ARB OME lift issues

I just installed an ARB OME front lift kit I purchased from 1stGenOffroad. My truck is a 2006 DC 2WD. Went with the 2884 springs which was supposed to give 1.5"-2" of front lift. My front measurement (measured from center of hub to wheel well) went from 19 1/4" to 23 1/4", around 4" of lift! Drove it for a bit and it settled down 1/2" but still way more lift than I bargained for. Granted my old shocks were very worn out and the 2wd's are lighter in the front.

My backup option was to reuse the original springs and put on 5100 or Eibach shocks, but I preferred to replace the whole assembly since I was there. Now I'm not sure what to put on my truck.

Anyone else get way too much lift from OME kits?

 

Did you get the lighter spring option if there were choices? My dad also put ome on his 3rd gen and it lifted it more than advertised too. That’s kind of an Arb thing. I think they assume it is 4x4 and has some aftermarket armor like a bumper and winch etc because they are an Australian outback over-landing company.

 

OME lifts run a bit high. I have run their suspensions on several vehicles. As an example, the 2.5 inch suspension (light duty coils) on my 4 runner was closer to 3 inches, about 2.75. Add in the fact that I replaced worn out springs/shocks on the 4runner and yes, it probably lifted it 3 to 3.5 inches. They will settle some, but do not expect it to drop an inch.

Just drove the 4runner yesterday and the OME suspension is still great, about 50-60k miles on it now with no issues.

Only other thing to note is spring selection. Their "light duty" coils are still about 10% stiffer than stock. Some run the medium or heavy springs without additional weight of a bumper, winch or load....in those cases yes, they will be even higher than advertised and quite a bit stiffer ride.

 

Yeah the 2884 spring was the lightest the website offered. OME has a 2883 spring that has the same stiffness but a little shorter, but 1stGenOffroad didn't have it. Seen a lot of guys on here put 2885 springs on their trucks so I figured the 2884 would be safe.

 

Also the measurements they give are for stock height (new) height increase. My guess is your springs have sagged over the 14 plus years and you got more than advertised.

 

I have a 2WD DC and wanted a lift to replace my worn out front suspension to fit larger tires without a rub. Not a fan of spacers and such. I went with the same lift you’re talking about with 2885 springs. Mine has settled after about 6 months to 3” lift. No issues at all so far.

 

I figured the same thing. Thought I was playing it safe with the shorter spring.

 

I have heard this happen more often than not. Its almost amusing that we want lift and get frustrated when we get more than we expected, but I get it. Thats a pretty big difference but from what I have seen thats rough 3" higher than stock. Your old coils may have been a little saggy assuming you were on the same level surface for each measurement.

For reference mine is about 2" over stock and hub to fender is just over 22".

Also, did you put the truck on the ground and measure right away? With independent front suspension whenever you jack up the truck, when it goes back to the ground it temporarily sits higher than it should because of tire scrub. You have to roll forward and backward and turn the wheels a bit to get the initial settle to static height. In my experience that easily can add over an inch if you don't settle it. Alignment also tends to lower the truck just a bit after a lift, because camber goes positive which is kinda like your truck being on its tippy toes.

Now the most important part- can you post some pics? Of the whole truck and turn the wheel to the side to get a pic of the whole suspension? We like them for science.

 

Good points about measurements. The after measurement was taken right away at the same location. After driving on it for a day it settled down almost 1/2". Also worth mentioning that I have a shell over the truck bed with no additional leaf spring support yet. That could be making the whole thing sag backward.

My cardinal sin with the whole situation is I never got a picture of the truck with the new springs before I took them off so I could actually commute to work. The camber was super off and I didn't want to get an alignment if I wasn't keeping the springs. But here's a photo before the lift, loaded down with camping gear and kids.

 

Oh, so you put the old set back in? Thats a good move.

To properly run the kind of lift you describe it is better to have aftermarket upper control arms. You can get by on stock ones for a while if your upper ball joints are in good shape, but the suspension wouldn't cycle well. I would look into maybe SPC or even the newer JBA upper arms.