Rear Track Bar Bracket

[ScottK]

I just finished installing a Currie lift on my JK, I elected to go with the AEV High Steer rather than using the drop pitman arm supplied in the Currie kit. Now I'm thinking about possibly using the AEV rear track bar bracket instead of the weld on bracket that came with the Currie. Is there any reason not to do this? I would rather spend the money on the bracket from AEV than pay somebody to weld the Currie on, and since I'm going with the AEV high steer on the front I assume it would work well. The Currie kit lifts the rear 3 to 3-1/2" and the front 5 to 5-1/2".

[somewhereinla]

why don't you get an adjustable track bar instead?

[ScottK]

why don't you get an adjustable track bar instead?

I have an adjustable track bar. The way I understand it though you get much better handling by raising it at the axle, which is why AEV, as well as most other manufacturers recommend the bracket. Maybe someone with more knowledge on this than me can chime in and explain it??

[somewhereinla]

I have an adjustable track bar. The way I understand it though you get much better handling by raising it at the axle, which is why AEV, as well as most other manufacturers recommend the bracket. Maybe someone with more knowledge on this than me can chime in and explain it??

Thanks for the info. I always sought manufacturers included a bracket because it was cheaper that an adjustable track bar...:confused:
I sought both achieved pretty much the same thing. I would be interested to learn more about it as well.

[kntr]

I have the front AEV High Steer Kit and it made a huge difference in handling.

The rear kit is suppose to help also. Hopefully JIM will explain what the rear bracket does and how it helps handling. My next upgrade is the rear kit. I dont trust the Superlift rear bracket.

[ScottK]

I found this post by AEV Jim in another thread, I think he pretty much answers the tower vs. adjustable track bar question.

http://forum.aev-conversions.com/showpost.php?p=6014&postcount=19

I'm still not sure if it'll work with the Currie kit, but I don't see why it wouldn't so I'm going to give it a try. If anyone knows of a reason why it wouldn't work, please let me know

[AEV Jim]

Thanks for the info. I always sought manufacturers included a bracket because it was cheaper that an adjustable track bar...:confused:
I sought both achieved pretty much the same thing. I would be interested to learn more about it as well.

We definitely didn't do it because it was cheaper! Actually the bracket alone is more expensive than a typical aftermarket adjustable bar, plus in our case we still give you a new bar also because the height we made the tower requires it to clear the exhaust...that should tell you how committed we were to making the geometry change that only a new mounting point (i.e. tower) can generate. An adjustable bar preserves geometry that's now 'bad' due to the lift height, plus allowing the centering of the axle with a dramatically non-flat track bar makes the geometry even worse during full stuff.

Adding our tower to any system that used a non-geometry-corrected track bar will make a noticable difference in handling because the higher rear roll center will effectively add roll-stiffness to the rear suspension, making it feel more planted than before. It also gets the rear RC high enough to allow a decent amount of roll-axis-inclination when using our high-steer kit in the front, else you wind up with a roughly horizontal roll axis (i.e. front and rear RC's at same height) and the vehicle may get too close to having erratic/unsafe handling tendencies (depends on other stuff like spring rates, bar rates, motion ratios, etc. etc.).

Hope that helps...

Jim

[ScottK]

We definitely didn't do it because it was cheaper! Actually the bracket alone is more expensive than a typical aftermarket adjustable bar, plus in our case we still give you a new bar also because the height we made the tower requires it to clear the exhaust...that should tell you how committed we were to making the geometry change that only a new mounting point (i.e. tower) can generate. An adjustable bar preserves geometry that's now 'bad' due to the lift height, plus allowing the centering of the axle with a dramatically non-flat track bar makes the geometry even worse during full stuff.

Adding our tower to any system that used a non-geometry-corrected track bar will make a noticable difference in handling because the higher rear roll center will effectively add roll-stiffness to the rear suspension, making it feel more planted than before. It also gets the rear RC high enough to allow a decent amount of roll-axis-inclination when using our high-steer kit in the front, else you wind up with a roughly horizontal roll axis (i.e. front and rear RC's at same height) and the vehicle may get too close to having erratic/unsafe handling tendencies (depends on other stuff like spring rates, bar rates, motion ratios, etc. etc.).

Hope that helps...

Jim

I can vouch for the statement that the tower is not cheaper, I ordered the kit yesterday. If you consider the entire kit (Tower and trackbar) I think the price is in line. The thing I really like about AEV / Nth is the way they actually explain to you why they do the things they do and how it works, like this post from Jim. You can (and I have) spend countless hours reading forums, but, in my opinion, most of what you read is just somebody posting what they read somewhere else, and what they have is the best. Here, you're hearing from the people that design and test the products. If you read some of the other forums a month ago, there was not much good being said about the AEV JK suspension. Read those same forums today, after a lot of people had the chance to take a ride in a Jeep with this suspension at EJS, and they're getting rave reviews. AEV is definitely not the cheapest, but I think you get what you pay for.

[somewhereinla]

Thanks for the explanation as I was wondering if I should get the OME rear bracket for my OME set-up. Also I never meant to suggest the the AEV rear bracket was "cheap", having a number of AEV products, I know that nothing AEV make is cheap... And I think I was talking in general, again, since I was wondering myself for my own OME set-up... Sorry for the confusion.

[n8it]

How tall is the track bar tower?

[AEV Jim]

How tall is the track bar tower?

Assuming you're asking about the functional (geometry) height rather than actual height - there are two new trackbar holes in the tower: one for 3.5" lifts and a higher one for the 4.5" lift. They are 6" and 7" above the stock trackbar hole on the axle, respectively.

Jim

[bab12134]

I read on another form someone installed a 3 1/2 lift the rear was off a bit? Indicated he really likes the lift performance, ride. Is this something I should be concerned with? Does your tower/bar setup address this.

BTW this lift is on the top of the list, I like that you guys are being proactive with the front shock mounts (not saying anything was wrong) nice to hear you've added some parts.

[bab12134]

Thought about this, maybe he installed the bolt on the tower track bar in the upper hole (4 1/2 lift location) vs the 3 1/2? I'm sure you have addressed centering the front and rear, should have a 3 1/2 on order next week.. CAN"T WAIT TO INSTALL>..

[AEV Jim]

I read on another form someone installed a 3 1/2 lift the rear was off a bit? Indicated he really likes the lift performance, ride. Is this something I should be concerned with? Does your tower/bar setup address this.

BTW this lift is on the top of the list, I like that you guys are being proactive with the front shock mounts (not saying anything was wrong) nice to hear you've added some parts.

Thanks for your 'commitment' to our suspension bab12134 :)

I can't seem to find the previous threads in which I've outlined why centering of the axles (at ride height) is NOT what you're after. In case someone else can search better than I, I'll leave out the repitition here. At the same time you'll be happy to know that the rear axle in our JK lifts IS centered - but only because that's where it can/needs to be thanks to how flat the trackbar geometry becomes with our tower. The front axle is NOT centered (but pretty close with the Premium system that has High Steer). You don't want it centered...trust me! :)

Frankly we only added the shock parts because of perception that they're needed. Our extended on/off-road testing has shown on multiple JK's that the double plates are not needed...but since outboarding them IS needed for frame clearance and the cantilevered bolt bothers people, we put the doublers in. I'm the first to agree that double shear is better than single, but if it's not needed, that's all there is to it...until you factor in public opinion...:)

Jim

[nick p]

The front axle is NOT centered (but pretty close with the Premium system that has High Steer). You don't want it centered...trust me!


Thats really got me intrigued! If you will excuse my ignorance, would you explain the reasoning behind not wanting it centered.
By the way I'm a AEV believer I have your RHD kit on order;)

Nick

[AEV Jim]

Thats really got me intrigued! If you will excuse my ignorance, would you explain the reasoning behind not wanting it centered.
By the way I'm a AEV believer I have your RHD kit on order;)

Nick

No problem Nick, thanks for believing! :) I know this is like so many other things I/we do with our designs that is counter to the general 'wisdom' out there...because we're based on real vehicle dynamics and engineering, not guesses and "looks good, run with it" approaches. Unfortunately I know I've covered this before on here and don't want to type it all again, but I apparently stink at finding it - can somebody link it to here please?

Jim

[ScottK]

Here ya go! I'm pretty sure this is it.

http://forum.aev-conversions.com/showpost.php?p=3724&postcount=8