Slee's 4" OME vs. cruiseroutfitters's OME 4" (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 22, 2007
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Location
San Ramon, CA
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www.nullterminal.org
Hey guys, I have a question...

I came across cruiseroutfitters.com from someone on this forums signature, looking through there suspension stuff they are selling
I saw the OME 4"Lift kit

Looking between Slee and Outfitters, outfitters is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper, and comes with much less stuff.

My question is, doest the kit that they are selling on outfitters have "everything" one would need to do a 4 inch lift and be happy with it,

If so, why does slee offer so many more items in their kit at a MUCH higher cost?:confused:
 
You need to do some searching about each and you'll find that depending on what you're after it can get costly. I'd recommend listing the parts you'll need for your application and planned purpose of the rig. If you just plan to do a bolt and go with no thought you cannot go wrong with Slee's. It address most of the issues that come up with 4" or more of lift. Don't get me wrong, cruiseroutfitters is great and they get more of my business than Slee.
 
They are completley different springs and compression ratios.

Cruiseroutfitters is the OME J springs which runs 3.5" to 4" with a moderate load. I am running J's fully loaded and am closer to 3 inches.

You can buy the J's from Slee as well, Kurt at cruiseroutfitters is a great guy to buy from too. The point of saying you can get them at Slee is the OME J's and Slee's 4" springs are compeletly different. I think loaded, the Slee's will give you closer to 4" of lift. Because of this, people have issues with castor and pinion angle problems at the drive shaft. That's why he adds the rest of the items in his kit.

The slee kit also includes extended brake lines, swaybar drop blocks, bump stops that are all good ideas for a longer lift running J shocks and 35" tires. You can buy those items ala cart as well.

To address the caster issue, Slee includes new control arms. If you are loaded down, you could address this with castor plates depending on your rig and not need the new control arms.

He includes a double cardon drive shaft which some people have not needed at that pinion angle, but some have. Christo doesn't want to sell somebody something, take a risk that you will have a problem and then complain about his lift. You could do his setup up like the standard OME setup, but then you take the risk you might have problems, but you could get the other parts later

For either setup, you should make sure you have the front and rear swaybar drops, extended brake lines and you will at least have to address your rear bumpstops to prevent damage to the body at full extension.

I hope that helps.

In fact you can buy just the Slee springs ala cart

Both are great companies and provide great customer service. I am sure if you called either one they would give you a similar answer and they both probably will chime in here.

I may be wrong, but thats my impression.
 
Thanks Guys, Those were both helpful.

So If you go with Slee's its basically taking alot safe and more thorough route rather than going with Outfitters?

Trevdawg
 
Thanks Guys, Those were both helpful.

So If you go with Slee's its basically taking alot safe and more thorough route rather than going with Outfitters?

Trevdawg

Not necessarily

Again they are different springs.

I basically run the OME J setup Kurt is selling and then I added Sway bar dropbrackets (front and rear), extended brake lines and had some bump stops made for me. I have about a 3" lift with all my toy's. I am using the Castor correction bushings and don't have any issues but have thought about swapping to the Slee 3 deg bushings. I need to get my castor measured, but have noticed no drivibility problems.

However, if I were running the Slee springs, my castor would get worse by another 2 degrees. This would result in needing the new control arms or castor plates to offset back to nominal. The increased angle would also cause a problem with pinion angle and I MAY need the Double Cradon drive shaft

caster_with_lift.jpg


Spend some time reading this thread from the FAQ
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=93325


Again, they are two completely different lifts with different impacts on your truck.
 
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Also, Kurt has this note on his web site under the lift:

Fitting of N73L/N74L shocks requires minor bump stop & sway bar modifications front and rear, these are not available from OME and must be sourced/fabbed elsewhere.


You can get those from Slee. They are not expensive.

I am very happy with the OME J lift based on my truck, my tires and all the toys I carry. My truck is very loaded down. I know others are very happy with Slee's 4" lift. A lot is personal preference

I should note. My lift started as OME mediums.

as I added weight (Bumpers, sliders) I swapped to heaveys.

I added a supercharger, I swapped the front for J's. I added rear drawers I swapped the rear for J's and added sway bar brackets.

I switched to 35" tires, I swapped the N shocks for L shocks and added bump stops.

Swapping as you build up your truck is a good way to go as you build up slowly.

If I had gone J's right up front, I would have had Castor issues needing more correction and may or may not have developed pinion angle problems
 
So when getting down your first lift, it is kind of guess and pray?

Or is there a way to calculate around what you need.

Lets say I dont get much, Maybe a front and rear bumper from ARB, No winch.

Would you want to go even on the springs because the bumpers probably way about the same?
 
Ok, Now looking at Man-A-Fre

Sorry for going on a little tangent from what the topic is here but, the set includes the Caster that will give it 4+ when lifting it 4 inches, off-setting it, according to the graph about 4.02-

Would having a 0 Degree caster Ride better than the stock 3+ degree?
 
You really need to set down and do your homework before spending anything on a "lift." Like Ken mentioned above, depending on what accessories you plan to add plays a large role in what suspension components you'll need. Slee's "kit" address all possible issues, but depending on application some pieces may be unnecesary.

Even the 2.5" heavy lift, which is pretty much what I run doesn't need much to be "acceptable." However, even with just 2.5" of lift my pan hard bar lengths need to be address to have everything tracking properly.--BUT it is not dire.

My castor is .5* under specs even with the OME bushings, other trucks may be able to take nearly 4" of lift and get this much correction with the bushing.--BUT not mine.

Drive line vibs, this like castor depends on truck. Mine got worse with castor correction.--I plan to put new u-joints in both shafts and if it keeps vibs, I'll live with it.

Longer shocks don't mean you'll need longer brake lines. It's easy to drop the brakets down and keep the stock ones.

You may also want to consider spring rate. Slee will not disclose their spring rates, and all the OME spring rates are listed. Personally I find the spring rate of the OME front springs to be prefect with bumper and winch for a street ride.

Just keep searching here, there is TONS of guys running a variety of different setups/accessories. Otherwise, from the stuff I've bought and seen from Slee you cannont go wrong with their setup. I just think if I'm going to piece stuff together I'll try to support some other vendors.
 
I am also happy with the OME J springs. I got 4" of lift from the below kit though I am not running super heavy. I also bought the sway bar extension brackets and the weld in panhard adjusters from Slee. For me, keeping the cost down was an objective. My handling also improved after installing the lift kit from Man-a-fre along with the items from Slee - no vibratrion.

The premium kit includes your castor correction bushings, brake line extensions and HD sway bars as well as shocks and springs:
http://www.man-a-fre.com/feature_items/ome3springsshock80series.htm
 
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This would result in needing the new control arms to offset back to nominal.

This is Slee's solution and should not be taken as gospel.

A 4" lift can be corrected properly without using his arms. There are a couple of caster plate designs, drop brackets and some home made solutions for this.

The 4" lift is probably the most sensitive height for drive line vibs and it takes a little more understanding in suspension geometry to dial it in.
 
Slee will not disclose their spring rates, and all the OME spring rates are listed.

Just a note on this. We do not disclose actual number since they do not mean much to most people. Also it is very difficult to compare spring rates from brand to brand. As soon as we put number on it people will compare number with OME and that will yield problems. What we do say is that our Medium springs are about 25% stiffer than OME heavy.
 
This is Slee's solution and should not be taken as gospel.

A 4" lift can be corrected properly without using his arms. There are a couple of caster plate designs, drop brackets and some home made solutions for this.

The 4" lift is probably the most sensitive height for drive line vibs and it takes a little more understanding in suspension geometry to dial it in.

Correct Rick, I said that in my first post but didn't in the one you qouted. I have corrected that. You don't need his new control arms, but I have seen them and they are look great and are an elegant solution.
 
Correct Rick, I said that in my first post but didn't in the one you qouted. I have corrected that. You don't need his new control arms, but I have seen them and they are look great and are an elegant solution.

Sorry, missed that. I just didn't want the poster to get sticker shock if he thought he had to have them.
 
1 - Figure out what you want to do with your truck. Do you need height to clear rocks? Do you plan to carry a very heavy load of gear for a long week of expedition travel?

2 - Figure out what accessories you'll need for the type of wheeling you'll be doing from #1. What kind of bumpers will you add and will you need sliders? Loaded roof rack? Guesstimate how much all that is going to weigh. How large of a tire are you going to use?

3 - Select your lift based on #1 and 2.

4 - Post lift have your caster checked and use the appropriate item to correct it, whether it be new bushings, plates, or control arms.
 
I've been around the block with suspensions on my 80 series, and I have dealt with Christo and Kurt on several occasions. You are comparing apples to oranges here. Kurt is selling a fairly standard J spring lift. It works fine and I liked everything but the squat I got under load in the rear. The springs were too soft for me and a full load for a week on the trail. Kurt is a great guy to deal with though, and I highly recommend his shop, just not these springs.

Christo, on the other hand, is selling a comprehensive suspension system, with all the little details addressed. Say what you will about expense, but Mr. Slee has done his homework here and you pay for that expertise. The 4 inch springs are far superior to the J springs if what you want is 4 inches of lift to run 35 inch tires. (If you don't want to run 35's, then just use a standard OME "heavy" suspension and be happy.) Think about this: Christo went to the trouble and expense of developing new springs, new steering arms, new leading arms, addressing pan hards, figuring out vibrations and having new driveshafts built and in stock etc. Tell me that isn't an investment of years of time and thousands of dollars.

Bottom line-J springs, even though said to be "heavy" springs are fairly soft due to their length. They will work fine in a lighly loaded girly truck like Romer's.:flipoff2: If you load up the rig for a long trip into the desert, especially if that load includes extra fuel, you will want a heavier suspension than the OME Js.

Flame away...
 
They will work fine in a lighly loaded girly truck like Romer's.:flipoff2: ..

Hmmm,
lightly loaded ehh. I would question that statement.

I really didn't want a 4" lift. I feel the 3" I get with my heavely loaded truck is perfect with the additional clearance/lift of the 35's. This lift is plenty for 35's. This setup is perfect for the wheeling I do.

oh Andy,:flipoff2: Luv you man!
 
:crybaby: :crybaby:

Nobody mentioned 864's...........:crybaby: :crybaby:


I feel soooo left out........:flipoff2:
 
The amount of lift that a set springs provide and the ride they give is directly related to the weight of the rig. If you want to carry everything including the kitchen sink heaver springs are in order, for a lighter rig you will get more lift and better ride from lighter springs. It totaly depends on how you intend to use the rig.

My rig is a day, weekend wheeler, I attempt to keep it as light as possible and I'm happy with the performance of the J's. On my rig with J's and 1.5" front spacer it sits at 5" overstock, that setup clears 315's with just a 1.5-2" rear bump stop spacer. Just installed 37"s and next weekend will be the first trail test. The most popular local setup on trucks that wheel is J's with 315's followed by heavies with 315's.
 

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