UCF skid plate & long arm lift help

[Elspagio]

Hi all,

So I am new to Wheeling and building jeeps so I apologize if anything I say is wrong or sounds stupid!!

I have the Undercover Fabworks Ultra high clearance skid plate (link below) and the UCF transmission mount. I was continually hitting and getting stuck on my factory skid plate so seemed like an obvious upgrade.

Now here's my issue, I do not understand long arm lifts!! I want to add a Long arm lift to my LJ but I can not for the life in me work out what would be compatible with my skid plate, or if I can just buy any upper/ lower control arms and use the UCF control arm mount to mount them and keep my tummy tuck? or if there's a better long arm lift that's just compatible with the UCF skid plate?

I have tried reaching out to UCF but have not received a response I am really hoping I didn't waste $800 on this skid plate set up!


Any help/advice would be greatly apricated

Thank you

Link to UCF skid plate I have.
https://undercoverfab.com/extra-cle...ter/72-locker_pump_mount-no_locker_pump_mount

 

[Apparition]

Long arms are not recommended for TJ's.

Savvy mid arm if you want the best and are willing to weld or a short arm with Johnny Joints is where you want to look if you aren't wanting to weld.

 

[Elspagio]

Long arms are not recommended for TJ's.

Savvy mid arm if you want the best and are willing to weld or a short arm with Johnny Joints is where you want to look if you aren't wanting to weld.

Why are long arms not recommended, pretty much every TJ unlimited (Lj) that I have ever seen lifted is a long arm lift?

 

[Chris]

X2 to that. I wouldn't waste the time or money on any "bolt-on" long arm lift.

If you are truly interested in understanding the "why" behind all of this, I would suggest checking out these threads:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/short-arm-vs-mid-arm-vs-long-arm.57303/
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/long-arm-lifts-vs-short-arm-lifts.13319/
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/not-your-mamas-long-arm-debate.33258/

In summary, a good short arm lift will out-perform any "bolt-on" long arm lift in almost every respect. The keyword here is "bolt-on", and the reason for this is because there is simply no way to package a long arm lift in such a way that it can bolt-on to your TJ and do everything it needs to do to actually be an improvement over a good short arm lift.

This will offend some, but it is the truth. Those folks you have seen with the long-arm lifts have simply fallen into the marketing hype, plain and simple.

I would highly recommend doing a lot of research first. You're about to waste a lot of money on something that is not going to be any better than a good short arm lift.

 

[Apparition]

Why are long arms not recommended, pretty much every TJ unlimited (Lj) that I have ever seen lifted is a long arm lift?

My blue LJ has a short arm, my other LJ is getting a midarm.

 

[bluescapegoat]

Mine's not an LJ but it's Savvy mid arm with the UCF UHC skid. Took some trimming and I moved the rearmost nutserts but I don't think you'd need to do that with the LJ. Note the lack of bolted on shit hanging down under it.

By all conventional means it is a long arm, they're longer than stock. But they're not as long as most bolt on long arms because they're just the length they need to be for good geometry.

 

[Irun]

Long arm advertisements routinely mischaracterize short arms as the cause of harsh rides. There are many examples of short arm setups here that show that to be absolutely false. A properly built TJ/LJ on short arms can perform equally well on and offroad.

Before spending any money, decide on the basics like wheeling needs/desires, tire size, and belly height. From there you can start mapping out which combination of springs, shocks, control arms, track bars, etc. are needed. It's best to do the research up front, spend smartly, and don't cut corners on cheap parts. While it may seem overwhelming, there is a wealth of knowledge here that can, and will, help you along the way.