05 KJ lift OME coil selections

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Ok, so I'm new to these forums but I have spent many days going through all of the stickeys and tons of topics about lifts and I am still left with a few questions. I am going to be ordering a lift as soon as I get this figured out. I have decided from all of the input here that I will get an OME lift kit because I am less concerned with getting my jeep as high as possible, just a bit higher for a little bit more ground clearance. I have a set of 16"moabs that I will be putting 235/75/16 or 245/70/16 (I know they aren't huge but I don't want huge).
I have read many posts from people recommending Ome med springs. I have stock bumpers and no plan to put on an arb bumper. I also want it to ride close to stock since it's my dd and I have a 2 yr old I don't want to bounce around on the highway.
My question is, should I go with the light spring set 925 front and 947 rear? If I understand correctly ome spring rates are a little higher than stock or crustys. I just don't want it to ride too stiff. I also tow a 15ft boat and utility trailer at. Times and do not want the springs to sag. Or should I go with med 926 front and 947 rear? I assume for a stock truck 948 would be too stiff. But that's why I am asking your opinions.
Thanks and I did already read through the stickers and as many topics as I could find on lifts and nothing I found addressed these questions.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2010 11:58 pm

IMO 927s are not too rough, the ride will be firmer but not rough with any OME spring.
Also since you tow sometimes I would only go with the 948s in the rear.
For the front if you are afraid that the 927s are too stiff then I would not go below a 926 which is rated at 375 lbs, stock being 300-320. Way better handling and ride
235-75s are about too narrow to put on a 8 inch wide wheel also, will be pulling the beads really wide.

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Ok so 926 up front should ride nice. and the 947 in the rear would be too soft? Sorry to be questioning but I just want to make sure I do it right the first time. As for the tires, the specs on a 235/75/16AT showed it was suited for a 6.5-8"rim. But I don't want to stress the tire. I have seen many people here running 245/70/16 but I do not want to worry about the pinch welds rubbing.

I was just looking at the OME kit. On JBA and saw an option for 132L shocks for the rear. Would that be worth it for this lift? I may add an iso on the rear and I will be adding the trim spacers up Front.

Also is the OME lift actually only 1.5" or is it closer to 2" installed?

Sorry to be asking all these questions but like I said. I want to do it right the first time.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2010 7:38 am

If I was you I would go to 245-75-16s
245-70s are going to be on the small size
Regarding the OME 132Ls yes that is what you need they are the extended length, OME 132s are the stock length.
You can run 245-70s unlifted so if you are also adding a top plate etc then you'll have in the neighbor hood of 2.5 inches at least depending on springs. I have never heard any one complain about even the heavy duty ones being too rough. Now some of the springs setups from back in the late 70s were rough, any more no. Like I said before, if you're going to tow or haul anything go with the 948s in the rear
Heres one we did at my place with 927 springs in the front, 948s in the rear with front top plate in front , and extra isolator in the rear. 245-70s on it here so you can see what it looks like

ryanee182 · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2010 9:47 am

I run the 'heavy duty' springs, and I think my Jeep rides just a smooth as any other SUV or Jeep. I also have a 2-year old and he doesn't complain a bit!

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Thanks guys. I will go with the 948 in the rear and 926 or 927 in the front. My biggest fear is when I set the truck back down that the springs do not compress at all and I have no down travel of the suspension while on the road. I have seen pics of kjs flexing and the front wheel is on a rock with almost no compression of the suspension. I'm guessing those are internal strut spacers though that compress the stock springs, idk though.
With ome lifts and long travel shocks in the rear, will I need extended bumpstops in the front or rear? I read on here somewhere that ome does not need them if you use their shocks/struts.
As for the tires, when i get the lift on I will have the tire shop fit 245/75/16 on the front and test for rub, if they will. My plan is not to have to pound down the pinch weld. And I'm guessing going with 245 on the front and the mob wheels with 1/2" less backspacing than stock, I shouldn't have any problems with rubbing on the inside of the wheel well or sway bar.

Tom, that jeep you posted pics of that you lifted looks just like what I want. Was there any rubbing with those tires?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2010 12:43 pm

245-75s on Moabs should not give you much of any problems , depends on the tire though and how the tread is , MTRs on MOABs will clear with no problems.
Again I would go with at least 926s, the 925s are the same as stock and will sag over time like the stock ones do.
The 927s are rated at 400 lb, ( stock is 300-320) I'm running 790s on the front of mine with 500 lb rating and no problems ( only have a ARB bumper ) I have down travel on the road with them. I ran the 927s for over 100,000 miles and it rode like a Caddy down the road
OME says you don't have to run bump stops in the front but its cheap insurance to keep the flare from hitting the tire, same in the rear, 2 hockey pucks work great in the rear. Teraflex fronts

The one I posted had tons of clearance! Not a good side shot but he could run 245-75s real easy

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Great thanks Tom. I will go with 927 up front and fit 245/75/16s and get the extended bump stops. You have put my mind at ease lifting my Libby and I hope to become a regular part of the L.O.S.T. Community.

And if anyone is interested I will post pics of the build as soon asvi get started.

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

If anyone is running OME springs please chime in with what springs you have and your apx lift and how it rides. Thanks.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2010 12:47 am

927 front 3 conduits in the clevis, steel front bumper
JBA25 and 2 extra top iso's in the rear, steel rear bumper and a tank skid

without the steel, it was a little stiff in the front, but not harsh for the first 1-2k miles and it calmed right down

with the steel, it rides like a Jeep-o-Zine, just glidessssssss

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2010 7:21 am

signguy wrote:

If anyone is running OME springs please chime in with what springs you have and your apx lift and how it rides. Thanks.

There is a list of what quite a few of us have at the top of this page, read through it as well.

But for me a gasser Frankenlift with OME 790 springs a custom made 1/4 inch cutting board top plate

rear 948s with two extra custom made isolators

First lift that I ran went over 100,00 miles on mine and was 927s/948s with Ranchos , front 3/8 inch top plate and 4 clevis rings, rear two extra isolators , now its on another KJ here in town!

RED_KJ_666 · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2010 9:24 pm

927/948 No added weight at all somewhere around 400km here.

It's softened up a bit and flex a bit better up front now.

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Hey red, with the 927 up front do you have any regrets? Is the front soft enough for highway driving or do you feel every bump in the road? Just trying to get opinions from as many people as I can on the ride quality of 927 or 926.

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Ok one last question in here. Is anyone out there actually running the OME 926 med rate springs on the stock front (no steel bumpers)? So far most of you running HD springs have steel bumpers.
I'm just wondering if the 926 will give less lift than the 927

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 1:53 pm

The 926s will give you a little less lift, not much difference but some.
I know of at least 15 that have 927s in the front and no steel bumpers or anything else and no problems

signguy · **Joined:** Fri May 07, 2010 8:53 pm **Posts:** 8

Thanks Tom, I know , everybody is recommending the 927 but I keep worrying about it being too stiff. For example reds pic he posted up in my post flexing a little and it looks like almost no compression of the front spring. Is this true of all lifts for the Libby?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue May 18, 2010 4:54 pm

reds isn't showin much flex because he's got tiny tires :lol:

actually, that pass. front tire is probably 50% compressed up from static level, it would be compressed more but the drivers side is lower than the pass side so it's leaning a bit

the front of the libs don't have a ton of travel to begin with and i'd say the front coils from the factory were 100 lbs under rated at the LEAST, that's part of the reason the stock coils only last about 30k miles, wranglers were afflicted with a similar problem for a few years where the front suspension would last about 25-30k miles and then start banging the bump stops until you had to buy new bump stops too because they had split

I understand your hesitancy to get the 927's, but i really don't think you'd have a problem with them or dislike the ride, they do take a bit to settle tho, but i also think you'd be just fine with the 926's too but i wouldn't get less than a 948 for the rear, you can pretty much go as stiff in the rear as you want, but if you go too soft you'll regret it because it'll bob and rock when going across speed bumps and such at an angle

gmoney2626 · **Posted:** Sat May 22, 2010 5:59 pm

I am running the Frankenlift IIP which has OME shocks and springs all around. I am not happy with the Frankenlift but the OME ride quality is nice. The lift has been on my car for about 20k miles (1yr 6mos) and in the beginning the ride was tough with the OME HD springs. I felt every little bump in the road and when I turned the car around a corner it felt like a train on rails. It was tolerable but wished it was a bit more on the soft side. A period of time later (sorry I cant further define) the ride did improve. Now I feel like the vehicle rides nice and do feel it flex when I turn corners and it does feel softer. In my quest to figure out what to do about this Frankenlift I have come across a customizing shop that the mechanic was impressed with the ride quality of the suspension. He feels that a 400lb spring is too much for my gas model liberty. I need to remove about 1/2" to 1" of lift and he wants to try and replace the front springs with light duty springs from OME. I too am concerned about the ride quality of the lesser spring and havent seen too many people running them.

It seems you are exactly in the same position I was in Nov 08. You want to lift your jeep for some extra ground clearance but you wont be doing heavy 4 wheeling and will be using it as a daily driver. I thought I did my research... heck I was going to by a Skyjacker kit before finding these forums and instead choose the Frankenlift. If there is one thing I think I am learning is that not all libertys are created equal. Most people that have OME or Franklift with OME and have had no problems appear to have a center wheel to fender flare measurement under 22". I am sure more people will be able to chime in... I by no means am an expert but I think if you lift the liberty you might want to stay under this number....this is the conclusion I am coming too.

Just thought I would share my experience.

05 KJ lift OME coil selections

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