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View Full Version : Rear lift.. brainstorming ideas...



Matt
10-15-2011, 06:47 AM
Ok.. so now my front sag is taken care of with the OME HD setup (& JBA spacer). Currently, my front & rear are basically the same height being within 1/4" of each other; fronts a tad higher, but the springs are brand new so I expect it to level out perfectly once settled.

I'd like to sell my RC lift, but need to get the rear spacers out. Also, I'd like to replace my oem replacement monroe load levelers with the longer F150 load levelers to maximize travel offroad; this adds in another realm of "unkowns".

So my options:

1) OME MD springs + F150 monroes. I think this may be the best bet in terms of height & ride... but I do run the risk of not getting the height I want AND I'll be stuck with this setup. In other words, I couldn't change out the load levelers for different shocks since I will be utilizing them to provide part of the lift.

2) OME HD springs + F150 monroes. I'm worried that this setup may be tool tall and/or too stiff.

3) OME HD springs + make a rear spacers and dont use load levelers. This is the most work.... im tired of working on vehicles and need a break!! (did my JBA spacer, did Seans JBA spacer, did my OME, will need to do my rear springs, then will be installing RC on another members XK... all in a 2 month span :eek:)

.... thinking of going option 2.... then if its too tall and/or stiff I can always work on making it option 3 next year...

thoughts/ideas?

CmmdrDan
10-15-2011, 11:28 AM
While reading I liked the hd with f150 shocks. Sounds to be the easiest and will net more lift. But...you may nat to see about limiting straps just in case..

Matt
10-15-2011, 12:21 PM
Yeah I already have limiting straps sized up. But I don't think that's an issue if you leave the sway bar connected.

And while thinking about it some more today... if the HD's with F150s are too high, i'll just fill up my tool box and put that in the back :)

From my understanding, the OME HD kit pretty much "levels" out the jeep. So being that I have the RC spacer in front AND i like .5-1" of rake, I should be good with the HD springs and F150s..

Matt
10-15-2011, 01:44 PM
Another idea... if it is too tall, I can probably cut down the coil spring.

Sal's had his apart a few times, i'll need to see how much extra length there is in the spring to see if thats possible (can't have the spring unseating at full flex)

Sal-XK
10-16-2011, 08:28 PM
Option 2 seems to be the way to go IMO. You'll never have an issue with sag or weight pulling anything you would be good all the way around.

07JeepXK
10-17-2011, 07:01 AM
I wouldnt cut down the springs. Id take another approach before id ever do that. Just my .02

Matt
10-17-2011, 07:08 AM
I wouldnt cut down the springs. Id take another approach before id ever do that. Just my .02

You know I was talking about cutting down the helper springs that are on the shocks, right? I would never cut down the main suspension coil springs.


Option 2 seems to be the way to go IMO. You'll never have an issue with sag or weight pulling anything you would be good all the way around.

Yeah I think this is the way I'm going. There's a few things I can do if the ride is too high with the addition of the F150 levelers. But ill test out the OME HD springs with my oem levelers first to get an idea of what I'm dealing with.

Aggie07
10-17-2011, 09:23 AM
Any reason you wouldn't just go with OME HD springs and the OME shocks (or other brand) in the rear? I would think the load levelers plus their springs (unless MD) might make for a harsh ride.

Matt
10-17-2011, 09:38 AM
Because I want the rear. 5-1" higher than the front. We'll see when the OME springs get here, but I'm betting that my rear will be about 1/2" lower than my front which means ill need to make up for 1-1.5" of height to get it to sit were I want. Note that I'm among the minority.... I don't like it when they sit perfectly level and it absolutely hate when it looks like the rear is sagging.

Aggie07
10-17-2011, 10:18 AM
Because I want the rear. 5-1" higher than the front. We'll see when the OME springs get here, but I'm betting that my rear will be about 1/2" lower than my front which means ill need to make up for 1-1.5" of height to get it to sit were I want. Note that I'm among the minority.... I don't like it when they sit perfectly level and it absolutely hate when it looks like the rear is sagging.

I'm right there with you. I prefer the stock rake to the leveled look. Just FYI, when I installed my HD springs after removing the rocky road spacers I did not lose any height and it was a big difference in terms of ride quality from the stock springs (in a good way). When I replace my front spacer lift with the OME springs, I thought about doing the leveling spacer in front and cutting my poly spacers to match the extra height in the rear.

EvilJager
10-17-2011, 02:16 PM
I say ome hd with a spa er cut down and reg shocks... i dont know much about the shocks but they all eventually wear down i do t want you to keep replacing them

Matt
10-17-2011, 02:42 PM
maybe jon can make a 1/2" or 1" spacer for the rear to complement the 1/2" strut spacers hes going to make.....

EvilJager
10-17-2011, 02:46 PM
Thay would be cool, last longer and not be as dependent on shocks to lift it

Matt
10-17-2011, 02:54 PM
The shocks are also only $95/pair... now if they were a $300 set that'd be a different story as well.

Once everything settles, it'd probably be best to size up a spacer. For the time being though I'll probably go with the shocks due to affordability and easy of installation.

EvilJager
10-17-2011, 02:56 PM
Thats not a bad price

Aggie07
10-18-2011, 07:12 AM
maybe jon can make a 1/2" or 1" spacer for the rear to complement the 1/2" strut spacers hes going to make.....

That would be a great idea. I would much rather have a metal spacer than try and cut my old poly spacers from the RR lift.

Matt
10-18-2011, 07:40 AM
Same here. I'm actually selling my RC lift to a member so I chopping it up isn't an option.

criket
10-19-2011, 08:15 AM
I've ordered the longer Monroe's as you and Sal have and I'm thinking that I might go with the OME MD rear spring route coupled with the long Monroe's. Of course, I will remove the rear spacer lift. I have the V6 so I can't tow that much or haul that much anyway.

For the front, I was thinking to leave the spacer lift and get the small spacer from JBA an adding to it. This way, the jeep will be closer to level and it'll probably have a little rake to it which isn't bad.

Your original post got me to thinking about all this. Keep us posted man. Thanks.

Matt
10-19-2011, 08:35 AM
From the rear, you really don't need the OME springs. Honestly I think the best setup for you would be to take the spacers out of the front, install OME springs and the JBA leveling spacers. Then in the rear just throw on the F150 load levellers.

Reason I think that'll be better is because we already know the load levellers will raise the rear plenty based on Sal's results. Also, adding a spacer to the spacers up front really overextends the front suspension at full drop... so taking the RC spacer off and putting the OME springs in, plus the leveling spacer, will give you a bit more extension than stock plus increase your ride height a bit.

Matt
10-19-2011, 08:44 AM
Another thing to consider is that you generally don't want drastic spring rate differences between the front and rear of a vehicle. This would cause strange ride/handling/braking characteristics due to dynamic weight distribution. Keeping the stock springs up front (soft) and putting stiffer springs + load leveling shocks in the rear (which add to the effective spring rate) could cause some undesirable effects. Hence I'd distribute the spring rates by adding the springs to the front and load levellers to the rear.

criket
10-19-2011, 08:46 AM
Hmm...all very valid points. Thanks man!!! I'll throw on the Monroes this weekend hopefully and see where I sit. then I'll decide what to do next. The OME up front sounds good too.

Matt
10-19-2011, 01:09 PM
Good plan man. Glad we could help.... you should give us the opportunity to help you out here more often. :)


On another note... my rear OME HD springs should be arriving today (tomorrow at the latest). So I should have an update by Friday evening.... I'm going to take a measurement with normal shocks and then with the oem replacement load levellers before ordering the F150 version. Actually I may even drive around with the stock shocks for a while just to break in the springs (as long as the rear doesn't sit too low)

Sal-XK
10-19-2011, 01:39 PM
I've ordered the longer Monroe's as you and Sal have and I'm thinking that I might go with the OME MD rear spring route coupled with the long Monroe's. Of course, I will remove the rear spacer lift. I have the V6 so I can't tow that much or haul that much anyway.

For the front, I was thinking to leave the spacer lift and get the small spacer from JBA an adding to it. This way, the jeep will be closer to level and it'll probably have a little rake to it which isn't bad.


Your original post got me to thinking about all this. Keep us posted man. Thanks.


Dude where you been man? I sent you a PM months ago and had AJ text you. Let us know how the shocks work out I'm loving mine.

Matt
10-25-2011, 05:25 AM
My rear OME HD springs are finally "out for delivery". Hopefully ill have a chance to put them in Friday or Saturday morning.

criket
10-25-2011, 03:31 PM
Awesome! Take some pics of course. Ya know, there's soemthing about watching your order go through the delivery process that makes one giddy. IDK, maybe I'm the only one, lol.

Side note. I installed my Monroes (longer ones) and it did lift the rear. THe ride is soooo much better. I'll probably order OME front setup to bring it back to level. I'll wait for the Monroes to settle and see where I'm at.

Matt
10-25-2011, 03:54 PM
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111025172230-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111025172429-1.jpg

Can't wait to put those suckers on...

Matt
10-27-2011, 04:11 PM
Ok... put the rear HD springs on...

3/4 Tank of gas; measured from ground to fender

START (RC Lift + OEM Load Levelers)
= 36 5/8"

FINISH (OME HD + OEM Load Levelers)
= 36 1/2"

RESULT
I actually lost about 1/8" and that's without the springs settling at all.... So it looks like I'll be putting on the F150 load levelers!

CmmdrDan
10-27-2011, 04:14 PM
I can't believe you lost height..

Sal-XK
10-27-2011, 04:37 PM
I can't believe you lost height..

The first measurement had the RC lift on the second didn't have them on.

Matt
10-27-2011, 05:03 PM
The first measurement had the RC lift on the second didn't have them on.

But I replaced the RC lift with the OME HD 2" lift spring. I'm a bit surprised that I lost height as well...

Budasac
10-27-2011, 05:09 PM
Are the OME springs actually longer then stock or just stiffer?

Matt
10-27-2011, 05:16 PM
Are the OME springs actually longer then stock or just stiffer?

I'm uploading the pictures now :)

Matt
10-27-2011, 05:22 PM
So here's the skinny....

The rear RC spacer is 1.75" tall.

The OME HD springs are 1.5" taller than the OEM springs

So yeah... im surprised that I lost about 1/8" of height. They're 1/4" shorter than the OEM springs + RC spacer setup, but I expected the higher spring rate to compensate a bit more.

These measurements were taking with the springs in the same orientation and at the highest part of the spring:

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174628-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174618-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174550-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027175445-1.jpg

Sal-XK
10-27-2011, 05:26 PM
It made sense to me when I read it. The springs aren't long enough I guess.

Matt
10-27-2011, 05:34 PM
Yeah, looking at the pics I took again, the OME springs are actually just shy of 13.5" and the OEM springs are a hair over 12"... It actually looks like 13 7/16 vs 12 1/8; so only 1-5/16 taller than stock which equates 7/16 shorter than my previous setup.

Budasac
10-27-2011, 05:51 PM
OK. I was under the impression that the springs were roughly the same size and that the OME simply had a higher compression rate. I'm surprised they yeilded less then the RC. So as far as travel with the longer shocks and the possibility of unseating a spring there is not much difference (7/16) between the two set-ups.

I wanted to get longer links for the rear sway to bring it back to where it should be ( if that makes sense) but the sway is what's keeping the springs in. Does anyone make a universal spring retaining clip that can somehow be used to keep my ass from fallin' apart with longer links? Or are limiting straps the only way to go? (I'd like to avoid the limiting straps due to the "limited" amount of offroad my truck sees. Plus I just hit 90K. By 120k I'll be due for another vehicle so I don't want to go too crazy.

HueyPilotVN
10-27-2011, 05:53 PM
So here's the skinny....

The rear RC spacer is 1.75" tall.

The OME HD springs are 1.5" taller than the OEM springs

So yeah... im surprised that I lost about 1/8" of height. They're 1/4" shorter than the OEM springs + RC spacer setup, but I expected the higher spring rate to compensate a bit more.

These measurements were taking with the springs in the same orientation and at the highest part of the spring:

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174628-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174618-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027174550-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/20111027175445-1.jpg

I am kinda late to the thread. I thought I would contribute this little piece of information. The Superlift rear coil springs that I got from Phunkeydude are about 4 inches longer than stock. They fixed my issue of bottoming out with all my weight on the rear end. Here is a picture with a tape measure.

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/10/01213-1.jpg

Matt
10-27-2011, 05:56 PM
OK. I was under the impression that the springs were roughly the same size and that the OME simply had a higher compression rate. I'm surprised they yeilded less then the RC. So as far as travel with the longer shocks and the possibility of unseating a spring there is not much difference (7/16) between the two set-ups.

I wanted to get longer links for the rear sway to bring it back to where it should be ( if that makes sense) but the sway is what's keeping the springs in. Does anyone make a universal spring retaining clip that can somehow be used to keep my ass from fallin' apart with longer links? Or are limiting straps the only way to go? (I'd like to avoid the limiting straps due to the "limited" amount of offroad my truck sees. Plus I just hit 90K. By 120k I'll be due for another vehicle so I don't want to go too crazy.

You probably don't need it... I measured my eye-to-eye length and at 27.5" the spring is loose, but can not fall out. The stock spring (when used with the RC lift) is even harder to get out at that shock length.

And just so you know, the F150 monroe load levelers are 27.55" long. Perfect! Brake lines were also not over-stretched at that point either.

Budasac
10-27-2011, 06:08 PM
I'll have to check it out. I remember my brake lines where ok, but I could swear my passenger side spring was pretty loose when I let it droop. If I can disco my rear sway and let the shock fully extend without the spring popping out I'll def. look for some links. Maybe your right as far as it being loose but won't fall out. I didn't actually give it a tug. I'll have to take a look at it on Sat.

Matt
10-27-2011, 06:11 PM
I'll verify when i install the F150 levelers... hopefully Sunday.

criket
10-28-2011, 08:38 AM
I know with my 2" spacer lift in the rear with the stock spring and the F150 levelers, that the spring didn't want to unseat when on the lift. The thing that kept the axle from dropping further was the upper track bar hitting the fuel skid (I haven't notched mine out). The track bar has hit the fuel skid every time when it's on the lift, even without the F150 levelers and the spacer lift. But I also have my rear sway bar connected too.

I believe with the rear sway connected and the upper trackbar contacting the fuel skid, that my spacer lift, stock rear springs with the F150 levelers should NOT unseat. I'm going on a offroad trip on Nov 12 so I'll know for sure then.

Matt
10-28-2011, 09:19 AM
I notched my skid. But the passenger side isn't limited anyways....

Matt
10-29-2011, 10:45 AM
PERFECT!!

I started with a rear height of 36-5/8 and finished with 37-1/16" drivers side and 37-3/8 passenger side (3/4 tank of fuel). My front is still 36-1/2 so i have the perfect stance that i was going fore (~1" higher in the rear)

I'm going to update my Monroe Load leveler thread with the pics and install tricks... i'll throw a link up here.

Matt
10-29-2011, 11:02 AM
All the photos are up:

http://www.theultimatejeep.com/showthread.php/697-Installed-Monroe-Load-Leveling-Shocks-on-Rear?p=19806&viewfull=1#post19806

EvilJager
10-31-2011, 10:26 AM
Dude you need a bigger lift. You can still fit in the garage lol.. so how do you comparr to the ome now?

Matt
10-31-2011, 10:33 AM
The OME HD, even with the F150 load levellers, isn't as stiff as I expected it to be based on members comments. I definitely like the setup I'm running now.... no sagging, solid ride, front wont over-extend front stacked spacers offroading.

This'll definitely hold me over for a while. :)

EvilJager
10-31-2011, 10:45 AM
Really. I thought it would be very stiff in the rear (no homo)

Sal-XK
10-31-2011, 10:48 AM
Really. I thought it would be very stiff in the rear (no homo)

I like it stiff, I mean a firm ride a little rough..... wait none of this is coming out right LMAO

Matt
10-31-2011, 10:50 AM
Lol there's just no good way of putting it.... (damnit even that can be misconstrued)

EvilJager
10-31-2011, 10:54 AM
Yea we all like it hard in the rear... wait. Uhh i duno lol

Matt
10-31-2011, 11:01 AM
In conclusion.... OME HD + 1/4 front spacers + F150 load levellers is my "recommended" setup from here on out. Only other deviation would probably be a 1/2-3/4 coil spacer for the rear and some nice fox resi shocks... but you can't beat the price of these Monroe's...