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View Full Version : WTF, long arms suck i guess lol



xtremzj
10-13-2008, 02:23 AM
saw this on a MAJOR parts retailer :eek::smt042
they must know things we dont....


One thing you will NOT find at the manufacturing facility... long arm kits. We've been saying it for years, long arms kits make for great 'trailer-queens', but not for Jeeps driven at highway speeds. They cause your Jeep to turn like a skateboard which is not only spooky and unsettling, but also potentially dangerous. Even tech editors at the popular Jeep magazines have stated the same in head-to-head control-arm comparisons over the years.
If all it took for more suspension flex with no trade-off to safety and stability was longer arms, Jeep engineers would have done this from the factory. Jeep doesn't want millions of lawsuits from dead or maimed Jeepers though and engineered the best, safest system possible. Our control arms kits take their proven design and enhance it so you can feel 100% safe and comfortable in a well handling Jeep... whether its crawling thru huge rocks, blasting thru mud, bouncing up an off-camber hill, or driving on the road to get to work or vacation.
Some shops will sell anything to make a buck, but we at Rocky Road feel your life is worth more than 1-2" of additional suspension flex...
Avoid the long-arm kits.

AgitatedPancake
10-13-2008, 02:28 AM
what the FAWK...is that a joke?

I really don't even know what to think. Personally, I like skateboards =P

xtremzj
10-13-2008, 02:55 AM
srsly no joke. i was like am i reading this right?

B4dger
10-13-2008, 04:27 AM
Ah good old Rocky Road Outfitters, what a bunch of ass sucking clowns.

Matt
10-13-2008, 06:38 AM
Yeah, they're right up there with 4WP.

SirFuego
10-13-2008, 09:01 AM
What a crock of shit. The stock control arm mounts (especially the uppers) are downright scary. I would guess they are comparing a long arm kit with no sway bars to a short arm kit with both sway bars.

Here is another fun one...

Due to the thinness of the Jeep unibody, we've designed our long-arm kits to be completely bolt-on. Although it is possible to weld to the unibody, the longevity of the weld in questionable. The unibody is only 16 guage (.060 in.) and the heat of a weld stresses the thin metal. The weld may not crack but the unibody around it may. The unibody is welded from the factory, however, robot controlled welding is done complete with heat sensors creating welds much more exact than a human is capable of. Our bolt-on systems are not only more durable but are also much easier to install. Our clamped/sleeved mounting system uses 1"x3/16" thick tubes thru the unibody which creates a larger surface area that distributes any stress over a larger area than a weld-on installation. In addition, we use adjustable control arms that not only allow easy caster adjustment but also allow pivot points for flex further eliminating any stress on the unibody mounts.

Mtn WJ
10-13-2008, 09:19 AM
The argument that Jeep would have made long arms if they were safe does not hold water at all.

The stock arms are short because at normal height you only need short arms. My Jeep was getting pretty scary lifted on short arms. Now it drive close to stock on the highway with long arms. What a tool.

nierace
10-13-2008, 09:19 AM
My skateboard does pretty good a 75mph :dunno:

ArloGuthroJeep
10-13-2008, 09:25 AM
I once hit a pothole at 75mph with long arms.





It didn't do anything except continue driving straight. It was scary to not get DW for once:(

ATL ZJ
10-13-2008, 09:41 AM
One of the most talented guys who works at my friend's shop (Toyota fab and restoration) used to work at Rocky Road. He has zero good things to say about them.

Clearly the person who wrote that statement does not understand suspension design. The idea that any suspension with arms over a certain length will react the same is just ignorant. In fact, the whole perception that arms should be categorized only by their length is dumbed down quite a bit. There's a lot more to it than just "long" vs. "short". But if you are assuming they will be mounted within the constraints of the factory framerails, and that the Jeep is lifted too high for short arms to be parallel to the ground, then yes, any difference in length will have dramatic effects. Still though, RR is missing it here. Flex is just a byproduct of a well-designed suspension. Any vendor selling suspensions should realize that.

OverkillZJ
10-13-2008, 09:55 AM
I can't believe I gave those ass-clowns any of my money for Samurai parts.

Funny, it was a long arm kit.

I'm welding their cut-out logo closed, because it annoys me.

dangerousdave
10-13-2008, 09:58 AM
stock control arms are a better design my butt.

indy242003
10-13-2008, 11:14 AM
I wonder where and when they did thier extensive testing to compare? I mean they had to come to this conclusion based on data. Being the fact that they posted it on the interweb, they have to have piles of non-subjective data laying around.

indy242003
10-13-2008, 11:16 AM
Every time I see "Rocky Road", it reminds me of Sloth off of the Goonies. :smt040

nierace
10-13-2008, 11:32 AM
Rockkyy....road?! heh heh!

It'd be great to see them get called out at a car show or something. It amazes me that they are able to sell stuff with their horrible rep.

MoonWorks
10-13-2008, 12:12 PM
Maybe there's a reason why I haven't added them to my list of vendors. With a thought process like that...I won't ever carry them.

Rusty did make a couple of good points that were factual...but are mainly used as selling points for his products. And for some...a completely bolt on kit (not just rustys) might be better for them vs one require welding. But I will not say it is or should be the only method. I actually prefer the combo of both in some situations.

skrracing
10-13-2008, 01:55 PM
Dang, I have been running a long arm kit for over 4 years on my ZJ with about 80000 miles and many of them off road. I guess I will go out in the shop today and remove it after reading this. Man I was thinking it was all good but now I just so scared... Right.

http://www.lostzj.com/photos/toj1.jpg

OverkillZJ
10-13-2008, 02:04 PM
Funny thing is they DO sell long arm kits, they just call it the coilover conversion for Samurai's. If long arms are so bad, why did they make the "arms" for Samurai coilover conversions over THREE FEET long?

floridaZJ
10-13-2008, 02:25 PM
I'd put whoever wrote that from Rocky Road in the FAIL tread on pirate... I was at 5.5" on short arms w/33s when I went to long arms and 7" and 36s...I feel like I'm driving a sports car in comparison and I don't run sway bars.

novacayne75
11-01-2008, 03:32 PM
i like the part -turn like a skate board- im assuming they are talking about roll steer? well all short arm kits that i have ever seen have a lot more roll steer than most if mot more rollsteer than any long arm kit. some well designed long arms even have close to no roll steer!

Extreme95ZJ
11-14-2008, 04:05 PM
here is what i found on rocky road lol All these items add up to the finest riding suspension on the planet. No hocus pocus parts that are unnecessary. Just the required components to make your Jeep ride better than stock, be stable on the interstate at 80mph, and offroad performance. Truly no system out there will beat the ride quality of this system and our pricing makes the competition want to cry. hahhahahahahhahaha

If it is hocus pocus and unneccasy why do we all build our jeeps the way we do hmmmmmm........some one is short some brain cells there

Gearsmith4
11-16-2008, 07:07 AM
Last time I checked, my skateboard and my Jeep were engineered just a little differently. Does this mean if I have long arms I have to lift the front wheels of my jeep off the ground to make a sharp turn? That could be kind of cool actually. And if stock Jeep engineering is so amazing, and things like long arms and flex are unnecessary, why does this company even exist?