How to set up your "AntiRock', 'Swaylock' or what ever version
you have. They are ALL just an AntiRock with either a release mechanism
or a adjustable mechanism resulting in a dual rate...no more, no less.
That said in setting up your angle be it 0 degrees or + or - 'X'
degrees requires a paradigm view. Looking at the arms, the
fulcrum/mounting point is is front and above your axle. The arms swing in
a fixed arc to the rear, which is physically limited by the tire hitting the
bottom of the fender unit and by the final amount of droop allowed by the axle
assembly.
Since both axle and arm swing in an arc this becomes simple...Except
when static the axle/arm are always swinging in opposite directions.
Whether in a + or - (above/below level ground plane). Since the arm is
above the axle in relation to the ground plane this rapidly leads to problem if
a working angle is not established.
Given that the amount of stuff is typically less than droop and the
axle sits below the arm some compensation must be made. Remember that
both axle and arm are going AWAY from each other. Then our solution is to
raise the arm further into the + arc in order to gain more travel, higher in
the arc and before the arm begins to get too deep into its own arc and going
forward or AWAY from the arc of the axle.
This then begs the question of what angle do we use. The answer
is really quite simple. What is the approx angle of the axle in
relationship to the fulcrum point of the arm. If raise your arm by the
same amount + then the arm has an opportunity to travel and in effect get
longer as the axle is beginning to drop.
Lets see if this works: See pics
If you use a zero degree angle with the arm as soon as your axle
begins to drop, the arm and axle are moving AWAY from each other.
NOTE: Add 2.5 degrees to the upper angle of 8.7 in the pic to
compensate for for sloping. Total is 11.2 degrees + and 11.7 degrees - so
my arm will travel further and OUTWARD towards the axle as it begins its drop
to the rear.
That said this is NOT a hard rule as it will change with every Jeep
depending upon the amount of lift. It follows the law of 'diminishing
returns'. Generally speaking a + angle of not more than about 15 degrees
works well. Having never lifted beyond 3 inches I have not experimented
with angles beyond 15 degrees.
Having run the Currie AntiRock for nearly 4 years and about 60k miles,
which includes many highway trips up to about 3.500 miles I must take issue
with the 'so-so on road'.
That said when viewing suspension you have to view it as a system of
linked components. Even tho Currie does not address this (few product
builders do) from an engineering and systems paradigm the performance of the
AntiRock is 'so-so on road' UNLESS an adjustable shocks are integrated
into the system. The alternative is to put the adjustment into the arm
itself, certainly a good solution but not the only one and in fact IMO I feel
that it is lacking in comparison with an arm and adjustable shock.
Running without a front sway-bar:
But so often talk is cheap and only real world examples count:
Coming out of Prichett Canyon in Moab I snapped my Aluminum arm on my Currie
AntiRock ( I posted this on JU and the thread is quite long with EVERYONE
weighing in to include Currie Inc, do a search and be sure to read my last
posts which gave updates as to what Currie did about it). Since it was
the last day in Moab and in the am I was heading out to Scottsdale, AZ, approx
475 miles South without a sway bar to stabilize my rig.
Things went fine until I cleared Moab and the highway MPH posting gave
me the go ahead. WOW talk about scary. I slow to about 45 where the
Jeep seemed to be reasonably stable. But I had just turned a long 1-day
trip into a longer 2 day trip and a set of white knuckles on the steering
wheel...then it dawned on me that I could 'kick my shocks up a notch' (Rancho
RS9000X).
I pulled over and took them from the Pritchett Canyon soft 2 to about
6. WOW what an improvement, lets pull over and try that again. I
cranked them to the max 9 all the way around. Ooops too much. I ended
up with '8' up front and '7' in the rear, drove home at a safe 60-65 mph with a
stable Jeep.
Summary: I am not trying to tell anyone what setting (very firm to very soft) to use. The purpose is to answer the question of 'what angle do I set my arms at. There are many variables, lift, long arms, short arms and we can go on and on. This was written for the folks that have a lift between 2 and 4.5 in. And it serves as a starting point, no more, no less.