ome suspension

[Nullifier]

Ok so why is it with as much value that we all put on the products coming from australia and south africa, that the OME tacoma suspension is not viewed as a great choice. Granted I have not driven a taco with an OME suspension, but given the perameters OME uses to design there suspensions I can't see why they are not held in higher reguard.

Now I know alot of you guys like the 2.5 coilover systems because since it is a bigger resevior it holds more oil and cools better. This helps to control fade on long fast speed runs. I'm just wondering how many of you actually push your suspensions hard enough that it really becomes a factor. I know when I'm on a trail I'm moving pretty slow. Of course most of my trails are real tight, rocky, or laden with deep water crossing where you don't just dive in ya know. I guess on a baja run which I have not experienced yet you will drive everywhere on marginal roads and moderate speeds but if the OME suspension is suposedly designed for that type of terrain shouldn't it hold up?

Now the other part of this is you here so many people talking ********** about how the coils won't hold the wieght of a bullbar/winch. that it will "sag". is this for real? I can not imagine ARB/OME not designing a suspension that will hold up what they sell in the way of armour & accessories, as well as carry a load for extended trips like fore in the outback.

Now I know with rear shocks the debate of double walled construction builds heat but protects the shock body. Protection good, heat bad. I know that the deaver springs are more flexable the the OME springs and I understand that with out a doubt. I'm not so worried about the rear half of thier suspension. It's primarily the front that I'm interested.

Have any of you guys run OME then gone to a big coilover? This has been beat to death by the "rockcrawler types" but only minimal discussion here. Maybe I'm being a cheap ass but when I know so many good things about the ARB stuff and look at saving 1K+ that could be used for fridge, shower system etc I start to wonder if these high dollar suspension systems are truely needed for proper handling and trail performance, or it's more of a want to have and I got the $ so why not thing. I fully understand the money saved at time of purchase thing. I have had that lesson several times. So what's the scoop fellas.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I have been extremely please with my OME setup. I am running the 882 front coils, the rear OME springs and a couple of trim spacers (10mm I think) to accomodate the ARB bullbar and winch. I love it, that being said if I wanted to go ANY higher, I would be forced to look into coilovers, etc. I think my truck handles great with the OME, I installed it a couple years ago now and changed the coils when I added the bar/winch.

My setup...

I have sold & installed quite a few of these locally to guys in the same boat as me, wanting a great suspension, under $1k and clears 32's (offroad!, I wheel the crap out of this truck). Never a complaint...

 

[robert]

I ran OME on the front of my '95 Tacoma (I had Alcans and Rancho RS9000s on the rear). I had the 882s since I also had an ARB bumper and a Warn HS9500. You certainly won't hear any complaints from me either. I thought they were fine and I had run it it up to 60mph or so on dirt roads out west and in Baja (never said I was a genius). I'm going to go with a similar set up on the '05.

 

[flyingwil]

You bring up valid points. Many choose the option of a coil over due to the flexibility (adjustable height), and race inspired and designed CO's.

Though the ride quality may be similar to OME's, the durability and technology is far more advanced in CO's

Scott has an excellent write up on the DR CO's that might help you in seeing why he chose CO's.

Although expensive, I plan on going with CO's due to the flexibility in adjusting the lift. For example if I were to mod more on the drivers side, I could adjust the CO as the Mods progress to keep the distance in the wheel well equal to before the mod.

 

[Scott Brady]

OME is a fantastic suspension. I have run five complete OME kits through the years and different vehicles.

Here are the reasons I chose a coil-over:

1. 2.5" body for massive increase in fluid volume: I drive "kind of" fast in the desert and need the fade resistance.
2. Adjustability: For example, I am going to lift my truck 1" for the Arctic run to allow for chains.

But having said that, most dont need a coil-over. The OME set-up rides great and takes the weight of the bumper without issue. OME is a tuned suspension system offered in several coil ratings and shock valving.

And remember, NEVER use spring rate to add lift. Only use spring length/height...

 

[BajaXplorer]

I ran the OME rear springs and they could not support the weight (5,100) of my truck with DeMello rear bumper, shell/rack, tools and gear I carry into Baja. They are probably fine for a truck with little or no load, but on mine they were sitting on the overloads when I was packed, and they were too boingy for me even when I wasn't loaded. Tried talking with ARB in Seattle, but the engineers are in Australia. Lot easier to dicuss my specific needs with Deaver in CA.
No experience with OME front setup, but with TJM bumper and 9K winch I needed a setup where you could select the coils for weight. AllPro took care of me.
I guess my answer is "it's a weight thing" OME wouldn't understand.
BX

 

[Nullifier]

Ok i decided to order the OME set up and spend extra $ on other gear. Thanks for the feed back guys. I ordered 882 with firm shocks all the way around, greasable shackles and a trim packer for the drivers side.

I'm getting a longer brake line and greasable main eye bolt as well. I will have to fab up some new spring mounts since mine is a '96 and a BPV bracket but niether of those are a big deal.

I guess now the pile of parts still grows with no time for installs LOL! hopefully the season will steady out and the new staff I hired will get themselves up to speed so I can get a few days off.

 

[Life_in_4Lo]

They are all coilovers aren't they? Stock, OME, Hoes, etc

I think OME is great and for the price you can't beat it. The Hoes and such are better but they cost alot more too.

Good luck w/ the OME's

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...I'm getting a longer brake line and greasable main eye bolt as well. I will have to fab up some new spring mounts since mine is a '96....

We just reuse the stock ones, cleanly cut off the old hanger and move it back, reweld...

 

[Nullifier]

Well my suspension just came in. 882 coils, rear springs, firm shocks all corners, trim packer, greasable shackles, greasable main bolt, new u bolts (flip kit). I got it through my friend Mike Lokey at his 4X shop locally. He is going to put the front springs and shocks together for me (free) since he has a pneumatic spring compressor. I'm picking them up monday. Now there is one more part waiting for installation LOL!

looks like I will be getting off this sunday and starting the tear down process. I think I'm gonna start witht he electrical work, then the gears and lockers, and then the lift. Who knows though I guess I'll figure out where to start when I get down to the shop. I'm guessing 5 days of work to do everthing. Maybe I will get lucky and everything will fall into place with out delays LOL.

 

[Nullifier]

So last night I went down to my friends 4X shop to pick up my front suspension. and assenble my coil overs. I used their pneumatic spring compressor so the disassembly was quick. After about an hour and ahalf of trying to reassemble it, I had to call in some back up on the phone. I was stumped because the spring compressor couldn't compress the 882 coils enough to get the top nut on the shock. It was about 1/4" shy. Scott thankfully called me back and suggested flipping the spring up side down and inserting a long bolt through the shock mount eye and letting the compressor grab onto it. This would make the throw of the compressor shorter and hopefully add some power. Unfortunetly no luck.

I started to laugh and said well maybe I'll have to go to a real 4x shop like pep boys. No one thought it was funny but me. I guess you had to be there LOL.

Any way I am taking them over to another shop today and using there compressor . Hopefuly this one will have enough ass to get it done. Those freaking 882's are strong little guys.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Don't worry about a compressor IMHO

Undo the sway bar link (at lower A-Arm)
Undo the bottom ball joint (either the castle nut or 4 bolts)
Step on the lower A-arm, pushing it towards the ground, insert the coilover setup into the upper coil bucket, lift it up enough to get the bottom strut bolt on (while stepping on the lower a-arm) and then jack the a-arm up, it will compress the coil. Make sure to line up the strut shaft as it enters the mount. Reattach the ball joint & sway bar... done. ~30 mins per side

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Kurt, I've got to try that trick sometime!

We've got 881 springs and N91S shocks on the front of Roseann's Tacoma, with an ARB bumper and Warn 8000 winch mounted, but no cable yet. I think the front is plenty stiff with this combination; in fact I'm going to put standard steel cable on the winch to add some more weight up there. Overall the package is well-controlled and I have no doubt will prove durable. Where OME can't match the expensive coilovers is in smoothing out small bumps - Scott's Tacoma floats over stuff ours jiggles on. But I never get the feeling ours is close to bottoming out when we, uh, need to get to town real quick. It rides better when you're going about 7/10ths.

 

[Nullifier]

Don't worry about a compressor IMHO

Undo the sway bar link (at lower A-Arm)
Undo the bottom ball joint (either the castle nut or 4 bolts)
Step on the lower A-arm, pushing it towards the ground, insert the coilover setup into the upper coil bucket, lift it up enough to get the bottom strut bolt on (while stepping on the lower a-arm) and then jack the a-arm up, it will compress the coil. Make sure to line up the strut shaft as it enters the mount. Reattach the ball joint & sway bar... done. ~30 mins per side

Thanks for the tip that is how we installed the 1" spacer that is in the old assembly.