many thanks to the guys at ARB (michael in washington, seth green and chris wood from the off-road expo) for their time and knowledge regarding old man emu lifts. after reading up about OME lifts and customer's satisfaction with them, I became highly interested in one and gave them a call directly for more info.

i was surprised to find that the ARB west coast distributor michael could actually answer technical questions regarding the products, not only in general but also about my particular vehicle. he then recommended that i speak further with seth and chris at the off-road expo the coming weekend, and that one of those guys had the exact lift i was interested in installed on their own TJ and should be able to answer just about anything about the kit. this proved true, one of them helped me choose the proper components for the lift which would be required for my particular needs and vehicle, and i was even able to get some tips on a particular issue with installing the lift and how to remedy the problem. all 3 maintained a confidence regarding the company's products which was never "pushy" salesman-type, but a simple take-it-or-leave-it mentality.

In short, I was satisfied with ARB's familiarity with and confidence in their products, not only from one particular individual at the company but several. we will see if the performance of the lift lives up to its reputation given both from the company itself and also from online reviews i've read.

Good help can be hard to find, sounds like you found some. You got a place to install this lift? I might be able to help if you need it.

Tom

Yeah if you need any help man let us know, have Jeep and tools, will travel.

In short, I was satisfied with ARB's familiarity with and confidence in their products, not only from one particular individual at the company but several. we will see if the performance of the lift lives up to its reputation given both from the company itself and also from online reviews i've read.

Good to know.
Thanks Mike

I can't wait to get my OME lift next year!!! I'm hoping for too much though... OME lift, d44 or 8.8 swap, arbs front/rear, skids, body lift for 33's or maybe 35's if I do the OME 4" springs... along w/ the axle swap comes SYE/adjustable uppers for pinion angle setting.... the list goes on!!!! I hope I win the lottery. I didn't win the mcdonalds monopoly thing, so my schedule is pushed back...:omg: :omg: :omg:

I didn't win the mcdonalds monopoly thing, so my schedule is pushed back...:omg: :omg: :omg:
HAHAHAH LMAO nice one. My girlfriend and her roomates have been trying to win that...

one of my friends has been out here on biz from the east coast this month and went crazy at mcd's trying to get the "west coast pieces"...ha!

OK BTT.

OME 2.5" HD lift installed for one year. comments.

On-road performance: 8/10. rides beautifully with the vehicle loaded down with at least a partial load of gear. mid-soft ride at all speeds but very stable and predictable, especially at higher speeds. very comfortable for extended trips. take the doors off and all the crap out of the trunk and she bucks, jumps, and skips all over. but then again i knew this would happen with the HD kit.

Off-road performance: 8.5/10. performs very well over rocks and challenging obstacles at very low speed. at its prime over about 20mph on graded to moderate terrain, almost as comfortable as on the street. only minor complaint is between about 5-15 mph on difficult terrain, tends to be a bit "springy".

Durability 10/10. all parts are heavy duty and extremely durable. i've physically smashed 2 of the 4 shocks with debris or damaged vehicle components with no problems. springs don't squeak. shocks don't leak. never had to tighten or adjust any of the hardware on the kit. will hold the lift height almost up to a full vehicle load, at which point it 'settles' but doesn't 'sag'.

Lifespan 10/10. after 1 year of abuse, I'm still at the same ride height as when installed, and still happy. OME suggests this kit is designed for 100,000 miles of use before replacement. we'll see...

I would highly recommend this kit to anyone in the market. the price may startle you, but in this case I definitely got what I paid for.