Lift kit selections

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socallove

socallove

10 Year
Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Threads
145
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Hey guys, so I'm getting around to buying a lift kit. I did some searching but I'm not sure what the differences are on the kits.
I've been getting some pretty mix advice on lift kits, some said only do body lift bc it' doesn't mess with steering and tires, others say get suspension lift kit it's better.
I would like to have a 4" lift with intentions of having 35" tires later on, looking at Slee kits, their 4" lift kit is nearly $2400 with parts that I don't know anything about. They have the OME 2.5" kit for ~$900 but it's not as high as I want it so I was thinking of getting a 2" body lift and a 2.5" OME kit. What can go wrong if I mix the two, it seems to be the cheapest route for me, but is it the "correct" way to do this?
Is it cheaper to buy parts separately? Should I go medium or heavy? I will have a bumper and winch down the line, perhaps front and back, I will be making those along with a roof rack, and sliders when time permits. An Aux fuel tank in the spare tire well is on the table but not certain at the moment.
 
socallove said:
Hey guys, so I'm getting around to buying a lift kit. I did some searching but I'm not sure what the differences are on the kits.
I've been getting some pretty mix advice on lift kits, some said only do body lift bc it' doesn't mess with steering and tires, others say get suspension lift kit it's better.
I would like to have a 4" lift with intentions of having 35" tires later on, looking at Slee kits, their 4" lift kit is nearly $2400 with parts that I don't know anything about. They have the OME 2.5" kit for ~$900 but it's not as high as I want it so I was thinking of getting a 2" body lift and a 2.5" OME kit. What can go wrong if I mix the two, it seems to be the cheapest route for me, but is it the "correct" way to do this?
Is it cheaper to buy parts separately? Should I go medium or heavy? I will have a bumper and winch down the line, perhaps front and back, I will be making those along with a roof rack, and sliders when time permits. An Aux fuel tank in the spare tire well is on the table but not certain at the moment.
Click to expand...

I picked up a used OME kit on here for $400. The used kits seem to pop up quite often so you may want to go that route if your on a budget and have some patience. It had the Heavies up front and the Mediums out back, the nitro charger shocks, and OME steering stabilizer. I then added some 30mm spacers front and rear to get me closer to the "J" lift height. My steering sucked so I added some MAF 3" drop brakets. MY steering greatly improved after that and my flex improved slightly since I lowered the pivot point 3". The 35's I installed don't rub anywhere on pavement and only rub a tiny when fully stuffed in the back. My flex kinda sucked so I removed the front sway bar and added the MAF drop brakets to the rear sway bar. The flex got better but then my shocks were bottoming out. I then built some homebrew 2.5" shock extensions. That again increased my flex but now my brakelines were too short and about to snap. So I then added some MAF 4" longer brake lines front and rear. So after about $900-$1000 total in the suspension I now have a very stable on road rig with great offraoad flex. I am running the factory pan hard bars and the factory front and rear driveshafts with zero issues so far. I have wheeled the rig on advanced trails many times with zero issues or breakage. If I could do it all over again, the only thing I would have done differently is gone with better shocks that were 4-5" longer. The old style non "L" shocks are just too short and totally suck. I plan to upgrade the shocks in a year or two when finances allow; but for now my 2.5" shock extenders with just have to suffice. I know that a LOT of guys on here talk about how you have to replace ALL of the suspension and steering components to have a good riding/flexing 80 and that's just not true. My 80 does great on the trail and I don't have a ton invested in the suspension. All of the steering, gearing, and axle components are totally stock and have been holding up great. The key is a light foot and don't bind up the steering. If your bound up on a rock then back up and pick a better line. Good luck with your suspension decisions.
 
From what I understand the only 4" lift currently available is Slee since Frankie's is no longer available.
Personally I am running an Iron Man 2 1/2" lift with 35's. I do get a little rub in front but just bought spring spacers that I need to install and hopefully remedy the rub. Think I paid around $700 for springs and the better shocks.

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You can't go wrong with Slee.

Given the weight you are talking about with bumper and winch up front and eventually long range aux fuel tank, I'd think heavies all around would be your best bet. Fridge, gear, etc. in the back and you'll want the heavy. I'm running the 2-3" OME heavies all around on 33's and I don't think the ride is to harsh at all.
 
Yeah I went with the heavier load springs in back with my iron man kit since I have a 100# sleeping platform, with 100#'s of tools, and a Haana rear bumper.
Personally I like the lower lift so I can get on the skinny pedal in the Borrego washes and not have a death grip!

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If you have the money, definitely go SLEE 4". If you are on a budget (you are if you plan on implementing your wish list soon :D ) go OME heavies - 850J/863J. That should be good for 35" tires. If you want a little more height after that, then add a 1" body lift (not 2') or just add 1" spring spacers. I ran this set up in the past and it handled great, even heavily loaded while wheeling.
 
Another thing to consider on the body lift is that your bumpers front and rear as well as sliders will be 2" (or whatever size body lift you put on) lower than the body and not be snug to the body without significant modifications. It can be done, as Sam (PKP80) did very cleanly and very stout, but it will require a lot of fab.
Agree with others on suspension thoughts above. You can run a 4" lift without some of the "optional" things in the Slee kit for example, but it won't be optimal. I ran Slee 4" for a while until I could afford to do the adjustable panhards and it was fine, the axles will be about an inch off center. After I did them I found it was even better. Nothing wrong doing it a little at a time. Most here have that, myself included.
Good luck!
 
Slomo, where you are located in OC? Do you want to grab a coffee or a bite to eat? I would love to check out your rig :D
 
I am in Mission Viejo. Don't mind at all.
 
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