Rusty's 2.5" Coil Lift vs. OME Coil Lift

Bodin · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:57 pm

New to the board...have enjoyed reading all the good info here for several weeks. I would like to get the low '03 Liberty up a little while not harming the ride (it is my wifes daily driver, and she will not accept any decrease in on road performance)....and yet hopefully increase it's off road abillity with some additional clearance and wheel travel. I have narrowed the choices down to the following;

1) OME Lift (aprox. 1.7")- per my local shops recommendataion, they suggested light duty front/rear for aprox. $1200 installed with alignment

2) Rusty's 2.5" coil lift - not recommended by local shop - claimed Rusty items are not as high quality as OME - aprox. $900

Really for the price difference I would just like to the one which rides better (comfortable on road and good handling offroad) and is the higher quality. So far the only modifications I have are full skid plates and TrueTrac front and rear.

Thanks for the help!

raceinfan · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:07 pm

I believe Rusty's springs are Old Man Emu so technicaly you are somewhat getting that lift & I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but pretty sure I read that here somewhere :wink:

mb818 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:09 pm

rusty's springs ARE NOT old man emu springs... they are manufactured by rusty's offroad... the rear springs are not even the same coil design as OME...

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:13 pm

OME is a higher grade spring and shock for sure, you will not get 1.7in of lift with the light duty coils though. I got 1.785" rear with HD coils and 1.5in front with ome MED coils.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:18 pm

Do not go light duty! Or at least I would not go that route. I have Heavy Dutys and the ride is fantastic. I have heard some say that the light or mediums let the KJ nose dive under hard braking also, mine does not plus it rides really well like I said. 1200 for the install? Wow labor rates must be high where you are. I have less than 600 in mine for all the parts. Wish you were closer not that big of a job to do. As far as Rustys, mb818 is correct they are not OMEs plus Rustys spring rate is only 310 lb, compared to OME H.Ds at 400 or the medium at 375 lbs. I went with the heavy dutys and a clevis, great ride so much better than stock it is like a different vehicle.

Matt400 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:33 pm

Bodin wrote:

(it is my wifes daily driver, and she will not accept any decrease in on road performance)

Then stay with the smaller lift IMO, I did the 2.5" and for a few days it all felt pretty good on road however I found the rear ended up too high so had to add 3/8" on the clevis. Maybe its just me but when I did that it seems the bumpsteer on highway was pretty noticeable, I wouldn't like it if it was my daily driver, ours is mostly just for fun but does see plenty of pavement on the way to trails.

You didn't say about tire size so that may also make a difference in selection.

Bodin · **Posted:** Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:53 am

Matt400 wrote:

Bodin wrote:

(it is my wifes daily driver, and she will not accept any decrease in on road performance)

Then stay with the smaller lift IMO, I did the 2.5" and for a few days it all felt pretty good on road however I found the rear ended up too high so had to add 3/8" on the clevis. Maybe its just me but when I did that it seems the bumpsteer on highway was pretty noticeable, I wouldn't like it if it was my daily driver, ours is mostly just for fun but does see plenty of pavement on the way to trails.

You didn't say about tire size so that may also make a difference in selection.

Thank you for the information! I have stock tire size....235/70/16 Revo. No plan to go bigger any time soon.

kolesy · **Posted:** Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:36 am

I have the rustys lift and you s are correct the springs ae their own, the front stuts are OME and the rear shocks are rustys. The rear shocks, IMO, are not as stiff as the front and leave the back feeling kinda "mushy" compared to the front. Overall the lift is great! I would not have have considered another lift if i had driven a kj with this setup before. The ride you get is 100 times better than stock. The prices your are saying to have it installed are extremly igh IMO you should try to get a lift party going if you got some dudes in your area. It really isnt that hard of a job.

Rusty's 2.5" Coil Lift vs. OME Coil Lift

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