The remote reservoirs are pretty damn nice to have and definitely improve ride quality.
FJ62: Bilstein shocks with OME
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The last post covers what I used. The shocks have been great on and off road. I’ve put on 35,000 miles with this lift combo.
Hey @HemiAlex could you share the Bilstein part numbers?
3“ OME lift, # 5160 shock
thanks for the pic. How is the ride on/off road?
My suspension is OME CS005F front and CS005RA/B. It doesn't lean.I'm using the 33-230368 360/80 valving up front. I've got a bullbar and winch up front and I'm adding a 2nd battery. If I was stock up front, I'd use the 33-230351 in 255/70 valving.
In the rear, I've got 33-185606 255/70 valving in the rear.. This was suggested for a small bumper or stock weight capacity in the rear.
I've no issues flexing the truck and the road manners are great. I've got Bilstein's on 3 cars. Plus, for the 60 they're cheaper than most of the aftermarket options. I purchased them from 4wheelparts.
The ride is good to go on both, I’m adding airbags. Fixed the LC “lean”
I installed the 5125 Series and I finally had a chance to test them on a long overland type trip (thanks to the COVID shutdown Nevada).
Rear: 33-185606 8.6" travel, 14.06 compressed/22.5 extended with 255/70 valving.
Front: 33-230351 10.2" travel 16.1 compressed/ 26.4 extended with 255/70 valving.
The vehicle has 2" Terrain Tamer Lift Kit (installed by PO), 33" Toyo MTR. 3B Deisel, currently 1 battery and stock bumpers. I was carrying approx 350 LBS of camping gear, spare tire, full fuel tank and a small roof rack with some old solar panels mounted.
These are a huge improvement over the blown-out old ones that were on there for years. Driving around town they handle bumps just fine. Freeway driving loaded up is also fine. Off-road on washboard roads they were able to absorb some of the bumps but washboard was still annoying even with these. Smoother dirt roads are really quite nice with these shocks. Handling rocks and obstacles which required articulation was fair - worse going downhill than climbing. Crawling in low through a rock garden for 4 miles was pretty jarring, and emphasized the need for stiffer valving to manage the weight of gear in the cargo area. I felt they lacked control in this specific situation. Also after about 30 mins on dirt roads, I noticed that my rear shocks were scalding hot to touch, whereas the front shocks were hot but not nearly so hot. I also felt like the rears couldn't control the load when climbing steep loose terrain after getting so hot, leading to exaggerated wheel hop.
I did notice that dropping my Toyo's from 40PSI to 35PSI seemed to help smooth things out remarkably. These tires are new to me and I'm still figuring out ideal pressures for wheeling. (I run them at 60 PSI on the road).
Since these shocks are quite new I'm going to continue to use them and measure the temps more objectively. My next step might involve switching the rears to the 5165's valved at 360/80 (PN 25-176100) or try the 5125 valved in 360/80 (PN 33-230320) though they are about 1" longer collapsed.
Rear: 33-185606 8.6" travel, 14.06 compressed/22.5 extended with 255/70 valving.
Front: 33-230351 10.2" travel 16.1 compressed/ 26.4 extended with 255/70 valving.
The vehicle has 2" Terrain Tamer Lift Kit (installed by PO), 33" Toyo MTR. 3B Deisel, currently 1 battery and stock bumpers. I was carrying approx 350 LBS of camping gear, spare tire, full fuel tank and a small roof rack with some old solar panels mounted.
These are a huge improvement over the blown-out old ones that were on there for years. Driving around town they handle bumps just fine. Freeway driving loaded up is also fine. Off-road on washboard roads they were able to absorb some of the bumps but washboard was still annoying even with these. Smoother dirt roads are really quite nice with these shocks. Handling rocks and obstacles which required articulation was fair - worse going downhill than climbing. Crawling in low through a rock garden for 4 miles was pretty jarring, and emphasized the need for stiffer valving to manage the weight of gear in the cargo area. I felt they lacked control in this specific situation. Also after about 30 mins on dirt roads, I noticed that my rear shocks were scalding hot to touch, whereas the front shocks were hot but not nearly so hot. I also felt like the rears couldn't control the load when climbing steep loose terrain after getting so hot, leading to exaggerated wheel hop.
I did notice that dropping my Toyo's from 40PSI to 35PSI seemed to help smooth things out remarkably. These tires are new to me and I'm still figuring out ideal pressures for wheeling. (I run them at 60 PSI on the road).
Since these shocks are quite new I'm going to continue to use them and measure the temps more objectively. My next step might involve switching the rears to the 5165's valved at 360/80 (PN 25-176100) or try the 5125 valved in 360/80 (PN 33-230320) though they are about 1" longer collapsed.
60 PSI on the road seems a bit high!
I run 45 in the same tires. Doesn’t feel bad.
Man, did I ever pick a day to come back to this thread... seems like it's breathing well.
Got a knackered set of OME's on a Chev V8 '60, and want to replace them.
Specs:
FRONT Spring: CS004 (Heavy)
Old Man-a-Fre Shackle Inversion front shackles and mount relocated forward 1" rear OME shackles.
F250 Upper Shock mount
FRONT Shock: OME Nitrocharger 60020
==========
REAR Spring: CS005R A/B (like @HemiAlex)
REAR Shock: OME Nitrocharger 60043
OEM Shock mounts on axle and frame crossmember.
ISSUE:
From what I gather, the shocks I'm running are a hair longer than Bilsteins in this thread.
The FRONT 60020 measures at: 24.60" Expanded and 14.88" Collapsed
The REAR 60043 measures at: 25.98" Expanded and 15.62" Collapsed
So... since I, like a few here, am doing the whole Front/Rear Bumper+Winch+Dual Battery thing... I assume I'll need a more resistantly valved set of Bilsteins to match my set up.
The lengths of what @Sykoslug is running are close to what I need, but I think my rears need to be longer.
Any advice? Currently have a whole mess of bounce in her booty when I'm off road, since it's proper loaded with dual jerry swing out and 35's and RTT all that mess... and figure the 360/80 valving would be the right place to start for my set up all around.
Got a knackered set of OME's on a Chev V8 '60, and want to replace them.
Specs:
FRONT Spring: CS004 (Heavy)
Old Man-a-Fre Shackle Inversion front shackles and mount relocated forward 1" rear OME shackles.
F250 Upper Shock mount
FRONT Shock: OME Nitrocharger 60020
==========
REAR Spring: CS005R A/B (like @HemiAlex)
REAR Shock: OME Nitrocharger 60043
OEM Shock mounts on axle and frame crossmember.
ISSUE:
From what I gather, the shocks I'm running are a hair longer than Bilsteins in this thread.
The FRONT 60020 measures at: 24.60" Expanded and 14.88" Collapsed
The REAR 60043 measures at: 25.98" Expanded and 15.62" Collapsed
So... since I, like a few here, am doing the whole Front/Rear Bumper+Winch+Dual Battery thing... I assume I'll need a more resistantly valved set of Bilsteins to match my set up.
The lengths of what @Sykoslug is running are close to what I need, but I think my rears need to be longer.
Any advice? Currently have a whole mess of bounce in her booty when I'm off road, since it's proper loaded with dual jerry swing out and 35's and RTT all that mess... and figure the 360/80 valving would be the right place to start for my set up all around.
Adding info for anyone digging:
Here's a link to a chart from Shockwarehouse.com that shows the Expanded/Collapsed and Valving of the Bilstein 5125 series for anyone searching for a particular application: (CLICKY)
From what I can tell, for a 5125-series 360/80 valving set up, front/rear, for my application would be:
FRONT: 33-230412 (Comp: 15.2" / Ext: 24.4")
REAR: 33-230320 (Comp: 15.1" / Ext. 24.3")
Here's a link to a chart from Shockwarehouse.com that shows the Expanded/Collapsed and Valving of the Bilstein 5125 series for anyone searching for a particular application: (CLICKY)
From what I can tell, for a 5125-series 360/80 valving set up, front/rear, for my application would be:
FRONT: 33-230412 (Comp: 15.2" / Ext: 24.4")
REAR: 33-230320 (Comp: 15.1" / Ext. 24.3")
Last edited:
I would go for a heavier
Get the same fronts as what I’ve got and step the rears up to a step above what I’ve got out back.
I’ve got an arb front, air compressor, synthetic winch and soon to add a second battery.
In the rear it’s a kaymar rear that has to be +150 lbs, a 85 lb spare, a 5 gal filled Jerry cam and a high lift jack. I could see myself benefitting from a step up in valving after the bumper install. If I get the Long range tank and I add 16 gallons of fuel at 6 lbs per gallon, I’ll be there. Forget the weight of tools and gear.
It takes another 300 lbs our back to drop my truck.
I’m very happy with the combination. I’ll either raise the front or take a leaf out of the rear to level it.
Get the same fronts as what I’ve got and step the rears up to a step above what I’ve got out back.
I’ve got an arb front, air compressor, synthetic winch and soon to add a second battery.
In the rear it’s a kaymar rear that has to be +150 lbs, a 85 lb spare, a 5 gal filled Jerry cam and a high lift jack. I could see myself benefitting from a step up in valving after the bumper install. If I get the Long range tank and I add 16 gallons of fuel at 6 lbs per gallon, I’ll be there. Forget the weight of tools and gear.
It takes another 300 lbs our back to drop my truck.
I’m very happy with the combination. I’ll either raise the front or take a leaf out of the rear to level it.
You're 100% right. That's what was on mine.
^^^ This is a great piece of advice.
Thinking, as I said below, 360/80 5125's all around... I don't think I can go heavier for my 'ish, except up front, with a '398/94' damping. But, that shock (P/N: 24-065283) is too short. I'd have to go with a heavier series (e.g. 5165, 7100) to make that work, I think... then we're into 200$+ per shock territory.
My stance is leveled right now, and I want to make sure that she stays that way, especially when off road and tippy.
Thanks man.
They're rated for 80psi. I run them high because my tired old 3b doesn't get around so well on the tarmac at freeway speeds if they're lower.
AFTER INSTALL UPDATE:
1) The FRONT LOWER install required some SLIGHT 'coercion' from a Dremel for the inner bushings that came with the shocks.
I/D (IIRC) was 2-3mm too small, and I used about 2-3mins of sanding to get it to where that, some assembly Moly-B, and a solid glove could push them on.
2) Shocks have been on for a few 100 ROAD miles now.
They're awesome, in that they've stiffened the chassis in cornering and smoothed out quick up-travel impacts. So far, my only tests have been on-road, and through bumpy + pitted roads + speed-bumps + freeway clovers/lane change + 2-lane mountain roads...
Damping a 10/10 compared to my old OME Nitros. Quick Up-travel reaction AMAZING, no jarring, and smooth in quick potholes.
Bounce-Reduction a 10/10. The ol' girl's booty REALLY got up/down with the old OME's, and this has significantly tightened her tail without duplicating the debilitating slap or massive tail up-down oscillation I was used to when taking larger bumps at speed.
Cornering a 10/10 compared to the Nitros. Stiffer in corners, less body roll (w/ roofrack/RTT even)
Install Ease a 7/10 compared to OME Nitros. (But, this comes with the territory of adapting a custom shock to this application)
2) The up-travel spacing of the REAR shocks is reduced (slightly) compared to the Nitros.
This had me order some Daystar 4.5" bumpstops to replace my OEM set up, both front and rear, as I had clearance issues with a V8 cross-over exhaust up front contacting the differential on uptravel. Manufacture part #: KU9009BK. I'll simply fab a bottom plate for them and bolt em up as needed... Will advise any in PM if curious.
Per my quick driveway measurement, the spacing from installed compression to bottoming out on the two shocks is as follows:
OLD MAN EMU NITRO (P/N: 60043): 5.5" To Impact Shock Body
BILSTEIN 5125 (P/N: 33-230320): 5" To Impact Shock Body
3) I'm going to get the ol' chungis out camping this weekend... I'll report back as to how it does off road for any curious parties.
I'm sure it won't handle like a well sprung/valved 4Runner with IFS up front, but for what the chunky girl is... she'll do just fine.
just curious where did you get the stock bushings to swap out the fronts? I just bought these exact shocks to try out and wanted to find the correct bushings to swap out...thanks!
I have Bilstein on my fj40 and they are great, and they are 5125. What exact part #s are you guys using for 3" lifted rigs?
thanks
thanks