Is anybody running the Old Man Emu suspension (heavy duty) in any of their vehicles. I was looking at them to run in my jeep, but just curious if anybody has any experience with them. Does it ride worse than it does stock being a stiffer spring? I know it's a jeep, but using the vehicle as a DD, I don't want to be punished every day. We load the jeep up pretty good when we travel, plus we're adding a travel trailer to the mix and I know that's going to add some weight. I have airbags in now and they ride really crappy under load. Also trying to prevent any probs like a bag popping while we're out. Thanks all.
OME Suspension
- Thread starter atcbrad
- Start date
Off-Road Ranger I
You will find some folks here run OME on there rigs but the rig type is wide spread. I'm glad your here and looking for input. Just an idea that may help as it has helped me and many others. If you look at a vehicle specific forum, I use and search the FJ cruiser forum for tech all the time and it helps me figure out what works and what doesn't. Welcome and good luck in your search. I run a fox (hybrid) suspension and love it on and off road. Also the airbags will be fine if you don't over or under inflate them and ensure your bump stops are good for your application. :)
Influencer II
Yeah, what @mmnorthdirections said. But also, I have OME in my Trooper and it is much, much better on the road than before. And it KILLS off road. I'm very pleased with my OME 1.5 inch suspension lift.
Agreed! Suspension upgrades vary in how the "act" from vehicle to vehicle. I had a friend with a full OME suspension kit on his Jeep Cherokee. Ran awesome on the trail, but was way to rough on the road. I had OME on an old Tacoma rig and it was great all around.
And don't read Amazon reviews!!!!!!!
Adding to that, OME - at least for Toyota's - isn't just a click and pick system. There's a variety of springs and shocks to pick from for one application.
Just do some research and see what folks are saying.
Off-Road Ranger I
Agree with all the above input, especially rig-specific comments. Seek advice from someone with a rig similar to yours and add your goals.
Your challenge, and I'm sympathetic because I use my Landcruiser as a DD, but I also load it up pretty heavy when traveling.
I have OME 864 Rear coils, which in my understanding are the heaviest they offer for the '80 series.
I have an 44 gal. aux fuel tank, heavy rear bumper with two loaded swingouts and a load of crap in the back. Going down the road, my car does not sit exactly level. And then sometimes I pull a 3-rail motorcycle trailer!
On the road and 'empty', it rides a little bumpy. However, I attribute that to my choice of shocks. I have OME "L" shocks, but I would like to try Bilsteins or Fox's new offering, but that's a low priority for me right now.
Dan.
Your challenge, and I'm sympathetic because I use my Landcruiser as a DD, but I also load it up pretty heavy when traveling.
I have OME 864 Rear coils, which in my understanding are the heaviest they offer for the '80 series.
I have an 44 gal. aux fuel tank, heavy rear bumper with two loaded swingouts and a load of crap in the back. Going down the road, my car does not sit exactly level. And then sometimes I pull a 3-rail motorcycle trailer!
On the road and 'empty', it rides a little bumpy. However, I attribute that to my choice of shocks. I have OME "L" shocks, but I would like to try Bilsteins or Fox's new offering, but that's a low priority for me right now.
Dan.
Advocate II
As a matter a fact I just received the lift kit today. It's the 2.5"-.3.5" Old Man Emu HD lift kit. I also added F/R Tera Flex Monster track bars, disconnect links, and rear track bar relocation bracket. I got the 2619 Front coils, and 2620 rears HD cause of the Gobie Roof Rack and storage that I will be building in the rear of the Jeep. Going to try and install it in the next couple of weeks.
Advocate II
Thanks brother! I had a little help from a friend to get it were it's going to be an all around on and Offroad overland rig. This will be my DD also the coils we chose were because of the weight of the Gobie Rack, rear PS rear rock krawler bumper and plan on getting a 4 person RTT for the rack. I'll definitely keep the RTT off the rack while using it for work but when those weekends and vacations pop up it's on like donkey kong. Until I get me a Offroad trailer. Lol
Enthusiasm like this makes me want to buy a Jeep!!!!
Keep us posted with your progress, man.
Thanks for all the info. I was doing some more reading today about the install and really thought it was just stiffer springs with balanced shock absorbers. Some people are saying, based on reading different sites, I'll need brake lines. Track bar relocating brackets. Sway bar links. Ugh. I was just hoping for an easy solution, not really a lift.
I did a lot of reading on jeep specific suspensions, but a lot are geared to rick crawling. I saw a lot of folks here and on another over landing forum talk a lot about ome and aev. I have had really good luck with arb products, plus their customer service is top notch, so I'm leaning towards ome. I just don't want to turn a stiff ride into an unbearable ride when it's not under a load.
I did a lot of reading on jeep specific suspensions, but a lot are geared to rick crawling. I saw a lot of folks here and on another over landing forum talk a lot about ome and aev. I have had really good luck with arb products, plus their customer service is top notch, so I'm leaning towards ome. I just don't want to turn a stiff ride into an unbearable ride when it's not under a load.
Advocate II
I here ya brother. I'm planning on installing this lift in the next couple of weeks. I've been doing a lot of overtime working days and nights at the Airport doing Elevator Inspections. So when I get it and run it for a while cause I won't have the Gobie roof rack and rear bumper yet I can give some feed back if you like on and Offroad. [emoji106]
Advocate II
I here exactly what your saying and I've been doing a lot of research also and yes it's true that this lift will give you just about 3"-3.5" lift if not loaded. I have the Gobie Stealth Roof Rack on its way in about 6-10 weeks [emoji15], for thanks giving I'm surprising my parents on cooking a feast for them that they don't know about. Also my old
Man thinks I'm just going down for him to help me build my 3 tier storage system for the rear of the Jeep that will always have recovery gear, tools, etc. This will be my DD but also my weekend warrior. I'll definitely throw up some before and after pics of everything and also how it handles on and Offroad. Also thanks for you info and feed back brother much appreciated.
P.S. My bad if I mentioned or did not mentioned. But the kit the I got was the HD 2.5"-3.5" OME, 2619 Front coil, 2620 Rear coil, F/R Tera flex monster track bars, rear track bar relocation bracket, extended brake line brackets, shocks, and disconnects for the front. If I'm missing something I'll edit.
I went with a complete OME kit from NissTech for my Xterra (1.5" w/ light duty front springs + AAL), and though I've only had it a week, I can say that the road manners are great. I had to drive 500 miles round trip on I5, and it felt great. My wife said the rear seat was definitely stiffer, but not bad. I'm going to add some weight via sliders (en route) and a rear bumper w /tire carrier (at some point), and we'll see how that feels (and how much lift I lose)...
Based on my research, the quality is undeniable. The shop that installed mine said nothing but great things about these suspensions.
Based on my research, the quality is undeniable. The shop that installed mine said nothing but great things about these suspensions.
So, I went ahead and put the OME HD on this weekend. It rides very nice for how stiff (if that makes sense) it is. It gave me about 3.5 inches. More than I wanted, but hey, bigger is better right? I was worried it would look odd with stock tires, but it looks good imo. I did the quick disconnects up front and brake line relocation brackets, steering stabilizer and will just need to add a rear seat bar. Mines too small back there. Overall very pleased with it.
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Advocate II
Nice!!!!! Looking forward to seeing some pics on how it looks with the stock tires..[emoji1303][emoji1303]
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I run the full OME non hd kit on my Xterra and love it. About 2" all around and it's great on rough trails and performs better with a load of gear. Its stiff unloaded but once you pack gear in or on the Jeep, you will love the way it performs.
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