Clayton 1.5 inch Right Ride or Overland? Is it essential to opt for the Overland package, including the 8 control arms?

[Erievon]

With 1.5 I'd think you'd at least want a longer LCA. Rubicons and Mojaves are right on the edge of needing more caster right from the factory, in fact some put in a longer LCA at stock height and seem to benefit from better steering. But then I read this....do I have the concept wrong, or is Clayton supplying a shorter upper rather then a longer lower??

From Clayton's website:
When it comes to on-road driving performance, caster angle is one of the most crucial components to address as it directly affects your vehicle’s steering and handling. For this reason, adjustable front upper control arms are also included in the Ride Right+ suspension system. The distance from the center of the axle to the center of the upper control arms is greater than the center of the axle to the center of the lower control arms, which makes utilizing these front upper arms the most effective way to adjust your caster angle and address this critical piece of the suspension puzzle.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

I will ask them. All of a sudden, it got me thinking should I go with 2.5 inch or 1.5? (Since they are the same price) Lol. I have 315 tires now. Would it look too small with 2.5 inch lift?

I'm running the Clayton 2.5" Ride Right with 35s.

 

[Idlethunder]

I will ask them. All of a sudden, it got me thinking should I go with 2.5 inch or 1.5? (Since they are the same price) Lol. I have 315 tires now. Would it look too small with 2.5 inch lift?

That another personal choice. I’ll attach a picture of mine with the 2.5” and the stock Wildpeak 285/70r17s. My tires measure about 32.5 and look off now. They only have a little over 20k on them now so I’ll probably wait another year before moving up

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

With 1.5 I'd think you'd at least want a longer LCA. Rubicons and Mojaves are right on the edge of needing more caster right from the factory, in fact some put in a longer LCA at stock height and seem to benefit from better steering. But then I read this....do I have the concept wrong, or is Clayton supplying a shorter upper rather then a longer lower??

From Clayton's website:
When it comes to on-road driving performance, caster angle is one of the most crucial components to address as it directly affects your vehicle’s steering and handling. For this reason, adjustable front upper control arms are also included in the Ride Right+ suspension system. The distance from the center of the axle to the center of the upper control arms is greater than the center of the axle to the center of the lower control arms, which makes utilizing these front upper arms the most effective way to adjust your caster angle and address this critical piece of the suspension puzzle.

You read it right. Clayton adjustable upper arms adjust from 19-3/4" - 21-1/8". Stock front uppers are 20-3/16".

 

[Idlethunder]

With 1.5 I'd think you'd at least want a longer LCA. Rubicons and Mojaves are right on the edge of needing more caster right from the factory, in fact some put in a longer LCA at stock height and seem to benefit from better steering. But then I read this....do I have the concept wrong, or is Clayton supplying a shorter upper rather then a longer lower??

From Clayton's website:
When it comes to on-road driving performance, caster angle is one of the most crucial components to address as it directly affects your vehicle’s steering and handling. For this reason, adjustable front upper control arms are also included in the Ride Right+ suspension system. The distance from the center of the axle to the center of the upper control arms is greater than the center of the axle to the center of the lower control arms, which makes utilizing these front upper arms the most effective way to adjust your caster angle and address this critical piece of the suspension puzzle.

From what I understand, I'm new to this too, the proper way to adjust caster is with adjustable upper control arms. Having said that, when my Rubicon was new and hard to keep between the lines, I added the 1/4" longer LCAs from the Mopar lift and they really helped. I'm learning as I go but with Jeeps as well as most other things, there is more than one way to achive a desired goal

 

[Erievon]

From what I understand, I'm new to this too, the proper way to adjust caster is with adjustable upper control arms. Having said that, when my Rubicon was new and hard to keep between the lines, I added the 1/4" longer LCAs from the Mopar lift and they really helped. I'm learning as I go but with Jeeps as well as most other things, there is more than one way to achive a desired goal

And that was at stock height? Really considering the Mopar LCAs myself. For under 100 bucks, why not.

Does beg the question though...most lifts do LCA. What's really better? I know we are only talking about an inch, and both accomplish the same goal...but is it better to have the wheelbase an inch longer, or an inch shorter? It's so minor I'm sure at my level it makes no difference if you go lower or upper, but I'm still curious. With the Mopars at least there's no adjustment I have to guess at.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

And that was at stock height? Really considering the Mopar LCAs myself. For under 100 bucks, why not.

Does beg the question though...most lifts do LCA. What's really better? I know we are only talking about an inch, and both accomplish the same goal...but is it better to have the wheelbase an inch longer, or an inch shorter? It's so minor I'm sure at my level it makes no difference if you go lower or upper, but I'm still curious. With the Mopars at least there's no adjustment I have to guess at.

It’s less than an inch. The Mopar arms that come in the lift kit are 1/4” longer than stock.

 

[Idlethunder]

And that was at stock height? Really considering the Mopar LCAs myself. For under 100 bucks, why not.

Does beg the question though...most lifts do LCA. What's really better? I know we are only talking about an inch, and both accomplish the same goal...but is it better to have the wheelbase an inch longer, or an inch shorter? It's so minor I'm sure at my level it makes no difference if you go lower or upper, but I'm still curious. With the Mopars at least there's no adjustment I have to guess at.

Yes, I was at stock height with the Mopar LCAs. I didn’t have a lift of any kind until a few weeks ago. Wheelin98TJ is exactly right on the length of the Mopar kit arms. I didn’t check my caster before changing LCAs but did afterward. The driver’s side caster after installing the extened arms was 6.4 and passenger side 6.6. According to my local alignment shop, it was out of spec but it drove very well and I put over 18k miles on it after the change and the tires were wearing perfectly with rotations about every 5k miles. Before buying the Mopar LCA set I read quiet a bit about changing caster using upper vs lower adjustable arms. I honestly didn't understand everything but for a non lifted JT, it didn't seem to matter which ones were used. As you go up in height the more it matters because the geometry changes more drastically. At some point you need adjustable uppers and lowers to have everything lined up properly, and the consensus seemed to be they were needed if going up more than 2”.

Your point about not having to worry about adjusting the control arms was something I thought about when buying my first set of arms. The fact that I could have a set delivered for about $75 was what ultimately made up my mind. For that price even if they didn’t help, I wasn’t out much but they made a very noticeable difference driving. If you are worried about adjusting the control arms, you don’t need to. I set mine to the length recommended in Claytons instructions and they were fine. This past weekend I had to remove the rear springs because one of them was squeaking badly. The reason being because I was trying to use the oem spring sleeves and they did not fit the Clayton springs well. One of them popped off while I was getting the new spring into place and rather than pull the spring out and start again, I got lazy and left it off. After putting up with the sound for over a week, I ordered a set of sleeves that fit the larger diameter Clayton springs and put them on Saturday. While I had the control arms loose to drop the axle, I took the upper control arms off and made one turn on each side to improve the pinion angle a little. Once you are under the Jeep and actually see how everything works together, it is not nearly as complicated as I thought it would be.

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

Damn. Good to know. Thank you. I live in Boston area and I am planning to do that. I wonder If I park my trunk indoor most of time, of course I will still be driving on road. Do you think I still need a undercoating? The reason why I am asking is becasue I will move to California next year, this is going to be my last winter here in MA.

honestly, I would just do it regardless. It would be easier to do it when they’re off the vehicle. I had to clean them then climb under the truck to spray them. It was a pain in the ass. But they look a 1,000 times better. Here’s the before. I don’t have a pic of the after but I’ll snap one later. The rust might not bother some, but I’m looking to trade the truck in and the rusty control arms makes it look like a beater

 

[kilroy173]

I am interested in the 1.5 kit as well. I know with these kits they usually have more lift than advertised. So for the 1.5 kit that may end up being closer to 2 inches, would Falcon 0-1.5 shocks work?

 

[Elgin]

I am interested in the 1.5 kit as well. I know with these kits they usually have more lift than advertised. So for the 1.5 kit that may end up being closer to 2 inches, would Falcon 0-1.5 shocks work?

No. I was told by Clayton that you should pair with shock (2-3.5 inches) since the spring is actually measured at about 2 inches. And I just bought the kit and plan to install it in a few weeks.

 

[kilroy173]

Do you think I can run them with my Falcon 0-1.5s in the mean time? My gladiator is 95% driven on the street/highway.

 

[Main Line Willys]

I just ordered the kit.
I was advised 0-1.5 on the front is OK.
1.5 -2.5 rear

these are for Bilstein 5100

 

[Elgin]

Do you think I can run them with my Falcon 0-1.5s in the mean time? My gladiator is 95% driven on the street/highway.

I don't think so. But I am not 100% sure too. Just Imagine your shock is shorter than your spring, maybe just a little bit is fine? You can always @ Clayton here in the forum. They will answer your questions.

 

[Elgin]

I just ordered the kit.
I was advised 0-1.5 on the front is OK.

Me too, just ordered. Did you install it yet? Do you have a JTR? Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

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