Having second thoughts about doing a OME lift

My plan was to get the full OME 3" front and rear kit with AAL, 1.25" wheel spacers, or a full set of 5100's with AAL and run BFG KM2 285/75/16's on my stock wheels. But now I am having second thoughts about lifting at all due to all the potential issues I keep hearing about.

Pros:
-looks badass
-obviously better for wheeling

Cons:
-a lot of $$$ that could truthfully be better spent on more important things
-potential drift/alignment issues without UCA's
-screws up VSC (potentially dangerous?)
-screws up speedometer/odometer calibration (annoying)
-potential unwanted vibrations/added highway noise
-stresses CV's
-reduced fuel economy


I'm definitely on a budget and don't have extra cash to start fixing potential secondary problems that may arise, such as investing in expensive UCA's, paying someone to recalibrate the VSC, etc. And since i only plan on doing maybe 4 or 5 wheeling trips a year, I'd say the lift would honestly be more for looks than function.

Thus I'm having trouble justifying spending $1500 on lift, wheel spacers, and tires for something that's gonna end up riding and performing worse than stock, for the sake of it looking cool.

So here's you chance to talk me into or out of pulling the trigger and going through with it.

 

I run a full OME setup:

Alignment Issues: My truck aligns perfectly with stock UCA

VSS: Not sure, dont have it

Speedometer/Odeometer: SPeedo will be abotu 5 mph off at highway speeds, no big deal, never bothered me as I dont "drive by speedo" anyway, i go flow of traffic. The Odometer actually works in your favor, it will say less miles than you actually drove, so if you sell your truck, it will look like less miles than you actually drive..haha

Vibs and Noise: I am runnign 255/85 KM2 MT...they are actually VERY quiet and no vibs that I notice. It is also my daily driver, so I am running highway speeds all the time.

CV: So far so good

Fuel: I am actually getting the exact same fuel as I was pre lift, though my truck is an odd ball (always gotten bad milage from the day I rolled her off the lot). I get about 15mpg......this is a downside that cannot be overlooked, however if you were worried about fuel, you shouldnt have gotten one of these trucks in the first place.


all that being said, if its just for looks, save your cash

 

Its your money, so dont do it if you dont want to. I have the ome lift also and nothing is different at all.
Alignment: no probs there, wandering a little but if you just want a truck to look good put some rims on it and leave it stock. The 3 inch lift works awesome offroad. vsc dont know, dont have it.
Tires: mine ar 265 nitto terra and not too much noise unless I go up around 75 and to me it sounds good.
Speedo: about two mph off around 35 but never been pulled over so far at highway speeds so dont know.

 

If I had to do it over again... I would have jumped right to the RCD kit or not lifted at all

 

Yea the vibes can be fixed with axle shims,or carrier bearing drop. Diff drop will help you cv axles. If you dont like you mileage with 285s, regear to 4.11 or something close. I think the vsc is only affected on lifts with drop bracket setups. OME complete kit will run you around 1K to 1500k with new UCA its not that much. You can run wheel spacers if you rub. If you wanna stay low go with 2.25" readylift or 5100s and 265s. Just my .02

 

The ride quality is much better than the stock suspension. No comparison what so ever. Stock suspension is junk!

I wouldn't get a full 3" kit if you are worried about cv angles alignment, etc. OME lifts are around 2-2.5". OME designs there suspension systems so other modifications are not necessary. If you select the correct components - especially the correct front coils you shouldn't have any other problems.

Everything you need:
http://www.trdparts4u.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=-8415

1. Wandering - if any, will only be at highway speeds. If it does it will be very minimal and you won't notice it after a month. Low caster (the result from lifting the vehicle) will only effect wandering and not tire wear. I wouldn't worry about this. OME lifts are mild.

2. Screws up Vsc - no it doesn't

3. screws up odometer/speedometer - depends on what your previous tire size was. Assuming your tires are 265/70/16 it will be very minimal.


from the tire calculator

4. potential unwanted vibes/highway noise - If you stick to OME recommendations and don't go with a full 3" you won't have vibes. If you go with a full 3" it is possible. You might have a tiny bit of highway noise from larger tires but will be very minimal. After a few weeks you won't notice it.

5. CVs - OME lifts don't make the cv angles too extreme so you will be fine

6. reduced fuel economy - depends on the gears your truck has and how you drive. If you have a V6 you probably won't notice any change unless you drive fast.

I would highly recommend replacing the rear leaf springs. You will be happy you did.

I really don't see the CONS like you do. The ride quality and performance is a huge improvement over stock.

 

Thats weird because mine speedo is faster than actual speed.

 

any calculation on miles for the odometer?

 

just got an ome lift on at about 3.5 inches, no ucas and she drives perfectly straight on the highway no wobble at all.

 

Hey man; I was in the same place last week.

First, I was worried about lift interacting with VSC -- the salesman at 4 Wheel Part$ actually *refused* to lift my truck because they'd had to reverse a couple lifts on 2010 tacomas "with the ABS on the passenger side."

So, I was spooked about that and started this poll:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/112351-vsc-lift-interaction-how-common.html

Now, after that, I figured I was willing to take a chance with 5-to-1 odds in my favor. And I also figured out that I'm a pretty old, stodgy, conservative, and defensive driver. And I've been driving wheels *without* VSC all my life. So VSC is just a "nice-to-have" add-on. And I'd *rather* have the off-road capable suspension than the VSC, so if I *do* get the unlikely problem I'd rather disable the VSC - and I'm confident I have the knowledge and skills to design (with some help) a simple circuit that will automatically disable VSC every time the vehicle starts up, just as the driver can *already* do by simply pressing and holding the VSC-disable button for three seconds.

Les Schwab was willing to do the Revtek lift after talking directly with Revtek about my truck. But, you know, I wasn't sure a 3" spacer lift was what I wanted. Like you I was concerned about ride and I didn't want to put on an "off road" suspension that was so jarring that I'd actually have to drive *slower* on rough washboarded roads than I would with the stocker.

I talked to Ben at Redline Motorsports in Burlingame. He gave me some good input and some prices, and if I were going to have the thing installed, I'd probably have had him do the work.

Anyhow, I did a lot more searching on the web, designed a suspension "on paper" and solicited thoughts on a thread here

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/112718-will-setup-meet-my-needs.html

...and a similar thread over over at TTORA. (I won't link to it - but you can find it easy enough if you look, I use the same handle 'bjmoose' over there) Nobody replied here but I got a lively discussion over at TTORA that really helped clarify my thinking.

Like you, I'm willing to spend my hard earned sheckels on stuff that I'll use, but I don't like to *waste* them. And my lift plans kept going more, more, better, better.

Now the funny (actually logical) thing about lifting is the higher you go, the more changes you have to make from stock, because the more interactions there are between interconnected systems. So there's a lot to be said for KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.

More lift - more likelihood of driveline vibration gremlins because the angles get more extreme.

More lift - more likihood of VSC gremlins because the Yaw sensor is higher off the ground, and also it becomes oriented at a different angle if you do a "levelling" lift.

Front end lift past about 2" - more stress on the front CV joints. May need to do a diff drop. May need to replace CV boots much more often.

Front end lift past about 2" (maybe 2.5) - can't align exactly to factory specs anymore without replacing upper-control-arms.

Bigger tires - more cutting -- unless you're going for the "pavement queen" approach. But what's the point in an off-road suspension that's actually LESS capable off road???

More rear-end drop - new brake lines in back. Replace and bleed the system.

etc...

And, the pros don't like solving those problems any more than you and I do. They want to bolt it up according to the simple instructions, collect your check, and send you on your way.

I'm pretty handy - the watershed for me was - the right lift for me is the one I could bolt up myself. The whole point is to go OFF ROAD far from where you can call AAA if you break down, right? So self sufficiency is key, and if I bolt it up myself, I've got a leg up on the game if I hit something and break down on the trail. And then, I'm only paying for parts, not pro labor at $100/hr shop rate. So the cost comes down too.

Conversely, if it is too complex for me to do it, well then, I didn't trust anyone else to be wrenching on my brand new truck doing that same stuff either. (Ask me sometime about the multi-thousand-dollar-car-stereo-installation-gone-wrong, but that's a story for another day...)

So, with that in mind, I came down to a choice of either:

Bilstein 5100s all around (set at 1.85, NOT 2.5 in the front) with a simple Add-A-Leaf in the back OR

OME complete suspension (885 coils, Dakar Leaf packs, + OME shocks) all around but with no additional lift spacers (except the left/right trim pack on the heavier drivers side.)

I decided on the OME path and ordered it up from Wheelers Off Road yesterday -- but a LOT of people on TacomaWorld are happy with their billies! Billies and 265/75R16 adds clearance and makes for a more capable off road rig. With the right wheels, it stands out visually -- it's a look that doesn't scream "lift" but looks more like a stock rig that's been hittin' the weight room, IMO. Search for photo threads.

Hope this helps. Your time, your money, your decision. But my two cent summary is: "Remember, keep it simple. more is not better."

 

I ran OME 885's with bilstein 5100's and diff drop on the front. the rear was a toytec AAL and bilstein rears. The tires were 285/70/17's. My alignment was near perfect and I had zero issues. A once piece drive shaft may alleviate your vibration issues, depending on the culprit.

 

OME kit FTW! I did an AAL and think the ride is just fine. No need to for the top plate spacers.

 

Kit includes....
1 SET OME2885 FR COILS
2 90000 NitroCharger Sport front struts
2 OME N182 REAR SHOCKS
1 FK29 DriveShaft SPACER
4 OMEU53A U-BOLTS
4 90389-A0003 TOYOTA BUSHINGS
2 CS047R REAR LEAFS Please call or email us to make

That spacer might help with vibes.

 

on these forums, i bet i have the mildest lift. i went with the full OME with 884 springs and the 1.5" aal in back, set under NON tsb springs. i got 2" up front and a true 1.5" in the back. i am running stock rubber/wheels. 265/70's. i have the tiniest vibe in the rear..that i think is maybe a joint going south. my truck has settled 1.25" from the day i installed the kit. i had the alignment done right away, and they got it close. caster was out of spec, but my truck never wandered. i bet now that it is settled, i should go and get it realigned. i bet they can get it closer. it still doesnt wander.

would i do it again? probably not. with my very mild lift, i am gaining so little..i could leave it alone and still be happy. why did i do it in the first place? i took my truck hunting and had to so some wheeling. my tires rubbed my fenders hard on some stuff. i figured a different line up that hill could have saved my rubbing. i love my truck. i will go up that same hill in january. i cant wait to see if it helped.

ride quality is the same as stock. not better or worse.

 

I am not a fan of a full ome setup. I have the 885's mounted on the ome nitro sport 9000's and it rides harder than any one ton I have ever ridden in. I want to go with the RCD lift but it costs more than my budget allows.

 

My OME front on 885's runs softer than i'd like actually.

 

i'm running full OME and 885 coils. only vibes i get are from the tires coming un-balanced. other than that, no issues.

bottom line, you know damn well if you don't do it now, you'll do it later. don't kid yourself.

 

im sure that massive 500 pound bumper helps smooth it out
just kidding i know its only little over 100 lbs,with out a winch,nice fab work by the way
all i can say on these 3 in lifts ,don't do it,go 2 inch max ,or go drop bracket RCD,procrap,fabtec,
you don't need ome for a 2inch, get a spacer[ride on a 2inch spacer will be ok,its the 3in spacers that bite],or 5100 ,an a aal ,$300$500 bucks ,max
or ill sell ya my old 3inch kit complete for $150

 

you sure your truck has vsc? cause if you dont you can scratch that off your list

 

886 with the older n140 struts.

Worth every penny. Truck rides like a dream now. If you don't have the money though, just wait.