OME spring choice

Hi all,

First of all, what an awesome forum to stumble across with such a wealth of information. I've already found a tonne of info and articles regarding relays, tyres, recovery points etc. and learnt a lot just by surfing this forum, so cheers all!

I'm now looking for some advice for a GQ SWB mainly around spring choice.

I mainly use my truck as a work commute vehicle and would easily do 20,000km a year on the tarmac. I occasionally do a decent off-road trip about twice a year up NZ riverbeds and regularly up the hill to the ski fields with the kids. I've decide to bite the bullet and get a 2" lift kit installed for a bit more clearance but struggling to choose what type of spring to get. As it's also my daily, I still want it to be as comfortable as possible. I don't really carry any gear to/from work but will carry a bit when I head off-road. I've got no bars/winches.

I'm leaning towards OME as i've used ARB here in the past and some of the other 4x4 stores haven't been as helpful with upgrades so far. But i'm also open to suggestions too.

My main question is, should I be aiming for a relatively soft spring for my daily commute or something more medium for the few off road trips per year?

Cheers

Welcome to the forum. I was given the components for a 2 inch lift. They were from a LWB TB42 with winch, bullbar and a set of draws in the back. My LWB Patrol only had an RB30 and a winch. I decided to try the lift anyway. Needless to say, the vehicle ride was very rough. After a rear shock broke I fitted some new gas shocks, but the ride got worse. I got sick of the rough ride and removed the lift. Picking the right spring/shock combination can be tricky. Hopefully someone on here that has had similar set up to yours can guide your choice of gear.

My 2 cents on it are: I would not change the vehicle behavior to match 1% or less of its usage. Aim it at the 99% or more. If the once in a year trip worries you a bit, maybe a winch would buy you some cheap insurance. I wouldn't even bother to include a front bar for that use, bars are heavy, affect fuel consumption, etc, so again, not worth for that 1% or less...

Another thing that would help a lot your once in a year off-road trip are proper off-road tires. You could have a second set of wheels/tires to be used in that occasion only and then change back to highway tires.

Just be careful @kiwiswb Mate with SWB models as their rear tail shaft is a lot shorter than the LWB models and more prone to vibration when suspension lifted. It is due to the universal joints being at unequal angles and becomes greater faster the higher the lift that is installed. From memory a 2” lift on a SWB will need spacers between chassis and gearbox crossmember to help angle the gearbox rear downwards. Certainly any higher than 2” lift like mine also requires adjustable rear upper control arms to be able to rotate the rear differential pinion so that the opposing universal joint angles are matched at average ride height out on the highway speeds.

https://youtu.be/Idk3BVDVHq4


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Suspension lift only gives you more clearance against scratching the bodywork (Also achieved with a body lift). And a higher centre of gravity. Sure you also clear bigger tyres but if you're not going past 33" I wouldn't f@ck with it. And a shorty saf on 33s will get you over most things.
I would seriously (re-)consider WHY???
You also run into all the issues of caster angles, panhards, prop shaft/uni-joint angles, sway bars, extended brake hoses, etc, etc, etc.

Dobinsons (strayans?) do good springs, generally rated as "standard" "heavy" and "extra heavy" for 2,4, or 6" lift.
Can't tell you much more than I run "no lift heavys" in my LWB ute (no sway bars) and it does what I need it to. It's no race car, but then, it's no race car.
I've had it loaded to the bump-stops on the tray and had enough extension to keep the front paws down for steering. I'm going to upgrade to "extra heavy" for the rear :)

I think Archers (throughout NZ) can wind you whatever you want, so could do a progressive to whatever spec you give them.

I have no experience with OME, suspension or anything else, but have heard them referred to as "overpriced crap" As with ARB.

Where in the country are you? (ski fields suggests the middle island...) There's a few good guys around the country that know a couple of things about 4x4, and particularly safaris.

Suspension lifts will assist getting chassis’s up & over off rock and or track crests but as @mihit Mate kindly mentions there is probably no need on a stock SWB anyways as their F/R axle shortyness wins out of the factory for your described needs @kiwiswb Mate.
Please do be careful again with their “shortyness” as gravity is against us/them SWB models climbing overzealous steep hills…flippy flippy over backwards with higher suspension & lesser gravity weight body lifts…..unless you’re hauling roof rack style 3.0+ m high like a lot of StrayanTourers [emoji51]
(Lowering center of gravity weight is [emoji106][emoji106]) [emoji736][emoji736]


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