Ranger Mods

For those who have fitted a lift kit to the front end, how much has it sagged since fitting and what gear do you have on the front?

I'm trying to work out how much lift to give mine and plan on fitting a winch along with the heavy ARB bash plate. This will add up to at least 60kg at the front of the car which, over time, will cause a lift kit to drop.

I'd like to end up with a 50mm lift.

So what are my options? Adjustable kit from 50mm to 75mm (when new) to allow for sag? 50mm lift kit then add a small strut spacer when it's sagged?

I dont really want to go more than 50mm from the start as I like my CVs!

I found BP51 ended up being about 1 inch at the end of it all and seems to be the case with most adjustable suspension I have seen.

Current Old Man Emu have not sagged at all with Warn zeon winch, ARB summit bar and ARB plates etc but shocks are a bit soft with this weight for my liking. Though I must admit, sitting on 110kph on freeway yesterday and someone else wanted my lane, they did hold their own and I was able to lane change with a bit of brake lock also and the front end still felt under control.

I have run it with at least 2 inch over standard for about 55,000 km without any issues or alignment problems.

Surprisingly the standard ARB OME is not a bad package for ride quality and weight and th price is pretty good also.

I will at some point put something else in that is adjustable as I do want to fine tune the front end.

My 2 cents anyway.

Thanks Stewart.

i run Dobinson remotes. They are spring tension adjustable, so you can set your ride height. Fox and some other brands do the same.

Hi,

Have done 60 000 kms in two years on an OME 2" (nominal lift kit) - half of that towing a two tonne caravan(on hitch weight 200-250 kg)
Did it because with long range tank on left of centre, rear aux battery on left of tub , and awning on left of roof rack - had 100kg extra weight on the passenger side and with ARB bull bar(and spots) and bash plates - which project a further 20-30mm below the cross member the front end was ploughing woefully in soft sand(airing down tyres dropped the front even further)

No winch though ! That would weigh down the front a lot.

Lift kit raised front end 45mm and 55mm -
Rear leaf springs were initially(after settling in) raised 65mm and 75mm
Vehicle tilted about 20mm to the left partly due to load and I suspect standard manufactured setup may be slightly to left anyway- just a guess.

After 2 years front end hasn't sagged - maybe 5mm. Meantime upgrades to Falken LT tyres which gives me maybe 10-15mm further clearance.

Rear leaf springs have sagged though about 20mm on left passenger side - currently getting ARB to have a look at that - might swap over rear springs to even up as they've still got plenty of life. My guess is that left rear side sag is due to constant bouncing towing caravan on country roads with a higher load and that side and the road camber pitching the load on to that leaf spring.

Overall quite happy with the OME kit, but a lot of the serious off road guys frown on them for performance and price