A reason to go OME

[Matt]

Stock springs are just too soft for adding accessories...

Here's my sequence with the 2" RC lift.

Started out just fine.. front and rear fenders were just about dead even in height after the lift



But then after a few months, the rear springs settled more than the front and I had about 1/2" of sag in the rear... and this was accentuated when i had the slightest load, such as my 25lb mountain bike on a hitch rack as pictured.



So i added a set of the Monroe Load Lever rear shocks which solved all of my rear sagging problems and even raised the rear so that it was about 1/2" taller than the front without any load (important measurements here are 35-7/8 Front & 36-1/4 Rear with about 3/4 tank of fuel)



So... i was just fine and dandy...

Then I added the following:

Steel fuel tank skid
Steel T-case skid
Steel Suspension Skid
4XG Belly Guard
4XG Front Guard
4XG Rock Rails
4XG Matrix + receiver + hoop
4 Hella Rallye 4000 lights on the Matrix
Rola Roof Rack w/extension mounted on 3 steel strut channels

And now, with all of that and a full tank of gas, i'm at 34-7/8 Front & 36 Rear. Yup... that's right, I lost an inch in height up front



Next mod is going to have to be fixing this. Some options:

1) Add 1/4" spacer for 1/2" height
Cheapest and easiest... but i really don't want to add a spacer on top of my spacer for a few reasons.

2) OME HD springs in my stock struts & remove RC spacers
I'm leaning towards this right now... It's much more affordable than the alternatives, and still gives me options for later when I put on the SL

3) OME HD springs and struts for front
I think this would be the overall "best" solution... but it's pricey (can't do it right now, hell i have to pay off some of those mods I listed above yet that i broke my own cardinal rule to get-- i NEVER put mods on cards) and I plan on getting the SL next summer.

4) Wouldn't it be great if KING had those coilovers available?
Not highlighted because its not an option. But otherwise, this would be an ideal solution if those coilovers could also be used in conjunction with the SL one day.

So in conclusion: If you're looking for a 2" lift and plan on adding a bunch of accessories... might be a good idea to go OME for the upgraded springs

[pjmjr508]

After some of my mods I have added, I am seeing the same issue & thinking of changing from a RC lift to a full OME HD setup.

[Sal-XK]

Are jeeps are not spring chickens anymore. A lot of us are adding these mods to tired shocks and springs. The new shocks helped alot but some HD springs would be sweet.

[Matt]

Hey guys, keep your eyes out for members with HD springs who are thinking about swapping to MD springs. May be able to pick up a used set like that...

[Holaday07 4.7]

The half inch leveling spacer up front was easy, and I took pics of the UCA angle its not too bad. I will take measurements tonight to get exacts

[Matt]

The angles will be the same regardless of which method I go with so that's not a big deal. I don't want to increase my overall extended length anymore.

[Holaday07 4.7]

Gotcha, I just did it for budget reasons. $35.00 for a set of leveling spacers was the magic number on it

[Matt]

Gotcha, I just did it for budget reasons. $35.00 for a set of leveling spacers was the magic number on it

Lol no argument with that. May end up going that route due to benefit / cost. Ideally I'd like to do something that could be used when I install the SL... But the spacers are a cheap/easy way to get by

[EvilJager]

Get a sl and call it a day lol

[Matt]

Get a sl and call it a day lol

Too bad the SL uses the stock springs/struts... so i'd have the same issue even if I did get the SL (yet another reason I wish they would give us spring/strut upgrade options like they do for other vehicles that they have lifts for!)

I was thinking about it today and think that the OME MD springs may actually be the best solution for me. Since I have a 5.7L XK (heavy), the MD springs would probably just compensate for all my added weight and therefore also work with either the RC spacers or SL (in the future). Kind of like if SL offered a spring upgrade.

This may be a good reason to replace/upgrade my 4+ year old stock struts... get a set of the Monroe Reflex (quality monotubes) and a set of the OME MD springs. Actually would get some fresh mounts/isolators and just assemble everything outside of the vehicle so it'd be a quick swap in. Then with that, I should be good to go next year when I plan on installing the SL and none of the parts will go to waste.

(Edit: just noticed that the Reflex shocks are monotubes... it looks like the struts are low pressure twin-tube, so i'd probably go with Bilstein HDs)