100 series suspension updates (1 Viewer)

[Surfoverland]

Hey everyone,
I know there are lots of posts about suspension OME, Icon Etc but any updates on how you guys like it or what you would do differently?
Im thinking about putting OME heavy system on my rig but a few have said it was too stiff. Im just looking for some honest feedback. Thanks in advance

 

[ga12r1]

Tough Dog is probably the best suspension right now for the money. To be honest, at this point I’m not sure why someone would choose OME over Tough Dog. The adjustable rear shocks are the best mod I’ve done to date. A game changer for me.

Tough dog review thread

 

[MuseChaser]

Choose your suspension based on your "mission." An OME "Heavy" would feel stiff if you don't routinely have 400 pounds loaded in the back and/or aftermarket front/rear bumpers.

 

[gungriffin]

I have heard that the Foam Cell Pro shocks are a bit closer to stock feeling. Getting the right spring rate is important for any vehicle.

 

[guardcompany]

I went with Slee shocks. Coming from a background of Fox and King shocks they were a good fit for me. You get what you pay for with shocks, there are NO shortcuts. No offense to anyone but I'm not going to trust a "foam cell" shock. Tough Dog is good for the money and good for other parts of the country (east and south), but not here in the desert. If I didn't go Slee I would have gone custom Kings. Gonna pass on Icons proprietary revalve stack. Unless you have money to burn, nope and nope

 

[084runnerltd]

I went OME heavy.

I had OME medium on my 80, but when I would go on a trip and load it up and attach the boat it would sag....so on the 80 I added adjustable airbag helpers.

On the 100 I do have Slee rear bumper and about 150-200lbs of off-road in the trunk and it rides fine. When I load it all up and attach the boat, it rides good and is level.

If you are running a stock bumper, travel with an empty rear and never tow anything, go with a medium....otherwise imo, heavy is the way to go.

All I have ever used are OME and have no complaints.

 

[KraziAzn]

Tough Dog, ride like stock but without the body roll. Extremely comfortable.

 

[mrahc]

FWIW, my eventual plan is to go with OME "heavy" springs and torsion bars (bought off a member here hopefully), and going with Tough Dog shocks (which ones specifically, I'm not sure yet, most likely the adjustable ones but at the same time, I prefer a set it and forget it style approach). I know there's a few members who have done a similar 'hybrid' setup and seem to be content.

I'm doing this mainly so I can piece it together over time. I don't have the patience to save up enough to buy a whole kit outright (and don't really want to). Whether this ends up a good fit for me, time will tell.

 

[DanInDenver]

Why are foam cell shocks bad in the desert?

This testing in high heat, showed them running cooler.
Foam Cell Pro Testing

I went with Slee shocks. Coming from a background of Fox and King shocks they were a good fit for me. You get what you pay for with shocks, there are NO shortcuts. No offense to anyone but I'm not going to trust a "foam cell" shock. Tough Dog is good for the money and good for other parts of the country (east and south), but not here in the desert. If I didn't go Slee I would have gone custom Kings. Gonna pass on Icons proprietary revalve stack. Unless you have money to burn, nope and nope

 

[CLEcruiser]

Why are the tough dogs only adjustable in the rear, just wondering.

 

[MuseChaser]

Why are the tough dogs only adjustable in the rear, just wondering.

Total guess, but maybe because the load weight in the rear would vary more as the truck is either loaded or unloaded w/ gear, etc., than the front weight would vary?

 

[geanes]

Total guess, but maybe because the load weight in the rear would vary more as the truck is either loaded or unloaded w/ gear, etc., than the front weight would vary?

Exactly. The front is pretty much the same weight all the time. The rear can change dramatically i.e. rooftop tent, full jerry cans, hi-lift jack and load drawers as variables. The adjustable rears are a an absolute gamechanger for me.

As for desert running, the 53mm Ralph (ToughDog) fronts with 45mm adjustable rears never seem to wear out. I can run on washboards at speed for hours at 100 degrees and never lose any performance. They have outperformed my wildest expectations. They get hot for sure. But the cool down crazy fast.

 

[TheForger]

I went with Slee shocks. Coming from a background of Fox and King shocks they were a good fit for me. You get what you pay for with shocks, there are NO shortcuts. No offense to anyone but I'm not going to trust a "foam cell" shock. Tough Dog is good for the money and good for other parts of the country (east and south), but not here in the desert. If I didn't go Slee I would have gone custom Kings. Gonna pass on Icons proprietary revalve stack. Unless you have money to burn, nope and nope

I'll disagree with the desert comment as well. Tough Dog is an Australian company who designed all of their suspension components to withstand thousands of miles of rough overlanding in the outback. Extremely high temps mixed with hours of constant strenuous driving on washboard/rutted/nonexistent roads and dunes are what these shocks are specifically engineered to handle. The 53mm Ralph shock is the largest diameter shock available for the 100 series platform; I highly doubt cooling and shock fade with be of any worry if you plan on stretching them out in the desert. Take a look at the PDF's Jason posted in the TD review thread, they cover all the technical specs of these shocks and might convince you to change your opinion.

Additionally, for the price of 4 Slee remote res. shocks (which are absurdly pricey IMO at $465/ea. but I'm sure are of exceptional quality), you can purchase the entire 3" TourFlex suspension kit from @reevesci which includes the 53mm fronts, 45mm adj. rears, dual rate coil springs with two different load options, and heavy duty torsion bars with strengthening brackets.

 

[guardcompany]

I'll disagree with the desert comment as well. Tough Dog is an Australian company who designed all of their suspension components to withstand thousands of miles of rough overlanding in the outback. Extremely high temps mixed with hours of constant strenuous driving on washboard/rutted/nonexistent roads and dunes are what these shocks are specifically engineered to handle. The 53mm Ralph shock is the largest diameter shock available for the 100 series platform; I highly doubt cooling and shock fade with be of any worry if you plan on stretching them out in the desert. Take a look at the PDF's Jason posted in the TD review thread, they cover all the technical specs of these shocks and might convince you to change your opinion.

Additionally, for the price of 4 Slee remote res. shocks (which are absurdly pricey IMO at $465/ea. but I'm sure are of exceptional quality), you can purchase the entire 3" TourFlex suspension kit from @reevesci which includes the 53mm fronts, 45mm adj. rears, dual rate coil springs with two different load options, and heavy duty torsion bars with strengthening brackets.

I didn't mention heat, I was speaking about the type and speed of driving/terrain. There are a lot of fans of Tough Dog here now I see. It's a great value and everyone seems to love them. And to be honest my experience with foam cell shocks are with Ironman and that was a big nope. This review (http://www.euro4x4parts.com/images/4wd_action_165_tough_dog.pdf) was done with all budget shocks. If you added American "race" shocks like King, Icon, ADS (Slee), Fox etc to that review I think the outcome would be much different.

All that said if I ever added another 100 series to the garage I would most likely do something like Tough Dog because the front end of a 100 doesn't have enough travel to justify a "race" shock IMO.

 

[Surfoverland]

Thank you everyone. After speaking with Jason @reevesci about my needs im going with TD. Thank you all for all the input and see you on the trails. Best wishes to all.

 

[TheForger]

I didn't mention heat, I was speaking about the type and speed of driving/terrain. There are a lot of fans of Tough Dog here now I see. It's a great value and everyone seems to love them. And to be honest my experience with foam cell shocks are with Ironman and that was a big nope. This review (http://www.euro4x4parts.com/images/4wd_action_165_tough_dog.pdf) was done with all budget shocks. If you added American "race" shocks like King, Icon, ADS (Slee), Fox etc to that review I think the outcome would be much different.

All that said if I ever added another 100 series to the garage I would most likely do something like Tough Dog because the front end of a 100 doesn't have enough travel to justify a "race" shock IMO.

While you never directly mentioned heat, "the type and speed of driving/terrain" all contribute to the shocks performance under tremendous amounts of stress; with the Aussie outback being very similar to that of running your rig in the dunes. I'd be more worried about washing all the sand out of each and every nook and cranny of the truck as well as possible sand ingress in the CV boots, ball joints, spindle, etc. than the shocks performance in that type of situation.

With that being said, I doubt many of us on here are looking to bang gears and launch a 3 ton tank over 30ft dunes....Just got to draw the line between overlander/DD and prerunner. To each their own!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Why are the tough dogs only adjustable in the rear, just wondering.

They use an internal valve that is in the main shock body and it would take up precious stroke length up front which the 100 has little of to begin with.

J