Hi all,

    I am confused as to whether or not 1.5 inch (2.5 with a 1 inch coil spacer in front and rear) susp. lift with OME lifted coils and OME struts would be too much lift for OME shocks? (part # N32)? I really want to run OME shocks, but not at the expense of the 'lil bit of flex I would get unless I ran a longer Doestch or Procomp shock. I would like RR's 4.5 inch Rocksteady combo lift, but I emailed Glenn and he stated that they include their own RR HYDRO 8000 shock with the kit due to  the OME shock being too short for full suspension flex. Anybody have any experience with RR's HYDRO shock? I'm sure it cannot compare to OME. How about their 2.5 inch lift kit? Website says DT shocks included, but I find that hard to believe as well. I would just piece together an OME lift, but I can't really find a dealer besides RR that sells individual OME parts. I emailed Steve at Boondox, but of course I haven't heard back from them. I don't want Calmini. I am intrigued by Geoff's thread on Pirate4x4, where he runs OME 962 (from GV) in the front and OME 955 in the rear, with N103S struts and N32 shocks. I don't really understand why he decided to switch the 3/4 inch daystar coil spacer to the front, and put in a 1.75 inch spacer in the back, facilitating the need for a longer traveling shock. I am SO close to getting my susp. lift pieced together, done all the research, I just need some final help with this. I want to be able to fit 30/9.5/15 inch tires underneath my '96 4 dr. Tracker. That's why I am thinking 2.5 inch susp. and 2 inch body lift. Any help guys/gals? Thanks so much. Sorry for the long post.

He was trying to maximise his lift, and when he added the spacers to the rear, he switched to a procomp 9000 something shock.

The DT shocks RR uses will be longer than the OME's, but not the same quality.  You can ask RR to substitute in a different rear OME shock.  Geoff (the guy that has the pirate writeup) used Jeep TJ front 4" shocks i believe in the rear of his.  Maybe wait for him to chime in on that.  Then take that info to Rocky road (probably have to call them) and see what the price difference would be to add OME shocks in the rear instead of Doetch Tech's.

Lots of people sell OME parts separately, but not the same coil spacers.  Geoff bought all of his parts from 4 Wheel Parts, including the spacers and the shocks.

HTH.

BTW, I have 30x9.5's with approx 2" OME lift and 2" body lift.  I have the N105's in the back (firmer valved than N32's, designed for the 4-doors), and i see their limiting factor, but they ride so nice, so i haven't changed them.  I would prefer to raise the lower shock mount rather than replacing the shocks, but haven't done it yet.

 Thanks Mike,

   I will probably run med. or heavy springs up front, as well as med. in the rear. I still have a stock bumper, but I plan on getting a heavy steel bumper as well as winch, so that should dampen the front springs a bit, making for an even softer ride. I would like to integrate some of Calmini's parts, (i.e. a-arm) as well. Is there a list of OME parts that shows how tall the coil springs are each? I want 1.5 inches over stock, could I get that from OME959 in the front? Thinking about OME955 in the rear. If I added a 1 inch spacer in front and rear and a 2 inch body lift, I don't think I would need to trim fender/body to run 30's, correct? That would be my ideal setup, along with the N105 (thanks Mike!!)

I would prefer to raise the lower shock mount rather than replacing the shocks, but haven't done it yet.

Sky's rear shock relocation piece is nice, they normally sell them in a kit, but I bet he'd sell them separatly. I may even call tomorrow for me

Thanks Mike,

   I will probably run med. or heavy springs up front, as well as med. in the rear. I still have a stock bumper, but I plan on getting a heavy steel bumper as well as winch, so that should dampen the front springs a bit, making for an even softer ride. I would like to integrate some of Calmini's parts, (i.e. a-arm) as well. Is there a list of OME parts that shows how tall the coil springs are each? I want 1.5 inches over stock, could I get that from OME959 in the front? Thinking about OME955 in the rear. If I added a 1 inch spacer in front and rear and a 2 inch body lift, I don't think I would need to trim fender/body to run 30's, correct? That would be my ideal setup, along with the N105 (thanks Mike!!)

Running OME959's in the front with the stock bumper will get you somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0" of lift.  Once you add the bar, expect 1.5".  That's what i'm using.

Calmini won't sell their parts separately, unfortunately.

With the 959's, 955's and 2" body lift, i didn't have to trim the fenders, but i trimmed the inner fender on the front at the bottom and flattened out the firewall area a little, and now there is no contact.  I would guess that with spacers, you might not need to trim it to ride around town, but when it flexes, the tires will still be able to touch that lower area of the inner fender.

You can look at this to see what the standard applications are for the OME springs on their respective applications.
http://arbusa.com/USA-Vehicle-Application-Guides/Suzuki-Sidekick-Tracker.pdf

That's showing lift over stock ride height.  It may vary 1/4".

I plan on getting a heavy steel bumper as well as winch, so that should dampen the front springs a bit, making for an even softer ride

That won't make any difference to the ride, the spring rate will be the same. With the heavier stuff on the front it will just sit lower.

Quote from: erik the red on July 26, 2007, 08:05:17 PM

I plan on getting a heavy steel bumper as well as winch, so that should dampen the front springs a bit, making for an even softer ride

That won't make any difference to the ride, the spring rate will be the same. With the heavier stuff on the front it will just sit lower.

I, respectfully, disagree.  Sure, like you said, the spring rate may be the same, but it also has that extra weight to move.  Without getting into the physics, here's a simple example:  You take  a set of springs that, on a heavy car, result in a smooth ride.  Now put those same springs on a lighter car.  Think that ride's gonna stay the same?  Nope.

The extra weight will cause the load to sit lower, but the extra mass also brings extra inertia acting against that unchanged spring rate.

It may or may not cause as much of an effect as he's hoping for, but it will indeed make some difference.

what he said ... and also gotta consider if they are progressive springs or not ...

a progressive spring that's topped out will ride like crap, but well loaded will "progress" as it was designed todo ...

I, respectfully, disagree.  Sure, like you said, the spring rate may be the same, but it also has that extra weight to move.  Without getting into the physics, here's a simple example:  You take  a set of springs that, on a heavy car, result in a smooth ride.  Now put those same springs on a lighter car.  Think that ride's gonna stay the same?  Nope.

The extra weight will cause the load to sit lower, but the extra mass also brings extra inertia acting against that unchanged spring rate.

It may or may not cause as much of an effect as he's hoping for, but it will indeed make some difference.

Yeah, I think my brain was on holiday  Obvious really otherwise heavier cars wouldn't have stiffer springs, just longer ones.