OME and emergency maneuvers

[photogod]

Might be chat but I'll try here. Had to do a max emergency maneuver last weekend and I didn't have a chance to think about it it just happened. Please laugh at this but it scared the heck out of me.

Driving back roads in WI and putting along bout 60 or so, from out of my right field of view a HUGE turkey comes running out of a field. I really didn't see him till he was on the white line. Without having to think about it I cranked the wheel and ended up in the other lane in a heart beat and them back into my lane. I was driving one hand and my hand went from 12:00 to 7:00 and back in an instant. I have a three year old OME 2.5 heavy lift and I was really amazed at the handling. Absolutely no slop at all in the maneuver. No rear end around and not even near topping it over and I slammed that truck across the lanes. One hour later it happens again but the Tom got airborne at the white line and flew right over the hood and missed the windshield right in front of me by 6 inches. F'ing huge bird. The night before we missed a deer by less than a foot and I had both feet on the brake peddle just short of the antilock. I had all the lights on and he was close enough to count the tics on his back. The truck stopped straight and true. I love that suspension and might not have been that lucky with the stock set up.

[Brentbba]

Hit the damn turkey, clean it, freeze it and have it at thanksgiving for almost giving you a heart attack!

Same OME set up here. Glad to hear it reacted the way it did an you are ok.

[photogod]

There might not have been much left of it after I hit it but it would have been tender. I should have reached out my drivers window and grabbed the second one!

[FJBen]

(waiting for F.O.R. comments)

[photogod]

(?)...

[Nay]

Originally Posted by FJBen

(waiting for F.O.R. comments)

You should put OME heavy springs up front to prevent stinkbug

I had to do one emergency maneuver in OME medium and the truck handled great. I was on washboard at night coming up on a sharp corner that I didn't see, had to take that corner hard, the rig handled perfectly.

I don't attribute that to OME as much as I do to the 80, particularly the rock stable front end. These things are light on their feet for a 3 ton solid axle rig.

Might be time for some turkey mashing tires, though

[Nay]

Originally Posted by photogod

(?)...

I always bag on OME threads about which combination of springs is going to suck less , that's a partial inside joke.

The medium kit handles well, that's why OME typically stays 50mm and less to keep the suspension in stock geometry ranges, and those kits are often a substantive improvement over the factory suspension.

[PACNW96]

Originally Posted by photogod

and might not have been that lucky with the stock set up.

I agree and glad you are ok. Before by OME springs the stock setup was very soft and leaned a lot during braking and cornering. I feel much more safe and stable now with the OME set up. Best mod to date...

[Ebag333]

I'm very glad to hear that everything worked out okay in your situation.

Do you have any caster correction? Adjusted the LSPV? Have 100 series brakes instead of 80's?

There are about a million and one different factors at play. I would be curious to hear what you've done in the areas above though as they are the more commonly adjusted.

As for the OME vs stock in emergency maneuvers, lifting the truck increases your COG significantly and will increase the chance for roll overs, etc. Stiffer springs will help eliminate body roll, which can be a benefit in an emergency situation, but I doubt that the stiffer springs will overcome the increased tendency to roll from lifting it (especially if you're comparing stock 80 springs to OME, instead of LX to OME).

Being able to drive my two trucks side by side (literally hopping out of one and driving the other) I can tell you that mine with the lift feels MUCH more inclined to tip than the LX. Her's gets that mushy "Caddy" feeling, but I have no doubt that her's would be much harder to roll, despite the additional body roll. I'm planning on swapping in some 80's springs and stiffer shocks (some aftermarket ones I have laying around, otherwise I'd go with stock 80's shocks) to reduce that body roll, which should further improve the handling in an emergency situation.

Remember too that many people compare a 15 year old stock suspension to brand new (or few year old) OME, hardly a fair comparison.


As for my approach to wildlife, I will do my best to stop, but I will not swerve unless I am 100% confident that I will avoid the creature that way. Animals are entirely unpredictable, I know a couple of people who had had deer jump out in front of them coming from the drivers side, so they have already crossed the oncoming lane of traffic....and when the person swerved to miss the deer (moving into the oncoming lane), said deer turned around and tried to jump back (with obvious results).

Plus I know at several who have rolled or ended up in the ditch after trying to avoid an animal.

I figure it's a lot easier to fix a front bump/windshield/etc than it is to fix a roll over, head on collision, etc. I live in an area with lots of wildlife on the roads (even on the freeway), and that was a big factor in choosing an 80.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by Brentbba

Hit the damn turkey, clean it, freeze it and have it at thanksgiving for almost giving you a heart attack!

Same OME set up here. Glad to hear it reacted the way it did an you are ok.

X2 on the turkey dinner. At least try to slavage the breast and throw in in the Engle fridge.

I am happy with my OME medium kit. It seems to handle really well and is leaps and bounds above the OE springs. Even the mother in law thought it handled and braked well compared to her IFS chev suburban. for the 80's and upgraded suspension/100 series pads

[photogod]

No LPSV adjustment unless Slee did it when they did the lift, 100 series pads with 41,000 on them (seriously), OME bushings, Revo 285's with 40 lbs.

I'm not trying to start a "this lift is better than that lift". I was just very impressed with the feel and handling of this lifted truck. Much safer than I thought it was going to be in a knee jerk situation like that without time to think.

[FJBen]

Originally Posted by Nay

I always bag on OME threads about which combination of springs is going to suck less , that's a partial inside joke.

The medium kit handles well, that's why OME typically stays 50mm and less to keep the suspension in stock geometry ranges, and those kits are often a substantive improvement over the factory suspension.

Yeah, I was just messing with Nay And I agree that these rigs handle very well for big pigs!

[Atticus]

I'm glad that your truck handled well.

But some advice: never swerve to miss an animal at speed. Try to stop if you can, but if you can't....better to kill the turkey than to flip the truck.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by photogod

I'm not trying to start a "this lift is better than that lift". I was just very impressed with the feel and handling of this lifted truck. Much safer than I thought it was going to be in a knee jerk situation like that without time to think.

I know and I'm very impressed with the way my truck handles with the OME lift. I've been in some lifted trucks that are downright scary the way they lean/handle.

I would still prefer the truck to my own in a panic situation. But I'm not worried about mine either.

[Cruiserdrew]

Originally Posted by Atticus

I'm glad that your truck handled well.

But some advice: never swerve to miss an animal at speed. Try to stop if you can, but if you can't....better to kill the turkey than to flip the truck.

X2.

Friend in college swerved at speed to miss a small dog. Rolled his car, girlfriend killed, he was mangled. In a lifted Cruiser, it would have to be a child or a semi, otherwise, I'm hitting it.

[livinoffroad]

Originally Posted by photogod

Might be chat but I'll try here. Had to do a max emergency maneuver last weekend and I didn't have a chance to think about it it just happened. Please laugh at this but it scared the heck out of me.

Driving back roads in WI and putting along bout 60 or so, from out of my right field of view a HUGE turkey comes running out of a field. I really didn't see him till he was on the white line. Without having to think about it I cranked the wheel and ended up in the other lane in a heart beat and them back into my lane. I was driving one hand and my hand went from 12:00 to 7:00 and back in an instant. I have a three year old OME 2.5 heavy lift and I was really amazed at the handling. Absolutely no slop at all in the maneuver. No rear end around and not even near topping it over and I slammed that truck across the lanes. One hour later it happens again but the Tom got airborne at the white line and flew right over the hood and missed the windshield right in front of me by 6 inches. F'ing huge bird. The night before we missed a deer by less than a foot and I had both feet on the brake peddle just short of the antilock. I had all the lights on and he was close enough to count the tics on his back. The truck stopped straight and true. I love that suspension and might not have been that lucky with the stock set up.

I'll try to keep this tech so it doesn't get moved...

I have the same setup...OME 2.5" lift (heavy), and plenty of opportunity to collect game with the LC.

Bagged a "prarie chicken" (sage grouse) off the headlight at 60 MPH. Amazing how much damage a hovering 4 LB weight can do at 60.

Scored a hit on a deer, so I put the slotted rotors and pads to shorten stopping distance...added ARB Bullbar.

Normally, I don't advocate swerving as a rule...but...if you have to swerve, the OME Heavys COMBINED WITH the outstanding dampening characteristics of the OME shocks, make for a very predictable response and recovery.

As you said, I would hate to think of having to make emergency maneuvers, involving sudden changes of speed and/or direction with the stock suspension...way too soft.

Happy Hunting.

[KurtKuhn]

Originally Posted by FJBen

(waiting for F.O.R. comments)

Waiting for IdahoDoug comments. Seriously.

-KK

[wakesetter]

I was driving my work truck the other day (chevy 1500)with 1200 lbs in the back when a chihuahua ran out in front of me. I tapped my brakes but kept the wheel dead straight. Thump Thump....out shot a rolling chihuahua from the back tires. Ran around in little circles crying as I kept driving. I was not going to risk swerving with weight in the truck on a tree lined road. Seen to many dead folks from that type of maneuver. I would have been even less likely to swerve for a turkey.

[IdahoDoug]

My spidey-senses were tingling that someone somewhere was getting close to claiming a lifted 80 will outhandle or better resist rolling than a stock 80. Nobody's going over the line though, so chalk it up to a false alarm. Heh...

Just the usual note of caution that all of these comparative comments, while giving the OME system its deserved due, are replacing worn factory springs and shocks. Will it feel nicely damped? Yep. Nice handling? Yep. Quality ride? Yep. And you may feel that all these are improved over a set of springs and shocks with perhaps 15 years and well over 100k on them as noted above.

However. Slap a set of fresh factory springs and shocks on an 80 and drive it back to back with a lifted 80 comparing emergency handling and I think you'll be startled at how composed the stocker is. Even a mild lift of a couple inches does very bad things to vehicle emergency handling that stiffer springs cannot compensate for unless they're made so stiff the everyday ride would be objectionable.

Even a stocker in good trim will roll easily, so it's worth careful consideration of the added danger of even the 'safest' lift (OME in my opinion as I've said many times). Do you really need it, or is it the coolness factor? How many miles of trails difficult enough the lift will be needed to get you through do you actually drive as a % of annual miles - 3%? 1%? .002%? Is it worth it to place you and your passengers in slightly more danger the other 99.008% of the time?

PM a couple guys here who've rolled and get their private view on whether they'd lift a truck again.

Anyhow, I'm glad it worked out Photo - ya gotta give yourself some credit for the proper steering and counter steering here, also. Years of driving an 80 will imbue a person with the natural rythm of what to do in an emergency. It comes down to simple muscle memory and sounds like you've got the 80 in your blood. That's a good thing. Drive safe one and all, especially as we approach a season that features both snow and ice as well as holiday travel.

DougM

[Atticus]

Originally Posted by wakesetter

I was driving my work truck the other day (chevy 1500)with 1200 lbs in the back when a chihuahua ran out in front of me. I tapped my brakes but kept the wheel dead straight. Thump Thump....out shot a rolling chihuahua from the back tires. Ran around in little circles crying as I kept driving. I was not going to risk swerving with weight in the truck on a tree lined road. Seen to many dead folks from that type of maneuver. I would have been even less likely to swerve for a turkey.

Did you do anything to help the animal, identify an owner, etc.?