... Will I loose some front end travel with raised torsion bars? Would lost travel be less with the ome bars? Will I need to replace the shocks with 2" longer shocks?
Technically, no. The vehicle uses IFS which means that there is just so much ACTUAL travel no matter what. So, with the bars removed, the front wheels will only move up and down (between the bump stops) so far. That is the maximum available ACTUAL travel in the front wheels.
USABLE travel is how much the wheels CAN actually move up and down under normal operation of the vehicle. So, for instance, if you put it on a ramp, how much can a front wheel compress into the wheel well and how much can a wheel droop (out of the wheel well).
Since you can't do anything about the first, the second is what you need to worry about.
The way lifting a Sport by cranking up the torsion bars works is this - when the torsion bars are tightened up, it increases the pre-load on the bars in affect increasing the spring rate. As the pre-load is increased it raises the front of the vehicle since there isn't an off-setting increase in weight.
Now, the bad part about lifting a Sport this way is that the increase in pre-load (rate) means that more force is required to compress the front wheels into the wheel wells. Maybe not a big deal on the street, but a very big deal off road. There is a fine line between articulation - wheels moving to follow the terrain independently of the body/chassis - and stability. Typically you want the wheels to articulate as freely as possible without loosing the stability created by a stiff suspension and ending up on your roof.
When you add a bull bar and winch to the front the extra weight off sets this increase in pre-load so some extent. Only 'some' as you will have to increase the pre-load even more to keep the height at the level it was before adding the bull bar and winch so you really stay even there. However, the added weight generates more force when it moves so compressing the bars is somewhat easier. In the end it more or less works out in your favor.
Installing OME or Iron Man bars works much better than just turning up the stock bars. As noted, the stock bars won't take a winch and bull bar for long off road. They're just not heavy enough and will in a year or two of off road use start to sag. Also, you're not really increasing the rate of the torsion bar - you're really just pre-loading it. The OME and Iron Man bars, like the Sway-a-way bars we tested - are a different rate to accommodate a bull bar and winch. This helps in that you don't have to increase the pre-load to the point the wheels won't move to support the weight of the bull bar and winch.
So, basically, the more you tighten the torsion bars the less USABLE travel you will have. You can bring the front up a maximum of about 3.5" at which point you won't have much ACTUAL downward travel left before you're on the bump stop. And, it'll be so stiff that you won't be ABLE to compress the wheel into the wheel well. 2-2.5" is a good, reasonable amount of lift for the front that won't stress stuff and leave you with some upward and downward wheel travel.
As for shocks, since the shocks on the front need to be matched to the ACTUAL travel - which as mentioned above doesn't change - the stock length shocks are fine. Yes, I'm aware that the bumps stops can be 'trimmed' to change the travel amount somewhat, but the OP is in no way ready to open that can of worms.
The rear shocks will need to be tailored to the travel in the rear. There are two practical things that can be changed there. The springs and removing the sway bar. If you lift the front you will have to change the springs in the rear to match the lift in the front. Depending on the spring you may or may not get more travel out of the rear. There is a limit to the actual travel that can be gained by the length of the arms, so don't expect to suddenly be maxing out a ramp.
Removing the rear sway bar end links will allow for use of almost - if not all - of the travel built into the rear. The best way to figure out what shocks will be needed is to remove the shocks and end links, install the new springs and then raise the body - not the axle - until the rear wheels are completely off the ground. Measure the length and select a shock that will extend 1.5-2" beyond your measurement. This is a balancing act. The shock must STILL compress without bottoming out when the axle is fully compressed against the bump stops. You may or may not be able to get a shock that meets both criteria. In which case, you select a shock that will leave 1.5-2" of room to compress after the axle is fully bottomed out against the bump stops, and then install limiting straps to prevent the axle from bottoming on the shocks, before the axle has fully drooped. Shocks are not bump stops nor are they limiting straps. If either happens you risk damaging the shock internally or tearing the shock mounts off the shock or tearing the shock mounts off the vehicle.
Rather than limiting straps, you could relocate the shock mounts, but unless the shock choice results in a significant limitation to travel this seems rather pointless. Seems to me that limiting straps would be a cheaper and simpler solution.
Almost forgot. The other limitation to the amount of usable travel in the rear is the drive shaft slip yoke on the transfer case. At full droop, there still must be adequate spline engagement between the yoke and transfer case output shaft. If you over extend too far the front of the drive shaft will just fall out of the vehicle. That is known as 'a bad thing'.
Inadequate engagement will result in accelerated wear of the yoke, possible yoke breakage, accelerated wear of the splines on the output shaft and/or yoke. Since the factory yoke is pretty soft, odds are you'll see accelerated wear in the splines on the yoke and flaring of the yoke such that it doesn't fit snug on the output shaft (which will cause a nasty vibration in the driveline).
The fix for this is limiting straps.
I use Rancho RS9000s partially because their adjustable but because they come in all kinds of lengths and configurations so it's pretty easy to match a set up to our Sports no matter how your vehicle is configured. Then once you have them installed you can tailor the valving to your springs, vehicle weight, terrain and driving style.
Edward
