Old Man Emu Bad Reviews (1 Viewer)

[cvan1971man]

I was looking at getting some OME heavies for the rear of our FJ and on a whim just looked at the reviews of OME. These reviews are coming from Australia where OME is based. The reviews are horrible to say the least - 76% were negative. I don't want to buy new spring to have to replace shortly later.

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension reviews

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension (Car Accessory): 2 out of 5 stars from 37 genuine reviews on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au.

www.productreview.com.au

 

[mattressking]

OME is fine, my only complaint is sorta common across many aftermarket springs which is the dimensions are too short and leave you with a poor shackle angle. The idea is that there will be a lot of weight and the springs will break in, but let’s face it - 90% of these trucks or more, are just toys and don’t get any real work anymore….so mix that with stiff shocks and of course it’ll be a rough ride.

Custom springs or skyjacker seem to be the only decent option but do your research. The key takeaway is that you need a good shackle angle to have a good ride, shocks are the last piece which will control your overall spring compression and rebound.

 

[1MOA]

The land cruiser community there is huge and based on the 70 series. The 40 series is pretty sorted out. I run a OME med/heavy on my 77 and love it with Bilstein shocks.

 

[1MOA]

OME is fine, my only complaint is sorta common across many aftermarket springs which is the dimensions are too short and leave you with a poor shackle angle. The idea is that there will be a lot of weight and the springs will break in, but let’s face it - 90% of these trucks or more, are just toys and don’t get any real work anymore….so mix that with stuff shocks and of course it’ll be a rough ride.

Custom springs or skyjacker seem to be the only decent option but do your research. The key takeaway is that you need a good shackle angle to have a good ride, shocks are the last piece which will control your overall spring compression and rebound.

Fully agree with the part about the spring break in. Take it out and wheel it and the suspension will loosen up just fine. Had a guy who put the exact same suspension under his truck and complained it rode horribly for almost 2 years. He sold it to a guy who took it out and wheeled it for a weekend and literally said the 2nd day it was like a new truck once the springs got flexed.
All the first owner did was pick it up from the shop and drive it to club meetings and car and coffee events to complain about it.

 

[centerlineseal]

I am very happy with my Alcans on our '75 FJ40. Excellent shackle disposition and custom made to my load specifications. Made in America!

 

[franklin40]

i have OME mediums on my 72 and ended up taking out one leaf in the rear only but then put bilsteins on and find it quite good. it’s a short wheel base so will always have a bit of a harsher ride than a longer wheel base vehicle but OME has good following and history. i don’t know why they’d have such terrible reviews. i’d buy again

 

[cvan1971man]

OME is fine, my only complaint is sorta common across many aftermarket springs which is the dimensions are too short and leave you with a poor shackle angle. The idea is that there will be a lot of weight and the springs will break in, but let’s face it - 90% of these trucks or more, are just toys and don’t get any real work anymore….so mix that with stuff shocks and of course it’ll be a rough ride.

Custom springs or skyjacker seem to be the only decent option but do your research. The key takeaway is that you need a good shackle angle to have a good ride, shocks are the last piece which will control your overall spring compression and rebound.

Have you had skyjackers on one of your rigs?

 

[mattressking]

Have you had skyjackers on one of your rigs?

Yep I loved them. Would have them on my current, but I got a cheap deal on some old downey 4" springs...wish I just bought Skyjackers ultimately, but these are just fine. Personal experience with OME was totally fine, but like anything, you quickly learn better methods/options so I try to pass that on to folks looking for something more...tailored. Don't get me wrong, OME is great, just didn't fit my goals.

Not sure how much lift you want, so keep that in mind, but Skyjacker offers 2.5 and 4" and then you can fine tune shackle angle with various length shackles. Definitely use an anti-inversion shackle if you ever plan to flex the truck out if you go that route.

I spent about 3 months living out of the 40 on the road, skyjacker got my vote. My ram is getting skyjacker as well.

 

[cstav86]

I have the OME springs and shackles on my 40 and it rides exactly as you would expect a 50 year old leaf sprung truck would. ROUGH. I would probably do Dobinsons based on feedback from tons of happy Dobinsons customers.

 

[Chungas Revenge]

I was looking at getting some OME heavies for the rear of our FJ and on a whim just looked at the reviews of OME. These reviews are coming from Australia where OME is based. The reviews are horrible to say the least - 76% were negative. I don't want to buy new spring to have to replace shortly later.

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension reviews

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension (Car Accessory): 2 out of 5 stars from 37 genuine reviews on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au.

www.productreview.com.au

The land cruiser community there is huge and based on the 70 series. The 40 series is pretty sorted out. I run a OME med/heavy on my 77 and love it with Bilstein shocks.

No one size fits all options. I have heavy OME springs (DAKAR) +2 1/2, hardtop, AI shackles and Bilstein’s. I’ve had 2 deer in bags, 200lbs of camping/hunting gear, plus one of my XL hunting buddies who is 6’ 15” and 300+ all crammed into my LC. It gets loaded down.

Those springs have been flexed.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

I'd go Dobinsons over OME. @TRAIL TAILOR is a Distributor.

OME is not what it used to be.

 

[archie73]

I’m happy with my OME mediums. I run topless and have a lighter drivetrain then stock. The ride is good for a couple reasons-

1. 35” tires- they probably react to bumps before the springs. Additionally, I play with tire pressure.
2. Extended shackles in the back get proper angle
3. I wheel it- they are broken in.

 

[CondeCruiser]

I have 2.5" OME on my '76 and 2.5" Pro Comp's on my '70. The Pro Comps ride a bit better and will definitely be better once broken in some more. Plus the Pro Comps are longer and center the rear axle in the well. IMO, there is a reason why OME sells anti inversion shackles..... their springs are too short.

 

[pb4ugo]

Back early 90s I bought 4" Skyjackers and they were great. I used to get compliments on how flexible the 40 was on the trail and had nice road manners. About 10yrs later, I swapped to BDS. About 2 yrs ago I bought another set of 4" Skyjackers to put on my 2nd 40. They started out a little stiff, but are loosening up. They'll be fine. I've never had to run any type of anti inversion shackles.

 

[B y r o n]

I was looking at getting some OME heavies for the rear of our FJ and on a whim just looked at the reviews of OME. These reviews are coming from Australia where OME is based. The reviews are horrible to say the least - 76% were negative. I don't want to buy new spring to have to replace shortly later.

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension reviews

ARB Old Man Emu Suspension (Car Accessory): 2 out of 5 stars from 37 genuine reviews on Australia's largest opinion site ProductReview.com.au.

www.productreview.com.au

37 reviews covering the last 8 years and all their products. Of the 37 I saw only one for a FJ40 (1978 I believe). How many products do you think they market? How many of those products do you think have been sold, even if you only look at the last 8 years and not the life of the company?

Ever heard the phrase "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"? If someone is upset they are more likely to squeak then someone who is pleased with their purchase. If I was into statistics I'd probably be able to show that those numbers are insignificant and meaningless. Not being a statistician it is simply my feeling.

Do your own research and spend your money where you feel it is best spent!

 

[Bloomer]

OME med/heavy with OME shocks on my 78. No complaints here. Have a set of Bilstein shocks I ordered on a whim but haven’t seen a need to install them.

 

[firemanj92]

I just sold a set of med/light OME shocks/springs with 1,500 miles and went Dobinson. I can say as others (@wngrog) have stated they provide a much smoother ride. I was too lazy to remove one leaf out of the pack so I just pulled the trigger on the Dobi's.
The main reason for the switch is I'm getting older and so is the short Mrs. so were were looking to lower the LC (from a 2.5" lift) and smooth out the ride. The IMS shocks (which I installed 6 months prior) had a lot to do with smoothing the ride. With that said I did not experience any issues with the OME's. I like the OME shackles with their anti-inversion plates built into them on the other hand the Dobi's shackles resemble Toyo OEM shackles.

 

[wngrog]

Dobinsons IMS is the best leaf ride ever. They are designed with multiple high arch small leafs and the shackle is supposed be vertical.

The old mindset that the shackle must be 45* is based on springs that don’t flex. Like OME, Skyjacker, Rough Country, HFS….

Springs on them are thicker and more leafs are stacked in the pack and they don’t move so you need a shackle that will.

 

[Pierps]

My ome medium duty springs are definitely too short (vertical shackles), and the rear axle was pushed really far forward in the rear wheel well, so I had to drill new holes in the spring perches to push it back far enough to look halfway decent. I haven't flexed them out yet, but I do wonder why there are so many positive reviews of this suspension on this forum...

Maybe they'll get better with time though.

 

[wngrog]

My ome medium duty springs are definitely too short (vertical shackles), and the rear axle was pushed really far forward in the rear wheel well, so I had to drill new holes in the spring perches to push it back far enough to look halfway decent. I haven't flexed them out yet, but I do wonder why there are so many positive reviews of this suspension on this forum...

Maybe they'll get better with time though.

The positive reviews come from a lot of things.

First, anything is an upgrade over 30-40 year old stock springs.

Second. Almost anything is better than a cheap 4” lift as mentioned above.

Third, OME discounts for resellers runs deep and long. It’s their bread and butter here in the US.

As for the tire being centered. It’s funny looking the bigger tire you use but that’s the design. As the tire flexes it flexes to the center of the wheel well. That said there is plenty of room on the perch to fix it if you don’t like that
Look static. I get it.