Shock advice for 100 lift (1 Viewer)

[alexinWC]

Hey guys,

I've owned my 1998 100 (171,000 miles) for about 6 years now but, due to never having that thing called money while in college, I wasn’t able to build up my Land Cruiser. Getting a job after I graduated remedied that problem so now I can finally stop drooling over pictures of your rigs and make one of my own. I have started making my purchases for my build in early May (first available time I have, gotta love tax season) but have run into a problem involving what shock to purchase.

I have my OPOR sliders, and plan on getting 865s, diff drop, and front arb locker (to eliminate the exploding/disintegrating 2 pinion front diff and the string of obscenities that will follow) installed before the end of May. Ill crank my OEM t bars until I get a front bumper and then Ill switch to OME t bars. Ill be doing moderate trails to start but, as a add armor and other items, Ill look to do more difficult trails. It is also my DD.

I’ve used to search function extensively during the last 2 months and change (you guys have been extremely helpful) and even PM'ed a few members asking questions about their setups. From what I've gathered so far I have 4 options of shocks to choose from: Bilsteins, OME Nitros (N100/N101), OME Nitro Sports (60000/60002), and Ironmans (Kings, radflos, foxes are out of my price range and slightly overkill for what I intend to do with my hundy, although Id love to use these)

1. Bilsteins: Best onroad and washboard quality but will lose articulation due to their shorter side and possibly top out as well.

2. OME Nitros (N100/N101): Good extension and compression, slightly firmer than OEM shocks, but still has dive when braking and arent as good on washboards.

3. OME Nitro Sports (60000/60002): Ride closer to Bilsteins but are more harsh except when loaded down with weight. Throughout my searching I wasn’t able to find many reviews about the medium load nitro sports. I did find a lot of information about the firm load nitro sports though.

4. Ironmans: Only found a few reviews of them but overall they have been positive. I do not know their ride characteristics.

What shock would you run/ how did you like running any of the above?

Any information you guys could give me would be much appreciated. After I figure this out I'll be able to finish my purchases, install my lift, and finally starting using my hundy the way it’s meant to be used. Thanks for reading​

 

[Gottagetone]

I just installed the Ironman gas shocks and really like em. The ride is pretty close to stock and there are no harsh characteristics. I like the rebuildable shock and would have them but price was not in the budget at this time.

 

[Sverige]

Are the OPOR sliders on?
(pics!)

I have OME 866s on the rear of mine with OME Nitro Sports. They ride great, but my wife complains about the harsh ride. Passengers say it isn't as comfortable in the back seat. Of course, I only added a Slee rear bumper at this point. Once I get drawers, sliders, and a roof rack on it might be better.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Radlfo's without the reservoir. I'm in a similar situation as you. Looking to lift my cruiser. These are some good shocks

Radflo

 

[re_guderian]

For just over $100, throw on a set of 4 brand new OEM's until you add some weight.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Hey guys,

I've owned my 1998 100 (171,000 miles) for about 6 years now but, due to never having that thing called money while in college, I wasn’t able to build up my Land Cruiser. Getting a job after I graduated remedied that problem so now I can finally stop drooling over pictures of your rigs and make one of my own. I have started making my purchases for my build in early May (first available time I have, gotta love tax season) but have run into a problem involving what shock to purchase.

I have my OPOR sliders, and plan on getting 865s, diff drop, and front arb locker (to eliminate the exploding/disintegrating 2 pinion front diff and the string of obscenities that will follow) installed before the end of May. Ill crank my OEM t bars until I get a front bumper and then Ill switch to OME t bars. Ill be doing moderate trails to start but, as a add armor and other items, Ill look to do more difficult trails. It is also my DD.

I’ve used to search function extensively during the last 2 months and change (you guys have been extremely helpful) and even PM'ed a few members asking questions about their setups. From what I've gathered so far I have 4 options of shocks to choose from: Bilsteins, OME Nitros (N100/N101), OME Nitro Sports (60000/60002), and Ironmans (Kings, radflos, foxes are out of my price range and slightly overkill for what I intend to do with my hundy, although Id love to use these)

1. Bilsteins: Best onroad and washboard quality but will lose articulation due to their shorter side and possibly top out as well.

2. OME Nitros (N100/N101): Good extension and compression, slightly firmer than OEM shocks, but still has dive when braking and arent as good on washboards.

3. OME Nitro Sports (60000/60002): Ride closer to Bilsteins but are more harsh except when loaded down with weight. Throughout my searching I wasn’t able to find many reviews about the medium load nitro sports. I did find a lot of information about the firm load nitro sports though.

4. Ironmans: Only found a few reviews of them but overall they have been positive. I do not know their ride characteristics.

What shock would you run/ how did you like running any of the above?

Any information you guys could give me would be much appreciated. After I figure this out I'll be able to finish my purchases, install my lift, and finally starting using my hundy the way it’s meant to be used. Thanks for reading​

In the past I have run OME on an 80 series, and a 4Runner... they are o.k. but not amazing by any means.

I have two 100´s and plan on Bilsteins for the Wifes ride, and Radflo´s for my truck.

How much on-road travel do you do?

 

[alexinWC]

Thanks for the input so far.

I havent put on the sliders yet, hopefully I can find some time to paint them and throw them on in the next couple weekends. Ill throw up some pics when I do.

I havent been driving much lately due to work but im guessing, once the lift/tires/front arb are on, that ill be somewhere around 80/20 to 85/15 onroad - offroad. My office is only 1 mile away from where I live, so I dont do as much driving as I used to.

 

[jgray]

I am extremely happy with my Ironman shocks. They are longer than stock shocks as well as Bilsteins sold in the USA. You are better off investing your money in other mods before dumping a bunch of money in to high end shocks IMO (and from your described driving habits)... The ride is great and for the money I don't think you can go wrong. A lot more are running Ironman products even within the past year; at least in the states. I think most have been impressed with Ironman quality including shops now selling their products that specialize in Land Cruisers.

 

[alexinWC]

I talked to Christo today about N133s and he informed me that

"Right now, ARB does not have those, and I am not sure if they are going to get them again."

N100/N101 seems to soft of a ride so they are out.

I would like to know more about these Ironman shocks. How are their ride characteristics? Onroad/ washboards/ FS roads? How are they on an empty truck?

 

[Gottagetone]

For the money, the Ironmans are great. Have not had them offroad much and drive with my truck both loaded and unloaded all the time, I carry samples for work. I don't have anything to compare them to other than stock.

 

[jgray]

I did way more research on shocks than was probably necessary before buying Ironman. There are alot more alternatives now than when I made my purchase as it seem over the past year many high end shocks have hit the market with the latest I've seen being the new Slee shocks. If you run some searches you will find lots of threads on shocks and many different opinions. One reason I started looking for something other than Old Man Emu shocks was because of the number of complaints I read not only on Mud but other sites. I don't hate on ARB at all and own many of their products as well. I don't have time to go into a bunch of detail right now but I have run the Ironman shocks with different suspension setups on road and off road... You may find this useful...

Understanding Ironman 4x4 Shock Absorbers - YouTube

I will try to add more tonight when I have more time... Good luck with whatever you decide to do...

 

[alexinWC]

I know how you feel, Ive been researching shocks for way too long (at least it feels that way). Im just trying to follow the whole "you only need to do it once if you do it right the first time" thing with this lift.

Thanks for the video, its nice to learn about these ironmans. Are you guys running the Nitro Gas or the Foam Cell?

 

[STEVEN XU]

I put on Bilstein front and rear heavy duty shocks with replaced rear coil springs. The ride is pretty good. What I need to do is to reindex the T-bar in oreder to keep the height in the front.