Upper Control Arms for 2.8 bilstein lift

[liftnh603]

Going to be installing bilstein 5100's at 2.8" and would like to replace the upper control arms at the same time. I'm looking at the

Rough Country Upper Control Arms for 3.00-Inch Lift will these fit or is there another brand i should be looking into? ​

 

[BolletuH]

Search the forum. Pretty sure this has been asked multiple times.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Going to be installing bilstein 5100's at 2.8" and would like to replace the upper control arms at the same time. I'm looking at the

Rough Country Upper Control Arms for 3.00-Inch Lift will these fit or is there another brand i should be looking into? ​

If you use rough country suspension components you’re throwing your money away. The best bang for your buck is a tight race. Between readylift and zone.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Any aftermarket control arms with an offset will work with the billies or any lift between 2-3". The main differentiator on what you need/want from your ucas will depend on how you'll be driving the vehicle and where. Uniballs are tougher offroad than standard BJs but they will require a lot of maintenance in climates with snow or if you ougth to be driving in lots of mud and theyll often require you to change those Uniballs more often as well compared to traditional BJs. Delta Joints (Icon) is the best of both worlds in the sense they are tough like Uniballs with the durabilty of the traditional BJs for the day to day driving. Then you have traditional HD bjs. They're the best for a DD that will see lots of city/hwy miles, They're not the best for offroad cause they don't flex as much as the Uniballs or Delta Joints but if your application doesn't require that level of performance /you won't be driving that aggresivelly in harsh terrain/dirt roads etc etc you're more than ok with those and they don't require much maintenance. Zone is prob the best UCA in this category as you have a very tough frame, HD bjs and rubber bushings. You only have to grease the Bjs and that about it. In the performance realm you have Icon, Camburg, Total Chaos, JBA where you need to grease the bushings and bjs. There are more options as well and as long as they have an offset they'll work peachy with a 2-3" lift.. Again just match your ucas to whatever need you have for your truck.

RC is not quality unfortunately and while they might work initially, You're increasing your chances of having to pay for install or new ucas/install again after a year or so. Maybe the last longer, maybe they don't. it's the issue with low quality parts... they're a hit and miss. Not a big deal if you can do the install yourself and you can patiently deal with their warranty. you'll have to pay for a new alignment unless you have a lifetime warranty on alignments. They have a nice price that make the part attractive but you get what you pay for.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

We recommend Zone. ReadyLift is a decent option also.

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

I've always been enamored with the JBAs. Can anybody attest to their long-term performance? I still have these on my "wish upon a star" horizon.

JBA Upper Control Arms for Lifted RAM 1500 2006 - Current (1 to 3.5 inch lift)

Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2006-2008Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2009-2010Ram 1500 4WD 2011-2018Ram 1500 4WD 2019-Current The JBA Upper A-Arms were designed for a spring lift or leveling kit. (1" up to 4" lift) The JBA Value Pack JBA Max 90 Ball Joints™ Patented JBA EZ Lube Bushings™ JBA Lifetime Warranty JBA...

jbaoffroad.com

 

[Quick_Shifter]

I've always been enamored with the JBAs. Can anybody attest to their long-term performance? I still have these on my "wish upon a star" horizon.

JBA Upper Control Arms for Lifted RAM 1500 2006 - Current (1 to 3.5 inch lift)

Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2006-2008Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2009-2010Ram 1500 4WD 2011-2018Ram 1500 4WD 2019-Current The JBA Upper A-Arms were designed for a spring lift or leveling kit. (1" up to 4" lift) The JBA Value Pack JBA Max 90 Ball Joints™ Patented JBA EZ Lube Bushings™ JBA Lifetime Warranty JBA...

jbaoffroad.com

JBA and Icons are the go to for the higher budget trucks. They are built better, and they will hold up longer and better. That being said if you take care of your stuff anything will last the lift of the truck

 

[AdamKan]

Going to be installing bilstein 5100's at 2.8" and would like to replace the upper control arms at the same time. I'm looking at the

Rough Country Upper Control Arms for 3.00-Inch Lift will these fit or is there another brand i should be looking into? ​

Gonna get killed for this reply because the parts are cheap but after much research (not an expert but am a mechanical engineer so there's at least a basis of understanding) I went with the Mevotechs from RockAuto - They're forged steel and when put up against the stock stamped steel arms they should be much stronger. They went on my 17 1500 CC 4x4 w/bilsteins at 2.8 with 16k miles on it and i just passed 100k. I recently changed all the brakes/rotors and when i was in there checked all the joints/etc and everything is just as tight as when i put them in there.
To me there's no review like one with experience so this is my experience. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows of any confirmed failures with these Mevotechs. I also don't do any serious offroading so thats something to take into account.
I don't mind paying for good parts but I just couldn't figure out how such a simple part could be so different in price unless you're just "buying the insurance" of the name brand.

More Information for MEVOTECH GS251058

Just to clarify. If I was doing any sort of offroading, I'd definitely go with one that is designed for offroad. My 2 cents

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

@AdamKan after doing some research into upper control arms (UCAs), and looking at the geometry on my own truck (I'm a civil/structural engineer), I realized that UCAs actually carry very little force through them compared to the lower control arm. They are mainly there for stability and to help the suspension track properly throughout its swing. Most of the load from your tires goes straight through the lower control arms: all the vertical load through shear until it connects to the strut, most of the forward/backward loading, and most of the left-right loading as well.

Once I realized this, I realized that most of them were overbuilt in terms of the construction of their body. The one place they DO need to be good at however is the longevity and range of travel in the ball joint for the given suspension setup. But as far as strength goes, I don't think even moderate off-road use will be bending any UCAs, even the most slender of them.

 

[crazykid1994]

I've always been enamored with the JBAs. Can anybody attest to their long-term performance? I still have these on my "wish upon a star" horizon.

JBA Upper Control Arms for Lifted RAM 1500 2006 - Current (1 to 3.5 inch lift)

Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2006-2008Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2009-2010Ram 1500 4WD 2011-2018Ram 1500 4WD 2019-Current The JBA Upper A-Arms were designed for a spring lift or leveling kit. (1" up to 4" lift) The JBA Value Pack JBA Max 90 Ball Joints™ Patented JBA EZ Lube Bushings™ JBA Lifetime Warranty JBA...

jbaoffroad.com

I had zone and abused them. They took some decent abuse before I tore one of the frame side bushings. Not sure why it failed but I’m thinking I may have pushed it a bit to far off-roading. I tend to disconnect the front sway bar and I’m guessing it just pushed it beyond its flexibility. I’m lifted at 3” front and if I bottomed out the front suspension it may have been the culprit. I have jba now and wanted icon originally but found the jba for about 100$ cheaper over the icon. Nick definitely offers his stuff at a great price though if you do go icon. if I had to choose again I would still lean towards icon. The icon have a bit better flex over the jba which may bite me in the behind later when I switch over to the fox 2.5 dsc coilovers. I’ve only had the chance once since installing the jba UCAs to off-road and I did not push them as hard as the zones yet but they will definitely fair better since the frame side bushings are poly with free float pins in the middle vs the rubber like stock or zone. Just make sure with poly bushings you use the right grease or they will squeak or end up failing

 

[Poncherello]

Well, I hope the Eibachs work well. I just bought the Pro Lift Kit & JBA UCA's. I hope to get 2&3/4" front lift and 1" Rear. And eventually 18x9's on 35's.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Gonna get killed for this reply because the parts are cheap but after much research (not an expert but am a mechanical engineer so there's at least a basis of understanding) I went with the Mevotechs from RockAuto - They're forged steel and when put up against the stock stamped steel arms they should be much stronger. They went on my 17 1500 CC 4x4 w/bilsteins at 2.8 with 16k miles on it and i just passed 100k. I recently changed all the brakes/rotors and when i was in there checked all the joints/etc and everything is just as tight as when i put them in there.
To me there's no review like one with experience so this is my experience. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows of any confirmed failures with these Mevotechs. I also don't do any serious offroading so thats something to take into account.
I don't mind paying for good parts but I just couldn't figure out how such a simple part could be so different in price unless you're just "buying the insurance" of the name brand.

More Information for MEVOTECH GS251058

Just to clarify. If I was doing any sort of offroading, I'd definitely go with one that is designed for offroad. My 2 cents

Nothing wrong with mevotechs other than they are not angle correcting. Not all trucks can achieve a good alignment and/ or can get wonky angles. If your angles look good then you’re golden. The variation in heights with our trucks are all over the place