time to buy a minimal lift kit! choices and best prices?

[NGUDE]

hello friends, the oem suspension on my FZJ80 is getting tired so it's time to replace it with something fresh!

while i'd like to add a slight lift to the truck, i would not like to exceed 2.5". my reasons for the lift are solely for the ability to navigate any unexpected obstacles along the trail. will not be doing any rock crawling. trying to keep CG as low as possible as i'll have an RTT mounted and would like to maintain as much handling as i can with this heavy beast.

current load:
full length roof rack
RTT
3 20L roof mounted jerry cans
up to 250lb rear cargo area (jump seats folded up)
OEM front and rear bumpers


so far, i'm looking at:
2.5" OME medium
2.5" Ironman
???? suggestions?

can anyone suggest vendors local to southern california and/or online vendors that have the best price?

please discuss with me!

thanks guys and gals

 

[Mike S]

I have the OME suspension with 2-1/2" lift. Very nice ride and I am not running excessive tires (265/85 R16). I had OME stuff on my FJ60 as well, and it was a huge difference in ride quality.

 

[86tuning]

Go with the OME heavies.

And consider some higher end shox than what OME sells. I'm using Fox 2.0 remote reservoir 10" travel. Happy with the feel and the travel and the price. Very compact body (about the same size as stock) but 2" longer travel.

You will need some caster correction and that's it! You can run bushings, but I'm running slotted holes with washers welded in place. 315-75-16 tires fit fine.

 

[86tuning]

My setup is OME 850-860 (heavy front,medium rear) but I have a winch up front inside the stock bumper and run empty in the back. 3rd row removed, 315 spare in stock spot. My truck sits 1" higher in the tail than the nose. With some weight in the back it sits level.

 

[NM-Frontier]

Sounds like OME would be your best rout since they have so many spring choices. A medium/heavy set up may work well if you got the tent mounted all the time and don't mind the stink bug look when you jerrys are empty. Try Will at Serra Expeditions, call him up, tell him your set up and what your looking for and he can guide you as to what springs and shocks will work best for you.http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/

 

[NGUDE]

Go with the OME heavies.

And consider some higher end shox than what OME sells. I'm using Fox 2.0 remote reservoir 10" travel. Happy with the feel and the travel and the price. Very compact body (about the same size as stock) but 2" longer travel.

You will need some caster correction and that's it! You can run bushings, but I'm running slotted holes with washers welded in place. 315-75-16 tires fit fine.

thanks for the suggestion. how much and where did you get the fox shocks? it is my understanding that they don't make any native applications for 80 series.

did that group buy on here/mud ever go through?

i plan on adding front bumper/winch + rear bumper/tire carrier in the future. how much would my handing suffer if i just start with the heavy springs right away? with my unladen truck be excessively bouncy?

is there anyone that runs heavies when unloaded?

 

[NGUDE]

Sounds like OME would be your best rout since they have so many spring choices. A medium/heavy set up may work well if you got the tent mounted all the time and don't mind the stink bug look when you jerrys are empty. Try Will at Serra Expeditions, call him up, tell him your set up and what your looking for and he can guide you as to what springs and shocks will work best for you.http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/

Gordon,

thanks for the advice! i will check with sierra expeditions.

i don't mind the stinkbug look, but i'm mainly concerned with how it will handle WITHOUT weight. this car also sees daily driver duty from time to time.

 

[86tuning]

thanks for the suggestion. how much and where did you get the fox shocks? it is my understanding that they don't make any native applications for 80 series.

did that group buy on here/mud ever go through?

i plan on adding front bumper/winch + rear bumper/tire carrier in the future. how much would my handing suffer if i just start with the heavy springs right away? with my unladen truck be excessively bouncy?

is there anyone that runs heavies when unloaded?

I'd suggest you swap springs again when you do your bumpers. The springs are easy to swap in, and old springs are easy to sell.

I got my shox from Downsouth Motorsports. Good guys to deal with. My dampers are set with soft compression and firm rebound. There's a thread on Mud about shock valving.

 

[86tuning]

Also Downsouth set up the shocks to be a bolt-in solution. You will have to make brackets for the reservoirs but that's pretty easy. If you want a full bolt in kit you'd have to go with King shocks or Radflo or Slee. All of which are 2.5" body and quite a bit more money. Better dampers, but bigger budget.