Medium or Heavy OME lift?

[RogerCruiser]

I need to get new shocks and I feel that I might as well get the OME lift while at it. I plan on getting a front and rear bumper in a few months. Can the medium lift handle the ARB bumpers? Or do I really need heavies? How bad is the ride with the heavy lift and no bumpers? Thanks

 

[mvpcruiser]

get the heavies

 

[3rd Cruiser]

When I lifited I went with the 865 medium springs and the firm shocks front and back. Great ride on the street and offroad. The addition of the arb front bumper required torsion bar adjustment. Still a great ride.

The addition of the slee rear bumper required heavier duty springs 863's. Not as comfortable a ride as with the 865 medium springs. I think alot of forum members have gone the same route as they added weight to the back of the truck.

With the addition of the OME sport shocks to the OME line, I think your biggest decision will be which shock to go with. The nitrocharger Original or the new sport. They are very different shocks.

The firm sports are much stiffer in ride characteristics then the firm originals\ nitrochargers. I just put the sports on my truck and they ride like my old bilsteins. Haven't had them offroad yet. The ride is much firmer and any side to side sway is gone.

 

[RogerCruiser]

Thanks. Why did you go from nitrocharger original to the new sport?

Can I install the OME shocks without the lift and add the springs and torsion bar when I get the bumpers?

 

[spressomon]

3rd Cruiser,

Just for curiosity's sake I'd like to hear your impressions about the Sport shock once you've gotten some varied miles on them with a loaded rig. The big issue with the OME's (N133, N101), for me: Underdamped for big bumps/hits and way overdamped for the small bumps/corrugations/washboard. And they tended to fade on miles of washboard.

 

[3rd Cruiser]

"Thanks. Why did you go from nitrocharger original to the new sport?"

Lately I have not been happy with the way my LC was handeling. Pronounced side to side sway, mushy off road performance. On thae last trip I had to keep the speed way down up a sandy wash so has not to over crompress the front end.

I'm not sure if this is due to the recent addition of slee skid plates (extra weight) or shocks getting old, (55,000 miles) I never really liked the ride of the nitro chargers compared to my bilsteins. The bilsteins were firmer, but gave much more control on and off the road.

Talked to the folks at slee. They said the sports are valved for heavier vehicles like mine and would give me more of the "bilstein" ride then the original nitros. Thought i would give them a try.

"Can I install the OME shocks without the lift and add the springs and torsion bar when I get the bumpers?"

Not sure of the answer to this one. I'm thinking yes. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.

 

[3rd Cruiser]

3rd Cruiser,

Just for curiosity's sake I'd like to hear your impressions about the Sport shock once you've gotten some varied miles on them with a loaded rig. The big issue with the OME's (N133, N101), for me: Underdamped for big bumps/hits and way overdamped for the small bumps/corrugations/washboard. And they tended to fade on miles of washboard.

Spresso,

So far the difference between the Nitros and the Nitro sports is night and day. I have only driven the truck from the shop to home, but the difference is very noticiable on surface streets. I will be heading out for a longer drive today.

With the addition of front and, back bumpers, step sliders, and skid plates the truck was begining to feel too mushy on road, with pronounced side to side sway. Off road fully loaded for camping, it felt lide the shocks were not up to the task.

The sports are very firm. The truck now feels rock solid with zero side to side sway. Reminisent of my old bilsteins. I plan on starting a new thread about the sports. I'm heading out to Pannamint Valley the end of January and will have a chance to use them in a variety of situations.

 

[jmarlo]

I've got the Old Man Emu Nitrochargers with heavy springs. This replaced my hydraulic suspension. This suspension works great for me. Its akin the the "sport" setting on the prior hydraulic set up. Is firm on road, and good offroad.

If you want to drive my truck around the block to get a feel for what you are in for, email me at jmarlo@hkclaw.com and we can set it up. I'm in Newport Beach.

 

[3rd Cruiser]

Sounds like we need to pick a day or weekend and head out to the Mojave for a "Suspenson Tech" event. Somewhere those with stock suspensions can wheel without fear of damage. Black canyon (petroglyphs), Afton canyon (sand) or whatever. These are all easy one day trips out of LA. Maybe an overnighter for those from San Diego or further north.

Everyone showing up would have a chance to see and experince the various lift and shock options. Nothing like riding in a vehicle that has the mods you are thinking about.

Should be fun, any one interested?

 

[jmarlo]

I'd be up for that. Sounds like fun. A Saturday or Sunday day trip would be good for me. Put some ideas out there and lets see if we can set it up!

 

[Maniac]

I also have the Nitro Sport shocks with the OME medium lift. Experienced the same improvements in handling as mentioned above. However I was not prepared for how stiff the ride would be. With the Bilstein shocks, I had no problem drinking a cup of coffee on my commute to work. Now, with the same coffee cup on the same road, I get dribbles and splashes all over the place.

My other control experiment is the speed bumps in the parking lot at work. At 15 to 20 mph my computer used to bounce out of the passenger seat; with the new suspenion the computer doesnt budge.

Therefore my experience is that smaller bumps fell bigger and bigger bumps feel smaller. Overall, the handling is still much improved (the primary reason for the upgrade).

 

[3rd Cruiser]

maniac,

Do you have the medium (60000 and 60002) sport shocks or the heavy load (60001 and 60003)?

And yes, I agree with your stiff ride observation.

 

[RogerCruiser]

I've got the Old Man Emu Nitrochargers with heavy springs. This replaced my hydraulic suspension. This suspension works great for me. Its akin the the "sport" setting on the prior hydraulic set up. Is firm on road, and good offroad.

If you want to drive my truck around the block to get a feel for what you are in for, email me at jmarlo@hkclaw.com and we can set it up. I'm in Newport Beach.

I'd love to try your rig. I'll get in touch with you soon. Thanks!

Sounds like we need to pick a day or weekend and head out to the Mojave for a "Suspenson Tech" event. Somewhere those with stock suspensions can wheel without fear of damage. Black canyon (petroglyphs), Afton canyon (sand) or whatever. These are all easy one day trips out of LA. Maybe an overnighter for those from San Diego or further north.

Everyone showing up would have a chance to see and experince the various lift and shock options. Nothing like riding in a vehicle that has the mods you are thinking about.

Should be fun, any one interested?

Count me in

 

[OursSauvage]

Basicly same kind of question...I baught a medium OME kit wich I didn't put on yet (time lack)
In the mean time, the way I use the cruiser changed a little bit
I drive 1500 miles /month
I always have something like 200/300 lbs in the trunk
Should I sell my rear spring and buy heavier.
I want to mention that roads are awfull here and I don"t want to feel what I felt with my HJ61

Shortly , and to avoid thread hijack, wich weigh in the trunk is the limit to choose between medium or hard
Thanks

 

[jmarlo]

I do not find the heavy springs uncomfortable at all. The only extra weight I carry is the weight of the Kaymar bumper and a jerry can full of gas, not too much weight. If you routinely keep 2-300 pounds, in my opion, the heavy springs would be just fine.

 

[OursSauvage]

thanks Jmarlo

 

[RogerCruiser]

After going over to man-a-fre and discussing my needs and intentions, I was convinced to go with the OME nitro sport medium shocks (no lift). I got them installed yesterday and I'm very happy with the results. The truck feels taller, no rolling side to side. way better handling. I did not try it off road, but even if I did, due to my lack of experience I would not be able to tell you much about it.

 

[Maniac]

3rd Cruiser-
I have the 60001 Sport Shock in the front, and the 60003 Sport Shock on the rear; with the 865 rear coil spring. In retrospect I meant to get the medium shocks, but ended with the heavy/firm. When I ordered these back in Nov, I think they were recently added to the standard "Nitro" line-up and I didnt realize there was a medium and firm version of the same shock. I don't have any extra weight (yet), but noticed on a road trip with passengers and about 200 lbs of gear in the back the ride was more comfortable compared to no payload. Now I have good justification to get the ARB bumper!

 

[andyhess]

I'm the 2nd owner of this particular Land Cruiser. I bought it with the heavy duty OME springs and shocks and found the ride pretty harsh. The suspension soaked up the big bumps pretty well, but it was the small breaks in the road that were the problem. Expansion joints, for example, really rattled my teeth out.

I gave Christo Slee a call-- and he thought it was the E rated BFG/AT's that were the culprit. I agreed they're a hard tire, but IMHO that didn't explain everything. In particular, it seemed "falling" into a pothole (or uneven pavement) was particularly bad suggesting poor rebound from the shocks (at least that's what I theorized).

I asked Christo about moving to the med. duty OME shocks, and he discouraged me from this citing many customers "blowing them out" after relatively few miles.

I tried them anyway, and really liked the ride. High-frequency bumps are still apparent, but overall the suspension really soaks up the bumps much better than before when on the road. On road it's controlled fairly well, but keep in mind it is a 6000lb SUV so I don't expect it to handle like a BMW.

Off-road, they seem to control the vehicle pretty well-- but keep in mind I'm driving low-speed rocky trails in the Sierra Nevada (not high-speed desert running).

True to Christo's prediction, I did blow out the front right shock after about 3000 miles, but OME was very good about replacing the unit. It's been about 5000 miles since replacing, and not problems have occurred... maybe it was simply a bad shock.

Here are some stats on my Cruiser:

OME HD Front torsions (2" lift)
OME Sway Bar
OME MD Front Shocks
TJM Front Bumper
9000 lb Warn Winc w/synthetic rope
OME HD Rear Springs (866?)
OME MD Rear Shocks
Slee rear bumper w/tire carrier
Slee sliders

I'm still not completely happy with the "high-frequency" bumps... thinking it is the tires. Anyone have any experience with the GY DuraTrac?

-Andy

 

[jonharis]

So what's the recommended 2.5" setup for a stock truck with just Slee sliders installed?