? There's only a $250 price difference... I've broken 50 spicer joints.

Broken the joint itself? 760x? Or do you mean egged out a shaft and spit a cap?

 

[Serious Offroad]

I understand budget conscious. But I also understand paying a bit more for parts that I KNOW for sure are going to last. Like I said before, I'm not buying a kit that will always have me thinking "I sure hope that caster adjuster doesn't fail on this trail" or on the highway when I hit a bad pothole at 70 mph.

As far as price and options.

The IRO kit is $600. If you want adjustable length arms, (why wouldn't you?) it's $700.

TnT and Rubicon Express radius arms run around $1000, but you get adjustable arms and a huge beefy skid plate instead of just a small crossmember.

BDS is $1000 but it's a true adjustable four link.

Poly Performance and Clayton are both selling true 3 and 4 link kits starting at $900.

And after looking at all the options, I'd say the Serious Offroad kit is a perfect budget option. $750 gets you adjustable radius arms and a crossmember with some TC protection, all built with big strong joints like all the other normal radius arms.


Is saving $200 really worth the hassle in the long run to get a much better kit? And with the Serious kit, it's only $50 more than IRO!



A funny point: on the IRO site, they tell you how crazy beefy their arms are, and how thick all the steel is, and how much the kit can flex, but don't even mention their 'revolutionary' caster adjuster anymore...

Thanks again!!



Who's got the bucket-o-popcorn?

 

[ktm racer 419]

I think we ran out of popcorn around page 5

 

[zachandandy]

My wife runs the IRO kit on her wj, so there are fewer options and the price difference is larger. Yes she is pretty easy on it, the cv front shafts are more of a weak point than the caster adjuster. If you look at every part you buy and save $200 where you can, you'll save yourself a fortune. Lunchbox vs Detroit? Poly performance chromoly ball joints vs spicer? Nobody is arguing that the more expensive parts aren't better, but you can get the job done just fine with the cheaper stuff. If you run hardcore trails, jump your jeep, like to bounce off the rev limiter etc. there are plenty of parts you will break if not upgraded, regardless of how much you spent on your control arms. And I'm pretty sure a ball joint failure can lead to plenty of other damage if it happens at speed genius.

 

[kastein]

like to bounce off the rev limiter etc. there are plenty of parts you will break if not upgraded

DAMN you got a weird jeep! Your rev limiter is at 3k?!

regardless of how much you spent on your control arms. And I'm pretty sure a ball joint failure can lead to plenty of other damage if it happens at speed genius.

no shit it will... when are you gonna blow a ujoint at speed?

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Broken the joint itself? 760x? Or do you mean egged out a shaft and spit a cap?

First few sets, I wallowed out the shaft and just spit caps. But then I tried full circle clips, broke two more shafts. Then I tried both, full circle clips And tack welds. It was stronger, but I still broke the ears off 3 different trunions, in one trip.

I've also sheared all the teeth off the ring gear and grenaded a Carrier..

Anything will break. But at what point do you NEED the best, right out of the gate? Some things are trial and error

 

[zachandandy]

When did I say the rev limiter was 3k? I've seen caps(that were probably cracked wheeling) come off on the freeway, and I'm pretty sure you need speed involved to jump your jeep? Weak parts are weak parts, accept the risk and wheel or buy high dollar parts, either way its your jeep to wheel, just stop telling everyone else that our parts will fail when we have seen them work. We have all heard you don't like it, you've given us math proving it would break under an xj, yet I've seen it work in a heavier wj with nearly 100 more lbs/ft of torque? Guess your math is as perfect as your dana 30?

 

[chedisme]

 

[sunburned]

First few sets, I wallowed out the shaft and just spit caps. But then I tried full circle clips, broke two more shafts. Then I tried both, full circle clips And tack welds. It was stronger, but I still broke the ears off 3 different trunions, in one trip.

I've also sheared all the teeth off the ring gear and grenaded a Carrier..

Anything will break. But at what point do you NEED the best, right out of the gate? Some things are trial and error

You're talking about running stock parts, breaking them, then getting more stock parts.

If I'm going to spend money on an upgrade, I'm going to get the best stuff I can afford. If I can only afford something that I think is a bad design and might break in the long run, I just wait and save more money. What's the point in paying for something multiple times when you can spend a bit more in the beginning and not have to replace it ever?

Using your u-joint example. I put a locker in the front and wanted to run 35's. Wasn't going to do it without aftermarket shafts. Instead of buying normal chromoly shafts and X-joints/760s, I spent $150 more and got RCV's. I know they are basically indestructable and I don't have to worry about the inherent issues of u-joints. I also don't have to worry about trail fixes, replacing broken joints, or warrantying possibly broken shafts.

 

[zachandandy]

You got a hell of a deal on rcvs or you were overpaying for shafts. My Yukon shafts with spicer joints were $550 with a lifetime warranty, msrp for dana 44 rcv's is $1200. $650 difference is more than I could justify.

 

[ktm racer 419]

Is this even about the longarms anymore?

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Is this even about how awesome Iron rock offroad Long arms are, anymore?

FIFY..

And the answer is, No.:dunno:

 

[ktm racer 419]

FIFY..

And the answer is, No.:dunno:

HOW DARE YOU PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH!? (/quote)