Gravy's 2005 Liberty Renegade

[Kevin B.]

 

[Gravy]

On a little slope...

Added the 1.5" spacer then John convinced me to do the extra 1/4" spacer (which maybe adds 3/8-1/2" on top of the 2ish"



Front took a few hours with a spring compressor to get them in....
Rears= 4 mins flat.

Maybe 2.5-3"? I can't tell until it settles.

 

[Gravy]

Matt @ Big-O Bountiful says I need upper A-arms since the ball joints are getting worn, didn't charge me for the alignment until after I swap new ones in. (I love it when people are straight up with me!)

So a quick call to my knowledgable friend @iceaxe at Rocky Road Outfitters in Heber and I've got some of their heavy duty upper control arms on order.

Jeep Liberty Control Arms: 2002-12 Jeep Liberty Control Arms

World's best Jeep Liberty KJ KK control arms for lifted Jeeps. Puts alignment back to factory spec, more flex, lifetime warranty, replaceable ball joints.

www.rocky-road.com

 

[Kevin B.]

Baby Jeep is looking sweet! What's the plan for tires?

 

[DAA]

Barbie Jeep needs high heels.

- DAA

 

[Gravy]

I've got some 5x4.5" to 5x5" adapters.
I'd like to find some 245/75r17 JK takeoffs like these. (I'd buy these but I think they're weather checked).
That's only 0.5" wider but 2.5" taller so that would be cheapest/ best combo.



@TRD270 has some JL takeoffs so I'll grab those and see if they're too big...

 

[anderson750]

Barbie Jeep needs high heels.

- DAA

At the rate he's going, I see wontons under this in 2 years.

 

[Gravy]

At the rate he's going, I see wontons under this in 2 years.

Ha. I've got my one ton TJ still. And I full width axle swapped the Jeep before that one too. It's fun to play with this cheap Jeep but ultimately it's my daily and I like it nice.

I'll probably build some rock/step rails though!

Come summer I'd like to actually pull out my TJ and clean it up to do some ice cream runs around the neighborhood.

 

[Gravy]

Ling-Longs you say?

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I think they'd fit but... I'm not that cheap.

 

[Gravy]

Rocky Road Outfitters upper A-arms are beefy!
...Aaaand
If I don't paint the UCA's for the budget SEMA Jeep, how will anyone know they're aftermarket? 🤔🤣

 

[Gravy]

Rocky Road Outfitters upper control arm install.

Old vs. New


Daystar extended bumpstops are on order.

Also you can see how the upper arm contacts the control arm mounting pockets at full droop now (in this photo below.)



You take a die grinder to the control arm pockets to clearance them.



Thank goodness for racheting box wrenches with a short swing...


Cut the inner fender shield to clearance for the upper arm also.

RTR.

 

[Gravy]

Mocked up the tires from Josh. These tires might be too big. I'll try them out.


Not too pleased with the alignment specs. They said they ran out of adjustment on the LCA cam bolts but when I stuck my head under there: the cams had another 90° left to turn.
It'll go back today.

 

[Gravy]

Better camber numbers.
Honestly I wish I could just run their machine for them. But it drives much better now without pulling hard right.
I'll live with the 3.0° caster as I believe a taller tire will give me a bigger KPI so I tend to shoot for a tiny bit less caster.

 

[bryson]

Tire size won't change your KPI, but it can affect your scrub radius - is that what you're referring to?

 

[Bart]

Not sure if you're still looking, but I have 5, 2018 JK take off wheels for cheap.

 

[N-Smooth]

That’s awesome, I’d wheel it. Did you add an Aussie locker in the rear yet?

 

[Gravy]

Tire size won't change your KPI, but it can affect your scrub radius - is that what you're referring to?

Correct me if I'm wrong but KPI is determined by comparing the center of contact patch to were the center line of the ball joints would hit the ground (caster angle). As that distance (scrub radius) increases -that upper angle that I've labeled KPI increases.
(Scrub radius can also be affected by wheel back spacing.)
I very well could be using the wrong terminology but when I have a minute I'll draw diagram of what I'm trying to articulate.

 

[Gravy]

Not sure if you're still looking, but I have 5, 2018 JK take off wheels for cheap.

Looking for 245/75r17 or similar size. I think 265/75r17 series is too tall and too wide. But yeah post a picture of what you got!

 

[Gravy]

That’s awesome, I’d wheel it. Did you add an Aussie locker in the rear yet?

No. Strictly daily driver. It's such a short WB it would be no bueno.
If I fell into an OX cable locker or ARB I'd add one.

 

[bryson]

Correct me if I'm wrong but KPI is determined by comparing the center of contact patch to were the center line of the ball joints would hit the ground (caster angle). As that distance (scrub radius) increases -that upper angle that I've labeled KPI increases.
(Scrub radius can also be affected by wheel back spacing.)
I very well could be using the wrong terminology but when I have a minute I'll draw diagram of what I'm trying to articulate.

KPI (king pin inclination) is the angle of the line drawn through your upper and lower ball joints (or king pin) relative to vertical when viewing from the front or rear of the vehicle. The difference between where that line intersects the ground (scrub pivot point), and the center of the tire contact patch on the ground is your scrub radius. So, what you're calling KPI is actually the scrub radius.

Caster angle is the angle of the line through your ball joints relative to vertical when viewed from the side, so it is different than KPI, although they reference the same line.

Wheel offset/backspacing do definitely effect the scrub radius because they change the center point of the tire contact patch relative to the scrub pivot point. Tire height affects the scrub radius as well because as the height changes, the point where the KPI angle intersects the ground changes. Neither of them affect the actual KPI angle though.