Old Man Emu: Questions, Answers & Pictures

How is everyone's lift holding up? I ended up taking off my front OME struts with the 885s after 40k since they were sagging really bad and basically all rust. The rear Nitros made it another 15k beyond that and they blew out the valving. Now the only thing I have left from the original lift is the Dakar leaf pack in the rear. They have 85k on them right now, ride has degraded a bit and now the pack kind of has a slight "wave" to it. Just wondering what kind of mileage you guys have on everything. Thanks!

 

Possibly, I overthought it way too much myself. I think you'll clear the 285s with 886s or 887s. It comes down to personal preference. I had an Accord lowered on super stiff coilovers, sitting about 3" off the ground. The 886s rode rougher than that car did. I think the problem is you've got a lot of weight sitting up high and it wants to go places, but the 886s just won't allow it to fall very much, so every bump is jarring. Like stuff inside the truck rattles. With the 887s, I'm expecting the "bang" over the bumps on my usual route, and it just eats them up.

Now, if you're seriously planning bumper and winch soon, I'd save the trouble of assembling the struts twice and just get 886s and suck it up for a bit. I don't know when I'm gonna get a bumper, so I wasn't cool with riding on the 886s for an unknown amount of time.

Also, if you consider worst case scenario (being your 886s and Dakars don't clear 285s with weight), you throw on the spacer in front and AAL in rear. You don't have to take a whole lot of stuff apart to do that and you only need to do that IF you lose clearance with weight.

 

Yeah, that's the thing. I know when I'd like to get the bumper and winch, but I'm not sure when I'll actually get it. lol I just know for sure that it will happen sometime. So I think I will end up going with the 887x's for the time being. I don't mind taking them apart again as I actually happen to enjoy working on my truck. Are your 887x's paired with the 90000 Nitro's?

 

I also received 2 ++ leaf packs, did you ever get around to making the custom shim? Maybe share with me how you did it?

 

Yep, I got the 90000s. I love working on my truck, too, but compressing those 886s is a PITA.

Another option if you go 887s is to throw on the top plate spacer when you get bumper and winch and really put off swapping coils until you're absolutely out of clearance space.

 

Adding an update on my OME setup. All said and done I have:

NitroCharger Sports all around
887 coils up front
Dakar packs in the rear
3 degree shims from Toytec in the rear
FK29 CB drop kit from ARB

Ride is slightly firmer than stock, still plush and very comfortable on road. Haven't gotten off road with the 887s yet. Combo of CB drop and axle shims have me VIBE FREE (!!!) in the back. Dakars with no weight in the back feel fine around town, to me. Now I just need to get it off the pavement...

 

Yeah, that's a good idea. I can imagine it being a pain. Luckily I may have access to a spring compressor. Who knows maybe I won't need the 886x's for a while. Thanks for the insight. I'll be placing the order with Headstrong in the very near future! I'll update here once everything is installed and sorted.

 

Have a picture of your truck on this setup?

 

Not yet. I'll try to get one today. Still on stock tires, too.

 

No need for a spring compressor. Use the weight of the truck to compress/uncompress them.

 

That is the setup I am running, minus the 3* shims in the back.

285s on 887s and Dakars...

 

That's what we did when installing my 887s... Worked like a charm and I never felt unsafe.

 

Nice. Any fitment issues with the 285's? Nice looking truck by the way!

 

Did y'all do this method with more than 1 person? I was afraid I would need someone else to guide the center rod through the top plate while I jacked up the LCA. I wanted to use this method but I was going at it solo.

 

I didn't have the time to mess around with it so I ended up ordering 1/2" shim for a few bucks and a 3° angle shim to fix my driveline vibration

 

What exactly does the "++" and "--" mean? I know they're "out of spec", but in what way?

Mine came with "0" I believe.

 

Appreciate it... Nothing serious on the fitment. Up front, I had to remove the front wheel well splash guards. And then I was rubbing on the inner corners of the mud flaps. I took a heat gun and molded those corners flatter. I haven't rubbed any since doing that.

I did have a buddy that was helping me... Did make it a lot easier to guide the center rod through.

 

Good to know it was fairly minimal. One more question for you. As far as the shims go.. I know you're not running them, was it not needed on your truck or have you just not done it yet?

 

I didn't have any vibes other than some slight take-off vibes. I bought the ome CB drop with the lift. And installed it shortly after the lift, but I don't think it did much. I plan on checking my angles eventually and adding shims or a taller CB drop. But my vibes are so slight, it hasn't been a major priority.

 

+ is greater lift , - is less , by up to 5mm IIRC