Choosing Your Suspension

4LINK! Okay that might be too straight forward, but let me explain. While it is possible to get a lot out of a leaf spring set up, or wheel the heck out of some short arms, almost everyone ends up going to long arm links for the reasons listed below.

So first you need to look at the setup you currently have on your rig, think of how you want to use it and assess your budget. A full suspension “make-over” is more costly than some quick factory-style bolt-ons, but it also will help get you through all your goal trails, and keep you smiling in amazement the whole time.

Now…if you’re driving a YJ, XJ, older Toyota, or some sort of truck, and you want to rock crawl, you will be very happy upgrading from the leaf springs to a link setup to gain suspension travel, clearance, comfort, eliminate axle wrap, increase adjustability, etc. If you drive a TJ, ZJ, JK, JL or similar setup, you will still benefit from upgrading the factory link setup to long arms for similar reasons- suspension travel, axle alignment while articulating (flexing), better driveshaft angles, less suspension binding, adjustability, and more.

Do you want a beefy 4 link set up yet?? If not, keep reading! We keep saying 4 link but what this means is a true single or double triangulated 4 link rear suspension with coil springs, air struts or coilovers. Then the front typically ends up being a 3 or 4 link with panhard bar (track bar), unless you are building a custom tube buggy where you have enough clearance to do a true triangulated 4 link front design. This is difficult with Jeep builds as there typically is not enough clearance between the engine, transmission, and axle/links.

The triangulation in a 4 link setup keeps the axle centered perfectly under the rig. Single triangulation (upper links only) will keep it centered, but will not prevent a phenomenon called rear steer [and no, not the fun rear hydraulic steering]. When the rear articulates, the side of the axle that drops will move forward under the vehicle body and therefore turns the entire axle toward the vehicle center line. So if the driver side wheel drops down in a rut, it will go slightly forward and point to the passenger side by a few degrees. This makes the rear crab walk to the right slightly. Now this might not be enough to be noticeable, but it could be depending on your link lengths.

To avoid any rear steer, double triangulation is used where the lower links mount at the body centerline and then out toward the wheels on the axle side. Then the upper and lower links are triangulated in opposite directions and keep the axle perfectly centered throughout the full articulation range. Again…it may not be completely necessary for your rig- it depends on what you plan to do with it.

If you want to set up a 4 link, check out the next page so you get it dialed in the first time without guess and check!