So which is better??? More articulation, or less with a lower center of gravity?
and...
GO!
In my opinion, less articulation with a lower center of gravity. The taller you are, the less your vehicle can "roll" while trying to employ your usable flex. In your case Justin, I think the height you are at prevents you from safely using everything your suspension system could offer. Maybe its just pucker factor but I think with JD's 3 1/2" super-flex system and the tire size we run(33"), I can flex it to the maximum the system will allow and still be reasonably safe from flopping Inga on her side. It's takes a personal commitment to not not push the vehicle over its maximum capability.
Also, with a TJ and its coil spring suspension, you achieve more flex with less modification. I can safely say we could run 35's on Inga. (The only reason we haven't put on 35's is the wear and tear factor and the re-gearing we would need to do.) We would rub in
severe flex situations but I wouldn't need to upgrade to a bigger lift to accomodate them. Its my personal opinion that anything over about 4 1/2" of lift is almost overkill depending on what you plan to do with the rig. Driveline angles become severe and in a regular Wrangler, there is not enough wheelbase to safely go much higher than that. I would guess that even a CV driveshaft has its limitations and about a year and a half to two years is the life expectancy at a severe running angle and $400 every two years (usually at the worst times) is not worth it to me for that extra height. Wanna run a 6" lift??? Put it on an Unlimited... Just my .02
In the end, you can have a system that hits a 1400 on a 20 degree RTI ramp but you still need to know how to drive it to use that capability. As we can all vouch at one time or another, rig capability does not always perfectly mesh with driver ability or the desire to want it to do more. This sport can get rather expensive (as you already know
) and if you drive it like you stole it before learning the vehicles capabilities things will undoubtedly break. And honestly: bigger lift = bigger tires = simply being able to
drive over something(straddle it), instead of putting a tire on it and crawling over it; because Inga can get over probably 90% of the stuff you can at half the lift, smaller tires, one locker less, and probably a little less pucker factor...
