Outer Limits 4x4 Board

My Q is, I bought a OME 3" lift, installed it and only got just over 60mm (above old stock spring height). This dropped by about 5mm in 2 weeks of driving so now I have only just over 2" lift.

The supplier said they would swap the spring for extra heavy items. This means going from a 220lb spring to a 300lb spring in the front and from 250lb to 280lb in the rear.

Is 300lb in the front going to gain the height or just jar the car to pieces. How much difference between the 2 spring rates??

I have just installed deul batteries, has steel bull bar, no winch "yet". Its a TD 4.2 80 series. I like the ride now and dont really want a harder ride.

Opinions,

Alec

Is it worth the brain-ache for an extra inch? Especially if it rides well now.

A stiffer spring will not necisarily raise the vehicle, but it definately will make the ride harsh unless your fully laden.

You could go for taller springs that are a thinner spring wire diameter, should give extra height but not as harsh. Height would drop more than stiff h/d springs once a heavy load is in the truck though. Would flex easier too.
You can also get h/d 2 stage coils where the coils are closer together on about a third of the spring. Theyre supposed to ride like normal without a load but not sag dramatically when loaded up.
I've never experienced them but a few tourers swear by them.
cheers

The heavier coil will sit you up a bit higher, maybe about 15mm. However I think it is more important that you have the right spring rate for what accessories you carry.
I didn't think OME had a 3 inch lift.

You could put some coil spacers in if you can't get the height you are after, not something I would really recommend though.

If you ever need a true 3 inch lift let me know.

Good Luck
Shane

Go the same spring rate or up about 5% (to compensate for the extra leverage of the sprung weight), with longer coils. Due to the limits on the elastic deformation of the steel you may find you need an extra turn, and a slightly thicker guage of wire to achieve this. There is a formula for working out the spring rate from the diameter of the wire, the number of coils, and the diameter of the coils. I'll try and dig it out for you tomorrow...

The cheap way of lifting is for the manufacturers to use the same coil form as original and a thicker wire (your 220/300 lb/in example) with the free height being the same. This is not the best option due to harshness of ride, especially in the front which is usualy constrained by a decent sized anti sway bar as well. There is an optimum mix of coil number and wire diameter, which also has to be traded against the amount of travel in the spring (free height, to fully binding) due to extra coils.

Generally the more coils you have the less settling you will get, and the longer the springs will last, but you will get less travel. Too few coils and your springs will be in the plastic deformation zone rather than the elasic zone, resulting in a vehcle that creeps closer to the earth by the week (as you have found...). Looks good when you drive it out of the showroom...

If you are fussy about it I would be getting a springmaker to make a set of coils to your specs, as all the commercially made ones don't always account for the loads that your vehicle imposes on them, such as steel bar, winch 2/3 battery, etc.

mate had similar issue with 3 inch...rated medium... i got 3 inch heavy lovells and havnt moved a muscle ... suggest to the supplier that if its common for their springs to sag an inch they should supply you with a 4 inch of the same rating and it will sag into the correct spot and not afect ride and have lots of flex........

if they sag quickly i would think its a poor sping not an extra couple of kilos on the front end... mates sagged at the back also

Bingham wrote:mate had similar issue with 3 inch...rated medium... i got 3 inch heavy lovells and havnt moved a muscle ... suggest to the supplier that if its common for their springs to sag an inch they should supply you with a 4 inch of the same rating and it will sag into the correct spot and not afect ride and have lots of flex........

if they sag quickly i would think its a poor sping not an extra couple of kilos on the front end... mates sagged at the back also

exactly what i run. heavy lovells. Great ride, except i wish the retailer/mechanic i went to for them put the right sized shocks in