OME suspension lift

[JeffH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JeffH]

Re: OME suspension lift

hey mate, who did you discuss the suspension with? or is it a typo?

i wouldn't go for the 883's on the front with the 896's on the back. i would go at least 884's on the front. i will be going 884's front and 895's in the back. this will level my prado right out, and i don't have near as much gear compared to you.

Steve

It's interesting because the guys that did my nitrocharger sport work originally quoted me the 883 coils upfront. When I queried this they said that's what they recommend and pretty much always put on the Prados. But having read all the info on here about others OME setups I had them change it to the 884s, and I'm glad I did because I still don't think the 883s would be up to the weight of the bar and dual battery. With the 884's it sits pretty much level, only very slightly nose down (with nothing in the back), I reckon it'd be quite bad with the 883s though.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: OME suspension lift

Loaded the Prado up pretty good this weekend including the 3 kids and the fully loaded camper trailer... and the rear end of the Prado looked a bit sad. I made a point of showing the misses and saying how this really doesn't look good - especially as we are planning a big trip this mid-year with a camper trailer including the 2009 PP GTG.

Using the power of suggestion, our conversation went something like this:

"Might need to upgrade the suspension," I said before taking a long pause while I walked around kicking the tyres and examining the reduced ride height at the rear.

Mrs says, "Should it be this saggy? It looks pretty low". "Mmm, it's pretty low, but I'm not sure what do? Better suspension might help but I really didn't want to spend more money on the car", I said. Another pause for effect.

"Will new suspension help fix it?", she asks. "Yeah, stronger springs should give a little extra height and also help so it can carry a heavier load, like now, without sagging", I replied before continuing to look at the car. "Maybe we shouldn't worry about it... it should be okay for our trip", I said.

Longer pause as I continue to look over the car and trailer and examine the significantly lower rear end of the Prado with a concerned look on my face.

"Maybe we should upgrade the suspension, just in case", she says. Without any emotion I replied, "Yeah, I think you're right. Maybe we should. That's a good idea. How about I check it out this week". "Okay," she replies.

I just read this to my wife, even she thought it was gold!!!

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: OME suspension lift

These are the best before and after images that I have. Not sure how good you would call these:

This is stock standard with Grand Treks


This is with change over to MT ATZ


And this is with OME Sports applied

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: OME suspension lift

Looks good Schaffer... can't wait for our OME upgrade now. :wink: 8)

[LiveFreeAndRoam Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LiveFreeAndRoam]

Re: OME suspension lift

Nick,

Could you post a side pic of your beast on level ground? I would like to see the rake front-to-back.

Cheers,
LFaR.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: OME suspension lift

Nick,

Could you post a side pic of your beast on level ground? I would like to see the rake front-to-back.

Cheers,
LFaR.

Let me know if I've missed any thing Matt:



If there is another view you want let me know. Hopefully I can snap that tomorrow night.

[LiveFreeAndRoam Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LiveFreeAndRoam]

Re: OME suspension lift

That's very helpful. Thanks Nick.

It looks like the 884's on the front have kept it nice and level.

For comparison, has anyone else got the 883's installed who would like to post some side-view pics?

LFaR.

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: OME suspension lift

I'm still looking at 883s front and 896s rear. Like everything, it is a compromise. There may be a slight rake because of the higher rear suspension, but this is a compromise with ride comfort on the front. We only have a sovereign bar and spotties - and nothing else planned up front. Therefore we don't need the heavier suspension up front. But we do need stronger rear springs to off-set our load carrying requirements.

As a fall back option, ARB have given a guarantee that if we are unhappy with the ride/look, we can change our choice of suspension before the 500km mark after install. So, we will stick with our choice for now and post some pics once completed. One week to go now!

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Re: OME suspension lift

Polyairs will let you go softer in the rear (sounds like a medical problem) and let you raise the back when you need to.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: OME suspension lift

Polyairs will let you go softer in the rear (sounds like a medical problem) and let you raise the back when you need to.

Would be a good option but will they give you the same lift as the heavier springs?

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: OME suspension lift

Sure, we could go 884s with 896s rear, but with hardly any load up front, it would sit proud up front while the rear would be under load and sit lower. And IMHO, this would be a worse look.

You say hardly any load up front but you have that shiny toyo alloy bar sitting there. Can't see if you have a Dual Battery from your equipment list but you do make mention of the Waco ( ) fridge in the back.

The 883 springs are bascially a replacement for the standard springs from what I understand. A little more height but same weight carrying ability and therefore compression ratio where as the 884 springs are designed to carry an additional 50-100kgs. When I had mine gear speced out ARB suggested I look at a round figure of 40kg for each of the Bar, Battery and Winch options to work out which set of springs up front. This is only a rough weight guide.

The 896 springs are designed to carry between 150 - 400 kgs of extra weight so will reaaly lift the arse unless you have a reasonable amount of weight in the back.

I would imagine the result of this combination is the arse would be high in the air compared to the front when the rear is unloaded and so the lights pushing down. When you then load up the back with a LOT of weight it will level out.

Someone correct me if I've got this wrong.

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: OME suspension lift

I'd be interested to hear what Brnedanc (883f + 895r) and especially 210man (883f + 896r) think about their suspension set-ups. Some side view pics would also be very helpful.

[ValleyGXL120 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ValleyGXL120]

Re: OME suspension lift

I had Front OME884 springs and N201S struts and Rear OME895 springs and N142 shocks fitted last year in November. Was really happy with the ride until I had the car serviced by local Toyota and it then felt horribly harsh on all road conditions. I checked the tyre pressures (I am still running some crappy Indonesian H/T tyres fitted by the car yard I bought the vehicle from) and they had put 36psi in the tyres. I reduced them to 30 psi and the plush ride is back again. I might be wrong but I would suggest that you experiment with your pressures until you reach a happy medium. One thing I have certainly noticed is the ability to soak up large woops and potholes with ease. Corregations are also much better than with stock suspension. I recently towed our camper (fairly light load ) to Edithburgh on the Yorke Peninsula in S.A. Handling was excelent and the vehicle felt nice and firm on the road without being harsh. Very happy with the end result.

[LiveFreeAndRoam Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close LiveFreeAndRoam]

Re: OME suspension lift

FYI,

ARB at Nundah flat-out refused to put 884 springs on the front of a Prado, unless it is carrying lots of load up front. At least 50kgs. With 884s, they have had repeated problems with wheel alignments which has strained CV joints and resulted in premature tyre wear. As I have only the weight of the Sovereign bullbar upfront, I was happy to stick with his advice... not that I had any choice in the matter.

So at this point, I plan to have 883 (F) + 895 (R).

I chose 895's for the rear since I have air-bag helpers and also from Schaffer's comments about the 896 being a little on the rough side when lightly loaded.

LFaR.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: OME suspension lift

FYI,

ARB at Nundah flat-out refused to put 884 springs on the front of a Prado, unless it is carrying lots of load up front. At least 50kgs. With 884s, they have had repeated problems with wheel alignments which has strained CV joints and resulted in premature tyre wear. As I have only the weight of the Sovereign bullbar upfront, I was happy to stick with his advice... not that I had any choice in the matter.

So at this point, I plan to have 883 (F) + 895 (R).

I chose 895's for the rear since I have air-bag helpers and also from Schaffer's comments about the 896 being a little on the rough side when lightly loaded.

LFaR.

I just assumed you had a dual battery. That and any bar and you would head down and get a set of 884s. Yes the ride I currently have "seems" a little rough but not real rough. It does not worry me at all and I dont find it any different than the old suspensions feel. I know that when loaded up I will still have the clearance I want and it will feel real good. Overall I'm happy with the feel and the choice. Not being in a car with the 895s I can not comment on the ride and also can not comment on how well something like a set of Polyairs will compenstae the srpings when a lot of load is applied.