OME lift pros & cons

[casm]

Hey, folks. I'd like some opinions from owners (past or current) on an OME lift I'm thinking of getting. The kit I'm considering is the XJ7005HD heavy-duty complete lift kit. Seeing as how the rear is sitting on the axle on the bumpstops and the (factory) springs are in near-reverse-arch, I figure I'll go ahead and just replace both ends at the same time. At nearly 92,000 miles (on a 2001!), this is probably a good time to do both ends and get it out of the way.

My main goals in all of this are:

- Not cracking my head off the ceiling whenever I drive over something
- 2.5" - 3" of lift, preferably avoiding having to install an SYE (yes, I know, that's a YMMV item). This is also my commuter vehicle, so I'm trying to keep it as roadable as possible until I have something else to swap off the driving with.
- Fitment of 31" tyres. Is this doable with this lift, or should I be looking at 30" items instead?

Apart from running me in and out of the office 5 days a week, the main offroad uses for this otherwise-stock XJ are the typical Southern California snow / desert / trail runs. I'm interested in this lift as an evaluation for possibly going higher in the future, but right now a couple or three inches should be plenty. Put it this way: I'm not looking to make a rockcrawler out of it - yet.

So, What I'd like to know from anyone who has gone this route is:

a) Were you happy with the way the kit (or components) installed?
b) What, if anything, would you change either in the components or install?
c) How's the longevity of the components?
d) Any other recommendations or comments?

I'm open to suggestion, but am planning on doing the work around about the middle of next month since I can't live with the current flat suspension much longer than that. Any ideas or advice gratefully received.

 

[Nay]

You can search on this topic for a wealth of info...but I'll give you a bit here.

First, stick with 30's for the usage you describe. 31's will just cause the need for minor fender trimming and perhaps make you wish you had lower gears. There will be little performance advantage with an OME suspension for this tradeoff.

Definitely get OME for daily driving/moderate wheeling if you have the budget. OME is unique in that it is a kit where the shocks are designed for the springs that are designed for a specific vehicle. OME is a true suspension upgrade independent of the lift.

As for the heavy duty setup...I'd probably just get the regular 2" kit (with 30's) if I were you. A 2001 XJ is most likely going to need a SYE with any lift, even the Up Country, due to driveline vibes and binding. 3" is a near certainty IMO, and at 3" of lift I think you really need an adjustable trackbar. At 2" you can get away without one (just shocks and springs and nothing else).

The 2" OME kit with 30's is surprisingly capable and perfectly balanced. You should be able to handle any moderate trail with this setup. The only real problem with it is that it doesn't *look* like much lift...but the road performance is exceptional (much better than stock) and trail performance is surprisingly competent.

You'll sag the leafs if you wheel it really hard, but that's true of any softly sprung small lift leaf, and the OME should last longer than most.

Quality. Quality. Quality.

Nay

 

[karstic]

casm

Last year, I bought the OME medium-duty budget lift from RRO, springs, coils, u-bolts, DT shocks, urethane spring bushings. I had the medium-duty, 2” leaves and the 930 coils. RRO may not be your best choice as supplier. They first sent out the rear leafs, and then about 4 weeks later I got the front coils. Check with DPG Offroad, from what I hear, for a good price and good customer service.

Installation was pretty straightforward. Soak all the bolts w/ PB Blaster for a couple of days and have a big cheater bar. If your going to replace the stock spring bushings with urethane, you’ll have to get the upper bushing on the shackle pressed out. I had mine done at my local NAPA auto parts. When I installed the front coils I had to remove the LCA bolts at the axle to get enough clearance to get the springs removed/installed. At both ends, keep an eye on your brake lines to make sure they are long enough.

I am extremely satisfied with the OME set-up. A lot of people don’t like the urethane bushings because they are not as flexy as the stock, rubber bushings. I like the urethane because they are a little stiffer on the road and on the fast, desert roads. They were squeaky at first but that has pretty much gone away except for when I’m really flexed out. The only problem I’ve had is that I should have originally gone with the HD leaves. When the XJ is loaded for camping or pulling our tent trailer, the rear sags quite a bit. I solved that by picking up the HD spring pack, minus the main leaf and building an HD setup with my main leaf.

I am running 31” BFG AT’s and have rubbing on the LCA at full lock. I want to go with aftermarket LCAs to solve that problem. The rear tires rub when they are fully stuffed into the fender well. That can be solved with a spacer in between the frame rail and bumpstop or a longer bumpstop. I just got to get around to it.

Do have an automatic or manual tranny? The 31’s definitely bog the motor. I will be regearing within the next year. I can’t imagine towing the tent trailer in the condition it is in now.

My Cherokee is a ’92. I don’t have any driveline vibes. If you make it up to big bear this weekend or the OC meet-n-greet next week you can check out my setup.

 

[poppabear]

dpgoffroad.com for your OME needs...

pros.. everything! great flex.... great ride. awesome quality!1

Cons. restricted to 4.5-5" of lift with BB add ons. but still the best 4.5-5" you can get. Yes you will need the extras later but like Nay said if you got the $$$ then thats a problem.

 

[cyka]

I just finished putting on a OME 3 inch on my 2000 XJ this weekend. I ordered the JC1A HD leafs from DPG and the 934 Grand Cherokee V8 coils for the front for the 3 inches. It rides extremely smooth, though I added a set of RE Super flex LCA's from Redrock 4x4. Right now its at the shop getting a set of Cooper S/T's 30x9.50. I had my dads Goodyear Wranger AT/s 31x10.50 on some Mikey Thompsons, They fit and looked good, but needed some minor trimmimg to fully fit. I figured I could get better flex and stuffing with some 30x9.50's. I had to use a Skyjacker T case drop, we had some pretty good vibrations. We also didnt really have any death wobble which is good, but she is getting a nice alignment right now. But over all, my OME expirience has been great!

 

[BillR]

PM Fergie on here. He's a good source of info anyway, and he just installed an OME lift on his. :wave1:

 

[casm]

Folks, thanks for the advice on the OME setup. Having sat down and put some more thought into it, what I think I'm going to do is the following:

- OME 3" HD lift (though the RE6030 also looks interesting). I carry enough stuff in the load area from time to time that the dual-rate springs would be a good idea.

- SYE. Haven't decided on which one yet (most likely RE's), but it seems like one of those things where if you think you won't need it, you're going to need it. May as well just do it and have it out of the way rather than have to tear down and install again.

- JKS Quicker Disconnects. Again, something I can do at the same time to have it done.

With the exception of skidplating, that should pretty much get me to where I want to be for the first stage of modifications. My main thing is keeping it looking as stock as possible (I like sleepers, what can I say?) while gaining as much additional off-road ability as possible for the moderate-to-slightly-heavy stuff I'm interested in.

Do have an automatic or manual tranny? The 31’s definitely bog the motor. I will be regearing within the next year. I can’t imagine towing the tent trailer in the condition it is in now.

Automatic on an '01 Sport. I'm going to take your advice and not do 31s for all-around use; what I'll probaby do is get a set of 31s on a second set of (steel) rims and swap out for trail use. Right now I don't want to get into regearing if possible since I'm intending to do a D44 swap at both ends, and that will (hopefully) also involve installing lockers. This part's what I'm calling Stage Two

My Cherokee is a ’92. I don’t have any driveline vibes. If you make it up to big bear this weekend or the OC meet-n-greet next week you can check out my setup.

Thanks, I'll try to make it down to OC, seeing as how I missed Big Bear. It'd be great to see the setup installed before making the final decision.

 

[Fergie]

I just installed an OME lift that I got from somone on this board. Due to my axle situation and everything at the time, I could only install the front, and then had to do the rear.

I am only running the 2" lift, but you WILL NOT find a better ride out there. I have recently put on an RE shackle in the rear, and some coil spacers in the front to give a bit more height, but the ride has not changed in the least bit.

Make sure you get the OME shocks. You'll regret it if you dont. I also just put on some JKS discos so I didnt have to listen to the jingle jangle of my home-made ones anymore.

You can always get the 934 coils and do the OME AAL to go higher later, which is what I will end up doing, but not for a while.

Fergie