Best Adjustable Control Arms For JK/JKU in 2022 – Reviews
Jeeps have been the dream of many grown-ups while they were kids. Playing with toy jeeps and owning one, they have achieved the adventure of their dreams. Jeep JK Wrangler is designed for such enthusiasts that prefer robust and strong vehicles for off-road trips. Jeeps are great for off-roading!
The Jeep JK Wrangler is constructed of a basic combination of control arms, brackets, and rods that results in impressive steering and suspension system. Most off-roaders prefer Jeep Wrangler JK as their go-to vehicle because of its off-road performance and compatibility.
Every Jeep has been designed in a specific way to entertain your requirements. There are different types of lift kits or suspension components for your Jeep. One of the essentials that complete the body of your Jeep Wrangler JK is its control arms.
Control arms act as the glue between the axles and the frame. The Jeep JK adjustable control arms are vital to any Wrangler build. They improve the overall performance of the Wrangler, strengthening it and improving its articulation.
Reading on, you will learn the various options available and the things you should consider before you buy any JK control arms.
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Best Adjustable Control Arms For JK/JKU
Jeep JK adjustable control arms are an important part of your Wrangler. Getting only the best among the different manufacturers out there is vital. Read below to acquaint yourself with some of the best adjustable control arms for JK.
1. Freedom OffRoad Front Upper Control Arms
Trusted for their performance by many users, these adjustable front upper control arms by Freedom OffRoad are built with enhanced wheel control. You can be sure of your Jeep JK’s directional stability with these.
Designed for JKs with a 0 to 6.5-inch lift, these adjustable control arms optimize the overall steering and handling of your Jeep. Additionally, these control arms also help in successful navigation on challenging roads backed by advanced steering capabilities.
These adjustable front upper control arms use heavy-duty materials structured with high rigidity and corrosion resistance. Black powder-coated to resist rust, abrasion, and chipping, these arms are equipped with bushing with tremendous load-bearing capacity.
These Jeep Wrangler control arms are easy to install and do not require any modification. They can easily fit into your Wrangler’s factory mounting points. These control arms are meant for all 2017-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK models.
The adjustable front upper control arms kit comes with a limited lifetime warranty for any defects related to materials and labor. However, the warranty comes with certain limitations. You have to be sure about their warranty policy.
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2. Rough Country Front Upper Adjustable Control Arms
With the ball-in joint that these arms have to offer, the Rough Country front upper adjustable control arms have a diameter of 2.5 inches and allow significant strength, safety, and range for off-roading.
These X-Flex joints can prove perfect Jeep Wrangler control arms for you, with these X-Flex joints being able to turn twenty degrees. The lower arms joints have the capability to turn thirty-five degrees.
Rough Country has designed these adjustable control arms with fully greaseable material for smooth performance, especially off-roads. They also allow enhanced articulation for your Jeep on challenging trails.
Compatible with 2017-2018 Jeep models, these control arms need drilling to fit the frame. However, the good news is, they come with Rough Country’s lifetime warranty period.
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3. TeraFlex 1252000 JK Sport Front Lower Flexarm Kit
The maintenance-free adjustable front lower Flexarm kit by TeraFlex Sport provides robust performance for all Wrangler models, offering 2.5-inch to 3-inch lifts.
These control arms can fit your factory mountain brackets with bolts easily and can also be added to your existing set of suspension lifts. These control arms come with factory-style bushings with durability and excellent NVH damping as well as ride quality.
The TeraFlex Flexarm kit is compatible with JK Wrangler 2-Door and JK Wrangler Unlimited 4-Door. The control arms are capable of recentering the axles in the wheels for better suspension.
The full range of movement that TeraFlex allows with its adjustable control arms supports advanced articulation on off-roads. These control arms do not require any welding and can be easily installed by attaching the bolts.
TeraFlex also has a lifetime warranty for all defects.
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4. Freedom Off-Road Front Upper and Lower Control Arms
With a serious approach to the drive feel and handling, Freedom OffRoad adjustable front upper and lower control arms provide a good 0 to 8-inch lift to your Wrangler.
While lifting may compromise with the suspension and steering geometry of the handling characteristics, these front upper and lower control arms are designed to restore your Jeep’s geometry to default. This feature offers you enhanced drive on the road and trail.
The control arms by Freedom OffRoad are truly adjustable and allow you to change their length without having to remove them from your Jeep. Correcting the suspension geometry, these control arms are useful to lift the stock to 8 inches.
Designed to park on pre-existing areas, the control arms are built of rugged quality to ensure exceptional strength. You can easily install these Jeep Wrangler adjustable control arms.
Additionally, they are also equipped with rubber bushing so that, if needed, you can upgrade to high-performance varieties.
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5. Rough Country Rear Lower Adjustable Control Arms
The Rough Country Rear Lower Control Arms come with a 2.5-inch diameter body. Rough Country has given these control arms a massive structure to improve the performance of your Jeep Wrangler.
Designed to provide you with great range and strength for a smooth off-road experience, the safety applications of these control arms are top-notch. The X-Flex joints of the upper arm have the flexibility of a rotational feature up to twenty degrees.
The lower arm joints can pivot about thirty-five degrees. These joints are fully greaseable. If you’re looking for convenient pair of control arms for your Jeep Wrangler, these will enhance your Wrangler’s performance the best.
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6. Freedom OffRoad Front Lower Control Arms
Freedom OffRoad has brought another impressive set of control arms for your Jeep Wrangler JK. They are front lower adjustable control arms that are highly stylish and easy to fit on your vehicle.
The Freedom OffRoad adjustable control arms are round-tubed and have dedicated space bent to fit the tires. These single adjustable control arms come with attached bushings for your convenience.
These control arms are easy to fit for your suspensions. All you need to do is unbolt your factory-enabled control arms, replace them with these for better suspension, bolting them in. Extra equipment that you may require here is a set of hardware tools to fit the arms in place.
However, there’s a downside to it. These control arms do not come with a manual instruction guide to help you set them up on your Wrangler. Even so, you can still deal with them as guaranteed by their manufacturer for their ease of use and installation factor.
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7. WULF Front Rear Upper Lower Adjustable Lift Control Arms Kit
What could be better than having an entire kit for your suspension requirements of your JK/JKU? If you’re looking for Jeep JK adjustable control arms in the market, purchasing the WULF front and rear upper lower adjustable control arms kit would be a wise decision to make.
The kit is compatible with 2007-2017 Jeep Wrangler JK 2WD and 2007-2017 Jeep Wrangler JK 4X4 4WD. It is always better to replace all your control arms even when there’s a need for just one.
This way, you can be sure of the safe and robust performance of your Wrangler on your off-road trails for a long time.
The kit offers Jeep Wrangler upper control arms up to 6-inch lift and Jeep Wrangler lower control arms up to 6-inch lift. Along with these, the kit is also facilitated with all kinds of hardware tools necessary for fitting the adjustable control arms to your Jeep Wrangler JK/JKU.
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8. Synergy Manufacturing 8051 Replacement High Clearance Adjustable Front Lower Control Arms
The Synergy High Clearance adjustable front lower control arms are a good deal. The manufacturers have kept the best interests of off-roaders while curating this product. Moreover, they can be installed with ease.
These Jeep JK adjustable control arms are a definite upgrade to your factory-provided suspensions. The shock and coil springs of your Jeep Wrangler will easily fit with these control arms, offering a smooth ride on-road or off-road.
The adjustable control arms by Synergy provide great articulation for off-road trails as well. Synergy has taken good care of the product when it comes to quality. Their Jeep JK adjustable lower control arms are certainly the right fit if what you own is a stock height jeep.
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9. TeraFlex 1415610 JK Complete 8 Adjustable Alpine Flexarm Kit
You have the option of installing the entire adjustable control arms kit with these Alpine 8 adjustable Flexarm kit that is only much more convenient for your Jeep JK.
Combining the easy handling features of Sport Flexarms and the Monster Flexarms, the Alpine Flexarms have done a great job in enhancing maintenance and adjustability features. You can trust the kit for fantastic quality and excellent vibration resistance with the in-built rubber bushings.
Both regular on-road driving and off-road driving are smooth with outstanding articulation on trails when you have the Complete 8 adjustable control arm kit.
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10. Raptor Series 170107-429804 Heavy-duty Adjustable Control Arms
These heavy-duty adjustable control arms by Raptor Series are designed to lift your Jeep Wrangler JK to 6 inches. These are an upgrade to your factory arms both in terms of strength and flexibility. They offer tremendous stability and adjustment on off-road trails.
The control arms offer accurate positioning of the axle and the pinion angle. Constructed with heavy-duty tubular steel, the Raptor Series control arms offer better traction and excellent articulation.
The good news here is that these come with a limited lifetime warranty from the manufacturer to offer you a greater trial period.
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Buyer’s Guide
When it comes to getting control arms for your Jeep Wrangler, you have to be particular about certain things. Let’s take a peek at the things to look out for when you buy good control arms.
The Model And Year Of Manufacture Of Your Wrangler
Being sure about the model number and the year of manufacture of your Jeep Wrangler is critical. When you are out in the market yourself, the dealer will want to know these factors to provide the appropriate control arms for your Jeep.
When researching online, you’ll be provided space to give your input, starting from the advanced auto parts to the smaller parts. This way, you can search for suitable control arms quickly and conveniently.
Another reason why these factors are important is they help learn the position of these control arms on your vehicle. Since you’ll be replacing your control arms, you must purchase exactly the ones that fit your Wrangler.
Control arms can be fit in different locations and, accordingly, you’ll have the options of upper control arms, lower control arms, and rear control arms.
Control Arms Material
The material of the control arms that you select plays a key role in the performance they’ll offer when you use them on your Jeep.
It can be cast iron, cast aluminum, or stamped steel that you choose for your control arms’ material. What you must consider here are your driving conditions.
If you are constantly driving in harsh environments, you must look for control arms that are durable. You can go for aluminum control arms that are known for great persistence in tough conditions.
Aluminum control arms provide sturdy and robust performance when you’re on off-road routes. The good thing about aluminum control arms is that they are rust-free, which makes them resilient to corrosion. However, if they get damaged, it can create major problems.
Aluminum control arms tend to crack instead of bending when exposed to ultimate stress or unusual load. This way, there will be greater possibilities of breakage, causing problems while on high speed and a freeway.
You can also go for cast iron which is resistant to a variety of driving conditions. Cast iron offers sturdy performance, and control arms made of cast iron are lightweight.
Another resilient material here is steel. There’s a reason why steel is popular in the manufacturing sector. Steel is strong enough to resist rough driving and also durable and inexpensive. There is, however, one downside to this material. Steel rusts soon and can corrode in wet driving conditions.
OEM or Aftermarket
OEM control arms are excellent in quality and performance as well as in style. Other than these, there are no benefits of using OEM control arms. OEM control arms will also cost you more than the Aftermarket ones.
The Aftermarket control arms provide better performance and endurance to harsh driving conditions. They are sturdier compared to OEM types. Aftermarket control arms are available at cheaper costs owing to the compromises they might make in the case of certain features.
You’ll, however, have a broader variety to choose from among the different control arms varying in price and quality.
Single Control Arm Of Full Kit
When you need control arms for your Jeep Wrangler, it is obvious that it is all you need. However, if you can have the entire kit, you’ll be benefitted as well. It is always better to replace both sides of the vehicle with new control arms when even just one side has the requirement currently.
Similarly, if you are about to replace your rear adjustable control arms, make sure to replace all four of them for better performance.
When you are equipped with a complete control arm kit, you can relax for quite a while regarding the repairing conditions of your Wrangler. You can go for your off-road trips with the least worries about the suspension parts of your vehicle. This way, you’ll be cutting down extra expenses.
Features Available
Going through the features that the control arms enable you with is a vital step. While some may prefer durability factors more convenient, others may prioritize the ease of use and installation.
A pro tip to test the features that the control arms have in store for you is to gather knowledge of the manufacturing technology that has curated the particular product. For instance, powder-coated control arms are corrosion-resistant and are inexplicably durable.
Do They Contribute To Comfort And Ride Quality?
No, control arms do not determine the comfort or ride quality of your vehicle. Such a question is meant for your vehicle when it’s all about on-road handling. It is not the angle of the control arms or their brackets that contribute to a jarring ride or so.
The control arms are at par with a 3-inch suspension lift and are nowhere related to the steepness of your vehicle, causing no change to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are adjustable control arms worth it?
Yes, adjustable control arms are totally worth it if you can afford them. Adjustable control arms add to the riding convenience on- and off-road with your Jeep JK. You’ll have five additional bars for a trial if you take up replacing the factory control arms.
2. Do I need adjustable upper control arms?
It depends. If you have a 4X4 lift kit for your Jeep Wrangler JK 4WD, then you must install upper control arms for the same. Installing a SuperPro 4X4 upper control arm kit would solve both the alignment and clearance issues of your Jeep.
3. What’s the point of adjustable control arms?
Adjustable control arms help align the front and rear axle under your Jeep. They also adjust the drive shafts’ caster angle. The proper caster adjustment can be taken care of by installing the front lower and the rear upper adjustable control arms.
4. Do I need control arms for a 2.5-inch lift?
If you hit the market, you may get confused as some may recommend using control arms while some may not. It depends on which model of Jeep JK you currently have. Also, all 2.5-inch lifts differ as well. Adding adjustable control arms will, however, upgrade your off-road Wrangler experience.
5. What do Aftermarket upper control arms do?
There are a few benefits of using Aftermarket control arms. For starters, they weigh less compared to the OEM ones and improve the quality, focusing less on un-sprung suspension. The Aftermarket upper control arms help replace shocks improving the all-around performance of your Jeep Wrangler JK.
Final Verdict
Getting Jeep JK adjustable control arms for your Wrangler goes through some considerations to give you the desired results. With the whole wide range of control arms out in the market, it is challenging to find the right ones for your needs.
The Jeep JK adjustable control arms contribute to the Wrangler’s flexibility as well as the alignment and axle position changes so as to fit larger tires. In this post, we have gathered some of the best adjustable control arms for JK that you can equip in your Jeep Wrangler.
We recommend buying the front upper adjustable control arms by Freedom OffRoad. However, conduct proper research about your vehicle model, the size, and the fit, apart from all the technicalities. This way, you can be sure to upgrade the performance of your Jeep Wrangler.