Front 5100s vs Nitrochargers?

So the time has come to finish the suspension, the rear dakars have settled in and I'm ready to look at stuff for the front.

So the first thing I have to ask... 5100s or Nitrochargers? The price difference is crazy o.o
I want something better than stock but I don't need anything extreme.

I need about... 2" - 2.5" of lift to match the rear. What coils are you guys running for the same amount of lift? OME coils?

Thanks

 

I have the 5100’s set at .85 notch with the eibach coils that gave me a 2.5 lift. I’m super happy with them but may switch to OME if I get a front bumper

 

From what I understand they are very different, 5100 being digressive and EMU being progressive, lots of articles out there:
http://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/digressive-vs-linear-vs-progressive-pistons-shock-valving/

 

Oh snap this is awesome. I love learning new stuff like this.

So.... based on what I'm reading I would think that digressive would be better? At least in my mind for what I do. Makes me think the nitro-chargers would be too soft... but, hmmm.

 

I have 5100s on the front and I really like them. Big shock with a lot of heat capacity, much better than the Yellow Bilsteins. Other thing is the 5100s are relatively affordable. Currently $175 for a pair at wheeler's for 5100 and $330 for the OMEs. If I had more money to put into it, I'd probably get the OME, but I just needed something that worked well and the 5100s have served me well for a good price.

 

I'm just wondering what exactly is better to merit the cost. I like my truck to stop bouncing asap, so I presume the 5100s can do this?

 

Yes, 5100s can do this fine, they handle great on the highway and driving at a good pace on dirt. Rock crawling, they are a little softer than I'd like.

 

Hm, I presumed from the graph talking about the valving that the 5100s would be the stiffest, is this not true?

 

The OME shocks are about twice as heavy duty as the 5100's. They are also much stiffer than the 5100's. They cost more because you get what you pay for.

The difference is the size and volume of the shock, you are not comparing Apple's to apples.

 

Wow that's totally not the impression I got after reading about valving. I'm going to go back and re-read that because it sounds like I missed something... Haha

 

Alright so after reading more it sounds like the 5100s will be stiff and poor at bumps but good at cornering. While the nitrochargers will have poor handling but we'll handle bumps well, but will also feel bouncy.

Well honestly neither of them really sound great compared to each other... I really like the idea of control, but I don't want the occasional heavy bump to break my spine. And while a softride sounds great I also don't want to be bouncing all over the place. Good Lord

 

LOL, I have never found the OME setup to be bouncy at all when paired with the correct coil spring for the application you are using. I have a plate bumper and winch and when I ran the 885 coils it was a little soft but I loved how it rode before the added weight. I added 886 coils and they handle the weight awesome. I would actually prefer they were a little softer. Side by side the OME shock is much beefier than the 5100. Also the 5100 is accomplishing a stiffer ride due to most people pre-loading the spring more because it is an adjustable shock depending on where you place the setting at the bottom. The OME setup is always set at 0 and lift is provided with a longer shock and spring combination. Don't get me wrong, you really can't go wrong with either but the 5100 is developing quite a "fan club" and people are discarding the OME as an option because they are not really looking at the difference in design. Also you really can't go wrong with ARB (they own OME) as a vendor. For example I installed dakar (OME) rear leaf packs three years ago. I emailed ARB because they are squeaking to try and get a set of anti squeak pads for my old design leafs last week and they sent me a whole new set of leaf springs and bushings free of charge that arrive tomorrow. They stand behind there stuff!

I have run both and feel the OME is far superior to the 5100 series. Most that have run both setups will echo my sentiment. Unfortunately what you run into on here sometimes is someone who only has experience with one of the options but bashes the other without really actually having prospective. Just my opinion. Remember it does not take much for a group of idiots to agree when assembled in large numbers...

 

Okay well after reading all of this I do really feel like nitrochargers would be better then. I think I'm going to go with them. My only problem after that is deciding what to do about coils... I want to do a plate Bumper in the future but financially it's going to be awhile before I do that, so obviously I'm not going to get the stronger 886 (I think that's the higher spring rate one) until I get to that point, however in the meantime I really want to get the front lifted enough to match the back. I put dakar leafs and nitrochargers on the back.

I kind of hate to get a part that won't be used permanently... So I feel I feel like it might be better to get a less expensive coil for now and then get a nicer one later. Like the 886 after I get my ARB bumper.

Anyway, kind of went off on a side tangent there, thanks for your help dude I appreciate it. I think I'm just going to save a bit more and get the nitrochargers.

Also I noticed when you order the nitrochargers that you have two options, like on headstrong offroad. With that said, do you have any recommendation for one over the other?

 

I have run both and prefer the OME 90000 Nitrocharger Sport. If you go ahead and get the 885 coils you will not be disappointed. If I had it to do all over again I probably would not have installed the 886's. Save yourself some hassle and order them assembled if you can. It really makes it nice when you are doing your install not to have to mess with rebuilding the coil-over. Don't forget the trim packer for the driver side and I would go ahead and install a 3/8 top spacer on just the drivers side. On my 2011 that is the perfect combo to get rid of the taco lean. Let me know if you need help with anything else. Again I am not trying to bash the opinions of the other member's that have posted here I just feel you are getting some crappy advise.

 

You mentioend a 3/8" spacer on the driver's side and a trim packer... Maybe this is ignorant... but can you explain those two things in a bit more detail?

 

Sure. the Tacoma is notorious for the drivers side leaning due to the weight of the battery and fuel tank being on the drivers side. This is not that noticeable to most until you lift. From the factory the drivers side coil is a little stiffer to adjust for this but when you install a lift you are installing the exact same combo on both sides. Therefore the drivers side will dip a little causing what is refereed to as the taco lean. Though most noticeable from the rear you can fix this problem by adding a spacer to the drivers side. OME offers a small trim packer that is mounted only at the bottom of the drivers side shock at the base before the spring base plate or perch is installed. In some cases this will fix the lean. In my experience that trim packer coupled with a 3/8 top plate spacer only installed on the drivers side is the perfect combo to not get the lean. Also if you install dakars you will get one spring that is marked with a - and one with a +. The + goes on the drivers side on the rear to help accommodate the weight of the fuel tank.

 

Shoot I didn't know that about the dakars... Crap I better go and check that!

Okay thank goodness they were put on correctly...


Anyway, ok so that's what the taco lean is. I kept reading that but thought they were referring to the back being higher than the front.
Alright so I will keep this in mind and get some of those spacer things as well.

 

Good info here so far.

I fall into the 5100 w 887 coils category. No complaints after a year with this setup. Previously I had 5100s preloaded at 1.75 on factory coils and they were STIFF. They did significantly reduce nose diving and in crease level cornering.

I'm much happier with the preload gone and the coils providing the lift. I've actually considered upgrading to the Nitro Chargers just to compare. My current 5100s have close to 40k on them.

 

What's the difference between 884 and 887? Just the length of the coil?

 

I've been running my OME 885 and Nitrochargers for a couple months now. Ride is a bit stiffer than stock, but I do like the ride. I do slow rock crawling on trails to get to the mountain or beach and I've had no complaints. I think it's hard to really know unless you compare them back-to-back, which most people don't have that presented to them.

I picked the Nitrochargers simply because I wanted to stick with OME. I figured the coils and shocks were meant to be paired with each other.

A lot of people have been happy with the 5100's. In any case, this thread has been an interesting read of info.