New Suspension setup question...

[houtexs]

What does everyone think about this set up...

4' Pro Comp (or Skyjacker)lift with 2" Daystar coil spacers to run 35x10.5's on my '02 TJ and would lowering the t-case be all that I would need to do to keep the drive shafts lined up?

I have talked to a couple of shops and everyone says something different but the voice of the jeepz.com community is what I am looking for.

Thanks in advance for the help!

HouTexs

[LGR]

if yer doing that, go for a 4" skyjacker get the rock ready kit..its long arm. Anything over 4" on the suspension i'd go long arm. unless you want to go 4" suspension and then a 2" body then its no big deal to use standard arms.

As far as the t-case goes, if ya plan on doing alot of wheeling i'd say get the SYE and a new shaft. If yer just going to ride on the street the t-case drop should be alright.

35X10.5? not 12.5? Might look funny with skinny tires on it being so tall.

[Utah_jeepster]

Even with a t-case drop your going to have to do a SYE.
With 5 inches of lift after the transfer case drop you will be to much of an angle for a standard drive shaft to cope with.

	Transfer Case Mounted behind and driven by the vehicle transmission, the transfer case transmits power to the front and rear driveshafts in 4WD Jeep vehicles and offers high and low range.

[TwistedCopper]

6" of lift will necessitate a SYE and long arms.

[JeepMonkey]

Definetly get the Long Army kit if you want more than 4". I've got the same setup on my TJ and I regret not just getting the 6" long arm kit. Everyone is right on concerning the driveshaft angles. Get the SYE for sure! After I'd driven mine for a while I noticed some clunking underneath. When I got under and looked I'd found that the left rear upper control arm had ripped the bracket right off the frame. The angle was too great. Make sure you have access to a welder so you can fix that. However, the biggest gripe I have is that it's twitchy as hell on the highway. I'm sure the long arms would make it a lot nicer ride.

[Bounty__Hunter]

Like they said, not on short arms. 6" of combined spring height will make the short-arm's too steep to handle well onroad and off. Most of the road and trail force will be transmitted up through the vertical control arms instead of through the springs.

[houtexs]

What about the 4" suspension lift with a 2" body lift? That should eliminate the driveshaft concerns, right? I don't know how much of a fan I am of the body lift but that may be a less costly option I think.

HouTexs

[Utah_jeepster]

Even with 4 inches of lift your going to want to do the SYE. it should be done after 3 inches to help the drive shaft angles during flex. At certain points during your jeeps flex it will bind up your drive shaft and literally rip your yokes apart. Broken u-joints and shoulder straps will be your bane till you rip a yoke on some trail.

Having driven both kits, I.E. a 4 inch spring lift with factory arms (in a 97 TJ ) and mine a Tera-flex 4 inch long arm kit I would have to say go with a long arm kit if at all passable.

Try this little experiment: take a basketball, and with your arm at 45 degrees bounce it as hard as you can not flexing your arm. The jolt you feel in your shoulder is what your going to feel in your jeep with a short arm lift kit at 4 inches.
Now take your whole arm and lay it out to about 15 degrees ( almost parallel with the ground ) and bounce the basketball. Big difference here.
I.E. the longer the upper and lower control arms will absorb any road shock and transfer less of it through the long arms to the frame and tub of your jeep.

Long arm kits also help going through things like pot holes, tuned and un-tuned road ripples, small to medium size rocky roads by transferring less of the road vibrations through the long arms thus making the springs and shocks take up the load. Similar to a factory short arm with no lift.

This technology was developed by the S.C.O.R.E. racing teams to help them take bumps and jumps at a higher speed than shorter factory designed suspensions.
The best way for you to know is to ask your jeep friends with lift kits on there jeeps and find two with both a short arm and a long arm and do a side by side comparison, you will find the long arm rides better than a factory suspension.

Now about body lift:

Body lifts are a big no-no in the rock crawling scene. Every U.R.O.C. buggy you see is as low to the ground as passable. The taller it is the easier it is to roll. Yes it is the cheapest way to lift a jeep but your only gaining upper suspension compression clearance. I.E. your tires not hitting the tub when you compress one side of your suspension. Why not add 6 inch springs instead of 4 inch and adding 2 inches of body lift? With longer springs you gain that extra two inches in suspension travel, where you really want it.

Any time you lift a jeep you loose tilt angle ( I.E. how far your jeep can lean on an angle ). It is always better to have that extra 2 inches in suspension travel than in a non-flexible body lift. What your trying to do is to keep the frame and your tub of your jeep closer to riding level than having your suspension bottom out on your bump stops and tilting it to get through a off camber situation.

What it comes down to is cost. If you cant afford to do it all at once buy it piece meal like buying the lower arms and a SYE for a 4 inch lift. Then later on buy the upper control arms and bigger springs for a 6 inch lift and sell your 4 inch springs on E-bay. New 6 inch springs will run you 250$ from Rock Krawler. You can sell your 4 inch coils for 40-60$ a piece on e-bay all day long. So you loose a few few bucks later on but you wont regret it once your rig rides like a caddy with 6 inches of lift.

	Camber Camber angle is the angle made by the wheel of an automobile; specifically, it is the angle between the vertical axis of the wheel and the vertical axis of the vehicle when viewed from the front or rear. If the top of the wheel is further out than the bottom (that is, away from the axle), it is called positive camber; if the bottom of the wheel is further out than the top, it is called negative camber.

[Bounty__Hunter]

A counterpoint to Utah's opinions against a body lift, it does work to give you needed tire clearance while keeping the center of gravity lower than a suspension lift of comparable height. They may be a no-no in rock-crawling circles but that doesn't mean they should be discounted across the board.

[houtexs]

How necessary would a sye and driveshaft replacement be with a Rubicon Express 4.5 super flex kit? The jeep spends most of its time on road with a few adventures into the mud or up some small hills.

I think I have deciede against the 35's for various reasons many of which were discussed here. Thanks for all the help!

HouTexs

[houtexs]

I answered my own questions with a couple of phone calls so I will try to answer myself (let me know if this sounds correct)

The RE Super flex kits require the SYE because they flek more but the standard re 3.5 lift doesn't need it if you install an adjustable rear track bar. The Re lift costs a little more but I have heard more good things about it than any of the other kits. I think that is the route that I will be going. (RE 3.5 kit with 33's)

Thanks for all the advice

HouTexs

	Track bar A track bar is a component of a car suspension system that provides lateral location of the axle. While the purpose of the rear suspension of an automobile is to allow the wheels to move vertically with respect to the body, it is undesirable to allow them to move forward and backwards, or from side to side. It is this latter movement that the track bar is designed to prevent. It is a simple device, consisting of a rigid bar running sideways in the same plane as the rear axle, connecting one end of the axle to the car body or chassis on the opposite side of the vehicle. The bar is attached on either end with pivots that permit it to swivel upwards and downwards only, so that the axle is, in turn, allowed to move in the vertical plane only.