Control arms

[hickman785]

I have a 2" lift on my JT...Icon in the rear, Clayton(for now) on the front...I'm looking to upgrade to all adjustable control arms. I'm considering Metalcloak, Rock crawler and Teraflex. My only concern is on road ride quality. I have no concern for flex at all, unless more flex leads to better on-road ride quality. Any suggestions or opinions on which may be better for ride quality or another brand suggestion?

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[bakobobby]

The stock arms are pretty good if you want comfort. Look for arms with a clevite type busing which is what they have.

if you are saying the ride quality after springs is not great you may have other issues arms will not resolve.

 

[THE SANDALORIAN]

Clayton, Metalcloak, Teraflex, RK are all good options for adjustable control arms. Currently running Clayton on the Gladiator. Had Metalcloak on my JKU, Metalcloak on my current TJ and RK on one of my older TJs.

Clayton arms are massively beefy and fit in style/color wise with the Gladiator a bit more than Metalcloak IMHO, but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options you mentioned.

 

[HappyGladiator]

I now have the Synergy adj arms on the rear to correct pinion angle in the rear. Now I hear From Epic that it's not needed on a 2 inch lift and that the factory clevite bushing is the best for ride and it has plenty of flex for off road use. Looks like I fell down the rabbit hole on this one.

 

[Gren71]

You could save $ and just get correction brackets if all you’re after is improved ride quality

I have the geometry correction brackets in the front combined with the Mopar performance lower control arms. That drastically improved the steering feel and response upfront. I put a set of Clayton off-road rear lower control arms to correct the angle in the back. They have bushings similar to the OEM arms.


https://www.4wd.com/p/2021-Jeep-Gladiator-Rubicon-Express-Control-Arm-Geometry-Correction-Drop-Brackets-RE9801/_/R-BKTG-RE9801?ppcfon=1&gp=1&ecmp=s:google_15863937758___&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SC Shopping - Primary & Wheels - Performance Max&gclid=CjwKCAjw9pGjBhB-EiwAa5jl3EMThkeWHj_M0wwW4adyeurZXhSN_GGgnlH3v8B2yeMfLc46ZoWGnBoCh-4QAvD_BwE

https://www.claytonoffroad.com/product/jeep-gladiator-short-rear-lower-control-arms-2020-jt

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

I now have the Synergy adj arms on the rear to correct pinion angle in the rear. Now I hear From Epic that it's not needed on a 2 inch lift and that the factory clevite bushing is the best for ride and it has plenty of flex for off road use. Looks like I fell down the rabbit hole on this one.

Most people can't tell the difference between control arm bushings as far as ride quality goes.

 

[MrClortho]

...need more information on what you have to try and help you improve it...

Clayton control arms are 2nd to none in quality but may not be the culprit with only 2" of lift. Ride quality often comes from the shocks and tires amongst many other things. Before, I had a 2.5" spacer with stock shocks and relocation brackets and could not really tell any difference in ride quality from stock.

Fox 2.0 shocks with the Clayton lift rides better than stock in my opinion, which is a good bang for the buck option.

If you have "E" rated tires, drop the pressure to maybe 30psi or less and it could be a night and day difference if you are running them at full pressure. Many of our larger off-road tires are 8 or 10 ply.

 

[Orange01z28]

My ride quality got better with the Metalcloak arms

 

[TOOBSOCK]

If you're looking for control arms that are maintenance-free - don't get anything with greasable joints (ie. Johnny Joints). They'll wear out and start getting squeaky/clunky eventually, depending on climate. Anecdotally, I switched from Evo control arms (that had johnny joints), to Teraflex Alpine IR Arms and they're quiet and maintenance-free and haven't seen any measurable difference in flex off-road.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

If you're looking for control arms that are maintenance-free - don't get anything with greasable joints (ie. Johnny Joints). They'll wear out and start getting squeaky/clunky eventually, depending on climate. Anecdotally, I switched from Evo control arms (that had johnny joints), to Teraflex Alpine IR Arms and they're quiet and maintenance-free and haven't seen any measurable difference in flex off-road.

No arm with bushings is maintenance free because the bushings will wear out.

JJs typically last longer than bushings.

 

[bakobobby]

You could save $ and just get correction brackets if all you’re after is improved ride quality

What I was thinking could be bumpsteer from trackbar offset or tires or spring mismatch or angle of the arms which adjustable arms won’t fix.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

What I was thinking could be bumpsteer from trackbar offset or tires or spring mismatch or angle of the arms which adjustable arms won’t fix.

Bumpsteer is caused by the track bar and drag link not being parallel.

 

[bleda2002]

I have a 2" lift on my JT...Icon in the rear, Clayton(for now) on the front...I'm looking to upgrade to all adjustable control arms. I'm considering Metalcloak, Rock crawler and Teraflex. My only concern is on road ride quality. I have no concern for flex at all, unless more flex leads to better on-road ride quality. Any suggestions or opinions on which may be better for ride quality or another brand suggestion?

I'll ask why you want all adjustable control arms? If its not for flex reasons, just get brackets or mopar front lowers and call it good.

If you want flex, look for a dual durometer bushing that can rotate in the housing to prevent binding (metal cloak, RK adventure series, teraflex IR). The rubber bushing will give you stock NVH while providing flex and it rotating in the housing will prevent it from binding as you articulate.

 

[Camaroboi13]

Mopar fixed LCAs and a Rock Jock carrier spacer is probably the simplest way to get you back into spec, and also the cheapest on your wallet. Just throwing that out there.

 

[bakobobby]

Bumpsteer is caused by the track bar and drag link not being parallel.

Yeah what is your point? Not following.

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