Buying a suspension system for your late model Jeep is kind of like buying a house. You have to know what you want, and how much you are willing to pay for it. And while our dream is to one day live in an old gas station with two or three service bays we really should not be allowed to give any further advice about where you should live. As far as suspension systems we have a few opinions, and a bit of experience.
Most suspension companies offer at least a few options with each system. You can spend a few more bucks and get the “super bounce” uranium-charged shocks, or perhaps the new Super Acorn Gizmo squirrel-activated sway bar disconnects, but we always wondered about the various control arms available. Almost all suspension companies offer a few different options when it comes to how your axle will be held in place. The base line is generally a control arm made of three pieces of steel tubing with two rubber, or polyurethane, bushings. The other extreme is to have more expensive, (sometimes much more expensive), threaded rods with rod ends, or some other type of intricate super-flexy ends to replace the rubber bushings. Now how you spend your money is your business, but we always wondered how much articulation is gained by spending some more money for the super-flexy jointed, Jimmy jointed, whatever, control arms. Well, we got a chance to try out two sets of Rubicon Express’ arms, and here is what we found.