Long Arm or 3 Link what is better?

[brianwy77]

I have a 8.5 inch 3 link setup from Rusty's offroad on a jeep, could some one tell me if a three link is better that a Long arm. What is the advantages and disadvatages. Would it be better to do coil and rear links since I have a three link on the front. Could a three link be used for speed jeep. Or is it just for crawling.

[Rysam]

I dont have either or much experience with either but I've done some research and planning for my own heep.
A radius arm setup(Y), like a ford, is fine for street use but when you get into sticky situations, it is prone to higher pucker factor by unloading at an inopportune time. 3-link is a more stable setup, and a bit more difficult to figure out.
A 4 link(whats there now) is the more difficult option, and honestly I havent looked at doing one. personally I'm gonna go with a 3 link.
rear links are a matter of choice, not necessary but they have advantages, and disadvantages.
both setups can be used for crawling and go fast, but there is a LOT more to factor in to be safe and secure.

I would look at the type of wheeling that you want to do, and spend a few WEEKS researching the best options.

[JeepinOutfitters]

I have a 8.5 inch 3 link setup from Rusty's offroad on a jeep, could some one tell me if a three link is better that a Long arm. What is the advantages and disadvatages. Would it be better to do coil and rear links since I have a three link on the front. Could a three link be used for speed jeep. Or is it just for crawling.

A 3-link is a type of long-arm kit. A long-arm kit is just what the name implies: a suspension system that uses control arms longer than stock. They come in 3 main types: radius arms (Rubicon Express, Treks, Rough Country), 3-link (RockKrawler, and apparently Rusty's), and 4-link (BDS, FullTraction).

All three styles have their pros and cons, but IMHO you've got to get relatively nit-picky to come up with the cons for each setup.

As far as your rear suspension goes, do whatever you want -- it really doesn't have a lot to do with what you're running up front. Some guys like coils and links up front, with leafs out back, some like the opposite -- leafs up front with a linked coil suspension in the back. Some like leafs front and rear.

For racing and high speed stuff, a 4-link is really the best option IMHO simply because you've got 4 links holding the axle in place, so if you break one, you won't loose your axle. 4 links = redundancy and safety over a 3-link or radius arm setup. With a 3-link or radius arm setup, if any one of those links breaks, you're in for a bad ride. That said, the likelihood of breaking a link or main connecting bolt is relatively slim for your average rig doing your average offroad driving. Radius arms are the most common long-arm system you'll see on the front of XJs and TJs, both on the trail and on the highway, and if they were inherently unsafe that wouldn't be the case.

Honestly, I'd be a lot more concerned about the fact that you're running 8.5" of lift, especially if you want to go fast, than the fact that you're running a front 3-link.

[JeepinOutfitters]

I dont have either or much experience with either but I've done some research and planning for my own heep.
A radius arm setup(Y), like a ford, is fine for street use but when you get into sticky situations, it is prone to higher pucker factor by unloading at an inopportune time.

The only time that unloading with a radius arm setup is an issue is climbing a steep obstacle. It's fairly easy to mitigate it by using a center-mounted limiting strap though.

[Rysam]

Thanks for the clarification! much better description that I was able to give.

[BlueXJ]

You also need to concern yourself with the various costs involved. 4 link long arms being the most expensive and 3 links being a little less as cost prohibitive. Height of 8+ inches is rarely needed to get over most objects and the rollover factor is highly increased with each inch of lift that raises the center of gravity.
Just a few other considerations for your research.^^^^^^^^^^^

[muddeprived]

I have a 8.5 inch 3 link setup from Rusty's offroad on a jeep, could some one tell me if a three link is better that a Long arm. What is the advantages and disadvatages. Would it be better to do coil and rear links since I have a three link on the front. Could a three link be used for speed jeep. Or is it just for crawling.

I thought rusty's only made a radius arm setup? I never seen a 3-link from them. Iron Rock Off Road and Rock Krawler made 3-link setups.

The 3-link is better than the radius arm setup IMO cuz there's little to no binding when flexing.

[4.3LXJ]

If you get a true three link, you can go higher in the front later and maintain castor, or lower if you want. It puts a true zipper on the front. I can change my front springs (and height) in about 40 minutes with air tools.

[JeepinOutfitters]

I thought rusty's only made a radius arm setup? I never seen a 3-link from them. Iron Rock Off Road and Rock Krawler made 3-link setups.

The 3-link is better than the radius arm setup IMO cuz there's little to no binding when flexing.

Unless they came out with a new design recently, IRO's long arm kit is radius arms, not a 3 link.

Binding in a radius arm design is a non issue in the real world. There's just not enough happening for it to be an issue.


If you get a true three link, you can go higher in the front later and maintain castor, or lower if you want. It puts a true zipper on the front. I can change my front springs (and height) in about 40 minutes with air tools.

You could do that same thing with a 4-link. Or radius arms for that matter. Once you have the caster set , I bet you could go +/- 2" with radius arms without negatively impacting the caster.

[muddeprived]

Unless they came out with a new design recently, IRO's long arm kit is radius arms, not a 3 link.

Binding in a radius arm design is a non issue in the real world. There's just not enough happening for it to be an issue.



You could do that same thing with a 4-link. Or radius arms for that matter. Once you have the caster set , I bet you could go +/- 2" with radius arms without negatively impacting the caster.

Jason, I noticed something about the binding with my LA kit. When I removed one upper arm, I could lift the passenger side axle all the way up (no springs) without much effort (except muscles to lift that axle). When I put the arm back on (4-arm radius style) I could not lift the axle no matter how hard I tried. Is that the binding they talk about? It seemed pretty darn stiff with the four arms.

[4.3LXJ]

Mud

Yes this is the binding, or pressure on the bushings when articulating. This is why I run only one top link on my radius arms. You will need poly bushings in the top link to do that though. The rubber ones are a little small and not up to the pressure on them created by the spring being forward of the axle.

[muddeprived]

Mud

Yes this is the binding, or pressure on the bushings when articulating. This is why I run only one top link on my radius arms. You will need poly bushings in the top link to do that though. The rubber ones are a little small and not up to the pressure on them created by the spring being forward of the axle.

Yeah I figured I'd have to upgrade the upper bushings. Andy came out with a new upgrade for this:

http://www.ironman4x4fab.com/Dana_30/Dana30_bpkit.html

[4.3LXJ]

Thanks for the tip Mudd. I think I will be getting some of those.

[muddeprived]

Thanks for the tip Mudd. I think I will be getting some of those.

Cool. I like the bushings that Andy uses. The ones in the trackbar and arms he made me were very very tight bushings that had zero play in them. Most poly bushings i've seen are a little on the loose side and just slide into place easily. Andy uses tight press-in bushings that are of better quality.

[Voldemort]

I think most guys go off the # connections of the arms rather than if it is a radius arms or not, To make it really easy if there is no upper arms or the uppers connect to the the lowers it is a radius setup if the upper have their own mount then it is a a " True 4-link or 3-link". IRO uses a Y radius arm that connects to the upper and lower axle mounts, for what they call a 3-link long arm kit.