Dakar EL096R with Diamondback Cover

Hey guy; here’s some measurements for you!

My suspension setup includes OME Dakar EL096R heavy duty leaf springs in the rear. I also have Bilstein 6112 up front (set at 6/5) and Bilstein 5160 in the rear. My rear has been loaded for a few months with all my camping gear and I think the springs settled in as much as they’re going to. I also have OCF rock sliders.

I had to take off all my gear (KB voodoo rack, cvt tent, arb awning, maxtracks, hilift jack) except my Diamondback HD cover for another install and took measurements while I was at it.

Front: 23 inches mid hub to fender
Rear: 24.75 inches mid hub to fender

So not horrible rake if you’re scared about getting the heavy duty springs. Especially if you have more than a 2 inch lift up front. For those interested it’s stock rims with KO2’s at 265/75/16

 

Nice! Good write up/info. Will be ordering my Dakars soon!

 

Cool! Which one?

 

That is the cause for the hold up. Haha. My buddy just installed his heavy duty pack and rides with an empty bed daily and said the ride feels fine. I drove his truck the other day and agreed with him. I will have roughly 150 pounds in my bed daily so I'm leaning towards the heavy duty pack as well. Most likely I'll go with that one because I plan on adding more weight in the next couple years.

 

Are the Dakar leafs needed to level the lift or is it for hauling heavy stuff on the bed? I’m trying to duplicate the same lift 6112/5160 (I off road a lot) but confused if i need to AAL as well. I don’t haul anything heavy.

 

So it depends...

Naturally the rear of a truck sits 1 inch higher than the front so it doesn’t sag when you put stuff in it.

So what you need to do for the rear springs depends on what you do to the front. If you put the front 6112 at the lowest setting and don’t plan lifting it at all, then you don’t have to do anything for the rear springs.

However if you use the 6112 to lift the front 2 inches, you’ll need to lift the rear as well for compensation. You could either raise the rear one inch to keep front and rear level or you could add two inches to the rear to keep the natural “rake” of the rear being higher than the front.

There’s many ways to lift the rear.

1) You could add a 1-2 inch block to the rear, which I don’t recommend.
2) You could use an “add a leaf” which adds a leaf to your rear lift springs to raise it. Many people use the 1.5 inch add a leaf from Icon
3) you could get a completely new leaf pack to the rear that’s made with more leafs and gives higher lift. Many people like the “old man emu Dakar” leaf packs. There’s medium duty EL095R (which is probably what you would need, and adds about 2 inches of lift to the rear) or the heavy duty that I got EL096R which adds like 3-4 inches to the rear. The extra lift is for hauling lots of gear.

 

That helps, thank you. If I went with a 2” lift with 6112 on fronts and Dakar springs as you mentioned on rears, Could I keep the stock rear shocks and not replace them or is that not recommended? Sounds like the rear shocks are for dampening only.

 

Ohh forgot to ask, did you have to replace the uca with your 2” lift?

 

So yes and no...

since you are raising the rear of the truck, now the shocks in the rear are extended 2 more inches than normal. Therefore, your wheel travel in the rear is compromised with stock shocks (ie, they won't be able to travel downward very far before the shock hits max extension 2 inches earlier).

When lifting the rear, you want new shocks that have increased extension length. Bilstein 5100's give 1 more of extension while Bilstein 5160 given 2 more inches of extension (because some parts can be placed in the reservoir).

Also, stock shocks aren't designed for serious off roading and will overheat. The larger Bilstein 5160 with reservoir can better handle of road conditions.

Thus... I HIGHLY recommend getting the Bilstein 5160's for the rear. Then you can off road safely to your heart's content with good wheel travel and shocks that can "take the heat" so to speak.

So yea, Bilstein 6112 set to 6/5 in the front giving a 2 inch front lift and Dakar EL095R rear leaf spring giving a 2 inch rear lift combined with Bilstein 5160 rear shocks is a pretty good and cost efficient setup for offroading. Highly recommend!!!

 

I have stock UCA with my 2 inch front lift and was able to get alignment fine. Don't need new UCA unless you go 2.5 inches or more (which is sorta why I didn't...)

 

Sounds good! they do come super high from the factory so don't freak out, but they settle down 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch over time. I'd keep the bed full in the garage for a couple months to help it settle down. But yea I agree they ride comfortably with just my diamondback cover.

 

All that being said... if you have a light truck that goes off-roading, consider the "type" of off-roading you'll be doing. Bilstein shocks are "digressive" in that they provide a lot of resistance to even small movements of the shocks. This is good for going over moderate obstacles and dips at slow to moderate speeds to keep your truck from bottoming out easily and maintaining control. However, if you're going fast on a small bumpy/waterboard road then you'll be feeling it kind of like a chatter-box. If that's a large part of what you'll be doing then consider a "progressive" shock like Fox/Kings instead as they DO NOT provide a lot of resistance at small movements of the shocks. Your wheels go up and down easily and you won't feel the small bumps. They also ramp up the resistance if you hit a super large bump at a high speed (thus "progressive") and prevent you from bottoming out in that scenario.

Icons are cool because they have linear compression and digressive extension. They're a nice middle ground between the two. Their "stage 2" is a nice option for you and includes a rear add a leaf instead of going with the Dakar (which you probably don't need anyways).

 

I will say if your down there already changing out components grab some UCAs. Save an extra 400 bucks and grab JBAs or SPCs or anything in the price range.

Just because you get the numbers like 2 caster, 0 of camber and toe, doesn’t mean it stays like for very long once you leave the shop. I found out the hard way after a winter storm.

I have the 6112 setup as well. My alignment was out of wack within 3-4 months. UCA will hold alignments number longer, allow a bigger tire if you go that route, and better tire wear, etc etc. Save time and money and do it now. UCAs make a huge difference in driving quality. I didn’t think I would need them cuz people said so, but every time I see these threads I put my 2 cents in.

If you choose not to get UCAs get lifetime alignment from somewhere as you’ll need it.

 

Thank you guys for explaining this so clearly, i have a good direction as to what I need to do. Just gotta find my wallet now, it was here somewhere

 

I am glad I went with the HD pack also. To me it rides fine. I’m at 25 hub to fender which gives me a 1 inch rake which I am ok with.

 

hows the ride? looks great. really want a look like that.

 

Rides well and yea the setup is reasonably priced too!