The old SOA vs. SUA debate. There are a list of Pros and Cons for either way. I debated the same thing when deciding on which way to go, and the biggest factor for me was stability. SOA with flat springs typically flex better then arched springs, but anyone who has seen my Jeep in action will agree that my system flexes really well. SOA opens a big can of worms with the steering and often the only safe way to do it is to do a complete custom steering set up, which can be pretty expensive and hard to find parts for if you bend/ brake something.
Looking around at the GAJR I noticed the past two years that the majority of leaf sprung Jeeps were running SUA. There is one section of a ledge at MaBell that according to a local has only ever been climbed by SUA Jeeps since coil springs are too bouncy and tend to cause roll overs, and another local with a TJ was proof with his smashed hood and windshield.
I run 35's with 4.5" of suspension lift, a 1" body lift and still had to trim about 2" out of the rear fenders. There are some really good advantages to the 1" body lift. With the BL I was able to install a 1" Motor Mount Lift which angled the drive train to better align the drive shaft. Also with the BL and MML I can do a belly up skid and gain 3.5-4" in the center of the Jeep which seemed to get hung up a lot back at BTC. I can also raise the Gas tank skid 1" to gain some departure angle.
Another thing to consider is that most SUA are designed my engineers and SOA are designed by back yard mechanics. It's not that a back yard set up can't work well, but it usually takes a lot of trial and error.
