Full 3in. on front OME lift?

[Toledo FJ]

I was looking at the toytech lifts for the FJ and I'm curious about the Top plate spacer they sell for use with the OME lift. I am putting OME heavys up front and Mediums in the rear. I'd like to have the full 3 inches if possible, but I don't want to do anything that will compromise the functional integrity of my new suspension. Can anyone explain how these spacers work and what impact, if any, they have on the suspension.

 

[Toledo FJ]

Well, I just got off the phone with the peeps at ARB and they gave me the rundown. It turns out that the Top spacer cannot be used with the Heavy duty front coils. The 886s are too tall. Turns out that the 886 and 885 coils have the same spring rate. The 886s are just 11mm taller. I have to run the heavy duty coils up front because i'm installing the FabFours front bumper w/brushguard and a warn 9.5ti winch. This bumper is VERY beefy and heavy. The bumper alone is well over 200 pounds. I am still curious about how this spacer works, however, so if anyone knows whats up let me know.

Also, I'm a bit worried about front end sag with all that weight. Is there anything I can do to correct this if it is a problem?

 

[Corey]

Not sure how much the ARB bumper weighs, but I have it and the Warn XD9000 winch, and I carry the Hi-Lift up front, and I get no sag with the 886 coils.
They have been on since around Christmas.

 

[Toledo FJ]

Thanks Corey. So are you pretty happy with the OME lift? I'm so excited to hit the trails after it is installed. The FabFours bumper weighs considerably more than the ARB bull bar. I'm pretty sure the ARB is less than 150lbs. The box that the Fabfours was delivered in weighed almost 250lbs. It is a super chunky bumper. I think I'll try to call warn and check on the weights of the cabels.

 

[Corey]

I am very happy, but you may find you need aftermarket UCAs after lifting.
Look in my rig buildup thread here, and also on my website on page 3 of the mods section for the info.

 

[Toledo FJ]

Yeah, I was thinking about doing the UCAs and the LCAs in the rear. Why does lifting require the UCA mod? How does the lift affect the original uca and how does a new one correct whatever needs correcting? By the way, the synthetic line is about twenty pounds lighter than 125' of 5/16" cable.

 

[FlyNdrive]

I have the OME heavies with an ARB and Warn M8000. I have a full 3" lift. I have also put on the A-P Upper Control A-Arms. I was told that the UCA's are needed for lifts over 3" and for FJ's in Canada (I don't know why). I like the set up and handles well.

-Ben

Yeah, I was thinking about doing the UCAs and the LCAs in the rear. Why does lifting require the UCA mod? How does the lift affect the original uca and how does a new one correct whatever needs correcting? By the way, the synthetic line is about twenty pounds lighter than 125' of 5/16" cable.

 

[Corey]

Here is the info from Total Chaos.
http://www.chaosfab.com/96504.html

When aftermarket lifts are installed on these model vehicles the OEM suspension design looses caster. By altering the factory caster, the vehicle will lose on road handling & performance and has a tendency to wander when driving down the road. TC developed the UCAs to add caster to the suspension when aftermarket coil over shocks and other lifts are installed. This will increases overall handling and aids in the alignment of the vehicle.

I was wandering quite a bit at freeway speeds, the new arms fixed it, it is much more stable.