Experiencing the RadFlo 2.5" on LX450

[rhyary]

First Impression of RadFlo 2.5" shocks piggy reservoir

I have a 4" lift with Slee springs with OME L shocks and the truck weigh 7000lbs when I am loaded to go to war at Moab. It is my daily driver and during its civil duty the truck is much lighter. I'll estimate 6000 to 6500. my tires 35" and are inflated to 40psi.

when my tires were at 32psi, the truck was squashy and not stable and soft but when hitting a bump or pot hole it was harsh and the soft tires did not help. so inflated back to 40psi and all observations are at 40psi.

The ride was not to my liking and I spent a lot of time observing the ride behavior over a range of conditions to try to quantify what I don't like about the ride. It was not easy to understand what I didn't like about it because overall I love driving my truck and overall I wasn't sure what bothers me.

 

[rhyary]

Driving observation with OME L shocks

I kept mental notes about the OME L shocks so I can remember what to look for when I change the shocks. Conditions of the road and speed are major factors when trying to figure out what I like and don't like about the shocks.

Evaluation Conditions:

10mph, road looks smooth, I cannot see bumps, my butt meter says the road is flat
truck ride soft and comfortable the body rides flat as the tires more up and down underneath it.

30 mph, city road, road looks smooth, butt meter says the road is going up and down
The ride comfortable, the chassis rides up and down with the road in a soft motion. track is moving around.

30 mph, city road, road is visible not smooth with minor imperfections. butt meter indicates the road is not perfect.
The ride is somewhat uncomfortable, the truck is moving around, bouncing but no sharp edges to the bounce. At this point it feels that the suspension is not keeping up with imperfections in the road, the jouncing is noticeable but not that terrible. However, in the north east you have many many roads like this so this does get annoying after a while say after 30 minutes.

30 mph - 50 mph - fast city/county roads, horizontal road joints you go over in constant interval, driving both left and right wheels over at the same time
At this speed the track is noticeable jarred. It is unpleasant but the suspension still track true. No wheel hopping. track moves a lot side to side, you start feeling the the suspension is "soft". The ride is annoyingly more rough, but you "take" it for the Lexus ride on smooth roads.


30 mph - 50 mph, city road and fast city roads. Road has visible pot holes type imperfection and/or visible road broken pieces
This is the point you starting to think you want to do something about it. The bumps have sharp edges, the interior is noticeable and visible shaken. and the loose change is making rattling noises.

 

[rhyary]

OME L shocks continue

70 mph, smooth road, butt meter says road is flat
The ride comfortable and smooth, the truck moves around in a slow motion type movement. It feels soft, comfy and floaty.

70 mph, visible road imperfections, horizontal road joints
The rids is still comfortable but the imperfection is transmitted into the cabin. A few imperfections in a row will progressively get worst, so going over a bridge that has construction say have 5 imperfections to drive over, the 5th will be worth then the first.

70 mph, visible road pot hole/broken road, construction signs but work has not started
This is a very annoying condition. The high speed not only rattle the whole truck, but it also affect the tracking of the road and steering correction is required. If there are more then 3 imperfection the rides gets uncomfortable and you want to slow down.


So the above posts summarize why I was motivated to find a solution. I talked to Slee few months back, but Christo wanted me to measure stuff, take the spring off and I just didn't feel like doing it. I bought the new OME L Sport thinking I'll improve the situation somewhat, but my friend Jonathan told me about RadFlo. So I called Mike and Glenn and pretty much let them convinced me that they have a solution. When I talked to Glenn I got the impression and he new exactly what I was feeling driving the OME L shocks. That legitimize his claim that RadFlo can do better.

Since I bought the OME sports from IPOR and have not open the boxes, Cam was kind enough to take them back and I ordered from him the RadFlos.

 

[rhyary]

First impression with the RadFlo

The ride with the RadFlo is a big improvement over the OME L. The road imperfections do not upset the LX450. The ride is still comfortable even though the shocks are stiffer. Different speeds effect the behavior differently BUT the different imperfections do not affect the ride differently. All imperfections produce a rubber type muted and controlled response.

Evaluation Conditions:

5 - 10mph, road looks smooth, I cannot see bumps, my butt meter says the road is going up and down.
At low speed you realize that the smooth road you see is not smooth. The truck will go up and down with the road. For example rolling thru and EZ-Pass at 5 mph. Since the shocks are stiffer, the force of the invisible bumps is not enough to compress the RadFlo so the chassis and the wheels move as one unit.

30 mph, city road, road looks smooth, butt meter says the road is flat
At this speed the RadFlos are working. The road looks smooth, the ride feel smooth and the suspension is working with out affecting the chassis.
Comfortable ride as it should be on a smooth road. The OME softens is gone and the ride is tight.

30 mph, city road, road is visible not smooth with minor imperfection. butt meter indicates the road is not perfect but flat.
The road may not be smooth, but the ride is. The chassis is disconnected from the suspension. You can hear the bump and feel it somewhat but there are no after bump movement. The bump happens and done with at the same time. If you take hammer and hit a rubber bump stop you will get this muted response. The imperfection does not induce side to side motion.

30 mph - 50 mph - fast city/county roads, horizontal road joints you go over in
This is where the RadFlo start to pay off. The ride is THE same as in the section above.

30 mph - 50 mph, city road and fast city roads. Road has visible pot holes type imperfection and/or visible road broken pieces
You definitely feel the pot hole. However the jarring that is transmitted into the cabin is muted. The change in the ashtray move, but does not jump up and down. I don't want to get technical in this post. But technically I believe the shocks are "quick" enough to slow down the up and down motion of the wheel so the shock does not "lock" up from a too quick motion for it to handle. Over a series of imperfection there is no degradation. The third pot hole in a series of three feels the same as the first. This exactly condition is what I started to hate about the OME L.

 

[rhyary]

RadFlo at 70mph

70 mph, smooth road, butt meter says road is flat
The ride comfortable and smooth, the truck does not move around. The road is flat and the ride is flat. The ride does not feel soft. There is no floating feeling. However you somehow feel a flat road is not 100% flat. So a tighter ride would be a best way to describe it.

70 mph, visible road imperfections, horizontal road joints
The ride is very comfortable. The truck goes thru the imperfection but the chassis stays leveled and flat. A few imperfections in a row will stay exactly the same. so going over a bridge that has construction will be the same beginning to end.

70 mph, visible road pot hole/broken road, construction signs but work has not started
Excellent is the best way to describe it. The high speed not does not rattle the truck, does not effect the tracking of the road and steering correction is not required. The ride never gets uncomfortable and you want don't want slow down.

In short, at high speeds it rides like a 6500lbs BMW.

I will update this thread if I find more unique conditions and live with the setup longer. I was driving the roads around my house with the OME L shocks and when I got the truck back from Landtank, I went thru the same roads for comparison.

Installation and Fitness is a whole other topic and Landtank already eluded to there might be issues. I will monitor the installed shocks and will report back here if issues develped and hopefuly solutions.

 

[raynyc]

This is a great write up because you tested in the north east where I live!
It is a serious concern that when I purchase a lift kit that it makes the truck unruly to drive through the mean streets of bk on a daily basis.
This makes me not want to buy the ome medium set up that was suggested to me and wait to see if you have any issues.

Thanks for this post.

 

[rhyary]

raynyc,

the OME is excellent kit for the price. you shouldn't take my post as an absolute.

a set of 4 OME sport shocks is $400. which is the cost of one RadFlo shock.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[raynyc]

raynyc,

the OME is excellent kit for the price. you shouldn't take my post as an absolute.

a set of 4 OME sport shocks is $400. which is the cost of one RadFlo shock.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

I understand , i would rather spend money well spent than money based on the wrong advice.
So if you think your shocks are ready for mass consumption then I am ready to take the plunge .which springs do you have ?

 

[rhyary]

I have the Slee 4" spring as stated in the beginning of the review. I detailed my set up and everything I wrote is specifically to a 6500lbs truck on 4".

I don't know how my review applies to any other setup.

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[raynyc]

Thank you sir.

 

[Stevesnj]

This is interesting setup, I actually plan to go with FOX 10" travel up front and TJM Longs in the back. I think I will write a similar observation. This may help others so thanks for the time to write this.

 

[mattc82]

I've been considering these for my truck. Could you explain further what you mean by fitment issues and what issues you are going to watch for?

 

[rhyary]

I've been considering these for my truck. Could you explain further what you mean by fitment issues and what issues you are going to watch for?

for fitness issue see this thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=8145682&postcount=102

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[mattc82]

Do you or Landtank think this fitment issue with the reservoir or lines are exclusive to Radflo or simply a result of the reservoir shock design in general. I also looked at King and Fox

 

[mattc82]

Any idea if the King or Fox would have the same issues. (anyone who has experience ?)

 

[rhyary]

The word I was looking for last night is "taut" ride.

unfortunately is was looking the definition of "tout" which is something else.

so the ride with the RadFlo is taut.

taut
/tôt/
Adjective
Stretched or pulled tight; not slack: "the fabric stays taut without adhesive".
(esp. of muscles or nerves) Tense; not relaxed.
Synonyms
tight - tense - strained

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[jdlsantos]

Excellent description rhyary, I just finished last night with the installation of mine. I am so exited to try it today on the road.
thanks

 

[raynyc]

The word I was looking for last night is "taut" ride.

unfortunately is was looking the definition of "tout" which is something else.

so the ride with the RadFlo is taut.

taut
/tôt/
Adjective
Stretched or pulled tight; not slack: "the fabric stays taut without adhesive".
(esp. of muscles or nerves) Tense; not relaxed.
Synonyms
tight - tense - strained

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

So it will ride like my old 540i 6spd with hamman suspension ? Jk

 

[rhyary]

no.

it will ride like 540 6ps stock.

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[DMOZ]

I've been running Slee 4" springs and radflo 2.5 reservoirs that I picked up from metal tech for about 6 months now and absolutely love the set up. Both front and rear reservoirs are piggy backed to the shock main body, positioning is tight but no issues to date. Controlled and planted without being harsh is the best way I can describe it.

Rhylary, did you extend the bump stops from stock?