To the contrary. The shocks are superb. They are the best part of the kit and are plenty long enough for a 2-3” kit.
Unless a lift comes with adjustable track bars, they will all shift the axles. The bigger the lift the more shift. The question is does it matter. No it does not because it is not a big lift. If it was a 3 1/2 then yes, buy the adjustable track bars.
Of course, to clarify the upper control arms are not longer, the center of axle to center of uppers is greater for the uppers then the lowers. Hope that helps!
I thought you were on a 3.5” lift.......lol...
......I’m aware of how it works, I do lifts for a side living, mod money....
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I see. I'm still a little confused though, this time by this part:
When you lift a vehicle you're already pulling the front axle back so pushing it back forward a little with longer LCAs is the correct way to adjust the geometry.
Lower control arms do affect caster, but not as much as the uppers do. When adjusting your lower control arms you may get your caster angle to where you need it but then find your wheelbase is off. Or the opposite, you can get your wheelbase set properly, but your caster angle is wrong. So we always suggest setting wheelbase with your lower control arms and caster with your uppers. This will properly line up your coils, shocks and make sure your tire size fits nicely in the wheel well for the specific amount of lift you have.
Right or wrong, either way, I don’t like using uppers to adjust caster, I don’t like how the wheel looks in the wheel well if you only have one option, meaning if you only have one or the other that’s adjustable. Using both is ideal. ......I borrowed this pic from @stil2low ....... top one is upper adjusted bottom one is lower adjusted......
How? Assuming the links are relatively parallel, I think shortening the upper 1" is going to result in the same caster angle as lengthening the lower 1". It doesn't matter if the axle tube is closer to the upper or lower link, since it has no effect on the angle.
We always suggest setting wheelbase with your lower control arms and caster with your uppers, however if you feel that you can properly adjust angles using a different method we don't want to discourage you from doing what you feel works right for your Jeep.
I understand, but that doesn't explain how the "Lower control arms do affect caster, but not as much as the uppers do".
Look at the mounts on the axle. Look at how the upper mounts are physically further away from the axle than the lowers.
But with that said, using uppers to adjust your caster with the stock lowers will require aftermarket uppers that can adjust shorter than stock length. So you will have to find uppers that are capable of this, and you'll have to come to terms with running arms that are shorter than what came stock. That's a big mental block for some people.
The center line of the axle to the lower control arm is a shorter distance than the center line of the axle to the upper control arm, therefor moving the upper has a greater impact on the angle than if you made the same adjustment to the lower. Just make sure your wheelbase is set properly and you have around 5 degrees of caster and you will be all set.
This.
So the only reason to choose upper vs. lower control arms is dependent on how you want to influence the wheelbase. The caster angle is equally increased by shortening the UCA 1/2" vs lengthening the LCA 1/2". Correct?Look at the mounts on the axle. Look at how the upper mounts are physically further away from the axle than the lowers.
So adjusting your uppers will have a much larger effect on caster relative to your wheelbase. To put it another way, lengthening or shortening your uppers will translate those length differences almost entirely into caster and pinion angles, without changing the physical location of the axle underneath the jeep.
Using lowers for wheelbase, and uppers for angles, is industry standard best practice. I've recommended that previously, here:
But with that said, using uppers to adjust your caster with the stock lowers will require aftermarket uppers that can adjust shorter than stock length. So you will have to find uppers that are capable of this, and you'll have to come to terms with running arms that are shorter than what came stock. That's a big mental block for some people.
Whether to go with lowers or uppers for your caster will depend on how much bump stop you're running. Using longer lowers with little or no extra bump stop will have the axle pushed too far forward at full bump, possibly leading to the upper and lower bump pads not aligning with eachother, and the upper and lower spring perches not aligning with eachother. I'm not sure what the tipping point is, you will need to cycle your suspension and take measurements see what is the best solution for your specific application.
