[mikeygone1]

I am thinking about an OME heavy duty lift for my 02 WJ V8. I was just wondering what type of increase I should expect? It has the up country suspension pkg. I have heard results are around 1.5 inches but wondered how it was with the up country?
I am also considering an ARB bumper for the winch I took off my XJ. Will this make the front end sag even with the heavy duty springs? I had to add spacers to the XJ to make it level out. Just wondering if anyone had this setup.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

 

[Phaze]

I would say get the medium duty and order coil spacers for the front to level it out. You may end up with a harsh ride quality with the heavier spring rate.

That being said, I havent heard ANYTHING about the OME heavy springs, only heard praises about the medium duty set.

 

[Michael]

i have the ome Hd springs all around plus teraflex budget boost (the best one). did that with dt3000 crap shocks and no track bars or anything like that. running jks discos (rub track bar mount), and 31" trxus MT's. i frequently fill up the entire back of the zj with crap and drive it all around the country, and down to southern mexico. it rides harsh, but better than stock. handles much better than stock too. i have a bullbar up front, but even with the hd springs the front is a little sagged after 2 years of these ome springs. if i were to do it again, i'd just get some better shocks. the hd springs aren't that "HD", but they are bigger diameter coils (2x compared to stock in the rear), and i can load up the jeep with 600+ pounds of whatever and it handles/rides nice. far less body roll than with stock if i remember correctly. very nice offroad as well. get good shocks, at least some dt prerunners, or ias edlebrock, or bilstein or whatever. just wish i didn't have a d35 that sounds like it's about to explode.

 

[Grand04Vet]

I have a 2004 Grand Cherokee with an OME lift in it. I got the OME Heavy Duty springs and OME Nitrocharger Shocks both front and rear. This gave me just over 2 inches of lift. I am VERY pleased with it. It does ride stiffer than stock, but it's a Jeep and I go off road with it. (If you have any thought to adding a winch bumper in the future you're going to want the Heavy Duty springs up front. Otherwise, you'll be buying them later due to the increased weight of the winch bumper). I got my OME parts from Rocky Road Outfitters and was VERY pleased with their price, customer service, and shipping time. www.rocky-road.com

The lift shifted my front diff track over to the drivers side which messed up the front end alignment. To correct this I installed an adjustable track bar from Rusty's Off Road. Great unit, easy to install. Rusty's is A#1 www.rustysoffroad.com Then just get the front end re-aligned and you're set. The only thing you can adjust is the toe-in, but this will keep your tires from scrubbing.

To make sure I don't bottom out the axles I installed a Tera-Flex bumpstop kit. When ordering make sure you tell them you want the kit and not just the bumpstops. It's part number HRWBB2W. This will get you all the bolts and washers you need. Otherwise all you get is just the bumpstops. Contact Brad at TMB Offroad at tmboffroad.com or 402-681-8120.

To help with increased body roll (due to lifting any vehicle higher than factory height) I replaced the stock rear anti-sway bar with a 1 inch ADDCO rear anti-sway bar. It's a much heavier duty bar and really helps keep the back end from tipping in corners. Get the upgrade Energy Suspensions urethane and greasable bushings. (I didn't replace the front because it isn't that much of an upgrade from stock). Go to www.wjjeeps.com and search swaybars for ordering info from [email protected]

I had Iron Rock Off Road build me a custom set of rear sway bars links to accommodate the 2 inch lift. The rear links were 10 3/4" long with a 5/8" dog leg to accommodate the ADDCO rear anti-sway bar. For the front I used a JKS adjustable quick disconnect. Go to www.ironrockoffroad.com for more info.

Last, since I planned to put 30 inch tires on I upgraded my steering stabilizer to a Rancho RS-5000 (part number RS-5409) from Central 4 Wheel Drive www.central4wd.com

Lots of info, but I hope this all helps.

You can check out pictures of my Grand Cherokee at www.cardomain.com and search Grand04


[smilie=1zj2 (1).gif]

 

[mikeygone1]

Thanks for the replies! Grand04Vet, nice pics on cardomain from the outer banks. Getting ready to head there myself in a couple of months. How did the GC do on the sand? My old Cherokee was great on it but the piece of junk Rodeo I had would sink everytime...even with the tires deflated.

Another question. Do most people need a adj trackbar with a 2 inch lift? I know on the cherokees that 2 inches was a pretty safe lift with no problems.

 

[Grand04Vet]

OME lift reply

Thanks for the compliments. I didn't have the OME shocks mounted at the time I took the pictures. And I now have 30 inch BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A tires on it too. They have been fantastic in our recent snows here in Iowa.

Air the tires down to 15psi and I sailed through the sand at the OBX with no problem. Have fun, it's great out there.

As for the adjustable trackbar. In my opinion bringing the track back to center is necessary. My Grand Cherokee is a daily driver, I put on over 100 miles highway each day back and forth to work. I want my alignment to be correct. Remember, the caster and camber are not adjustable on the WJ. By bringing the track back to center you keep the caster and camber at the same degree side to side. On myne, the camber is still at zero where it should be, the caster is a slight bit less positive than it should be. Being too much less positive would have resulted in the front wheels not wanting to re-center after going around a corner. Myne isn't off by enough to warrant the $500 ball joints (plus labor) to correct the caster back to spec. See the following article for good info on alignments:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/steerpul.htm

You said you have the Up Country suspension. This added from between 5/8 to 1 inch of lift depending on who you ask and included better springs, shocks, skid plates, tow hooks, and upgraded tires.

Some people actually deleted the better springs and shocks by accident when ordering the Up Country Suspension. If you bought yours new and added the "Quadra Coil Suspension" (which was a free option) you actually deleted the Up Country springs and shocks back to the base springs and shocks. It still will have the skid plates, tow hooks, and upgraded tires.

If you do go with an OME spring set up, go with the OME Nitrocharger shocks and not the Doetsch Tech shocks. The OME are designed specifically for the weight and handling of the Grand Cherokee and are great. Worth the extra couple bucks in the long run. Go to Rocky Road Outfitters web site and you'll get some great info about lifting a Grand Cherokee. If you go too high, you'll have a crappy daily driver.

My motto, "Build it right and you won't have to re-build it the way you should have built it in the first place".

[smilie=1zj2 (1).gif]

 

[Grand04Vet]

track bar question

P.S. stay away from anything that gives you a "track bar relocation" kit. They are junk. They do not have the structural integrity to stand up to any serious off roading. You'll end up bending the mount. Go with a DOM (drawn over mandrel) adjustable track bar. Much stronger than the solid adjustable track bar.

[smilie=1zj2 (1).gif]

 

[mikeygone1]

My other question is...if I have the upcountry package and I upgrade to the OME heavy duty lift...will I gain much lift at all? Just curious since most people say that the UC gives a little under an inch and the OME is only around 1.5". Will I end up with only an inch of lift? Would I be better to keep the UC and do a budget boost on top of it?

I am worried about doing the BB since I want an ARB bumper but I just dont want the front to sag too much. I I know the front of the WJ is heavy to already with the extra weight of the engine. This is my DD and I would like to keep everything running smooth. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Phaze]

I would say go to kevin.

www.kevinsoffroad.com

Get a set of the 1" or 1.25" spacers and add them on top of your UC springs. Couple that with a set of nitrocharger shocks for that ride height and she will ride real nice, and still be great offroad.

 

[ZJ Woody]

My other question is...if I have the upcountry package and I upgrade to the OME heavy duty lift...will I gain much lift at all? Just curious since most people say that the UC gives a little under an inch and the OME is only around 1.5". Will I end up with only an inch of lift? Would I be better to keep the UC and do a budget boost on top of it?

I am worried about doing the BB since I want an ARB bumper but I just dont want the front to sag too much. I I know the front of the WJ is heavy to already with the extra weight of the engine. This is my DD and I would like to keep everything running smooth. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Stay with the factory UpCountry front springs! They will give you the best ride and will not sag over time like OME or be too harsh like RE and others. Just add the amount of BB spacers on top to get the ride height you want.
After swapping out four different sets of front springs, I found that the UpCountry springs gave a firm but not harsh ride and do not sag like OME.

 

[buttnakedjeepin]

i thought that the Up and Country springs were manufacted from OME??? Or am i thinking Up and Country suspension as in packed deal from the dealer?? can anyone understand this mess?

http://www.wjjeeps.com/upcountry.htm

this is what i was thinking i think i got it know.

 

[Jeepdriver86]

Thanks for the replies! Grand04Vet, nice pics on cardomain from the outer banks. Getting ready to head there myself in a couple of months. How did the GC do on the sand? My old Cherokee was great on it but the piece of junk Rodeo I had would sink everytime...even with the tires deflated.

Another question. Do most people need a adj trackbar with a 2 inch lift? I know on the cherokees that 2 inches was a pretty safe lift with no problems.

I don’t need it on mine. I have the OME an an 08wk. It leveled the front and rear. Replaced all coil spring isolaters as well. I put 4-5 bags of 60lb sand in trunk in winter. I’ve noticed the rear sights a hair lower than front. Looking up a 1” rear budget boost right now

 

[Robertcladner]

I am thinking about an OME heavy duty lift for my 02 WJ V8. I was just wondering what type of increase I should expect? It has the up country suspension pkg. I have heard results are around 1.5 inches but wondered how it was with the up country?
I am also considering an ARB bumper for the winch I took off my XJ. Will this make the front end sag even with the heavy duty springs? I had to add spacers to the XJ to make it level out. Just wondering if anyone had this setup.

Thanks in advance!


Mike
For more information about what winch is best for a Jeep please visit the website here https://jeepequipment.com/12000-lb-winches

Most winches will fit into the ARB. Really small ones won't have the right bolt patten, but you're unlikely to consider them out of sheer commonsense. Huge commercial winches are also obviously out. If you want a Warn 8274, it can be done, usually easiest to start start with the ARB commercial bumper.