Upper or Lower Control Arms

rizion

New member
Hello All.

currently running a starter 3" suspension lift (Zone) but I want to soften it up a bit. Have decided on a front Rancho track bar and 9000xl shocks to replace the stock and Zone respectively. Would front or rear control arms be more beneficial for me to swap and upper or lower? Have yet to offroad and when I get to it won't be rock crawling as there are none anywhere near hell (houston). I'm leaning towards front lower LCAs but honestly have no experience with this at all. Not my first Jeep but is my first Wrangler and first lifted vehicle. As-is drives well, just way too harsh on potholes or road bumps of any kind and am hoping getting the axles lined up and better shocks will satisfy me for now. Understand it might also be the springs being too stiff but will cross that bridge if this doesn't do it for me.

3.6 manual 2 door Sport S
35" Ko2
4.88 gears
ZONJ33 lift
 

CalSgt

Member
The primary cause of harsh ride is springs... Another common cause is too much air in the tires.

Lots of the tires people choose for lifted jeeps are 8 or 10 ply rated and only need 25-32 psi to be safe and wear good. The stock Rubicon tires call for something like 45 PSI. Jeep does this for EPA certification and to claim better gas milage.

I've had the EVO plush ride springs coupled with the Rancho 5000's and was happy with the ride, it was similar to the stock Rubicon ride.

For aftermarket control arms the purpose is to correct suspension geometry like caster angle in the front and pinion angle in the rear all while adding heavier stronger control arms. Since you have no intention of rock crawling, geometry correction brackets like the ones EVO makes will probably be the best bang for your buck. Correction brackets fix the geometry issues by lowering the mounting point at the frame instead of adjusting arm lengths. Their disadvantage is they hang down below the frame making them an easy target for rocks when doing more extreme wheeling.

The stock arms are plenty strong enough to handle anything you're going to put them through.
 

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