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Thread: Breaking the Ice

  1. #21
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty IamJEEP's Avatar
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    Well, 3.5" and 4"s are not that far apart and if you are rocking it without paying $1500 for a SL 4"er, more power to you. I'm strongly considering the OME lift for sometime in the future.
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    Quote Originally Posted by AJeepZJ View Post
    Then I drove her hard for about 45 mins.

  2. #22
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty Matt's Avatar
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    Probably for another threads discussion, but real suspension lifts like the 4" superlift has a lot more benefit than just 1/2" more at normal ride height than an OME + spacer 3.5" setup.

    To keep this short, sweet and to the point... imagine suspending the vehicle in the air so that all of the tires are hanging at full drop. With a 3.5" spacer type setup, the distance from fender to hub is only as much as the stock control arms, tie rods and CVs will allow. This may be only 1-2" further than where the hub sits at your normal ride height (so say 3.5"+2"... you're looking at the wheel dropping a total of 5.5" from the position of a stock jeep). Now, a 4" suspension lift retains all stock geometry... so from the start you're already 4" further down than the position of the hub for a stock jeep. Add in the suspension travel of 5.5", and you're looking at a hub position change of 9.5" beyond a stock jeep.

    In terms of clearance, this means that the belly of your jeep will keep tire contact for 4" higher belly clearance than a spacer lifted jeep would.

    If you're just cruising around the streets, yeah there's really not much difference other than increased wear & tear due to the angles of 3.5" VS. OEM angles with the 4" suspension lift.

  3. #23
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty
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    I'm familiar with the the benefits of the SL and I'm also aware of the realized lift actually acquired from a SL, which happens to be greater than 4". I don't know if my last post was misread, but I chose the OME and I've had it for almost a year now in September. I have not stacked, and do not plan on stacking any spacers on it. I chose OME because it is truely the maximum lift you should apply to the WK before you really start changing the geometry of the front. Even so, with the SL, i've heard of failures within the drivetrain. So, I don't feel the SL is as reliable as it should be. I wont be stacking spacers on my OME, I don't believe the benefits of this approach outweight the risks of several components failing - it's too much stress. Just thought I'd clarify.
    Last edited by AJeepZJ; 07-22-2011 at 12:00 PM.

  4. #24
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty Matt's Avatar
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    I hear ya. My post about the benefits of the suspension lift were in response to IamJEEP's post.

    I personally like the OME kits as well... and will probably be running that by next summer if SL doesn't come out with their "improved" kit soon. My point was just that people may get 'close' to the same ride height increase as the superlift, but there's a bit more to it than that. And it just seems like a lot of people only focus on the height of the vehicle for riding on the street, not how much clearance there is with the suspension at full drop.

    Regardless of what kit anyone runs, if you're running bigger tires and/or offroading on occasion, you're going to wear and break parts. Just the way it is

  5. #25
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt_ View Post
    I hear ya. My post about the benefits of the suspension lift were in response to IamJEEP's post.

    I personally like the OME kits as well... and will probably be running that by next summer if SL doesn't come out with their "improved" kit soon. My point was just that people may get 'close' to the same ride height increase as the superlift, but there's a bit more to it than that. And it just seems like a lot of people only focus on the height of the vehicle for riding on the street, not how much clearance there is with the suspension at full drop.

    Regardless of what kit anyone runs, if you're running bigger tires and/or offroading on occasion, you're going to wear and break parts. Just the way it is
    Oh I see, lol. Yeah, I see a lot of people moving in the direction of the 'customized OME' lift.. And I can see there justification for it. They are trying to compensate for the sag of the bumpers, skids, winches, and settling of the suspension in the first place, and you are essentially attempting to restore that original height that you had + an inch, which really puts you at about 4.5" of lift all the way around. Conceptually, it makes perfect sense... But I'm going to wait to see how these components hold up and let the 'guinea pigs' try this set up out before I say "no, thats a disaster waiting to happen."

    And yeah, I love my OME lift. If I get a ZJ, I've been looking at a 5.2L 98 Orvis and 5.9L 97 Orvis for under 3500... An OME lift is the first thing I want to slap under it. with some 32x11.5 anway - thats another topic for another day, lol.

  6. #26
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty pjmjr508's Avatar
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    I might of missed this & if so Sorry, but am I to understand this correctly if I go with the Full EMU lift setup with their shocks & struts along with the EMU HD springs that I could get about 3 1/2 " lift and not break the drivetrain other than me being me doing what I shouldn't with the XK?
    PJMJR508
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  7. #27
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty Matt's Avatar
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    You're still increasing all of the angles (tie rods, balljoints, CVs, etc). Increasing angles = increasing wear... period... dot. Generally, with most of the budget lifts like RC spacers, and even the OME setups, you're not too extreme with the angles. So the increased wear and chances of things breaking is there, but not really an imminent issue. When you go further you get to a point where the angles get to the point of causing failures at a much more accelerated rate. What is that exact angle? It doesn't exist, depends on a lot of other factors.

    So the short answer is yes/no. Rock the OME HD setup and don't lose any sleep... but just remember to keep an eye on the front end components so you can identify and correct and wear&tear items early.

  8. #28
    Lifetime Member Getting Dirty pjmjr508's Avatar
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    Cool thanks. Right now I using the Rough Country but is maybe a 2 " lift, if I can go with the OMU setup & get 3 1/2 and still be safe (within reason) I might do the plunge for the kit which is about 800 by next year
    PJMJR508
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