J-springs vs. OME heavy

[SR.GRINGO]

Can you guys list the pros and cons of the J's vs. the OME heavies. I have read a ton here, and on Slee's faq. Sounds like with the J's you gain another 1.5 inches for a total of 3.5-4 inches of lift. One question is can the caster be corrected back to normal--also what else is needed besides extended brake lines, and diff breathers? I know many of you run the OME heavy--what is the reason? With all the reading it sounds like the OME heavy is an easy plug and play install..... Just thought I would get your guys thoughts berfore I make this decision---if it helps I will be buying from Sr. Slee

 

[Junk]

sr, if you read christo's site, then you should have seen what else he recommends. so i'll answer just part of the question.

yes, castor can be corrected. since you are going to buy from slee, call him and find out :brilliant:

 

[Beowulf]

>> One question is can the caster be corrected back to normal <<

Yes, but not with the (simple) OME offset bushings.

-B-

 

[fzj]

I'm no expert on the springs although I think I've owned pretty much all of the springs ome sells at one point or another, that being said, the difference as I know it from the ome heavies and the J springs is the heavy springs are designed to hold additional weight over the stock springs, and also lift the vehicle, they are rated for a constant amount of additional weight in the vehicle, i.e. heavy bumpers, sliders, tools, roof rack, etc..... Some people just don't put as much weight on the vehicle and the side affect is that it will lift it hight than the claimed 2 inches(more like 4 or 5 in the back) The J springs(as I understand it) are made to gain additional lift over the non J springs, but may be a better way to go if you are not going to have as much weight on the vehicle because the ride may be better (imo) I run the J springs in the front with the heavys in the rear!!

 

[robbie]

What is typically called the heavy package is the 850 front springs, and the 863 rear springs. there is no heavier spring for the front but the rear has a extra heavy spring called the 864. So that said the J-springs are the same spring rate and handling capability as the heavy set of springs. That is why they are calle 850J and 863J springs. It is always better to use the part numbers of the springs to compare them. So that said, the caster will be off if you use the J springs. It is not corrected by the offset bushing of the caster correction kit. By how much, depends on what you have on the front and the rear of the truck as well as what the axle is set at fromt the factory. If you do not have a winch and bumper on the front and you do not carry extra weight on the rear, you will have castor problems. The problems lessen with what you add to the front and rear. There are some castor corrections by others on this list to correct for this. either some one will pipe up or do a search for castor correction. later robbie

 

[ginericLC]

It is always better to use the part numbers of the springs to compare them. later robbie

DEFINITELY!!!!

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Back to reading Another question is what is the deal with the 1" top out spacers and are they a good idea? I have enough in my budget right now for the standard heavy lift, along with a winch and arb bumper. But I could change to go for a taller lift and no bumper/winch combo.

When we are out wheeling the roads get washed out all the time by rivers and such. One example is this weekend we used shovels and picks to knock down a 20' tall river bank--we had to drive down it parrallel to the wall and turn right at the bottom of the decent--so in this case I suppose the least amount of lift is best.....

The other 6 days in daily traffic here tonage/bigger trucks have a real advantage.....this is a hard decison.

hey Junk if I contribute will you add spellcheck

 

[wb1948]

I was recently in the same situation as you and what I came up with from talking to christo and ben is that right now there is no way to properly correct the castor for j springs. BUT, they are coming out with castor plates that will fix the castor for Js. What I heard from ben was that they will be coming out sometime within in the next month, maybe less, maybe more. The kit will require cutting and welding from what I have heard.

Basically, anything over 2.5" and less than 5" of lift is hard to correct the castor of at this point in time. This is not to say it can't be done, or that people aren't having success running that height of lift, there is just no available castor correction being distributed.