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Installed a full OME kit this week. One man job, but really would've been easier/better with some help. NitroCharger Sports all around, Dakar packs in the back, 886X up front.

I found a bunch of suspension install threads here as well as YouTube (thanks to TW for that). Some tips that would've made the install smoother:

1. Front struts: line up the bottom shock mount eyelet between 2 of the 3 top mount screws before you tighten the top mount to the strut.
2. Front struts: drop the LCA...drop the LCA...DROP THE LCA. Don't d*ck around with maneuvering the thing outta there...drop the LCA.
3. Leaf springs: on the front bolt, don't try to undo the bolt from the outboard side, it's pinned. Undo the nut from the inboard side. Even if you hit the bolt with an impact gun, it won't budge.

Got it aligned immediately after everything was torqued down. I was planning on getting new tires today (General Grabber AT2 285/75/16) but decided to keep the stock tires a little longer because there's still a good amount of tread on them.

So far I like the setup. Definitely feels better to ride a little higher up. Had a little bit of vibration but the alignment helped and the CB drop cured it. Now I get the occasional shudder on takeoff, but I had that before. Highway ride is smooth, but handling gets a little squirrely when it's windy out. I expected that.

Questions:

1. Part of me feels like the 886s were a mistake with no armor up front. I wanted the lift so I could fit the 285s on there. Would the lower spring rate of the 887s make much of a difference? Anyone experienced both?
2. How long should I wait for the front to settle before making a decision on whether the ride is too harsh? Right now it's borderline too rough for my liking.

Picture!

 

Those 886 coils are probably not going to settle very much.

 

It's "different" than you're used to so it FEELS different.....Feels really stiff. Give it a few days and you'll get used to it. Last week, I put a lift under a guys F150 Ford. He made it one block away from the house and was back complaining "something was wrong" and it was too stiff. I saw him yesterday and he was all smiles after he'd driven it a week.

I'll be calling in my order in a few weeks. (Waiting on bonus check from work) I'll be doing 5100's all around, 885's, using my own home made "Taco lean poly spacer". Kinda glad to hear your input on the 886's.

 

I figured there's some break-in/settling/getting used to period, so I'm not climbing under there swapping coils just yet. Honestly, it probably won't be until January that I find the time to pull the struts out and swap anything, if I do. And yea, I don't want to be "that guy".

 

I have no useful input, but I just wanted to say well done!

You put in the exact setup I will be putting into my truck in the next year or so, but likely the 885s. Great to see someone else do it and have it turn out well for them!

Very nice!

 

Still new to the suspension, but so far I like it. I know I'll need to crawl under there and tighten up bolts as I put more miles on it, but everything feels solid.

I'll give the fronts a couple of months before tinkering with the coil selection to get the ride right.

Oh and I tapped the back end of a Highlander today, my fault, thought she was gonna turn but I was watching cross traffic and not the car in front of me. D'oh! Nice lady, she got out and looked, said no damage that she could see and said all was good. I got home expecting to see a scratched up bumper, but being 2.5-3" higher, I must've hit with the lower valence (grey part) of the bumper because there is no sign of impact at all. Good outcome!

 

Just my 2 cents here. I started with the complete OME lift kit which included 885's and Dakars in the rear, all the way around had the nitro struts. My truck was brand new and was a complete pavement princess. ( still is !! ). Now I chose 885's b/c of no armor.

I then decided to open up the my debit and credit cards up. Thank you TW. I have the privelegde of living close to Eddy from SOS concepts and I had a vison for my truck. I started with a bed rack, weeks later got weld on sliders, I didn't want some dumb ass hitting my girl while parked at the mall. Well I couldnt stop there and went with all aluminum from plate bumper ( Eddy, you the man!!) with the smittybilt 10 with synthetic line. ( in case someone at the mall needs a pull ). Now at this point I still have my 885's and stock rims and tires. The ride was beyond fantastic, blew the stock suspension out of the water. I was very happy with everything. Well almost everything, note to everyone, don't skip leg day at the gym. It really looks ridiculous. So I did what anyone else in this position would have done and took the juice! SCS stealth 6 in MGM to match the truck. I didn't want to go black like everyone else and there brother. I slapped some 285-70-17 Duratracs on. Mind you I still haven't seen a mud puddle yet. Stance was perfect, look was fantastic.

Well b/c I think that this mall crawler may someday hit the curb at the mall and I didn't want to damage anything underneath, I went with a custom front skid plate. Thank you @sosconcepts.

After CMC and a BFH too make the wheel set up from rubbing, thanks again Eddy!! Now at this point, apparently thinking that I will loose too much droop in the front to handle all this I went with 886's and swapped out the 885's. There is where I made the mistake.

Those 885's can handle some weight and the ride was excellent. I probably should have stayed with them and just put in the toytec top plates with extended bolts and called it a day.

After a lot of research on here and hearing others opinions I decided to go with the larger spring rate coil. Now don't get me wrong the swap certainly helped with the height due to extra weight but, I should have stayed with the 885's. My main issue and ongoing problem is the Over Speed Bumps Goes Clank Mod that I have created. At no fault to the OME set up, which I still think is excellent. I have removed swaybar, retighted and have spent numerous hrs trying to figure it out with no prevail.

I know I'm long winded, just wanted to get my whole story out, if I may suggest something to you. If you are trying to acheive max height in the front of the 3" and have NO PLANS of going with steel armor and winch, Go with the 887's. Same spring rate as the 885's just a tad taller and will give you the look you are trying to achieve. Again my 2 cents. If you have any questions about what I did or why. Ask away.

 

Thanks! Very informative. Sounds like you were able to fit the 285s even with the shorter coils (885) AND all that steel. I guess I'll roll on the 886s for a while since they're installed and swap to 887s or 885s if I really don't like the ones I have in a couple of months.

 

Great input here, I have been going back and forth on the 885 and the 887 set up. I don' plan on putting any armor on. I was trying to wait and do tires at the same time, but a nice screw changed the plans in that and had to get 4 new tires. Luckily I got a deal but I am running 265/75/16's... my question for you and anyone is: Will it look silly with that size tires if I go with the 887 and the adjustable 5100's set at 0. Or is there a better option. Mostly a highway princess with little off pavement up in the mountains. not a 4X4. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers

 

Personally, I don't think it'll look bad. I'm still rolling around on stock 265/70/16s and it doesn't look bad. It just doesn't look as beefy and haunched as 285s.

 

As many of y'all I also asked a lot of questions before I ordered my OME kit. I was suggested to go with 886's due to front plate bumper (140#s), sliders (140#s) and rear regular plate bumper (70#s) winch will be ordered soon. As my ride quality it rides smooth on the road but as soon as I hit a bump it goes to crap. So I'm also debating on swapping out coils I was recommended to use 887s and top spacer to achieve the 3 inch mark because they can't handle they weight. So I'm confused on what to swap them out to 885's and top spacers or 887 and top spacers.

 

According to OME's coil spring specs, the 887s are only 2mm shorter than the 886s. So you might be able to get away with 887s without a top spacer. My main concern is that 885s won't lift me enough to get 285 tires under there.

 

I might have missed it, but how much lift did you get with those 885's before the armor??

 

I think i got around 2.75" at first, they settle a bit and think i was just a tad over 2.5" even with a little weight sliders, aluminum front bumper they did not sag. Its when i added winch and front skid i knew i was going to want the 886's.

 

That much? I don't plan on going Dakars - just an AAL - so as of now I'm thinking 884's would give me just the amount of rake I'm looking for.

With these 883's an no AAL, I'm at exactly 3/4" rake. Ultimately I'd like 1.5" when all is said and done.