Plendl

Ok I need your opinions again on what to do. You have changed my mind from wanting 37s to now ordering 35s for less wear and tear on dana 30. Still plan to beef it up eventually but my ? is what is best set of adjustable control arms. I started off with ROUGH country 3.5 inch lfit kit and have hated everything about it. Rides like the name. So far I have added teraflex monster track bars front and back and switched springs to 3 inch evo plush ride and switched to set of fox shocks and ats steering stabilizer. all have helped with how jeep handles but still has a jarring rough ride over bumps. Ive rode in other jeeps from local jeep clubs with a RK x factor lift and loved how it rode. He told me the control arms will help with ride. And from what I have researched the reason I'm feeling a harsh ride over bumps is that the energy is transferring through control arms more than suspension since angle is too great. Is this true and will buying adjustable control arms worth it. If so I'm leaning towards the RK x factor mid arm system since its what I have experience with in buddies jeep. I found them cheapest on rivercityoffroad.com for the cheapest so far ($1025). What are some other brands worth looking into. Ive seen synergys and have looked at getting those too since planning on doing the high steer kit to get rid of drop pitman arm that came with the rough country lift. What do you guys suggest getting and once you get them how do you know what to adjust them to. Is it something I can do or do I have to take to local jeep shop. Thanks for the help

larry0071

I know that the RK arms come with instructions with the recommended starting length for each set based upon your lift height.

The next question would be: What are your priorities?

Strongest?
Lowest periodic maintenance?
Longest joint service life?
Ease of joint replacement?
Bushing compliancy for ride quality?
Joint articulation for increased axle rotation?
Clearance for climbing over things?
Long Arm vs OEM (mid) length?

I'd say once you start to prioritize those things, folks can help you more.

jedg

Control arms aren't going to change the roughness of you ride. They would help with the caster of the axle in the front as well as position of the front and rear axles. Roughness is a result of the springs, the shocks, the tires (E rated versus D rated for example), the tire pressure (higher pressure, harsher ride).

jchappies

It doesn't help with the roughness but it does help with the transfer of energy that is felt thought the chassis that some may feel as roughness.
Each company uses their own joints or some similar Johnny Joint configuration or heim joints. Personally I like the Johnny Joint and Synergy products.

TheDirtman

Actually the type of joint will have affect on the quality of ride. Joints like heim that have little or no cushion in the joint will transfer vibrations thru the arms from the axles to the frame where a joint like the Metal cloak has will dampen vibrations for a quieter more smooth ride.

In terms of "best arms" I would choose based on what joints are used as well as how you are going to use your jeep. I would disregard the claims of massive misalignment of joints as unless you are running a massive amount of shock travel you will never need more misalignment then a standard Johnny joint provides. I have never ever seen a broken control arm on a JK and can not even think of seeing one that was bent. Other then bends for clearance I would not buy one arm over another because of their brand.

TheDirtman

Geometry has an affect on the ride quality. As you lift the jeep the links become angled more and create more axle shift when the suspension articulates. Off road this has a minimal affect on performance but on toad hitting bumps causes the axles to move forward and back and side to side in relation to the body. Since the axles are contacted to the road with traction the affect is body movement and a poor ride quality.

Doing a high steer along with a raised rear track bar bracket on the axle will raise the roll center of the suspension and decrease side to side roll. This will also flatten the links which will reduce the amount of side to side movement because of axle shift. Flattening or lengthen the control arms will minimize the front to rear shift in the axle. This is why control arm drop brackets improve ride, not only do they improve caster, which improves steering feel, they flatten the arms and reduce axle shift. Lifted jeeps using bolt on kits are just going to have a poor ride quality mainly due the geometry. Playing with coils and shocks can help some but don't expect a lot from that. Tires, mainly those running heavy duty E rated rubber will ride rougher as well even if running lower psi in them. Geometry is really the key.

Smudgeontheglass

If you're worried that your castor angle is too great, just go buy some geometry correction brackets. They're about $100 from AEV, Rubicon Express, Rough Country, and many others. They'll correct the angles just like the arms without the sticker shock. If they correct your problem you can either keep them (they'll give you the angles similar to a long arm kit) or you can switch to the control arms.

Like other have said, ride harshness has a lot more to do with tires and shocks. If you're running an E-rated tire at 40lbs expect to have a harsh ride. For stock weight JK, you want nothing more than a D rated tire and then air down. The standard Fox shocks are supposed to be fairly stiff, I personally think my bilsteins are awesome.

If your other Jeep buddies have heavy bumpers, winches and fulls size spares the springs will be under much heavier load and actually soften up quite a bit.

jedg

eh... he's likely got OEM control arms which are softer than a heim or a johnny and probably softer than the ones from RK and MC. And, really, I've had OEM, heim, and johnny joints. I'd sure like to see the person who can tell the difference when compared to the other items I listed that affect the harshness of ride orders of magnitude more than those joints do.

buy, hey, buy those control arms and keep everything else the same... let us know how much softer your ride is.

Invest2m4

The combination of coils, shocks and tires is where it is all at. If you are not currently running a solid joint, there is really nothing to gain.

Fox shocks for example, are known for their firm ride. The pairing of coils and shocks matters to a degree. You'll find MetalCloak springs and OME shocks to be a cloud like ride. Some say too soft for a 4 door JK, but awesome on a 2 door.

Tires are often where most issues start. First, tire pressure too high is going to be painful. Second is the rating of the tire. There are some popular tires out there than in certain sizes are E-rated (trucks are the big market for over-sized tires and need a stiff sidewall and harder compound).

Wheel size can matter as well. If you are running 20s, that is going to be a noticeably rougher ride.

Lastly, poor caster can make your Jeep ride like complete crap. I recall way back when I got my JK, I did a 3" lift with no caster adjustment. Every bump hurt. It was miserable to drive. Got drop brackets and boom, drove great. Shoot for 5 degree of caster. See what that does for you.

lkjk

I did this exact thing, switched from Teraflex arms to Metalcloak, leaving everything else the same, and did notice a significant difference. I'm also not one to sit here and say my jeep rides "better than stock" or think that I can tell the difference with an intake or exhaust, but I can definitely say swapping arms was a very noticeable difference, and I had just put in new joints on my Tera arms a few thousand miles before, so they were pretty much new.

Definitely not saying I would start with arms, OP, I'd look elsewhere or consider castor brackets.