2002 Liberty Lift/tires

[BK2002]

I am new to the forum and looking to get some advice. I would like to get a lift, tires and wheels for my jeep. I know the OME is lift of choice but since I am a student that is out of my $ range at this time. I am considering a BDS which is a 2". Any thoughts? Will I get a decent amount of lift?

I have done some reading here and did my measurements from fender to middle of the wheels.
Front left- 18.5"
Front right - 18.5"
Rear left - 19"
Rear right - 19"

245/70/16 tire without any rubbing or trimming? I assume 265/70 is out of the question. 16 x 8 wheel
Appreciate any help.

 

[tommudd]

Why does everyone think BDS is cheaper ?
Basically with BDS you get 4 springs due to having to buy new front shocks, new rear shocks since the ones that come with the kit are pretty worthless
I've installed a few BDS kits and their springs are good but we used BILSTEIN shocks all around on the 3 kits we did
Plus you still need to buy front bumpstops/ rear hockey pucks for bumpstops
so in the end with BDS you spend more


If you go 2.5 inches of lift ( OME 927/948 combo ) you can run 265-70-16s , I do on one of mine but regeared to 4.10s to get power and mileage back
With an 8 inch wheel you have to stay with 5 inches of backspacing , so what are the specs on the wheels you want to run ?

 

[BK2002]

I think I want to stay with a 2" since you don't seem to lose much for power/mileage with 245/70's and I do not want to re gear anytime soon.

I will look at the the OME coils 926/947 or 948. I do not do heavy off roading. Are these for a 2" lift because I keep seeing 1.5" lift

BDS coils are they 12.75 or 15"

Curious how the ride is with OME coils/Bilstein shocks.

As far as the wheels I haven't finalized anything yet. The lift is taking more time than I thought.


Still learning through all of this so thanks for the help!!

 

[tommudd]

I think I want to stay with a 2" since you don't seem to lose much for power/mileage with 245/70's and I do not want to re gear anytime soon.

I will look at the the OME coils 926/947 or 948. I do not do heavy off roading. Are these for a 2" lift because I keep seeing 1.5" lift

BDS coils are they 12.75 or 15"

Curious how the ride is with OME coils/Bilstein shocks.

As far as the wheels I haven't finalized anything yet. The lift is taking more time than I thought.


Still learning through all of this so thanks for the help!!

In the land down under where OME is located they have insurance laws so they advertise everything at 1.5 inches
926/947 combo with get you about 1.75 inches or so of new lift over new stock height
The ride with OME coils and Bilstein or OME shocks is a 10000 times better than new stock on a Liberty
Liberty suspensions were shoved out the door with very weak, bad riding suspensions
Makes no difference in height of a coil, a 12 inch tall coil may give you an inch of lift where as a 10 inch may give you 2 inches of lift
All depends on the overall rating of that coil
For instance OME 927 are rated at 400 lb, 926 at 375 , stock is a miserable 310

plus 245-70-16s are to narrow to run on a 8 inch wide wheel, pulls the beads out too far
If lifted a much better choice is 7 inches wide and 4 inches of backspacing
sits the tire/wheel combo out to the edge of the flare and works well with most all sizes you can run on a Liberty

 

[BK2002]

Thanks tommudd for your help... I am looking at the Bilstein shocks and can't seem to locate the numbers posted in the FAQ page. Are you able to confirm if they are replaced with these numbers as I do not want to order the wrong ones.

Front # 24-139168
Rear 24-139175

Still haven't decided on the coils yet. BDS or OEM. With the BDS I would get a bit more lift though not much.

 

[tommudd]

Fronts are correct number
rear depends on if going stock, or OME 948s
If OME 948 springs in rear, then shocks would be 33-85859 or a couple of other numbers

with BDS you will not get more lift than with OME 948s

 

[BK2002]

How would the BDS ( 2in) compare with the 926/947 set up. More lift? You mentioned its not with the 948's.

BDS front rated at 435 lbs
rear 210

I think the 927/948's would be more than I need since I'm not doing much off-road. No winch or aftermarket bumper.

245/70/16's

Would the Bilstein 33-185859 rear shock be the same if I went with the 947's? That shock says it is for a Dodge Dakota?

Aside from the coils/shocks,bumpstops, are there any other parts I need to install?

 

[tommudd]

OME 926s are rated at 375 lbs
OME 927s are rated at 400 lbs

The shocks I listed would be for a 2.5 inch lift and YES , YES they are for a Dodge Dakota 4x4 Club Cab pickup and work GREAT

I do not build strictly for off road, street handling and better driveabilty comes in first since 90% of us do that daily

Teraflex front bumpstops for a JEEP KJ
rear we use 2 hockey pucks per side bolted down to the lower spring perch

 

[BK2002]

Thanks tommudd for your advice. I was doing additional ready and came across this info but did not know how to link the original post.

Everything seems more complicated now. This is all so foreign to me and I'm trying to learn as I go. Thanks for your patience.

I was considering the 926/947 as I did not want the 2.5" lift.

Can you recommend Bilstein front/rear shock for the BDS system since your original suggestion was for the 2.5 OEM lift. I have looked through the forum with no success. BDS/Bilstein

Websites seem to only give lift info on the shock with no height or ratings. Frustrating since you don't know if the current coil stock someone has is the new production or old.

Just seems simpler for me and I wouldn't have to ask you a thousand questions, like would I need bumpstops with the BDS coils?


An update: not sure ARB/OME changed their production from when this posted a few years back but here is the information straight from ARB on current (2021) OME products for the KJ:

Front
0. Stock spring - 320#/in
1. Light spring - 375#/in 385mm height
2. Medium spring - 375#/in 392mm height
3. Heavy spring - 400#/in 394mm height, thicker coils

Rear
0. stock spring - 150#/in
1. light spring - 170#/in, 340mm height
2. Medium spring - 200#/in, 340mm height, thicker coils

 

[tommudd]

Can not imagine I'm answering this twice in one week, ;(
seems no one can think someone actually knows the numbers of OMEs so they have to look up and then find wrong answers
so,.......The spring ratings listed are WRONG

stock is 310, thousands have known this since KJs came out
light duty 925s are 350, medium is 375, heavy is 400 and for CRD or gassers with aftermarket bumpers etc is 500
the shock numbers I gave will work on 926/947 combo, run that set up on my 05

YES you need bumpstops on ALL lifts
an inch of lift-an inch of bumpstop
Just checked, The last catalog I got last year has all the right numbers and even listed the 132Ls for rear shocks for over 2.5 inches
just forget BDS since they cost more anyways for just the springs , unless you like spending more money LOL

 

[BK2002]

Wish me luck! Just placed my order for

926/947 OEM coils

Bilstein front shocks 24 -139168
rear- 33-185859

Looking for a Canadian Distributor for the Teraflex/Daystar bumpstops. I would pay more for shipping/duties/exchange than the actual product ordering from the US.

Really appreciate all of the guidance tommudd... after more reading I am going to take the advice of having a shop do the install!!

 

[BK2002]

Now that I have planned for the OEM 926/947 lift, am I able to run 245/70/16's with 16 x 8, 5 " of backspacing?

Nevermind... you have already answered that.. I'm finding it very difficult to find 16 x 7 with 4" of bs....

 

[tommudd]

Lots out there
well unless you are wanting Mall wheels

 

[BK2002]

Not so much in Canada.....at least what I am seeing.

 

[WheelNut]

BK2002 let us know how the lift goes, post some photos, and drive impressions if you can please. Did you order longer rear shocks to go with the 926/947? I'm looking for a mild lift much like you are and have been considering the H&R, but AFAIK it seems like the 926/947 is quite similar to the H&R.

 

[Dstangline]

Sorry to bug you guys, I have the 925 for the front and I’m waiting for the rear medium springs to come in. Question is, do you think I should add a 5mm top plate to front to level the front to the back?

 

[tommudd]

Sorry to bug you guys, I have the 925 for the front and I’m waiting for the rear medium springs to come in. Question is, do you think I should add a 5mm top plate to front to level the front to the back?

Hard to say really
Now if you did the 927/948s it would be level, but I've found out that when you go 925s or 926s not always the same outcome
926/947 combo is closer to level than 925/947
why not just wait till you have it on , aligned a few miles on, you could always do a quick clevis to get it level, would be easy to do

 

[tommudd]

BK2002 let us know how the lift goes, post some photos, and drive impressions if you can please. Did you order longer rear shocks to go with the 926/947? I'm looking for a mild lift much like you are and have been considering the H&R, but AFAIK it seems like the 926/947 is quite similar to the H&R.

better than H&R

 

[BK2002]

What would I have to do to be able to run an 8" wheel with 926/947? Currently 18.5" front and 19" back. I am having no luck at all with finding wheels for 16x7. Open to different tire options to make it work... hell I don't even know anymore! I have looked new online, used nearby even for some different vehicles that match the bolt pattern etc.. and nothing... The only new wheel for 16x7 was the Vision 84 D window. Never did I think it would be this difficult even with a lift....

Nevermind... was just informed that I cannot get this Vision 84 in Canada either. They have a soft 8 with 0 offset but backspacing 4.5. No Cragars.

 

[tommudd]

What would I have to do to be able to run an 8" wheel with 926/947? Currently 18.5" front and 19" back. I am having no luck at all with finding wheels for 16x7. Open to different tire options to make it work... hell I don't even know anymore! I have looked new online, used nearby even for some different vehicles that match the bolt pattern etc.. and nothing... The only new wheel for 16x7 was the Vision 84 D window. Never did I think it would be this difficult even with a lift....

Nevermind... was just informed that I cannot get this Vision 84 in Canada either. They have a soft 8 with 0 offset but backspacing 4.5. No Cragars.

8 inch wheel has to be 5 inches of backspacing, then 255-70-16s with those springs
makes no difference how low you sit now, since new springs take care of that. But you are 1/2 inch lower than new stock height