oldman emu 2.5 hd or zone 3 " ?

[lannie]

Hello -
I am not sure what suspension lift to get, hoping to get some help.  The oldman emu coil/shock from northridge (2.5" HD) is one consideration. The other is the 3 " zone lift from northshore. Not interested in any bodylifts or handling problems on hwy. Price is a consideration. I have just installed xrc bumpers front and rear with a 9.5 ti on the front. I measured and found the front is lower  by 1 1/4 " and i believe this is due to extra weight on the front now.
The northshore people advise going straight into their 4" lift and claim i will not run into any misadventure. Will i also need to add a coil spring spacer to the front to level off the front of the jeep. I have been searching these questions out and both systems get great reviews but the oldman stuff seems to be higher priced due to shipping and importation from down under etc.
Thanks for any help,
Lannie

[w squared]

What sort of Jeep are you looking to install this on?

I'd also suggest that while Zone is probably an okay product, Old Man Emu is generally considered to be one of the best quality providers for springs and coils for "small" lifts.

[lannie]

It is a 2003 tj.  When i view the kit contents there are more components in the zone kit which make it seem more "complete". 1/2 " different in ride height ?
The zone kit also appears to have less exposure in the forums but the people who have tried it seem to like it. I do not want to have "buyers remorse" but also do not want to spend more money just for the higher profile name.  Front and rear extended sway bar links are included with the zone kit but not with the OME. Will i need these with the 2.5 " OME, it is listed as an add-on withe the OME kit.
Thanks for the input
Lannie

[parabs]

IMHO, go OME, try it and run it if you like it....but if you do have buyers remorse, there will be tons of people clamouring for it.  I mentioned I had an OME 2.5 hd tj kit sitting in my garage, and I had 7 personal messages inquiring if I wanted to sell it...I didnt mention anything about selling it.

 

[Jrama]

I'd opt for the zone sheerly because its very similiar to the bds 3" which has been great for me for about 2 years now and its cheep. throw some .75" coil spacers upfront to balance out the winch and call it done. Its worth considering that with  3" of lift you can get away with 33" tires with minor rubbing under full flex (if you buy the discos)....which you should.

As a matter of fact thats exactly what I am running in my display pic

[bobtheknob]

go zone its a great product have a 4" on my 99 tj for a year and a half now no problems great lift for a great price

[BlackYJ]

IMHO, go OME, try it and run it if you like it....but if you do have buyers remorse, there will be tons of people clamouring for it.  I mentioned I had an OME 2.5 hd tj kit sitting in my garage, and I had 7 personal messages inquiring if I wanted to sell it...I didnt mention anything about selling it.

EXACTLY what parabs said.  You will not have buyers remorse with an OME kit.  Their kits are fantastic.

[w squared]

Just an FYI. Zone is Black Diamond's "lower priced" version of their standard stuff. These kits are built to a price point, and you get whatever performance level the engineers could include within that price point. Companies like OME, Currie, and Clayton engineer their kits to perform to a level, and then figure out what it will cost.

What you buy is up to you - just understand that with lifts (like anything else) you MAY get what you pay for. Or you may get a little less.

[Alltornup]

I put the OME kit on a couple of months ago and have no issues.  That with a 1" bodylift and it's perfect for the 33's I put on. 

[Jrama]

I know Zone is closely related to BDS which is a fantastic company. I talked on the phone to a zone/ bds dealer who claimed they are very similair, I also called zone who claimed the same thing. Essentially zone is the more expensive parts rebranded and sold cheaper. As a matter of fact if you bring the zone 3" kit (in terms of (completeness) up to the level of the BDS kit they almost come out even in terms of price. Which is why i bought the bds instead of the Zone. As far as I am aware they use the same springs and shocks as the BDS which is all that really matters with a 3" lift, the ride is better than stock.

The premium priced kits are nice but at 2.5" of lift its really rather pointless to go that route, Both lifts use mostly stock suspension components anyway. Your not getting any added offroad performance for your money. The only thing you will be paying for is the name, if you were doing a 4" kit I'd definately look into a more premium kit as then you are changing control arms, track bars, brake lines etc etc

[lannie]

After much deliberation i chose the zone  3" kit. When compared to the BDS kit it was not as complete. Missing was the disconects, alignment cam kit(caster kit) and transfer case adapter  bracket. I upgraded the zone kit to include disco's and caster kit. The point of deciding on the zone is when i read the installation instructions for the bds and zone were the same instructions (identical text and pics).  When all was said and done including shipping the invoice for the zone kit was 547.51 (with shipping from Vancouver, 2 day service to my door in the crowsnest pass). BDS was approx. 970.00 and i would have had to drive to lethbridge for it or pay shipping on top. In all fairness i did not realize the trans case bracket was not there so if needed i will address that later. I have never installed a lift kit or watched it being done and the intructions were very clear and concise. I did break off 1 rear upper shock bolt but just chiseled it off and replaced it with a bolt/nut/washer combo and was back on stream.
I did measure pre lift height and completed lift heights. When done i was surprised that the actual lift increase was between 3 and a 1/16 and 3 and 1/8.
I still need to have an alignment done as the toe in and tracking are  off. Did not attempt to adjust these as i want the caster properly set by an alignment shop anyway. I have only driven it about 20 kms so far and it was mostly on the hwy  to Blairmore and back so not anything to report for a test drive really. Seems better than it was but we will see what the next few thousand bring. So far so good.  When i upgraded the kit they still left the front sway bar links in too, if i ever need them they will be there. Saved myself 425.oo on the kit opposed to buying BDS. Purchased the smittybilt bumpers from these guys 2 weeks ago and the prices from them were actually less than buying from the states before the shipping. Again shipping from van was free.

[Jrama]

So you ordered the Zone kit from northshore? or directly from Zone? Cause the prices you mentioned are not what I see on the site, Disco's are $112 alone

[lannie]

Northshore- They are willing to deal, -  paid 95.00 for the disco's.  I have spent enough in the last 2 weeks to earn a discount. I am sure i am not alone on that as in my short time on this forum it looks like just about everyone has earned their discount somewhere. :-)  When i buy tires and rims they will be on that short list too.

[Jrama]

Looks like you got a really good deal on the lift, Northridge is a beauty.
Good luck and enjoy wheelin your new setup, I know firsthand it won't disappoint