I've put 2 different suspensions on my 80 in the last couple years - first to accomodate 33" tires and then 37's. If I were going to start from scratch, I'd put in exactly what I have right now. Here's where I landed with around 3.5" and 37's:
Dobinsons C97-147VT 2.5" rear springs. Despite the advertised lift, they're still giving me around 3.5" of lift with a heavy bumper, dual swingouts and a drawer system. I like the variable rate in the rear. It's compliant but reasonably firm and doesn't feel dramatically different than a linear rate spring.
OME850J front springs + 10mm spacer. Cheap and effective. I don't notice any lack of balance w/ the linear fronts and variable rears and had heard some people on Mud complain about the way variables springs up front corner on the pavement.
Dobinsons "4 inch" IMS shocks. They're heavy duty and the damping is great. They cost more than a basic OME shock, but are less expensive than the remote reservoir options, which I think is a nice sweet spot. The length provides a nice balance of up vs down travel at this ride height.
2" bumpstop extensions: I went with the progressive Durabumps in the rear and have never felt a harsh bottom out. Some of that might be the heavy duty damping on the IMS shocks, some might be the progressive spring rate, and the then the bumpstops smooth out whatever is left. I couldn't use them up front because I'm running longer radius arms, so I extended the front factory bumpstop that sits inside the coil w/ a spacer from Slee.
And then I went w/ Delta 3L radius arms, a Delta rear panhard bracket, adjustable front panhard, adjustable rear UCAs, and longer brake lines. That plus some trimming of the fender flares and a BFH to massage the wheel wells allowed me to fit 37's w/o rubbing on a relatively low 3.5" lift. You definitely don't need more than that for 37's.
Dobinsons C97-147VT 2.5" rear springs. Despite the advertised lift, they're still giving me around 3.5" of lift with a heavy bumper, dual swingouts and a drawer system. I like the variable rate in the rear. It's compliant but reasonably firm and doesn't feel dramatically different than a linear rate spring.
OME850J front springs + 10mm spacer. Cheap and effective. I don't notice any lack of balance w/ the linear fronts and variable rears and had heard some people on Mud complain about the way variables springs up front corner on the pavement.
Dobinsons "4 inch" IMS shocks. They're heavy duty and the damping is great. They cost more than a basic OME shock, but are less expensive than the remote reservoir options, which I think is a nice sweet spot. The length provides a nice balance of up vs down travel at this ride height.
2" bumpstop extensions: I went with the progressive Durabumps in the rear and have never felt a harsh bottom out. Some of that might be the heavy duty damping on the IMS shocks, some might be the progressive spring rate, and the then the bumpstops smooth out whatever is left. I couldn't use them up front because I'm running longer radius arms, so I extended the front factory bumpstop that sits inside the coil w/ a spacer from Slee.
And then I went w/ Delta 3L radius arms, a Delta rear panhard bracket, adjustable front panhard, adjustable rear UCAs, and longer brake lines. That plus some trimming of the fender flares and a BFH to massage the wheel wells allowed me to fit 37's w/o rubbing on a relatively low 3.5" lift. You definitely don't need more than that for 37's.
