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Definitive(hopefully) 80's spring selection thread
- Thread starter Qball
- Start date
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I’m running the OME 3051 front and 3052 rear springs. These are a 4” springs, front spring rate is 220 lbs per inch, same a the J springs. Rear rate is 320 lbs per inch, with is more than the competition springs, same as the 864 or extra heavies.
Here’s a comparison picture between the OME 2850 and the 3051
And 2863 vs 3052
All the OME spring info can be found on various vendor sites.
Cruiser Outfitters
Here’s a comparison picture between the OME 2850 and the 3051
And 2863 vs 3052
All the OME spring info can be found on various vendor sites.
Cruiser Outfitters
RFB
97 FZJ80 LIFTED SC DUAL BATTERIES,37s
oK NOW iM INTERESTED WITH 5 IN KING SPRING AND SLEES NEW RESOVOIR SHOCKS, MY TRUCK SAGGED A LOT IN REAR WHEN LOADED DOWN REAR DRAWER FRIDGE FOOD BOX RACK rrt TOOLS AND SPARE PARTS(110LBS) WITH OUT EVERYTHING EXCEPT RACK AND rtt IT SITS PERFECT,SOOOOOOOOO IM PLANNING ON GOING WITH SLEES HEAVIE REAR 6IN SPRINGS AND MEDIUM UP FRONT WITH SLEE CONTROL ARMS, IS THIS A GOOD COURSE OR SHOULD I GO WITH DOBINSON OR IS IT THE SAME??
Holy caps lock Batman!
Why not call Slee and talk to Christo to get his advice? When I was changing my system I called @cruiseroutfit and Kurt was nice enough to spend some time going over different combinations with me. He even did a little research and called me back to answer some questions I had.
Bottom line though is that you have to build your truck for how you intend to use it. If unloaded quick trips are what you normally run and the rest of the time the truck sees only pavement then a lighter rate spring would be preferred. But when loaded the lighter springs will sag more and seem less controlled when wheeling. If you run longer, extended trips, living out of the truck and changing camp site everyday then a heavier spring is needed. But with that heavier spring your unloaded ride will be rough. It’s all a compromise. Pick your poison.
Why not call Slee and talk to Christo to get his advice? When I was changing my system I called @cruiseroutfit and Kurt was nice enough to spend some time going over different combinations with me. He even did a little research and called me back to answer some questions I had.
Bottom line though is that you have to build your truck for how you intend to use it. If unloaded quick trips are what you normally run and the rest of the time the truck sees only pavement then a lighter rate spring would be preferred. But when loaded the lighter springs will sag more and seem less controlled when wheeling. If you run longer, extended trips, living out of the truck and changing camp site everyday then a heavier spring is needed. But with that heavier spring your unloaded ride will be rough. It’s all a compromise. Pick your poison.
How about some axle to frame reference measurements or something like that? Lots of us that are playing the spring game don't have flares as a point of reference... Plus, measuring axle>frame eliminates the tire sidewall bulge/wheel width from interfering in the measurements.
I have found OME springs do not sag over time not sure if its true with others?
I’ve had the pleasure of installing over 100 Ironman, slee, OME lifts and various other combinations. Hands down the best on and offroad ride are the slinky’s. Just the stage one beats them all. With the stage 4-5 icons they are untouchable.
To be sure... These are the 75mm slinky heavies, right? Even on the heavies, you think they are sprung too soft? (would you mind elaborating on what you're seeing that you don't like?)
I didn't know this! How/where did you find this out?
yes, the 75mm heavies and I gotta disagree with trollhole, either that, or i got a crap batch. off road, they slinkys were great, but i wasn't going above 30-35 mph. at higher speeds, it was freakin' scary and this is coming from someone who has no qualms about doing 90mph on slee 4"s with no sway bars and a 7k+ lb rig.
i had horrible side to side sway so i plunked out the couple hundred to add the 30mm whiteline bar hoping that would help, plus i had concrete bucking (anyone who's driven a longbed pickup on a stretch of concrete road knows what that is). it's still uncomfortable enough that i don't want to drive my 80, so now i'm in the process of pulling my stage one off and going back to the slees.
hopefully my fzj55 will be light enough for the "heavy" slinkys.
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Could vehicle weight and weight location be the cause of the differing opinions above?
I ask this because a stock weight 80 series on OME heavies is not a great ride but I feel at 7000# our 80 series with OME heavies provides a better ride off road than our LX470.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Ige are you sure you don't have something else going on with your Slinkys? I have a completely different opinion of the Slinkys on road. Nothing even slightly scary about them from my experience. What shocks are you running with the coils? Could be making a difference. I don't have any of the side to side sway you're talking about or any of the concrete bucking. There is a stretch of highway I drive every day that would cause some gnarly bucking with my Tacoma. My 80 with the Slinky's makes it feel like they repaved the road. No bucking at all.
Not trying to argue your experience but mine is so much different that I seriously wonder if there is something else going on with your truck? Can you check the part numbers on your coils? Wonder if you got the lighter intermediate coils on accident.
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- Thread starter
- #52
I read this forum waaaaay to much. A certain Dobinson representative devulged some info a while back. Some feel he may have over stepped his boudaries. I don’t. putting your name on springs you did not make and then keeping the specs top secret is what’s BS.
I have Slee heavy progressive 4” coils in the rear. They are older and I don’t know if slee offers this progressive coil anymore. They are nice springs and carry a load well. Being they are progressive, they don’t ride to bad when unloaded.
I run 37’s and the 4” lift is more than enough to clear the tires. Go too tall and you get even more top heavy.
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Box Rocket
SILVER Star
My experience with different setup on my own 80s is this.
OME mediums. Would be ok for an otherwise stock unmodified truck. Way too soft once you start adding weight! Sagged badly with any sort of weight in the back. Bad body roll in corners. I had these paired with RS9000 shocks set to stiff and later with OME (pre-nitrocharger sport) shocks. Stock sway bars.
OME Heavies. Better than the mediums but still sagged with added weight in the rear.
OME Js. Same as the heavies but a bit taller to try to compensate for sag in the rear with weight.
OME 4" Comps. Better feel on the road and off with less body roll. I only had these in the front for a short time and there was too much backward rake so I went back to J's in the front.
With the OME setups I had I always ran the OME shocks with them with the exception of the RS9000s I had in the beginning. For the most part I was happy enough with the OME stuff that I kept them on my truck for the better part of 15 years of 80 driving. This was after getting a fair amount of time in truck with Slee setups, Ironman, and a few other mismatched setups.
With all the OME setups, I felt they were too soft and had too much body roll. Offroad I felt like they would unload when pitching off the rear and the truck would lean suddenly when you didn't expect it too. It was unnerving but I got used to it. I never felt like I could push them fast enough offroad and stay in control. But that was with a heavy 80 trying to go fast in the dirt.
In the last few years suspension tech for the 80s has taken a big leap forward with several progressive and dual rate options with much better shock offerings.
I had the 75mm Heavy Slinky Stage 1 kit. Huge upgrade from the OME kits! Shock tune of the Stage1 2.0 shocks is near perfect IMO for that setup. Ride and control on and offroad was night and day difference and I could drive at speeds ~50% faster than I felt comfortable with in the OME setups. Only complaint with the Stage1 kit was that the shocks can be "overrun" with a heavy truck and you can bottom out on big bumps going fast.
Now I have the Stage4 Slinky kit. Same 75mm heavy coils. Shocks are now the 2.5 remote reservoir with CDC adjustment. Body roll and load carrying is dramatically improved over the OME stuff. I have a pretty heavy truck, over 7k lbs when it's loaded and there is very little sag if any. The truck has a bit of forward rake unloaded but sits dead level when I get it loaded and my trailer hooked up. Flex is awesome. I gained about 6" of travel over the OME kits. Driving fast is so much more comfortable! On the SWAdventure trip across southern Utah last May I had the truck loaded with my heavy 4 person Ruggedized Tepui Tent on top and I was rallying the truck pretty good. Speeds were much higher and I felt like I could throw the truck into corners and it stayed totally controlled even with the tent on the top. I was driving speed almost double what I felt comfortable doing when my truck had OME suspension and was unloaded. I was sliding the rear of the truck in corners with the tent on and fully loaded. I'd have been scared to death doing that with OME on my truck. I just couldn't push it at those speeds.
The adjustable shocks have been nice to be able to tweak as my load changes or as the terrain dictates. The bottoming out I would get on the Stage1 shocks is gone. The Stage4s are worth looking at if you have a heavy truck.
This has by far been the best performing suspension I've experienced on an 80. I drove Darren McRae's 80 a little last year in Moab. He has the same Stage4 setup on Snowy his white 80 but has a heavier rear sway bar and some additional camber in the front end. That truck is awesome for driving fast. Feels like a sports car (or as close as a cruiser can feel to one). With the stiffer rear bar and more camber the front end turns in really nice and the rear of the truck will kick out a bit sooner so nearly all understeer is gone. It's really fun.
I still have the stock sway bars but I'm planning to upgrade to a heavier rear bar.
OME mediums. Would be ok for an otherwise stock unmodified truck. Way too soft once you start adding weight! Sagged badly with any sort of weight in the back. Bad body roll in corners. I had these paired with RS9000 shocks set to stiff and later with OME (pre-nitrocharger sport) shocks. Stock sway bars.
OME Heavies. Better than the mediums but still sagged with added weight in the rear.
OME Js. Same as the heavies but a bit taller to try to compensate for sag in the rear with weight.
OME 4" Comps. Better feel on the road and off with less body roll. I only had these in the front for a short time and there was too much backward rake so I went back to J's in the front.
With the OME setups I had I always ran the OME shocks with them with the exception of the RS9000s I had in the beginning. For the most part I was happy enough with the OME stuff that I kept them on my truck for the better part of 15 years of 80 driving. This was after getting a fair amount of time in truck with Slee setups, Ironman, and a few other mismatched setups.
With all the OME setups, I felt they were too soft and had too much body roll. Offroad I felt like they would unload when pitching off the rear and the truck would lean suddenly when you didn't expect it too. It was unnerving but I got used to it. I never felt like I could push them fast enough offroad and stay in control. But that was with a heavy 80 trying to go fast in the dirt.
In the last few years suspension tech for the 80s has taken a big leap forward with several progressive and dual rate options with much better shock offerings.
I had the 75mm Heavy Slinky Stage 1 kit. Huge upgrade from the OME kits! Shock tune of the Stage1 2.0 shocks is near perfect IMO for that setup. Ride and control on and offroad was night and day difference and I could drive at speeds ~50% faster than I felt comfortable with in the OME setups. Only complaint with the Stage1 kit was that the shocks can be "overrun" with a heavy truck and you can bottom out on big bumps going fast.
Now I have the Stage4 Slinky kit. Same 75mm heavy coils. Shocks are now the 2.5 remote reservoir with CDC adjustment. Body roll and load carrying is dramatically improved over the OME stuff. I have a pretty heavy truck, over 7k lbs when it's loaded and there is very little sag if any. The truck has a bit of forward rake unloaded but sits dead level when I get it loaded and my trailer hooked up. Flex is awesome. I gained about 6" of travel over the OME kits. Driving fast is so much more comfortable! On the SWAdventure trip across southern Utah last May I had the truck loaded with my heavy 4 person Ruggedized Tepui Tent on top and I was rallying the truck pretty good. Speeds were much higher and I felt like I could throw the truck into corners and it stayed totally controlled even with the tent on the top. I was driving speed almost double what I felt comfortable doing when my truck had OME suspension and was unloaded. I was sliding the rear of the truck in corners with the tent on and fully loaded. I'd have been scared to death doing that with OME on my truck. I just couldn't push it at those speeds.
The adjustable shocks have been nice to be able to tweak as my load changes or as the terrain dictates. The bottoming out I would get on the Stage1 shocks is gone. The Stage4s are worth looking at if you have a heavy truck.
This has by far been the best performing suspension I've experienced on an 80. I drove Darren McRae's 80 a little last year in Moab. He has the same Stage4 setup on Snowy his white 80 but has a heavier rear sway bar and some additional camber in the front end. That truck is awesome for driving fast. Feels like a sports car (or as close as a cruiser can feel to one). With the stiffer rear bar and more camber the front end turns in really nice and the rear of the truck will kick out a bit sooner so nearly all understeer is gone. It's really fun.
I still have the stock sway bars but I'm planning to upgrade to a heavier rear bar.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Not a chance IMO. I'm over 7k when the truck is loaded and regularly pulling my trailer and the heavy Slinkys are working great.
- Thread starter
- #57
Not a chance IMO. I'm over 7k when the truck is loaded and regularly pulling my trailer and the heavy Slinkys are working great.
That's awesome, any ideas on the specs? If they work great for 7k rigs then they might not be as good for a 6k rig.
If you happen to have per axle weight it would be even better.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
I've seen them on lighter rigs. Also, I'm using the heavy rates, there are intermediate rate coils too.
running their icon shocks. bought everything from redline. originally, he only had the rear shocks and springs in stock, and i had issues, but i attributed that to having icons on the rear and ome up front. a few months later, he got the fronts in and it's still the the second scariest i've ever driven...the first being my 95 on stock springs with no shocks at all.
i'll have to check the numbers when i get home, but i have no reference as to what part number the heavies should be. i'm happy for those that are thrilled with their slinkys. for the price, i wish i was too.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Don't give up on them yet. I'm still highly suspect there is something else going on. What exactly is "scary"? Wish I was closer so we could swap trucks and see what is feeling different.running their icon shocks. bought everything from redline. originally, he only had the rear shocks and springs in stock, and i had issues, but i attributed that to having icons on the rear and ome up front. a few months later, he got the fronts in and it's still the the second scariest i've ever driven...the first being my 95 on stock springs with no shocks at all.
i'll have to check the numbers when i get home, but i have no reference as to what part number the heavies should be. i'm happy for those that are thrilled with their slinkys. for the price, i wish i was too.
Here's a shot of some of the springs from when I did my install. The one in the foreground is the rear 75mm heavy. 7511 is the number on that one.
