60 Series Suspension Question

[CanuckMariner/Nomad]

If you are going to get a new suspension and are relatively a newbie to it, OME is not a bad way to go. I would get the HD set as you sound as if you are going to load up your rig a bit. I got the HD Dakar for ~$1000 Kanuk buks for my rig and they have been just great. Never regretted it at all.

I am sure they are cheaper in the USA as everything is cheaper there. Anyone want to sponsor me to the USA? House sit?

 

[esh]

Kritter & I, on RDC, eventually started referring to them as "damperens" and folks still didn't get it. Last that I knew he was designing them for Fabtech......

I went with an OME medium/heavy kit, with greaseable shackles and sold off the dampers in favor of some 2.0" Fox remote reservoirs. At the time the kit was less than buying the individual springs. So far I'm not impressed with the springs, but I have only about 100 miles at most on them. Maybe it's an unfair comparison because of the more effort put into it's suspension, but my '84 mini truck rides better than the 60. I had to drive the 60 about a mile and a half to weld on the front shock towers and I did so without any front shocks/damperens. Can hardly tell the difference with them installed.

I did the same thing with my '85 mini. The medium kit OME without shocks up front was great until you hit a rolling bump.

The FJ62 has heavies now, but I've added about 1000lbs in front/rear bumpers, sliders, rack and gear. Going to replace my main with a 40 gallon tank. However it rides like a caddy down the road. I could use new shocks, and will either do OME again (they are getting on 10 years old) or try bilsteins.

 

[ntsqd]

May I perhaps suggest that your Fox's aren't all that great? Or aren't set up for your specific use?

I could certainly feel the difference on my 60 when I put new shocks on, would be shocking without shocks

Sean

You can, and it is a point that I have considered. If driving without any front shocks resulted no significant difference in ride quality (except for very low frequency harmonics), why would I blame the shocks?

The valving that I put in the Fox's was Mirage Racing's best guess at a starting place. I fully expected that I might need to tune the valve stacks from that initial point. For them to have very little effect on ride quality at all was a surprise!

As to the dampers "MUST be attached to the springs" statement, whomever said that was wrong. They must be attached to the suspended member. Where they are attached plays an important role in their effectiveness. Putting them adjacent to the spring means that you are giving away leverage by not placing them as close to the tire (the stimulus input location) as is reasonably possible. It is not just the spring that we are damping, it is a spring-mass system with a leveraged input that we are damping. The further away from the tire that the damper is mounted, the more Motion Ratio there is and the stiffer the damper's valving must be to compensate.

 

[OlympiaFJ60]

I think it was shocks "matched" to the springs rather than "attached".

I love the OMEs, have been running them for 3 years. I started out with medium front and rear and have since added an extra leaf both front and rear after adding a winch, roof rack, and rear box. I have ridden is several 60s with other spring setups and mine is the smoothest ride by far. I think you would want heavy/heavy if have a winch bar/winch in front and heavy bumper in the back with spare tire attached as well as permanent storage in the back.

I second the Air bags too. Used those before getting the OME kit and still use them now since I don't have a constant heavy load in the back. The only draw back with the air bags and the longer travel with the OME is a little less drop but I'm trying to work out a hinged air bag mount to allow full articulation.

 

[mwfish]

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. This was great.

 

[roscoFJ73]

You can't get good shockies over here. Well not better than the OME ones anyway. Well not better than the OME ones for less than the cost of...

Ive been using these on both my cruisers ,5 years and 3 years.
,3 way adjustable with 41mm bore

Made in Canada:sombrero:

http://www.raw4x4.com.au/
http://control.visionscape.com.au/SiteFiles/raw4x4comau/images/2194_T63451Y.jpg

 

[4Rescue]

I've got nothing against OME, I'm probably going to be replacing my springs with them soon, but give some thought to running airbags in the rear.

Benifit is that when you load up for a trip, you can pump the bags up to suit. When you're home, let some air out and still have a comfortable ride.

I run them in the back of my work troopy, and I'm sold on them, just need to get off my MMM and get a set for my 60

THat's a really good idea/piece of advice right there... OME's can carry weight but then you have a stiffer less flexy pack and the air bags give you infinite adjustability and leveling if you're going to add a Roof Tent... I really want a 60 series.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Keylime]

Link and Recommendation

I posted a new thread regarding springs. There are options out there aside from the severely limited "two options, Basic and Deluxe.". Please refer to the following link.

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25642

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I posted a new thread regarding springs. There are options out there aside from the severely limited "two options, Basic and Deluxe.". Please refer to the following link.

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25642

I'll assume your referring to the Old Man Emu suspensions as they are often sold in a "Basic" and "Deluxe" package.

Keep in mind that Old Man Emu does not offer "kits", rather retailers use their experiences to assemble kits to fit the customers needs. While I offer 6 different "kits", its very common to actually build something different to fit the needs of the customers. If your dealing with a company that is black and white in their suspension offerings, I'd look elsewhere.

Alcan is a great suspension, I had Alcan leafs on my SOA 60 series and have used them on other customer builds. For me the OME makes more sense than the Alcans for a 2-3" lift, OME has 3+ front spring options, 4+ rear spring options and has the feild reliability we're always after. But when it comes to something lower and higher, Alcan is my first choice or recommendation.

You made a reference to how out of country manufactures can make them so cheap compared to the $300/spring Alcans you purchased. Simple, quanity of scale. Old Man Emu makes hundreds of thousands of springs per year, Alcan makes thousands? OME makes tens of thousands of Land Cruiser leafs each year, Alcan makes hundreds? If that? If Alcan were to ramp up their production, distribute worldwide through a vast dealer network with warehouses and stocking retailers around the globe, there is not doubt they would be 1/2 or less of their current price. Is their current price worth it, I think so... but would 1/2 of that price be worth it too, you bet. Its of my opinion that quality and price can't be compared when dealing with a suspension company that has outfitted thousands of Land Cruisers with a company that has outfitted dozens in the last year.

I do find your "American parts" rant somewhat ironic given your driving a 100% foreign built, funded and part origination automobile :ylsmoke:

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Man A Fre and their height packages vary according to their lift shackles or even their shackle reversal kit (which is *quite* ugly). Also while there are some good folks there many of us have been burned by Man A Fre with all sorts of customer service issues and/or hidden fees. Have you ever been charged $83 for a ignition coil before? I have, from Man A Fre, in 1999...

 

[151fab]

I do find your "American parts" rant somewhat ironic given your driving a 100% foreign built, funded and part origination automobile :ylsmoke:

He couldn't, if his life depended on it, find a vehicle built in the US, of US parts because there are not enough people here with a similar commitment to US manufacturing. Your a business owner in the US; don't you think the taxes levied against you have something to do with the import/export ratio of this country in it's present state? Wouldn't you rather be dealing with US manufacturers or even more local manufacturers than that? I deal with both offshore and in-country vendors and I can tell you: I'd rather deal with the latter.

By the way, this was a rant, his posted preference towards US goods was not.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

He couldn't, if his life depended on it, find a vehicle built in the US, of US parts because there are not enough people here with a similar commitment to US manufacturing.

Your absolutely right, but could he find one with more US content, ownership and US infrastructure? Simple answer yes. I sell parts for Toyota's all day long and when given the opportunity I would buy a Japanese made part over a US made part. They often cost more (take a Koyo versus Timken bearing) but at the end of the day I'm more willing to pay for quality and support an independent economy. Do you know where Alcans steel comes from? How about their bushings? Might want to check into that

...Wouldn't you rather be dealing with US manufacturers or even more local manufacturers than that? I deal with both offshore and in-country vendors and I can tell you: I'd rather deal with the latter.

Case by case. ARB is an absolutely fabulous off-shore vendor to conduct business with, we've been dealing with them for over 15 years now for a reason. We are not talking about paper towels or dish-soap... we are talking about parts for Land Cruisers. Do I want to buy parts from a country that is absolutely known for their engineering, ingenuity and testing the guts out of their products and vehicles. Absolutely. Is that to say something can be made the same here in the states, of course not, they often are. But I wouldn't be so bold as to discount any great product based on origin alone. Engel, Old Man Emu, Staun, ARB, Safari Snorkel, Eezi-Awn, etc. Quality companies.

Again, this is absolutely nothing against Alcan, I've likely bought more sets than most, great product, great folks and when problems have arisen they are quick to respond