If I was to start all over again, I would... (3 Viewers)

[gofast]

Purchased an Ironman four inch lift kit and eventually bought everything I needed to correct the problems I was experiencing from Slee. Spent way to much money when I could have just bought from Slee. The Ironman lift is the gift that keeps on giving. Shocks gone at 20k miles and just replaced with OME

From another post where I was whining:

Hours of aggravation, research and waiting and re-installing was what my experience was in lifting my truck four inches. If I was to do it again 2.5 would be what I would do.

I bought the 4 inch ironman competion kit. It is basic. I love the ride and flex though and it performs well loaded or unloaded.

I then bought Manafre stainless brake lines as the Ironman kit lines were crappy and would not secure to the frame brackets.

My truck at this time was unarmoured and I experienced drive line vibe both front and rear. Now the costs started.

Custom double shaft made from a Tacoma. By the time I was done using two shops to get it built correctly, I was over the cost of both Slee and Landtank. Still vibrated every where

My truck is now fully armoured and as the build went my vibes settled down but were not solved until I did the following

I run a part time kit on the front to reduce vibes, Also added the ABS relocation kit so I could get my ABS back

Slee front lower control arms cause I was not going to cut my castor brackets on the axle any further (Thanks Ironman)

Slee rear upper control arms.

I am happy to report I am vibe free and the truck is quiet inside and performs greatly. Here's a breakdown in cost without shipping, best of my recollection- not including my time

Ironman kit: $2200

Custom shaft $940 includes wrecker sourced unit , new uni's, custom build and then rebuild by more experienced shop

Brake lines 140

Slee Front control arms with bush 1040

Slee rear upper control arms $460

Part time kit 700

ABS kit 400

New shocks and stablilzer after the IM shocks crapped out early 500

Total: $6380

Slee four inch kit complete: $2867 which includes all the above with exception of part time kit, front control arms and ABS relocation

 

[jtwopark]

I have a LX450.
I thought I was going to save $250 by purchasing 35s after getting some free wheels. After posting my plan @retrofive wrote that 15" wheels don't fit very well on a fzj. Like an idiot I chose to do my thing. After spending several weeks shoe horning them in by grinding my calipers to an almost unsave point, I got them on. Then went wheelin hit a big bump taking large chunks of rubber out of my new tires & almost my fender flare with it. I finally sold them & went to 315s. It was a $400 lessen to learn.

Here is another one, I bought those Rancho adjustable shocks thinking they would work great like they did on my fj40 18 years ago. Well the LX is a sloppy, sloshy mess at slow speeds. The high speed valving works perfect. The faster I go the better. But Lexi is no pre runner. That is another $450 bones wasted. Here is my shock delima. Please tell me L shocks are better than this.

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON "L" SHOCKS!! THEY BLOW!!! LITERALLY

 

[1973Guppie]

hmmmmm, really like my old man emu suspension, shocks too, has worked great adn I bought the springs and shocks used....

 

[Stuckinthe80s]

Wow! What a great thread! I've been fighting with myself on which way to go with my truck and the number of people saying they wouldn't go bigger than 33's is interesting to say the least. I've been trying to convince myself how much better I would look sporting 35's but I'm also having trouble convincing myself to spend the money to lift/regear. My truck has a fresh set of OME OEM springs and 33's are going to look good on it. I bought it to camp in and overland explore so this thread has helped settle the argument...

 

[Stuckinthe80s]

.... 4"lift, 37's, and 5.29s it is

 

[richardlillard1]

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON "L" SHOCKS!! THEY BLOW!!! LITERALLY

Here, have some wine.

 

[jtwopark]

Here, have some wine.

May I have some Hennessy Paradis? I don't like wine!

 

[Apounder]

I would have put 5.29s, chromos, 40s, better shocks and left it stock ride height and cut everything out the f'n way and beat it to death while building an actual crawler haha

 

[GW Nugget]

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON "L" SHOCKS!! THEY BLOW!!! LITERALLY

This would a perfect story for this thread.
Why do you not like them?
What shocks do you now have & do you like them?
Give us the details... lift, tires, use, how loaded is it & how you drive.

 

[GW Nugget]

I would have put 5.29s, chromos, 40s, better shocks and left it stock ride height and cut everything out the f'n way and beat it to death while building an actual crawler haha

Hello Mr. Apounder, would you tell the folks what shocks you have & what you don't like about them.
What would you buy next.

 

[yohavos]

I would have gone with just new coils and no lift on the wagon. I would do the drawers and 4x4 Labs rear bumper again, but skip the swing outs.

x2 on buying a welder sooner than later. I've had my 120v for 9 months and wish I had just gotten a 220v and a plasma cutter years ago.

 

[GW Nugget]

If I was going to start all over...
I would just get 30mm spring spacers & 1" body lift. (Approx. $200) No shocks, nothing else, the stock shocks extend within .5" of the OME 2.5" lifted shocks. (If you absolutely need shocks, then you really can't beat the proven OME "L" shock. They are made for an 80 series. Yes they will fit with a stock 19" free height spring plus a 30mm spacer, it's all about the free height of the spring.) Stop there untill you got educated here on mud & then pulled the trigger on a full lift later, if you decide to do so.. Go to Slee offroads website newbie section & the 80 series FAQ. J springs are a approximately a 3.5" lift that will need possibly many other things...
I have OME 851+25mm/860 which is same as a 850/860 2.5" of lift plus a 1" body lift. Yellow caster bushings (I should of stayed with OEM control bushings & did the washer mod or plates.) When they say 2.5" is max they mean it. 1" with these 80s creates a big difference.

I would only suggest two lift combos:
850J/863 for a heavy set up & a 861+30mm/862+25mm spacers for a lighter set up. L shocks will fit both these combos & both will need to lower the rear frame bump stop by 1.25" to protect the L shock from over compressing.

Better suspension systems have come out since this post please see my edits.

(2017 edit: The Slinky Suspension is now available in 50mm & 75mm now. I also recommend this high end high quality suspension along with the Icon shocks.)

(2018 edit: Dobinson has now come out with a Tapered coil lift in 2.5" & 3.5" of lift. These are high end quality with a budget price. Best bang for the buck right now.)


I threw my old tired stock springs & 1" spring spacers in the other day to prove a point that you don't need a full blown lift to do 35s or 315s. (This is something I learned after I had purchased my lift.) Yes it works with the longer 26.5" L shocks & stock OEM bumpstops in front, the rear need to be lowered by 1.25"...
After DDing & wheelin around awhile I found it to be great on road, but not so great offroad. The springs are not strong enough to absorb bigger bumps before hitting the bumpstops. I was also dragging the rear bumper more often than my medium lift. The stock springs only give 1.5" of uptravel compared to the 4" my OME mediums offer.
So, soon I will be going back to my OME lift to get back to a better bump stop gap & firmer ride. This experiment was a good education for me to get a better feel of the rig.
Below is my rig with the 25mm spacers & 1" body lift. It actually needs a 30mm in the rear though.

GW Nugget's Family Haulin Lexi450 build....

 

[jtwopark]

This would a perfect story for this thread.
Why do you not like them?
What shocks do you now have & do you like them?
Give us the details... lift, tires, use, how loaded is it & how you drive.

I have an OME 4" comp lift front and rear (soon to be swapped out)
KING 2.5 resi shock custom valved and custom length to match the 4" springs
in the process of getting hydraulic bump stops
5.29 gears running 37" MTR and Yokohama MTs
ARB Front bumper with WARN 16.5 winch
DC FAB rear bumper with 37" spare
upper and lower rear control arms from 4plus
2x ARB twin compressor with 2.5 gal airtank
TJM lockers in the front and Detroit Lockers in the rear
speski cargo barrier
ARB drawers full of spares and camping equipment
ARB roof touring rack
ARB RTT
ARB 2500 awning
dual group 31 optima batteries + 2 group 35 batteries in the rear
4plus sliders
>70lbs in tools
190 lbs in spare parts, gear box, birfs, axles, bearings, fuses, starter, alternator
20 gals of water
15 gals of fuel
1x 37qt ARB fridge
1x 50 qt ARB fridge
mcintosh amps and zapco amps
subs, speakers,

myself @235lbs

running a lot of weight for my rig.

Need to start trimming down weight but don't really know where to start!

The reason I don't like the OME L shock or OME shocks in any fashion was because of its failures. I like to go out to the desert as much as I can. If anyone knows the Death Valley area, they will know the roads that I am talking about. Try running the OME shocks for about 100 miles of DV roads and you will know what fade is and what blown shocks feel like. I have replaced mine 2x under warranty and at the end, ARB said they will not warranty my shocks anymore! I currently have my 3rd set of OME L shock on my beater 93 land cruiser. I just ordered another set of KING 2.5 res and will take the kings off my 96 and move it to the 93 and put the new ones on the 96...would like to experiment with external bypasses as well.

 

[Apounder]

Bilstein 5165s I have now, they are ok but I would want some wayyy more beefy, probably something custom valved

 

[GW Nugget]

The reason I don't like the OME L shock or OME shocks in any fashion was because of its failures. I like to go out to the desert as much as I can and to the desert. If anyone knows the Death Valley area, they will know the roads that I am talking about. Try running the OME shocks for about 100 miles of DV roads and you will know what fade is and what blown shocks feel like. I have replaced mine 2x under warranty and at the end, ARB said they will not warranty my shocks anymore! I currently have my 3rd set of OME L shock on my beater 93 land cruiser. I just ordered another set of KING 2.5 res and will take the kings off my 96 and move it to the 93 and put the new ones on the 96...would like to experiment with external bypasses as well.

Thank you for your reply.
WOW, you are loaded for bear... Have you ever weighed in?
It would be save to say you have been pushing the upper limits of the intended use of the L shock. The custom shock will serve you a better with your current driving demands.

 

[jtwopark]

Thank you for your reply.
WOW, you are loaded for bear... Have you ever weighed in?

I told you I was heavy

No i have not had the chance to weigh my truck but being loaded, the OME L shock just blew on one trip to DV...I was doing 80mph blast through some sections.

Also on the way to Funnel lake I was doing 65+mph on some sections and the KINGS did not complain.

But since this is an if I were to do it again thread, I would go back to basics....no fridge, no drawers, no RTT...I would have an empty truck with ARB bumper, winch, sliders, rear bumper and just take the 2nd and 3rd row seats out put an air mattress and carry an old fashioned ice box and carry a 3 person tent....How is it that the women in the family are so used to having a fridge in the truck that they start to buy ICE CREAM as a part of the menu during camp????!!!!

and parfaits, wine and escargot and other things I would not put my tongue to....

On my next trip I would love to take a nice bottle of hennessy paradis!!

 

[retrofive]

snip....

How is it that the women in the family are so used to having a fridge in the truck that they start to buy ICE CREAM as a part of the menu during camp????!!!!

and parfaits, wine and escargot and other things I would not put my tongue to....

On my next trip I would love to take a nice bottle of hennessy paradis!!

LMAO!

 

[samuelsmith]

Recently serviced my front axle and in the process upgraded from 315's to some 255's. The vehicle is so much friendlier to drive now. Steering is more responsive, accelerates and brakes better. I had the 315's for 4 years and do not miss them a bit. I was torn between moving up to 37's and 5.29 gears or going to 255s. No regrets and I am very glad I didn't spend all the extra money.

 

[bluecruiser]

I would take all of the shock 'feelings' as just that, 'feelings'. I have and have known many guys running OME L's without issue. No, they don't last forever, but I actually prefer to replace them to the upkeep I had on some Radflo's I had on another rig. I also blew more than one Radflo, as well. Of course, after spending $2k on shocks, I always 'felt' they were better. Until I got back into some OME's. They are just dumb simple. If you are carrying around 3K lbs in 'expo' stuff, maybe it is different though.

 

[JeepinPete]

I would have put 5.29s, chromos, 40s, better shocks and left it stock ride height and cut everything out the f'n way and beat it to death while building an actual crawler haha

That is exactly my line of thought. I didn't go to 40's, but 365/75R16's are plenty for these parts. A 3" body lift and some simple trimming took care of 95% of the rubbing. Still rub in rear wheel wells when crossed up, and the radius arms up front at full steering lock. A narrower tire would easily take of both, which I will do when these tires wear out. I also lifted the drivetrain 2.8" up in the chassis. I have no vibrations, no odd handling, no odd steering. It drives pretty much like the stock truck did.