Old man emu bp-51 with leaf springs

My first setup was with the OME nitrochargers and the 885 coil. The difference from stock to that setup was night and day (a little more stiffer but I didn't mind). I'm in the midst of switching to the BP-51's right now and just have the fronts on. Going from the nitrochargers to the BP-51's was very noticeable in ride quality (at least from the front). I'll be installing the rears next weekend so we'll see how much that will change as well.

The front is setup at 12mm and I get about a 3" lift from stock. No winch or bumper yet but I am running the BAMF IFS Skid (90lbs).

I'm currently running the Medium Dakar leaf pack but might need to get the extra leaf as I'll be running an RTT soon. I'm still messing with adjustments on the suspension so I haven't figured out the right Rebound/Compression combo.

 

I’m interested in how much improved the ride quality of the BP-51’s are over the 885’s and Nitrochargers. I just installed the 887’s (same spring rate as the 885’s) and when these dudes finally wear out I’ll go with the BP-51’s. The heavy duty Dakar’s are great, and I’m glad I went with those over the medium duty Dakar’s.

At work this morning, my coworkers and I set 600 lbs in the bed of my truck, right on the gap of the bed and the tailgate (not on the tailgate), and the springs dropped 2.75”, measured at the very top of the rear fenders, measured on level ground. We then added an additional 300 lbs, and the springs only dropped another 0.75”. They’re really stout. Stout without being harsh.

One day, I’ll take plate weights from my home gym and do a real test of the capacity of the Dakar’s. I want to see what drop I get at the max payload of my truck, and, ultimately, how much weight is required before that last overload spring really comes into play. It’ll be interesting to see.

 

I should also note, in case the drop in bed height has anyone concerned about the payload strength of the Dakar’s, that my truck is a regular cab, and that the springs already lifted the back of my truck about 5”. Which means that I have more “drop” from a starting point than most folks will. Most trucks are heavier and are already compressing the springs, so they’re more “in the meat” of the leaf springs.

 

2.5” all the way around and I love them!

 

The difference I've been noticing so far is the ability to absorb potholes, speed bumps, etc. is not as jarring. On the Nitro's I felt that when I took some of the previously mentioned at speeds of 20-25mph there was a "thud" when I was over the obstacle. I'm forgetting what I set the comp/rebound at but it's definitely "softer". I haven't taken them on a proper off-roading trip yet so I can't speak to the performance there. I'm also running no sway bar so I've noticed a better improvement on turns because of the stiffer springs on the BP-51's.

I should have just gotten the HD's for the leaf packs but we'll see how the medium's hold up when I take a camping trip.

 

I see. That’s about what I figured. I keep thinking the adjustability would be great. Looking forward to my next upgrade one day, haha.

My guess on the Dakar’s would be that the medium duty is perfectly adequate for nearly any job you might do with your truck, but that the heavy duty would keep it closer to level in looks. I actually like a little rear end squat when hauling — less weight being sprung up high and all. But with something like an RTT I can see going heavy duty.

I do believe you can add a leaf spring to the medium duty springs and they become heavy duty’s? Somebody correct me if I wrong.

You can even add leafs to the heavy duty to make it — I don’t know — extra heavy duty? Haha.

 

I assume those are el095 springs, the medium since I only see 4 main leafs. I am curious what kind of weight you carry normally, and what your use model of the airbags is. They look fairly inflated, yet not touching the daystars by quite a distance so I would say that there isn't much weight in the truck based on my setup with cs047 springs, loaded more, and the same airbags. What is the psi you run normally? do you change the carry load by a lot from empty to full?

For what it's worth, I am going to el096 springs with the extra leaf (6 main leafs), and BP-51s at all 4 corners. my truck is REALLY heavy though when loaded for a multi-day expedition. I am hoping that I don't have to put the airbags back on at all, they were touching quite a bit at ride height, and made the suspension REALLY stiff since I needed ~30-40psi in them to support the load. I want to leave those off, and have light racing jounce shocks going on. Since they are adjustable, I'm hoping to have the springs carry the load themselves, and have the bumpstop slow the upward motion of the axle on bigger hits and suspension bottom outs. But all this planning is only a crap shoot until you get the truck loaded and then also experience some suspension motions that actually take the components toward their limit...

Thanks in advance

 

I am sure I am over gross, the camper is 1050 lbs alone. That picture was of the components unsprung so I could dial it all down with the camper off. I run ‘5’ comp, ‘6’ rebound with the camper on and ‘2’ comp, ‘3’ rebound with it off. Not sure exact pressure, just aired until it was level. It rides as good as my Lexus RX 350 going down the highway (I wish it just had the same seats).

 

By the way guys there is more feedback on this suspension at https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ome-bp-51-install-report-and-height-adjustment.476085

Just in case you were interested.

 

That’s a really good post.

 

I’m sold on the bp-51

 

That’s great, very nice!

 

So obviously every truck is different

So obviously every truck is different but I just wanted to give you my experience on the suspension. I originally set the preload to 10 mm as per ARB for someone with no weight up front and I actually did have just a TRD skid plate. It rode semi bumpy on the regular roads but then when I went off on the trails I was able to go a lot faster than a lot of the other guys as it's soaked up the bumps. This was my setting for 15k miles and yes it did soften up a bit. I originally just ran the full Leaf pack but then with my camper and all the gear it sagged the rear so then got the extra add a leaf to put on top of the full Leaf pack. I ran that setup for about a year-and-a-half and in the last month or so added a little over a hundred and thirty thirty pound upfront with a grill winch and bumper. With this added weight it sagged the front but the front end actually was a lot less bumpier which I liked. I had also at the same time had added some wheel spacers so started rubbing and I needed to lift the front end back up. Currently I'm very happy with my setup at 13 mm on both sides and then ended up putting a quarter inch spacer on the driver side to count for the taco lean. It definitely seems to be riding smoother now than ever and I'm at a good height.

 

I can't seem to find it, but can you buy the bp51s without buying the kit? I've got icon uniball ucas on the way, and Dakars are next on the list. Could I buy just the shocks and coilovers when I want/need to upgrade again?

 

Looks like you can get just the fronts of the BP-51’s from Wheelers. Made a screenshot for you. Not bad at just under $1,600. Not sure if that helps.

 

I appreciate that. I forget about wheeler's haha. Thanks

 

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