I'm looking to lift Frank in the next 3 or 4 months. My budget is $500-$550 for everything. I don't need a steering damper, I've already replaced mine with one from Terrafirma. With that budget, I've almost definitely got to use Terrafirma +2 A/T shocks unless I can find a steal on an OME set, but I was trying to decide on springs. OME Springs are cheaper, but I've heard that OME lift are better. I use the Disco for a daily driver, but in the next year or two she will become a weekend rider/off road toy. She is used to tow on occasion (once a month or so) but rarely more than 2500 or 3k lbs. She is typically loaded down with a lot of tools, parts, and fluids, but not much else. Next summer I will also be taking out the back seats to build a platform out if 2 or 3 sheets of MDF so I can store clothes, sleeping bag, parts, tools, etc for a couple months worth of road trip as well as an aluminum rood rack that will hold a couple aluminum boxes with extra supplies and a 5 gal jerry can full of gas. This will be an 8k mile trip and there will be lots of off roading.

So, with all of that info, what would you recommend? Heavy Duty or Medium Duty set? Terrafirma or OME? And finally, why do you recommend what you do?

 

my vote is hd, with the gear you'll have loaded up. md only if you plan on light load. I have never done emu but the best bang for the buck, when I was going that route, was the pro sport tf. it netted about 2.15" of lift and was their expedition hd set up with extended shocks. about as much as you can do before stretching brake lines etc.
it was a very nice set up for the $ and is still going strong on another guys truck. didn't come with damper

 

HD is the way to go I think. I actually prefer my HD OME springs over HD TF setup for long drives. Simply put it's just a much smoother ride. I hope to eventually ditch the TF springs and give RTE a try since I've always heard good about them.

 

My vote is MD unless you add winch bumper/rear bumper/ sliders. My ride was still rough with the TF HD kit with front and rear bumpers with sliders.

 

Ok, so 2/3 say Heavy. I'm thinking the Heavy OME Springs would fit best if the ride is smoother than the TF. I'm guessing the cheapest place to get all this would be Lucky 8?

 

Whatever you think, Do not think any HD spring set is going to give you a smooth ride unless your are fully loaded and have a few large cattle for passengers.

My MD set is not smooth while using it as a DD. Fine offroad though. Seems to handle the bigger stuff just fine and bounce right off anything else.

As in rebound from a bump in the road rather than absorb it.

 

Asphalt ride quality isn't really my primary concern, just a plus. I'm really more concerned with off road capability and it's ability to haul all of that junk it will be loaded down with both on and off the road.

 

My Disco was modified with a custom heavy-duty front steel bumper and 12K winch. It was also converted from an SE to SE7 with the rear jump seats. Mostly a daily driver with the occasional weekend off-roading trips.

The Terra Firma 2" medium duty worked well for me. I think that heavy duty version would ride pretty rough on the highway. I am glad Justin at L8 recommended the medium duty instead of the heavy duty springs.

 

How much did the steel bumper sink the springs down? Surely you couldn't have kept the full 2" of lift with it.

 

Here are some pics of the ride height after the bumper install (with the 255/55R18 tires).