Check out what BS Fab has to say about Effin Off Road Limit Straps...
http://www.bsfab.net/?p=147
April 1st, 2010 Posted in Front Suspension, Reviews, Tech
Since our front suspension is flexing so well, we wanted to protect our bling new shocks by adding limit straps and bump stops. We would love to install some air bumps, but they’re not in the budget right now. Instead, we ordered some Prothane Coil Spring Inserts from Jegs. They’re an inexpensive, progressive bump stop that “floats” inside the coil spring. Ours are 5″ tall (part #19-1703).
The inserts have a 1.5″ diameter hole down the center (I’m not sure why), so we used a couple scraps of 1.5″ tube and some hole saw remnants to give the upper bump stop tower on the Cherokee a better contact point.
It’s going to take some fine tuning to get the inserts at the right height; we’ll probably have add something beneath them until they’re perfect. Also, it looks as if we’ll need to cut the upper bump stop tower and pull it back toward the rear of the jeep a bit so that contact is made in the center of the insert.
Trying to save some money, we found some Pro Comp limit straps real cheap on Amazon. We couldn’t find any details about the straps anywhere online, so we called Pro Comp. The tech we spoke to didn’t know who their straps are manufactured by, but did inform us that the straps were double wrapped (two layers thick) from one end to the other. We decided that would probably be sufficient, so we ordered a pair from Amazon.
The order showed up a few days later, but we quickly realized where cutting corners will get you. The Pro Comp straps were not double wrapped; they were made from a single, thin piece of nylon that looped through the end and was sewn down to itself. The middle of the strap, about 50% of it’s total length, was only one layer thick. The sewing pattern was one, relatively small rectangle with an “X” in the middle. I’m not sure why the tech that I spoke to was unable to tell me who makes the straps since they said “Beard” right on them. (To be fair, I have no idea if Beard markets straps of this quality under their name as well, or if these straps are made like this at Pro Comp’s request to keep their cost down.) Thankfully, Amazon’s return policy is quite good, they returned the straps 100% hassle free. It’s just too bad that we lost a week of time because we were trying to cut corners.
Determined not to make that mistake again, we contacted Mitch at Effin Offroad; we heard that his products are top of the line. We told Mitch about our experience with the ProComp straps and asked him about quality of his straps as well as a couple other questions. Even though we were emailing him on a Sunday afternoon, Mitch answered our questions in less time than it took Pro Comp to answer the phone! Mitch took our measurements, factored in any potential stretching of the strap, and had our order shipped in no time.
When the order arrived we were blown away by the quality of the materials and workmanship of the Effin Offroad limit straps!
They are a true, quad-wrapped strap; two pieces of strap, but 4 layers thick, even in the very center of the strap. Each layer is 1.75″ wide, Military spec, nylon webbing, rated at 7,000 lbs!
Our straps are 20″ long, between the buckles, and in that 20″, there is nearly 100″ of stitching in multiple directions and patterns!
The buckles are 3/16″ thick, zinc plated, 4130 chromoly and the whole strap is made in the USA!
These limit straps are very impressive and so is the company’s customer service!
So, on to the install… we wanted to use our lower control arm bolt for the lower end of the strap, simply for lack of a better option. Our lower control arm bolts are 5/8″ though and the hole in the strap buckle is 9/16″. There was plenty of meat to open up though hole, so we took it to our local steel supplier. For a couple bucks, they punched a 5/8″ hole in place of the existing one at one end of each strap; it only took a couple minutes.
Luckily, there was an empty bolt hole on the frame almost directly above it where the motor mount would be if our jeep had a 4 cylinder engine in it. The bolt is only 1/2″, but we know a couple Jeepspeed guys that have been using that bolt hole for years, so it should hold up fine for us.
The length of the straps was dead on. We’ve got just over 1/2″ of shock travel left with the front axle hanging on the straps. 
If you need limit straps, don’t even think of calling anyone other than our distributors!
Check out our giveaway on PIRATE 4x4!!!
www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php
