Dobinsons MRA vs OME BP-51

[DesertLC09]

Ok, I hope I am not beating a dead horse.

I have OME nitrochargers, they are great, but after three years the bushings are almost completely gone.
I am looking for an adjustable rebuildable shock because I want maximum comfort on the road and almost as stiff as they will go on sand for the 200.

If anyone owns these two shocks and is kind enough to chime in it would be great.

 

[DesmoPilot]

If you want to be able to do trailside adjustments, I would not recommend the BP-51s. They are not user friendly for adjusting. Go with a shock that has external adjusters such as the Dobinsons, Kings or Fox.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Ok, I hope I am not beating a dead horse.

I have OME nitrochargers, they are great, but after three years the bushings are almost completely gone.
I am looking for an adjustable rebuildable shock because I want maximum comfort on the road and almost as stiff as they will go on sand for the 200.

If anyone owns these two shocks and is kind enough to chime in it would be great.

Sounds to me like you are looking for Dobinsons MRA or Kings, probably not BP-51... that said, at 3 years on the Nitrocharger you can replace them 3 times before you approach the initial acquisition cost of the Dobinsons or Kings. Thats probably 10 years and 3 sets of nitros. You will probably have to rebuild the dobinsons or kings at least once in those 10 years, probably twice if you are going through Nitro's that fast. Seems like you are probably zeroing in on the Kings at that point. If I were considering Kings from anywhere in the world, I would consult with Ben at Filthy Motorsports before making any purchase.

 

[residualboulders]

I agree with @DesmoPilot - Love my BP51 ride, but they are a pain to adjust on the trail. Dobinson's MRR on my 80 are easier, not sure how the kings adjust.

 

[CharlieS]

If you go for the adjusters on the King 2.5 they are on the end of the external reservoirs.

 

[residualboulders]

If you go for the adjusters on the King 2.5 they are on the end of the external reservoirs.

Dobinsons also adjust on the end of the remote reservoir High Speed and Low Speed compression. Rebound adjustment is not as easy to adjust being at the bottom end of the shock. Do the Kings adjust for all settings on the end of the reservoir?

BP-51 has fewer adjustment options than the Dobinsons and both are on the shock body which makes it difficult to do on a trail. I have also noticed after 20k miles of road grime, they do not adjust as easily as they did when new.

 

[CharlieS]

I don't have remote adjusters, but based on rebuild videos I've been watching lately, the adjustment is limited compression and is on the external reservoir on the King 2.5.

I've had way too many adjustable suspensions that always seem to be set and forget, so I don't bother with externally adjustable suspensions anymore.

Of course, you can fine tune the compression and rebound by adjusting the internal shim stacks, which is more than most people bother doing unless at a rebuild interval.

 

[Tex68w]

MRR/MRA get my vote.

 

[borfoo3]

MRR/MRA get my vote.

I run KINGS on the 4Runner, but vote for these as well. Missing the silence of rubber bushings

 

[daneo]

Last I checked, BP51 did not have distribution of service parts. This is something OME needs to rectify.

If serviceability is important to you, I’d also look at the Ironman Foam Cells. They run at low pressures with no need to discharge/recharge during service, meaning they are the most DIY serviceable-friendly design out there.

I’m also a big advocate for just keeping the stock dampers

 

[Killacaviar]

ADS and Radflo are amazing options, if you looking for progressive valving options. I was never a fan of digressive valving myself.

If I was looking for something top of the line, fully adjustable/rebuildable and spherical bearings were fine, I would go with those two companies. I have had kings, they are great but wait times are ridiculous and the two mention above are on the same level. Also kings off the shelf valving leaves a good bit in the table.

Between bp51 and MRR I would select the MRR. No one ever talks about this but they have high and low speed compression adjusters. Few shocks offer that level of adjustability at that price point. BP51 seem to be a pain to make adjustments and I am someone who constantly fiddles and adjusts suspension if it allows.

 

[Tex68w]

Isn't the new Slee stuff rebranded ADS?

 

[njbrain]

I have Dobinsons MRA on my 200 series and it is impressive. Very easy to adjust on the trail and great ride quality. I don't plan to buy anything else

 

[crikeymike]

Between bp51 and MRR I would select the MRR. No one ever talks about this but they have high and low speed compression adjusters. Few shocks offer that level of adjustability at that price point. BP51 seem to be a pain to make adjustments and I am someone who constantly fiddles and adjusts suspension if it allows.

No other shock offers high and low speed compression as well as rebound adjustment (3 different valving adjustments), so they're really in their own category as far as adjustable shocks go. You have to go with an external bypass option to get those adjustments usually from King or anyone else. BP51's really have limited adjustment, adn they're very hard to turn the actual adjusters, as those are sandwiched into the body. I've noticed people are far less likely to adjust something that's very difficult to adjust.

 

[bloc]

I run KINGS on the 4Runner, but vote for these as well. Missing the silence of rubber bushings

30k miles on my kings and they are quiet as a mouse.

Same for my OME UCAs actually.. and I was very skeptical of their silent bushing claims.

 

[1Maverick]

I agree with @DesmoPilot - Love my BP51 ride, but they are a pain to adjust on the trail. Dobinson's MRR on my 80 are easier, not sure how the kings adjust.

What are your on-road compression and rebound settings front/rear set at? I need to soften the speed bumps and potholes a bit more as my wife isn’t always liking the ride. I am running medium duty springs.

 

[1Maverick]

I have Dobinsons MRA on my 200 series and it is impressive. Very easy to adjust on the trail and great ride quality. I don't plan to buy anything else

How do they compare to stock in regards to comfort on-road driving?

 

[njbrain]

Hard to say as I went from P Metric to LT tires. Overall I would say similar, but slightly less of a plush feeling.

 

[residualboulders]

What are your on-road compression and rebound settings front/rear set at? I need to soften the speed bumps and potholes a bit more as my wife isn’t always liking the ride. I am running medium duty springs.

I'll have to check where I have them set when I get home. But I also have a rear Slee bumper, 24 gal aux tank and the heavy springs so mine would ride different for sure.

 

[1Maverick]

I'll have to check where I have them set when I get home. But I also have a rear Slee bumper, 24 gal aux tank and the heavy springs so mine would ride different for sure.

Nice build! No worries then. My E rated tires probably cause more of the stiffness anyways.