[45tr0]

Hi guys,

I'm not so worried about my new car warranty anymore after two years, 45,000km and a few dents, so it's time for a lift and a set of muddies.

I've got 215/75 KM2 muddies on the way from the US Tire Rack mob ($1000 landed for a set of 5) and looking at a mild lift to give a little more clearance.

Done some searching and it seems the most common options are:
OME 40mm
TD 40mm
EFS 50mm
Jimnybits procomp 50mm

I'm looking for the best combination of on-road manners and offroad capability at an affordable price (would prefer change from $1k).

I'd like to know what you'd suggest, and where to find the best price.

Thanks guys!

[Mubby]

Gray mate, I'm running 50 mm dobinsons coils and ultima longer shocks. I get some pretty mean flex and is much comfortabler on road. 700 bucks from suspensionstuff.com.au. pretty reasoonable price and probably the cheapest lift you'll be able to get. Hope that helps. Nick.

[dm90]

i would do something like mubby said, a mix of shocks and springs. i cant vouch for other brands though as i only had OME, which was very soft, and probably not the greatest flex.
TD is a very firm, but not bad ride offroad. OME being so soft means the car gets thrown around over small bumps.

what ever you get though im sure you will be happy with.

[squibby]

I just put 40mm OME on my Jimny, with a 10mm spacers on the back. Can't say much about the ride yet because I haven't driven it yet, some otehr mods still to do. BUT regarding fittment:-

Withthe 40mm lift on the back the rear brake line is 'JUST' about ok - Any bigger then 40mm and in my opinion I think you should get longer brake lines. The front has 40mm lift too, and the stock front brake lines could probably take 50mm lift in my opinion. Also the axles are still located pretty damn near the centre of the car still, so I reckon up to a 50mm lift you won't need extended panhards either.

[monley]

squibby wrote:

I just put 40mm OME on my Jimny, with a 10mm spacers on the back. Can't say much about the ride yet because I haven't driven it yet, some otehr mods still to do. BUT regarding fittment:-

Withthe 40mm lift on the back the rear brake line is 'JUST' about ok - Any bigger then 40mm and in my opinion I think you should get longer brake lines. The front has 40mm lift too, and the stock front brake lines could probably take 50mm lift in my opinion. Also the axles are still located pretty damn near the centre of the car still, so I reckon up to a 50mm lift you won't need extended panhards either.

I have been running the the 80mmlift for ages now with standard brake lines

[JayKay]

I have the 50mm EFS lift, and find it pretty good
details here

[45tr0]

Thanks guys.
JayKay, with the EFS kit, Are you finding the stock brake lines and panhard bar okay with the EFS kit?
Also, are you running castor correction bushings or is the 50mm not enough to require these? I ask because the EFS kit is sold over at 4wd1store.com with the castor correction bushings but without them at the link you posted.

[monley]

45tr0 wrote:

Thanks guys.
JayKay, with the EFS kit, Are you finding the stock brake lines and panhard bar okay with the EFS kit?
Also, are you running castor correction bushings or is the 50mm not enough to require these? I ask because the EFS kit is sold over at 4wd1store.com with the castor correction bushings but without them at the link you posted.

Get the castor bushs, they say they are not needed, until 60mm of lift is reached, but it will handle so much better, with them .

[45tr0]

monkey wrote:

Get the castor bushs, they say they are not needed, until 60mm of lift is reached, but it will handle so much better, with them .

cool, thanks mate. Should I just get the set of 4 poly castor bushes, or should I be going for a full set of poly? Any issues running a mix between the poly and standard rubber?

[monley]

45tr0 wrote:

monkey wrote:

Get the castor bushs, they say they are not needed, until 60mm of lift is reached, but it will handle so much better, with them .

cool, thanks mate. Should I just get the set of 4 poly castor bushes, or should I be going for a full set of poly? Any issues running a mix between the poly and standard rubber?

Get a full set of the rubber bushs if you can, as they flex better! I made the mistake of getting the poly bushs

[Liljim]

squibby wrote:

I just put 40mm OME on my Jimny, with a 10mm spacers on the back.

10mm spacers on the BACK?! I just installed a 40mm OME lift and have ordered spacers for the front, as it sits like a fully sick torana. (nose down, arse up)

I'm happy with the handling and ride quality of the kit, heaps smoother, and the cd player doesn't skip on bumpy roads anymore and it flexes way better than the standard combo, and at 800 bucks, it's pretty good value.

I'd advise fitting the kit yourself too, it took me under 1.5 hours with the help of a mate, so easy to do.

[dm90]

Liljim wrote:

squibby wrote:

I just put 40mm OME on my Jimny, with a 10mm spacers on the back.

10mm spacers on the BACK?! I just installed a 40mm OME lift and have ordered spacers for the front, as it sits like a fully sick torana. (nose down, arse up)

I'm happy with the handling and ride quality of the kit, heaps smoother, and the cd player doesn't skip on bumpy roads anymore and it flexes way better than the standard combo, and at 800 bucks, it's pretty good value.

I'd advise fitting the kit yourself too, it took me under 1.5 hours with the help of a mate, so easy to do.

just make sure you put the springs on the REAR the right way round

[Lockie666]

monkey wrote:

45tr0 wrote:

monkey wrote:

Get the castor bushs, they say they are not needed, until 60mm of lift is reached, but it will handle so much better, with them .

cool, thanks mate. Should I just get the set of 4 poly castor bushes, or should I be going for a full set of poly? Any issues running a mix between the poly and standard rubber?

Get a full set of the rubber bushs if you can, as they flex better! I made the mistake of getting the poly bushs

i fail to see how it could make much difference. Maybe .5 of a mm

[45tr0]

Where are you blokes finding rubber castor correction bushes??

I can only find poly.

[Benz]

I have the ome 40mm lift and as dm90 said it is very soft.
this becomes very apparent when you take the sway bar out.

the arse end does sit a bit higher but levels out if you tow a trailer or load up the car with camping gear. if you never load the jimny up a set of spacers on the front will make it sit nice and level.

have never driven a jimny with any other suspension set-up other then stock.

as others have said which ever way you go i'm sure it will dive much better then the stock suspension currently does.

[Scales]

I went with the 75mm jimnybits lift, really happy with it. procomp es1000 shocks. also did the relocation brackets and replacement radius arms. had a few minor issues, but that was just me being a noob really.

im going same tyre choice as you probably

[45tr0]

thanks for replying Scales, I'd been reading your thread.

[edit] - Just read your thread again. at $1300 that's a hell of a lot of kit for the money. Up until now I had been thinking the EFS set, but with caster bushes I was looking at $1100. You've really started to change my mind.

Also, the Tire Rack have been awesome to deal with for the tyres. Hands down the most affordable set of BFG's you'll find.

[Scales]

nah definatley not too hardcore. and the es1000s are definatley better than the stockies by a long shot, a far smoother ride. the whole shebang including the extra bits like the brake lines etc was 1300 to my door. i have no dramas recommending jimnybits, Rus is a champion. they took less than a week to get here also.

the thing i like best about my setup is the replacement radius arms. dont have to stuff around with getting the castor bushings in the right spot etc, and they are some really heavy duty gear.

i wouldnt go 50mm, but thats just me, i cant put body lift in so i went as high as i could (didnt want TD, too exxy)

[45tr0]

Scales wrote:

nah definatley not too hardcore. and the es1000s are definatley better than the stockies by a long shot, a far smoother ride. the whole shebang including the extra bits like the brake lines etc was 1300 to my door. i have no dramas recommending jimnybits, Rus is a champion. they took less than a week to get here also.

the thing i like best about my setup is the replacement radius arms. dont have to stuff around with getting the castor bushings in the right spot etc, and they are some really heavy duty gear.

i wouldnt go 50mm, but thats just me, i cant put body lift in so i went as high as i could (didnt want TD, too exxy)

yeah, you pretty much sold me with the arms. Looks like Rus can expect some extra business in the next couple of weeks.

[magoo]

I have a set of Raised 50mm King Springs for the Jimny for sale @ $150.00 plus Freight from the NT (approx $50) if your interested.
Tough Dog make a Really Good Long Travel Shock,that works well with these springs.I'd suggest trying it raised without camber correction bushes as you can always add them later if needed.
PM Me if your Interested.

[45tr0]

Okay, since i'm now tossing up between 50 and 75mm, does anyone know the legality of a 75mm lift in Victoria?

[Scales]

put it this way, its probably not legal. but it doesnt look rediculously high either so i highly doubt youd get pulled up for it. its not like your doing a 6" lift or anything. and theres plenty of those sort of vehicles on the road already.

thats just how i justify it. if your worried about 75mm, if you get pulled up just say 2" lift. itd take them a hell of a lot of effort on their part to prove you wrong.

as per vic rules, i dunno, but qld is 2"

[dm90]

45tr0 wrote:

Okay, since i'm now tossing up between 50 and 75mm, does anyone know the legality of a 75mm lift in Victoria?

we have all asked ourselves this question, and tbh, its not about the coppers, as mentioned before, it doesnt look high, and you could easily say it was 50mm lift and not 75mm lift, but an insurance claim is something else, if your car is deemed 'illegal' then you wont receive a payout.

[45tr0]

dm90 wrote:

45tr0 wrote:

Okay, since i'm now tossing up between 50 and 75mm, does anyone know the legality of a 75mm lift in Victoria?

we have all asked ourselves this question, and tbh, its not about the coppers, as mentioned before, it doesnt look high, and you could easily say it was 50mm lift and not 75mm lift, but an insurance claim is something else, if your car is deemed 'illegal' then you wont receive a payout.

Yeah, that's why I asked. I'm not worried about being pulled over; it's what happens in a claim, or worse still a fatality accident.
So 75mm isn't legal in VIC? Can it be engineered?

[squibby]

dm90 wrote:

45tr0 wrote:

Okay, since i'm now tossing up between 50 and 75mm, does anyone know the legality of a 75mm lift in Victoria?

we have all asked ourselves this question, and tbh, its not about the coppers, as mentioned before, it doesnt look high, and you could easily say it was 50mm lift and not 75mm lift, but an insurance claim is something else, if your car is deemed 'illegal' then you wont receive a payout.

Insurance covers you so long as you declare the mod to them. They can't police wether its legal or not, if they knowingly accept to insure the vehicle with a 75mm lift then its tough shit if you have an accident because of it, they have agreed to insure your 75mm lift wether its legal or not. I guess the problem is it would now be on record somewhere that you declared a 75mm lift, so you could get busted for dangerous driving if the cops found out you knew about the lift and you had an accident because of it. But what are the chances?

[SLYjoel]

And proving that a lift is the fault of an accident would be near on impossible. Well, depends how you stack it, but it wouldn't be easy, anyway.

[Scales]

be pretty hard for an insurance company to assess if it was 75mm or not, especially after a little while with sag etc.

id just go with saying and believing its 50mm lift,
As George Costanza says: its not a lie if you believe it!!! lol

[Bugsta]

I have 50mm King springs and 30mm poly spacers at the front only. I deem this to partially counter the weight of the bull bar, although I have never taken any measurements. I also have extended castor adjusted radius arms.

I am considering getting some 50mm or even 75mm spacers for the front and 30/50mm for the rear. Only concern then of course is the length of shocks. I already have longer front shocks than was kitted with the 50 springs, so I got a bit extra there anyways. I also have rear shock extenders, and adjustable panhards so I think I'm all good.

Question is, how mush is too much for these spacers? I realise that spacers do not increase flex, just chasis clearance. This is not really my concern, rather diff clearance, and what I really need is 31" wheels. Thats not gonna happen till I get T-case ratios sorted though as its bad enough now. I like the look of the allegro kit tho.