Shock advice

[Morse_FJ40]

So I am in need of some answers on shocks for our 100 series.

Truck has 137k 2002, arb bumpers front and rear/w tire carrier, rooftop cargo box, and 285's KO2's all around. I currently have the OME torsion bars and rear springs to lift this beast... but haven't purchased shocks yet. Wife wants a good ride.. loves her parents 01' 470 with Michelin tires... not going there.

So OME or Bilstien shocks?

Ryan

 

[guardcompany]

OME shocks, good ride and wife are 3 things things that never really go together.

 

[duggy]

Icons

 

[DirtDawg]

Icon or King if you can afford them, otherwise research Tough Dog or Ironman shocks. They won't ride like a stock Lexus, but they are a lot more comfortable than the jarring OME shocks. The rear 45mm foam cell shocks from Tough Dog have an adjustment dial on them to soften/firm dampening as well.

 

[nissanh]

I am in the market for rear shocks too. Got OEM for front and saw rear is leaking a bit.

After doing an online search found Monroe on ebay for $12.50 shipped each. Local dealer can get the OEM for $32 so I'll go with OEM. The OEM one is about 50% bigger in diameter compared to Monroe.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Nobody likes Bils on these with lift, lots of issues. OME should be soft enough, but with the weight and real tires you need a lot of damping to control the truck and that is going to make the small hits more easily felt no matter what you do. You could stay with OEM but will always be a little under damped and travel limited. All the shocks with rod ends are a bit more noise and feel than those with compliant mounts at both ends. I would buy the Slee's again but the're noticeably NOT an OEM feel but in a very very good way.

EDIT: I see you selected OEM over Monroe, good call.

 

[REZARF]

^^^ Andy is right on. To dampen the weight you're gonna give up a plush ridge when unloaded. I personally like the OME feel, it's like a sports truck, and depending on what kid of wheeling you do, the OMEreally perform on long correlations, they'll thrive in baja and similar places.

 

[aljollano]

I just bought Ironman to switch my OME.
I'm excited about the new experience.

A.J

 

[meatloaf]

I just bought Ironman to switch my OME.
I'm excited about the new experience.

A.J

Where did you get your Ironmans from A.J. I plan on getting a lift & tires as soon as I get my 100, should be about a week,

 

[Morse_FJ40]

Thanks for the input. If I make it too stiff.. we will have to sell it. Wife has fibro.. so needs to ride better. Right now the stock stuff is overloaded.. and rides that way.

Gonna look into tough dog...

Icons... uh are about what I spent on my first cruiser.

 

[aljollano]

Where did you get your Ironmans from A.J. I plan on getting a lift & tires as soon as I get my 100, should be about a week,

I got them from metaltech.

A.J

 

[od4x4]

Just installed the full kit from MetalTech and love the IronMan Pro shocks! Needs a little more weight to ride well as it is a little stiff right now... but no roll and the water-bed effect of the original suspension is not gone. My hope is that once everything breaks in and settles down it will ride like a dream!

By the way - These shocks are huge! I am sure it is because of how the "foam" works but they are very heavy duty and really smooth. I took others recommendations here because I had the extra stiff OME on my old 4Runner and really did not want that ride for the Land Cruiser.

 

[SALTY METHODS]

I have Fox 2.0. The ride is good, the price is competitive and are re-buildable.

 

[MGarland]

^^^ x2 ^^^

 

[meatloaf]

Thanks for the input. If I make it too stiff.. we will have to sell it. Wife has fibro.. so needs to ride better. Right now the stock stuff is overloaded.. and rides that way.

Gonna look into tough dog...

Icons... uh are about what I spent on my first cruiser.

How do the tough dogs compare to those mentioned above (bilstein, icons, ironman, fox) in terms of price & ride quality?

 

[DirtDawg]

How do the tough dogs compare to those mentioned above (bilstein, icons, ironman, fox) in terms of price & ride quality?

Price is comparable to the OME and Ironman setup. Cant personally report on the ride, but there are several threads on their shocks. Maybe @reevesci can chime in, he is the vendor for TD suspension after all.

 

[meatloaf]

I read Jason's posts on the Tough Dogs shocks/springs with a few testimonials on the impressive ride/quality. I will be getting an 04 LC in a week or two and one of the first things on the list is shocks along with lift & tires.

 

[LX470Mack]

Tough Dog. Love them on my LX.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Price is comparable to the OME and Ironman setup. Cant personally report on the ride, but there are several threads on their shocks. Maybe @reevesci can chime in, he is the vendor for TD suspension after all.

I read Jason's posts on the Tough Dogs shocks/springs with a few testimonials on the impressive ride/quality. I will be getting an 04 LC in a week or two and one of the first things on the list is shocks along with lift & tires.

I have several of the TD foam cells out right now. from the 40mm adjustable to the 53mm big bore. The way I describe these shocks is they ride like a OEM on the highway and are very responsive off road without premature fading. I installed the TourFlex springs, 53mm up front w/45mm adjustables in the rear. IMO, it rides nicer than stock as well as about 15 people that have driven or went for a ride with me.

Understand that I don't run 40-70 mph down washboard and whoops. I also, don't rock crawl anymore. Mainly heavy BLM and un-maintained state roads, camping and DD is the purposes for my rigs. I did it a few times to see what the outcome was and I was pleasantly surprised. I feel they are the best shock out there in their price and design range.

J