What is the best riding, handling, driving suspension lift? Regardless of lift height (1 Viewer)

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Ok all ye faithful followers of 'mud. I'm asking a VERY subjective question and I want very objective answers :D

I have some ideas for my 80 that I would like to implement, but I'd like to start with the best riding and handling suspension out there. I've driven rigs with huge unwieldy lifts and it's just not what I'm after(I have my mini-truck for being ridiculous).

I'm not looking for any more than 4" of lift.

I know you will ask about weight, so here's what I've got/will have:

ARB front(no winch YET, but eventually)
Rear tire carrier
Rear drawers(and all the assorted tools/fluids to fill them)
Sliders
Minimalist roof rack(should be much lighter than the ARB rack I sold).

Basically what I'm trying to figure out what the best 'package' is. If that means I get 3" of lift instead of 4" or even 2" instead of 3", that is FINE with me! I have other plans for making up the difference in tire clearance ;)

I want this rig to drive like or better than stock.

Thanks for playing!

Ary
 
define "good ride"

soft and cooshy? sporty? firm?
 
I'm gonna figure the most tolerable day-to-day ride is going to be a set of OME stock height replacement springs and the shocks of your liking using rubber instead of poly. When you start to lift things and get into caster correction you start adding urethane bushings and you raise your COG, neither of which is technically as good as the ride can get ;) That said I think you're a candidate for OME J springs up front and medium rears if you want lift.
 
My hvy/meds 'feel' better than the stock 10 year old 93k mile springs.
 
"Good ride" = firm, but not jarring and stable not tippy

I anticipate having to deal with caster correction and have the ability and materials to do the cambolt mod, ala bjowett if the OME or Slee bushings are not enough.

I do need at LEAST 2" to accomplish my goals.

Ary
 
I know you will ask about weight, so here's what I've got/will have:

ARB front(no winch YET, but eventually)
Rear tire carrier
Rear drawers(and all the assorted tools/fluids to fill them)
Sliders
Minimalist roof rack(should be much lighter than the ARB rack I sold).

Ary

You have all that weight on a stock suspension? If so, I would imagine you have LOTS of body roll in the corners and unstable ride?

I have OME heavy/heavy and really like the ride when I have a little weight in the back, without it the ride on washboards can be a little too firm in the rear, but certainly not uncomfortable. I'm very light too, only an ARB (no winch yet) up front and thats it. I'm expecting the ride to be nice with some sliders (hopefully soon) and gear in the back.
 
Currently I only have the bullbar and drawers. I did have the ARB rack on until last week.

It really isn't that bad of a ride, just sags a lot. My only complaint is how jarring every pothole or bump in the road is.
 
I'm very weighted down and have the Slee 4" coils, MAF rear panhard bracket, slee front adjustable panhard, OME L shocks and custom caster plates.

The truck rides like a truck but handles extremely well. Very precise control is quick turns and goes where you point it.
 
I want this rig to drive like or better than stock.

Ary

If you want the most stock like handling, dropped brackets will give you that, at a trade off of clearance.

based purely on hearsay, and what shocks he's using, FOR lift's probably has the best shocks offered with any kit.
 
I love the ride of my J-springs, and my truck is relatively light as I do not have a ARB up front, nor any drawer weight in back. Firm, w/out being bone jarring, very little body roll, corners tight... Our roads are generally s***ty here, and it was immediately evident how much better it rode with the J's vs. the Stock...

Added the caster plates after a year with the lift... steering was squirly prior to that, but it tracks great now..

Caster plates probably overcorrected the caster, and if I did it now I would try Slee's new bushings??? afaik they are supposed to fit the niche between the OME bushings and the caster plates?
 
I can't say enough about how pleased I am with my new OME 2.5" Hvy/Med lift with CC. My vehicle is a DD and drives much better than stock...and the 2.5" lift is a great compromise between DD and the hard-core IMO. It feels very 'sure-footed' with the OME lift...you might try using Bilsteins instead of OME shocks for an even better ride.
 
You have all that weight on a stock suspension? If so, I would imagine you have LOTS of body roll in the corners and unstable ride?

I have OME heavy/heavy and really like the ride when I have a little weight in the back, without it the ride on washboards can be a little too firm in the rear, but certainly not uncomfortable. I'm very light too, only an ARB (no winch yet) up front and thats it. I'm expecting the ride to be nice with some sliders (hopefully soon) and gear in the back.

If you want to see body roll drive a stock LX450 in the twisties. :eek: None of my stock LCs had any body roll. I just slipped in 2.5 Heavies F/R and I now have noticeable body roll. The ride before was firm all the time. Now, it's less firm over small bumps, but much firmer over big stuff. I'm looking forward to adding more weight out back as well to help balance things out.
 
I am really happy with my OME 2.5" heavies f/r. Has a bit of stink bug till I load it up and it rides like a dream. Very little body roll. I have an ARB/Warn 12000 in front and a Slee bumper/tire carier and a full length drawer in the rear. Roof rack alla me. I run 33" tires. If there was a three inch lift without going to the J's I would do that instead of the 2.5". I had J's on my Son's 91 and the ride was a bit stiff for highway. JMTC
 
IMO, for streetablilty, Slee 4-6" w/ Pro-comp or Bilstein shocks, or use OME Comp springs with Slee arms and Pro-Comp or Bilstein shocks.
 
Who makes Pro Comp's shocks for them??
 
If you want to see body roll drive a stock LX450 in the twisties. :eek: None of my stock LCs had any body roll. I just slipped in 2.5 Heavies F/R and I now have noticeable body roll. The ride before was firm all the time. Now, it's less firm over small bumps, but much firmer over big stuff. I'm looking forward to adding more weight out back as well to help balance things out.

You have MORE body roll with the heavies installed:confused: Did you disconnect your sway bars and not reconnect? I don't see how adding stiffer springs would increase body roll in a corner. Please elaborate.
 
I haven't driven anyone elses cruiser, but my handling improved significantly after the OME 95mm (Js = 4" minus 5mm) lift. I also opted for HD sway bars and I am sure that this has played a part in the improvement based on past experiences with sway bar upgrades on other vehicles. Braking was also improved significantly with the Powerstop rotors/semi-metallic pads. Weight has been and will continue to be a primary consideration.

Still have yet to do anything with the front bumper and I consider it a low priority aside from it ideally being a prerequisite for a winch. I like Slee's new front bumper and envision it on the front of my truck some day. Whatever I choose will be lighter than the traditional ARB bumper even if this may mean a little less durability.

The Kaymar rear bumper is heavy but I wanted tow capability as well as a tire carrier. It is what it is.

I have the stock roof rack and plan on keeping it for weight and clearance reasons.

I really want 5.29s to go with my next mod being 35" Toyos but will be waiting for some time (bumper or gears first?). This will help in the power to the wheels dept.

I am in the process of finishing a new storage system/bed platform. My old set-up weighed 150lbs with the two 12" kicker woofers & enclosure. It's history along with the booming bass. In its place is a much lighter deal now at about 40lbs (the finished product will be about 5-10lbs less) with a significant increase in space and an even lower profile bed platform. With the loss of the two monster amps the new storage system is saving me about 150lbs. I am attaching a couple pics of this current project.

Weight is one of those things that has a cummulative benefit and saving here a little and there a little will add up to more agility and speed even if it is all relative.
 
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When toyota engineers asked themselves that question, they came up with the OEM suspension. It's the global answer for general purpose driving.
 

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