What springs should I run on my 80? (1 Viewer)

[NateFZJ80]

I currently have an OME 3" lift kit that came with 851/860 springs (2" springs) but I'm looking to clear 37s well. I am not afraid of too much trimming but would like to stay away from it if I could. I'm looking to replace just the coils for now to get me to that real 3" lift height instead of the 2" I'm on now. Left some pictures for reference (I'm on 315/70r17 KO2s).

Right now I have stock bumpers, a smittybilt 10k winch up front, and a single drawer system in the car (loaded with gear is about 100lbs). I also plan to run something like the GGM Rear tire carrier sometime in the future.

What should I do for springs? Dobinsons? Icon? OME J Springs? Eibach? Slinky? I need help!
(Also, a stiff on-road ride doesn't scare me too much but what is your ride like with your set up?)

 

[AgentOrange]

You're going to get a whole lot of opinions with this one. I run Dobinsons 4" heavy coils. A bit soft and flexy, and I love them. I had 37s under it for a while but went back to 35s. I don't run the factory flares on my Cruiser though.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

There is so much discussion on this... better to start in on reading all of the threads and understanding the various springs. Don't expect one answer.


I am running:
- Dobinson C59-612V front springs
- Dobinson C59 - 613V rear springs
- BP 51's (the long ones)
- Single rear drawer, 37" spare in the cab, coastal front bumper with no winch
- If I added the hydro bumps I could jump this thing. It feels amazing.

I am sitting at about 3.25" lift, I rub at full bump in the rear. I rub on the pinch in front, moving the axle forward should correct it.

 

[jfz80]

I ran 37s on a slee 4” front and OME “j” spring 15 years ago with flares. Went back to 35s for a long while but installed 75mm slinky’s and went back to 37s now flareless a year or two ago. Probably rub more now than before because of the extra flex. Build weight has remained about the same. The rear may have added 100#

I rub the rear frame rail most. No real contact in front. But a lot of that has to do with 5.5” backspaced wheels. Bump drops and wheel BS will help you fine tune the areas of concern

 

[Somebodyelse5]

One of the keys to not rubbing a ton with 37’s is a centered wheel… ie, 4.5” backspacing with 9” width

 

[devo]

Hey @NateFZJ80 I think I have some dobinsons that will work for you !



devo

 

[NateFZJ80]

Hey @NateFZJ80 I think I have some dobinsons that will work for you !



devo

Could you maybe send a picture or two and part numbers? My Instagram is @nateslc80 if that is easier!

 

[Squeegee]

Lifts don’t help your clear tires. If your 80 actually flexes well, you’ll have to trim no matter what lift you get.

 

[devo]

I don’t insta g but i’ll PM you tomorrow .

Are you cool with this look. 3.5“ dobby’s on 35’s

devo

 

[NateFZJ80]

I don’t insta g but i’ll PM you tomorrow .

Are you cool with this look. 3.5“ dobby’s on 35’s

devo

View attachment 3231520

Sweet, looks pretty good!

 

[Box Rocket]

Spring choice really depends on what your end goal is. If you just want to clear 37's and your truck is mainly a street rig with mild offroading (fire roads) then flex and ride quality might not be most important factors. If you are trying to build a wheeling rig with good flex then you might choose something different. It might help to know what your goals are. If you're just after the look then coil choice isn't that important. If you want good suspension performance then its going to matter.

Here's my two cents on coils. I ran several different types of OME coils for years, the longest time spent on J springs. I've been in rigs with Dobinson, Icon, ToughDog, and a few other lesser known brands. I currently have slinky coils. For the best overall performance I would choose springs in this order: Slinky (dual rate), Dobinson (dual rate), Icon (if you have a lighter rig), Tough Dog, OME. OME springs aren't bad but they are all linear rate coils. All the others in this list have a tapered coil option that not only is part of the dual rate design but will also allow more flex while keeping the spring captured at full droop. If you want all the available flex the OME coils will drop free of the coil buckets at full droop.

From personal experience, fitting 37's with a 3" lift is totally doable but does require some work (trimming etc) if you want to maintain good suspension travel. A 4" coil might make fitting the tires a bit easier but not much. Most of the needed trimming etc will still need to happen if you want full travel. I needed to move my front axle forward so the 37's would not rub the rear of the flares/fender. But when you move the axle forward you could also cause some rubbing at the front area of the inner fenders when the tires are stuffed and turned, so you might need to do some trimming there. The inside edge of the flare will need to be trimmed. It's also a good idea to switch out the bolts holding the fender to the inner fender to button head bolts so the tires to catch on the bolt heads.

In the rear it gets tougher to not have rubbing. Depending on wheel offset you might rub on the frame or inner fender when flexed. But rubbing at the top and rear area of the fender is probably most common. You'll probably have to lose your mudflaps (if you still have them). The inside edge of the flares will need to be trimmed. I rolled the inside lip of the fender also. I still rub in the rear at full stuff, but haven't wanted to do any more drastic cutting. It's worked fine and there are no sharp edges to cut the tires when they rub. So I think if you stick to a 3" coil you need plan on some amount of rubbing unless you cut more away from the fenders and flares.

Final note: Shocks are going to be a bigger influence on ride quality and performance than the coils.

 

[Broski]

In the end it’s the bump stop extensions that make a 37” tire work
And how much up travel you want.
But all of it has been beaten to death

 

[Somebodyelse5]

In the end it’s the bump stop extensions that make a 37” tire work
And how much up travel you want.
But all of it has been beaten to death

The big thing is to run longer shocks so you don’t lose all your travel after you drop your bumps

 

[Broski]

The big thing is to run longer shocks so you don’t lose all your travel after you drop your bumps

This is true, but anything longer then a 10.5" travel shock with a 2" to 4" lift well just let the axle drop down past the working limits.
In other words the front control arms only allow so much articulation before they start binding.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

This is true, but anything longer then a 10.5" travel shock with a 2" to 4" lift well just let the axle drop down past the working limits.
In other words the front control arms only allow so much articulation before they start binding.

Lots that has to be done when you go this route

 

[Broski]

Lots that has to be done when you go this route

If you haven't check out my build thread, the link is in my signature. 39s on a 2.5" lift

 

[NateFZJ80]

Spring choice really depends on what your end goal is. If you just want to clear 37's and your truck is mainly a street rig with mild offroading (fire roads) then flex and ride quality might not be most important factors. If you are trying to build a wheeling rig with good flex then you might choose something different. It might help to know what your goals are. If you're just after the look then coil choice isn't that important. If you want good suspension performance then its going to matter.

Here's my two cents on coils. I ran several different types of OME coils for years, the longest time spent on J springs. I've been in rigs with Dobinson, Icon, ToughDog, and a few other lesser known brands. I currently have slinky coils. For the best overall performance I would choose springs in this order: Slinky (dual rate), Dobinson (dual rate), Icon (if you have a lighter rig), Tough Dog, OME. OME springs aren't bad but they are all linear rate coils. All the others in this list have a tapered coil option that not only is part of the dual rate design but will also allow more flex while keeping the spring captured at full droop. If you want all the available flex the OME coils will drop free of the coil buckets at full droop.

From personal experience, fitting 37's with a 3" lift is totally doable but does require some work (trimming etc) if you want to maintain good suspension travel. A 4" coil might make fitting the tires a bit easier but not much. Most of the needed trimming etc will still need to happen if you want full travel. I needed to move my front axle forward so the 37's would not rub the rear of the flares/fender. But when you move the axle forward you could also cause some rubbing at the front area of the inner fenders when the tires are stuffed and turned, so you might need to do some trimming there. The inside edge of the flare will need to be trimmed. It's also a good idea to switch out the bolts holding the fender to the inner fender to button head bolts so the tires to catch on the bolt heads.

In the rear it gets tougher to not have rubbing. Depending on wheel offset you might rub on the frame or inner fender when flexed. But rubbing at the top and rear area of the fender is probably most common. You'll probably have to lose your mudflaps (if you still have them). The inside edge of the flares will need to be trimmed. I rolled the inside lip of the fender also. I still rub in the rear at full stuff, but haven't wanted to do any more drastic cutting. It's worked fine and there are no sharp edges to cut the tires when they rub. So I think if you stick to a 3" coil you need plan on some amount of rubbing unless you cut more away from the fenders and flares.

Final note: Shocks are going to be a bigger influence on ride quality and performance than the coils.

Right now I'm looking for something that'll let me flex a little more since right now my 851/860 lift is limiting my up travel by a lot. There's not enough room for the articulation for a lot of the obstacles I try and I have to back out of stuff or go around to the easy routes .

I already have my OME 3" lift shocks but do you think a 3.5" Dobinsons lift spring would be too much for them? I'm also willing to go to something affordable like a fox 2.0 or similar. And also how would I go about moving the axle? I know for the front I could get something like the deltavs radius arms but I'm trying to look for something a little more inexpensive.

If I can fit 37s and get the flex I desire for less than an extra $1000 I am down. I want to keep my fender flares on but I'm definitely capable of trimming anything necessary. I am also down to do a bump stop extension, maybe get Timbrens?

What else do you recommend?

 

[Box Rocket]

Right now I'm looking for something that'll let me flex a little more since right now my 851/860 lift is limiting my up travel by a lot. There's not enough room for the articulation for a lot of the obstacles I try and I have to back out of stuff or go around to the easy routes .

I already have my OME 3" lift shocks but do you think a 3.5" Dobinsons lift spring would be too much for them? I'm also willing to go to something affordable like a fox 2.0 or similar. And also how would I go about moving the axle? I know for the front I could get something like the deltavs radius arms but I'm trying to look for something a little more inexpensive.

If I can fit 37s and get the flex I desire for less than an extra $1000 I am down. I want to keep my fender flares on but I'm definitely capable of trimming anything necessary. I am also down to do a bump stop extension, maybe get Timbrens?

What else do you recommend?

As for shocks, you should be able to run a full 12" travel shock with a 3" lift. I think the OME shocks are too short to get all the available flex. You should be able to get 2-3" more droop than what the OME shock will allow.
Here's a Stage1 Icon 2.0 for a 3" lift next to the OME Nitrocharger for the same height. You'd get nearly identical compression but a few more inches of droop. So I'd look for shocks similar to these specs for compression/extension. I like the valving on the Icons. Fox 2.0's are ok. Dobinson yellow shocks are ok for a basic shock. Depending on the type of ride you want OME shocks could work but I find them a bit too firm for my taste on the road (and you still have the length issue). If you have the coin for some kind of adjustable shock you'll get better performance and a tunable ride.
46264209744_6e75754b9b_o by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Aftermarket radius arms are a great way to move the axle forward a little and you also get the benefit of caster correction built into the arms. But as you mentioned, their expensive. A more affordable solution is to do some weld in relocation plates on the frame brackets. This can be reversed later if you upgrade to aftermarket arms by just redrilling holes in the original location. I know Redline Land Cruisers and Cruiser Outfitters both sell relocation plates like this. I did this on my truck and moved the axle 1.25". That's about as far as I dared move the axle without running into clearance issues with the draglink and panhard. Most aftermarket arms that I'm aware of move the axle about 3/4" but I think moving 1" with the plates would work great. You would need to address caster somehow and I chose Slee caster plates on my own truck. They correct caster for 4" lifts so it will put you a little more than factory spec on caster but that isn't a bad thing.
RadiusArmPlates by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_4992 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Timbren bumpstops are a nice in-between for regular hard rubber bumpstops and air bumps. Unless Timbren has changed their design be prepared to modify the rear bumpstop towers for the 80. They are way too long from Timbren if you want to maximize compression. I have Timbrens and really like them. They eliminate all the hard bottom outs. I have mine set to bottom out just before the shocks bottom out. The towers ended up being about 2.5" tall.
IMG_5018 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[Broski]

If you do decide to run a 12" shock make sure your brake lines and drive shaft are long enough. The shock are you limiting strap on a 80.

I was running 12" travel shocks and when I had the reg up on a lift I could not believe how tweaked everything looked !! the panhard was pull the axle way off to the side pulling both control arms with it. Brake lines were maxed out as were the hydro assist lines and the drive shaft was extended past it's safe limits.

Like others I thought I would get more articulation with the longer shocks, but in my real would testing I was only getting more droop and more then what I liked.

OME has what they call a L shock it's longer then the standard 3" lift shock but like Adam said there a bit stiff for my liking.

In closing every build is going to be different, and how you plan on using your reg is going to be different from the next guys build. Like the rest of us plan on changing it up a few time tell you get it were you like it !!

 

[NateFZJ80]

As for shocks, you should be able to run a full 12" travel shock with a 3" lift. I think the OME shocks are too short to get all the available flex. You should be able to get 2-3" more droop than what the OME shock will allow.
Here's a Stage1 Icon 2.0 for a 3" lift next to the OME Nitrocharger for the same height. You'd get nearly identical compression but a few more inches of droop. So I'd look for shocks similar to these specs for compression/extension. I like the valving on the Icons. Fox 2.0's are ok. Dobinson yellow shocks are ok for a basic shock. Depending on the type of ride you want OME shocks could work but I find them a bit too firm for my taste on the road (and you still have the length issue). If you have the coin for some kind of adjustable shock you'll get better performance and a tunable ride.
46264209744_6e75754b9b_o by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Aftermarket radius arms are a great way to move the axle forward a little and you also get the benefit of caster correction built into the arms. But as you mentioned, their expensive. A more affordable solution is to do some weld in relocation plates on the frame brackets. This can be reversed later if you upgrade to aftermarket arms by just redrilling holes in the original location. I know Redline Land Cruisers and Cruiser Outfitters both sell relocation plates like this. I did this on my truck and moved the axle 1.25". That's about as far as I dared move the axle without running into clearance issues with the draglink and panhard. Most aftermarket arms that I'm aware of move the axle about 3/4" but I think moving 1" with the plates would work great. You would need to address caster somehow and I chose Slee caster plates on my own truck. They correct caster for 4" lifts so it will put you a little more than factory spec on caster but that isn't a bad thing.
RadiusArmPlates by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

IMG_4992 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Timbren bumpstops are a nice in-between for regular hard rubber bumpstops and air bumps. Unless Timbren has changed their design be prepared to modify the rear bumpstop towers for the 80. They are way too long from Timbren if you want to maximize compression. I have Timbrens and really like them. They eliminate all the hard bottom outs. I have mine set to bottom out just before the shocks bottom out. The towers ended up being about 2.5" tall.
IMG_5018 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Looks like I'm going to have to put my fabrication skills to the test with this then . Not too afraid of a challenge just hoping my welds are sound enough for what I put my suspension through. I definitely push this OME kit to it's limits most of the time!

Also, I know they get much pricier but how do you feel about Hydro bump stops and do you think they'd even be worth the price jump from Timbrens?

And then for the shocks, you recommend the Icon 2.0s over the Fox? Do you think it would be worth it to just save up a little more and get something like a BP-51, Dobinsons MRR, or Radflo external reservoir shock? All of those are somewhat in the same price bracket with the Radflos being a little more but I've never heard anything bad about them. Just wondering if the jump is that big of a difference to justify the wait...

I'm open to trying new things and combinations sort of as a guinea pig rig, but any input or feedback to get this thing sorted is very much appreciated! I don't want to just throw random parts that look good at it and not get closer to my goal.