There is lots of good info in the thread about snorkels.
I can tell you that if I ever decide to mount one, it will be routed above the heater coil in the upper portion of the dash. Don't kid yourself, it will be noisy..
As for control arms, it depends on your wheeling and budget.... JJ and RE full flex are great for full flex and droop, lots of articulation. Often overlooked is the Trackbars.. Essentially in a 5 Link system it will bind up long before the joint sees its maximum travel.. To understand the TJ/WJ/XJ 5 link, the factory "pierces" the axle and frame brackets at a predetermined location to set the Caster at the optimum for the vehicle. Caster is essentially not adjustable in a majority of these vehicles. (I dont count cam bolts, as the manufactures dont use them anymore) Look at a factory jeep, the arms have almost zero angle relative to the plane of travel. Lift kits change this force loading drastically when the angle increases.
Stock arms provide the best flex of any short arm on the market.. Cheap and easily found. Replacement bushings are around $8.. Ive seen more than one rig on a short arm lift ramp well over 1000 rti on factory arms.. Just carry a spare.. And you cant correct Caster, so your limited to less than 3" lift.
So - why even buy new arms? The primary reason is to have the length adjustable to correct Caster.
My 2 cents -
The poly bushing style arms are more than adequate for less than 5" of short arm lift and a majority of the terrain I have found in the area. The length is often adjustable. Poly bushings are not created equal, so do your homework. Less cost to replace, and often can use factory style cartridge bushings on the frame end for a better ride. Easily built to length.. Some have a "swivel" feature, which increase the flex. Keep them clean and in good shape.. (Ask any YJ owner..)
Heims - not usually found on street rigs with forward 5 link, since you may as well remove your springs and weld the axle to the frame.
JJ, RE, (Rebuildable spherical joints) - are the best combination of poly bushings and heims. Arguably the correct joint for high angle side loads and minimal dampening. Cost is by far the highest. Can be rebuilt, and again are often found with factory style cartridge joints on the frame end for a better ride. The best of the best is Evolution joints. There is a reason you see them in high end race applications.
All that said - I run a set of RE double flex arms (bought used for next to nothing from someone upgrading to long arm and rebuilt). The ones with the Joint on one end and the rubber hourglass bushing on the other. As for their spherical joints, if properly maintained are an excellent joint for the price.. The rubber hourglass was a good idea - it offered the same ride as a factory bushing, but allowed more flex. RE got a bad name when they experienced quality problems with the hour glass bushings. (I was chewing through a set in a month of street driving) I have made about a year on my last set of hourglass bushings I received from RE, just before they closed. I intend to replace with a factory style joint or a JJ just for availability. RE is back open, and I will let them prove quality before I try them. I can say that without question they would send me a new bushing, no hassle. I had great customer service with them.. I dont doubt my ability to build arms, but these were cheaper than I could build, Cr parts and spherical joints..
There are tons of good quality brands out there. Poor maintenance and improper caster will ruin any option. Another big problem is folks will tighten the control arm bolts prior to setting the vehicle on the ground and allowing the suspension to take weight. The proper procedure is to get the bolt in, sit it on the ground and tighten to full torque. (This is a good rule of thumb for most suspension based components on jeeps.)
Dont buy into the "spend as much as possible and you wont have problems"
Tech note: You can replace arms easier on a 5 link system without lifting the vehicle off the ground. Place a jack under the frame and lift until the bolt slides out. Just do one arm at a time..
Disclaimer - if you have long arms the loading is not the same, and you need to review the designs again.
Topic: Control Arm Recomendation / Snorkel (Read 7988 times)