Gravy's 2005 Liberty Renegade

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
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.

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Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
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

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Rocky Road Outfitters upper control arm install.

Old vs. New
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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.)
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You take a die grinder to the control arm pockets to clearance them.
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Thank goodness for racheting box wrenches with a short swing...
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Cut the inner fender shield to clearance for the upper arm also.

RTR.
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Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
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.
 

bryson

RME Resident Ninja
Supporting Member
Location
West Jordan
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.

kpi.jpg
caster.jpg
 
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