OME Nitrocharger upgrade on 2" Heavy kit (1 Viewer)

[greatscott]

I'm having to reinforce the frame up front on my 1980 shortbed so I have to remove the factory shock mounts. I figured this might be a good time to upgrade my shock setup. I have the OME 2" Heavy duty kit with the 60061 shocks up front with about 30k miles on the kit.

I could carefully cut off and reuse the stock mounts in the stock location with my current OME shocks or I could get some shock hoops and upgrade to a different shock. I mostly do desert washboard driving with some rocky crawls thrown in and the OME's feel pretty stiff. This probably has to do with the HD springs too, but I hope different shocks might help.

Any recommendations on a shock upgrade to pair with the OME heavy kit that would help with washboards?

Any recommendations on a good shock length to pair with the OME springs? I'm having trouble finding a spec sheet for the 60061 shocks.

Thanks

 

[ntsqd]

I ran All-Pro hoops and 14" Bilstein 5100's with OME leafs on the front of Patch. It was an exceptionally good combo. Even the road to Eureka Dune wasn't bad, once I got it up to about 45 or 50 mph.

There is no way that those springs needed that much shock travel. Were I doing it today I would measure it at metal to metal contact on one side (no bump-stops), fully crossed up for compressed and extended length. Then figure out what stroke shock was needed and order single per tire Bilstein 7100's with remote reservoirs in the next greater stroke length than your actual measurement. Set the hoops such that you can't quite bottom out the shocks at full crossed-up bump.
It was always my intent to move the fronts to RR 7100's like what I had on the rear. Then I wouldn't have ever faded them.

 

[greatscott]

I ran All-Pro hoops and 14" Bilstein 5100's with OME leafs on the front of Patch. It was an exceptionally good combo. Even the road to Eureka Dune wasn't bad, once I got it up to about 45 or 50 mph.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up measuring my set up and going with 12" 5125's with the LROR shock towers for now. I'll see what the actual measurements come out to be, but on paper the 12" seems just right.

Came back from Eureka and Saline a couple weeks ago. Those roads are the "inspiration" for this project.

 

[ntsqd]

The only road that I've driven that was worse for wash-board than those two is the road from Mex 1 to El Arco in Baja. Although the road from Ubehebe to Teakettle ranks right up there.

Patch was an '84 Xcab short bed. It had GM 63's with the WFO mount kit under the rear. Those rear springs and the Bils dampers turned that truck into a going machine. I used to run right with and even run down coil sprung live axle trucks with it.