J.Clarke

Hey all I searched the FAQs and couldn't seem to find any regarding what the differences/ advantages and disadvantages of a long arm suspension and the short arm are. I'm guessing one is more useful in than the other in specific situations? I have no idea haha anyway. Please help! Thanks!

jeeeep

long arm gives you more axle articulation.

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The main difference is articulation, but there's a good amount of work to get a long arm on, usually involves cutting off of old brackets and welding on the new ones. The JKU's have fairly long arms to begin with and when you upgrade to an aftermarket short arm you have even more adjustability available to you. I personally went with a short arm because I got a steal of a deal on all 8, in the future I will probably sell them for what I got them for and upgrade to a long arm but for now it honestly wheels really well.

Biginboca

I believe under 4" lift then no need for a long arm. You may actually sacrifice clearance on a jk with a long arm.

Only at 4" and over lifts do long arms start to make sense on a jk.

Manufacturers and many buyers feel differently than I do.

spedly

This^

I don't buy into the "it has better articulation"

A properly set up short arm can max out a 12" shock which is about all you can fit in there with a 4" or less lift. Once you max the shocks out you are done. It doesn't matter if the arms are 2"s or 102"s.

People are use to the TJ's that had short 16" arms. The TJ's at 3"s would start to get some weird 3 wheel jacking and the front axle would push under the rig on a steep obstacle instead of climbing over it. The lower control arms n a JK are 5"-6"s longer and they greatly reduce the need for a long arm to correct the poor suspension geometry.

w squared

KISS answer:

If you want 4+ inches of lift, 37" or larger tires, tons of articulation, or are running bypass shocks and air bumps for high-speed desert runs, then maybe look at a long arm setup.

Otherwise, "short arms" will work just fine on a JK.

WCDAVE

If you hit a bump (let's use a speed bump as an example) the vehicles suspension is called on to manage it. With a stock suspension, the LCAs are fairly level, so it is an easy manuever to raise up and let the springs and shocks do their thing. When you lift your Jeep your lift height correspondingly rakes your LCAs downward. When you hit the same bump, it require more leverage and force to swing the axle up since the axle coming up means also coming forward (picture a circle with a radius drawn in. When it's at or near level, rotating up require less or no forward travel - which is rough because it prolongs the time until the shock and spring can do their jobs). With a long arm kit, you effectively lengthen the radius and leverage making it require less force (read rough ride) to rotate the axle up on the axis of the control arms. In a controversial move, AEV has brought to market drop brackets which lowers the frame mounting point of the control arms to give similar geometry of a long arm lift. The brackets hang down, but the ride is smoother and has the added (and intentional) benefit of obviating the need for cam bolts on their lifts.

J.Clarke

So pretty much your choice of either or? Has to do with the lift height?

CnoteJK

I'm on my second long arm wrangler, first a tj, now my JK. I have ridden in short arms on and off road on both body styles and the real difference is on road I think. IMHO, if it's your dd and you have a commute, go with the long arms.

w squared

You can certainly spend the money to use a long arm kit with a 3" lift if you want...but you're going to end up spending a pile of extra money, and not seeing much benefit. Generally, the benefits of a long arm kit are only realized if you're running more than 4 inches of lift, if you are really looking for exceptiona suspension performance at high speeds, or if you're looking to get the best out of a set of coilovers.