Lift or no lift ?

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A

arsene2000

10 Year 15 Year
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Apr 25, 2006
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I've been reading to much information i guess on this forum and getting quite confused.
I own a stock 94 FJ80 LC with 165000 miles, and living in Baja California, i use it 60% paved road, 30% dirt road/washboard, 10% sand.
All is stock including my tires (Michelin LTX MS P275/70R16).

Lift or no lift ?
I'm planning on changing shocks/springs and was debating between Stock height OME suspension kit (861/862) or 2" OME lift.
I'm not rock crawling, and do not plan on changing my tires (great on the sand) so i guess 2" lift isn't really usefull (unless you convince me). And the 861/862 will still give me a 0.75" lift and a better cargo capacity.
Now i'm reading all this horror info on OME shocks. Would you recommand B46-1477 / B46-1478 Bilstein Shocks instead of the OME N73 / N74E (still with OME 862/862 springs). Are they way more expensive ?
Will i still need a Steering Stabilizer Kit (OMESD24) and a Caster Correction Kit (OMECA77) ?

Next upgrades will be
- air compressor (to quicky inflate tires after sand driving: any sugg. ?),
- aux. lights (would love some dual beam fog/driving lights to put on my front bumper)
- CDL switch (easy).
Lockers seem a whole different story ($$$).

 
IMO, the biggest reason for a 2.5" lift on an 80 is ride, not offroad flex. It will stop the nose-over and body side roll and give you much better handling and a more commanding height position on the highway. Caster correction is subjective and must be addressed after the lift, based on your taste. And with the extra travel you'll be more inclined to explore when you do get a chance to be offroad. As for shocks, I hate Bilsteins...I think they ride way too harsh on a lifted 80, but that's just been my experience on a prior truck. I have run OME's since 1994 and have had ZERO problems, nada, none, zilch. And they are engineered to the OME spring. At your mileage, a steering stablizer is a definite yes no matter what else you do.

I have purchased 6 OME lift kits for my trucks and have never had one bad shock.
 
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Either set of OME springs are going to make a radical difference in ride over OEM, they simply handle the weight of the rig better. Not sure which set is going to be best for you however, I think for what you describe it's going to largely come down to personal preference.

In regard to the the shocks, I wouldnt say the OME are bad choice, it's that some (myself included) prefer the ride of the Bilstiens better. This again is going to be largely based on personal preference. I dont find the Bil's harsh at all and I found the OME's bouncy over washboard roads.

Keep up the reading, you'll figure it all out:cheers:
 
My 3" OME lift made a huge difference in handling and looks without keeping my 5' wife out of the truck. Add the 1 1/4 " front spacer (PM toolsrus on this site) to reduce front rake. I'm using it with stock tires pending a summer road trip. After that I will put real tires on. It handles and looks great with factory rubber.
 
The OME vs Bilsteins is personal preference. My old 2" lift with N73/N74E shocks rode great with no problems but since I've added some extra weight to the rig and gone to a 4" lift I've found the damping of the N73L/N74L shocks to be a bit soft for the new weight of the rig. I'm thinking of going for Bilsteins or Tough Dog shocks to get a slightly stiffer rate.

The lift vs no lft thing is also personal preference but I reckon that the increased spring rate of the bigger coils will assist with load carrying and towing, as well as lessening body roll and wallowing.
 
I'm happy with my ome 2'' lift. I think it handles better on road and a little flex off road never hurts. My steering stabilizer was back ordered and came last, it made a big difference. I know the caster kit has some controversy around it, however I feel that it also made a big improvement. Top it all off with 305/70/16's and it looks b/a as well.:cheers:
Chris
 
I just put an OME lift on my 80 with 170K.
I went with the heavy fronts/ medium rears and could not be happier with it.
I have 285's and wanted more clearance for trails.
I did not replace the shocks as mine has monroes that are doing good.
With gas getting more expensive if you do not need more clearance than stay with the 275's and go stock replacement OME spring only. If you shocks are not worn out (bouncing) then don't waste your money on the OME shocks. If you do need new shocks the OEM (toyota) shocks are good value and recommended by many.
You can fit 285's under the stock springs but you will take a hit on the MPG.
Now if you see yourself exploring more and more off road you may want to go up more. It all comes down to where you drive it. Its hard to hurt and 80 in sand but hit rocks is another situation.
 
...

I too just install my OME 2.5 on my 97. This was the best money I've ever spend on my Cruiser. I'm on the highway about 800 miles a week and let me tell you that the ride is sweet. I toyed with the idea of the OME stock replacement but for the price I couldn't pass up the 2.5. Talk to Slee, he helped me out a bunch. Road manners on the cruser are the way it should have been straight from the factory. I went with heavies in the front, mediums in the rear b/c I have an ARB. 80% of the driving I do is on road so I dont consider myself a real wheeler. Also I had no driveline vibes at all. I can't stress to you enough that the 2.5 is money well spent. Please also do it yourself if you can. I was weary but it only took 4 hrs to do and this was my first major DIY mod to the cruiser, I learned a ton about my truck and now I may be doing my own birfs. Good luck.
 
Lift??? :flipoff2: I won't climb up there like monkey when replace #6 plugs and plus sometimes i need to go underground parking garage :D but here's mine had them for 6 years,
1.'5 inch lowered JDM Espelir coil spring.
2.'5 ways adjustable RANCHO RS-9000 lowering sport shock and
3. JDM FR and RR adjustable panhards with Extreme heavy duty rod end kit.
3. TRD sway bars, bushing, etc...
 
In your case the only reazon to get a OME lift the basic you have more and better suspension coz you are getting more space between bumpstop and plate on the axle ..

In the future you can go easy with 285 I love all OME setup .. coils and shocks ..

just my .00002 cents ..
 
I'm not going to comment on lifts or springs, not going to bash OME shocks, but in my experience NONE of the twin tube shocks will handle sustained speeds over washboard down in mexico. Too little fluid volume. They overheat... suck air past the seals and you end up with a 1-2 inch dead zone in the shock. I started with a set of OME's(nearly new takeoffs when a friend lifted his 80) and subsequently went through a set of explorer pro-comps (ebay) and 3 sets of Rancho's (lifetime waranty at ORW) in one summer running around down in Baja. OME I'm sure are great shocks for most applications, but endless miles of Baja washboard will toast them in a day. Go Bills... you won't regret it.
 
I'd go with the 2.5" lift for those situations where you might need that little extra clearance. It's not a huge difference, but it could be enough to get you by.
 
Well, I've had both set ups you are contemplating so I'm in a good position to comment. When I replaced my worn out OEM I put the stock height OME's with Rancho shocks. Vast improvement over worn out stock. Just had OME 850/863 heavies front and rear lift put on with OME shocks, steering dampner and castor bushings. Even nicer than OME stock height IMHO. Lifted may look funny if you stay with 275 tires.

Go with the lift and 285's next time you need tires. You won't be diappointed!
 
I'm going to be the odd man out. Given the needs you have expressed, I would use the low lift springs (.75"). There is no point in lifting the truck an additional 2" when you have no need. It only raises the center of gravity, negatively effects on road handling, and worsens gas mileage.

Given the mixed reviews of OME shocks and their antiquated design, it would be a no brainer to me to get the Bilsteins. Unlike other shocks, the Bilsteins will still be working in 100k miles.
 
Go with the Stock height OME suspension kit (861/862) , the ride will improve and you will still be able to park in your garage or parking deck with roof rack. :doh: well most parking decks.

I have not had any problems with the OME , but driving around town doesnt count.:crybaby:
 
Tecnically the 2.5" lift will raise the centre of gravity but in practice the result is negligible. When I fitted the 2" lift I didn't refit my sway bars (for more flex off road) and apart from a small amount of body roll the handling improved greatly from the better spring rates and damping. I found I could take roundabouts at about twice the speed of the wife's Nissan Pulsar SSS. Not bad for a big, heavy, mud tyred, lifted, swaybarless 4wd compared to a lowered, low-profile tyred sporty hatchback.

Another thing with the raised centre of gravity is off road stability. I've had mine on some pretty severe side slopes both with the old 2" and the new 4" and have never felt really uncomfortable, probably due to the fact that the 80 has a pretty wide stance to begin with and the centre of gravity is so low to start with.
 
OME 3" does look a bit funny with stock rubber. Mine is that way now. 3" lift rear, 4 1/4 " front. But not too bad. Looks better than stock with stock tires. I will get some real tires after summer highway trips. It still gets kudo's whenever I park it! Everybody wants my truck.
 
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