My OME setup is too stiff, Looking for advice on new springs

Is anyone familiar (first hand experience) w/ OME nitrochargers and springs? And even better if you've ridden w/ them and also Fox or other tuned suspension.

I've got the heavy camper rig in my forum photo. Truck weighs just about 7000lbs. But the front isn't too much heavier than stock. (300-400lbs).
I have OME nitrocharger shocks, and 2886 springs. It is too stiff. Particularly on 'high speed' bumps, like potholes or rocks. It seems like I don't have suspension at all. However, slower speed things, like dips, bumps, body roll, seem great.
I'm working w/ Accutune to get tuned shocks. They know my existing setup is too harsh, and are recommending 600lb/in springs. The existing OME are about 656lb/in. Accutune admits, I am right on the line between 600 and 650 springs.
I'm not sure if the lighter springs will give me too much body roll.

I guess what I am wondering is, are the OME shocks just harsh, at the 'high speed' suspension stuff? I don't know for sure if the harshness is coming from the shocks or the springs.. Because a lot of people seem to run 650 or even 700lb springs, on rigs lighter than mine, with Fox/King, etc.. But like I said, this OME setup w/ 656lb springs, is like I don't even have suspension when I hit a pothole or washboard, etc. I can't imagine anyone would find it acceptable. It's a damage inducing amount of shaking.
Well, I know this is pretty specific so I'm not expecting much, but thanks if you have any advice.

 

It's the front springs. You could change em out for 887 or 888 springs for better ride quality.

 

I can't imagine that rig feeling stiff at any condition. I find mine to feel softer and softer the more weight I add.

 

Thanks.. This setup is old, so I'm getting new suspension. But, the 887 and 888 are both 550lb springs.. so, that's right in the range they're recommending.

I know! That's why I'm a little concerned going to lighter springs. My only guess at the moment is that the OME nitrocharger shocks I've got are also very stiff, which is why I'm wanting to hear from anyone else who has used them. And if the shocks themselves are causing the stiffness, maybe I'd want the heavier 650 springs w/ my new softer shocks.

 

I used to run ome 886s and there 90021 shocks didn't find it stiff at all but I have a bunch of weight up front.

 

May need to dive into Progressive VS Linear rate springs.

I dont know anything about them, but they supposedly behave differently under those conditions.

Tires and what PSI they are set at can also go a long way for ride quality.

 

I have nitrocharger sports and 886x springs with no skids, bumper or winch up front. Just stock.
At first it was a bit harsh on speed bumps and such but it's mild out a bit after a month or so.
I run wash board roads and do offroad trails and I have not experienced this set up to be "too harsh". It rides like a truck now.

I did a ton of reading before committing and it seems like the 3rd gens are a lot heavier up front to begin with and 888's or 887's will eventually sag back to near stock height.

 

Things aren’t adding up for me.

You told accutune that you have a 7000 lb Tacoma and they are suggesting softer springs? I suspect there was a miscommunication.

When you say you have 300-400 lbs extra on the front, does that include the effect of the camper on the front axle? Or are you saying that you have 300-400 lbs on the front of the truck in addition to the weight of the camper? Have you had the truck weighed on both axles?

Which OME leaf pack do you have, medium or heavy?

My guess is that your 7000 lb truck is dramatically over its weight capacity and is bottoming out your suspension. GVWR for a 3rd gen Tacoma is 5600lbs. You are exceeding that by 25%.

 

I had the truck weighed, and that's how I know the front is 300-400lbs heavier than stock.. But that includes my unspring weight additions, too.. So, really, maybe 200-300 heavier than stock above the springs in front.
Accutune is suggesting softer springs than the heaviest OME springs which I have now. Nothing about my trucks suspension is factory. It's all designed for this much weight.. But maybe over designed.. Like, the person who spec'd it thought I'd be doing much more aggressive/fast off-roading than I do. It would be great for hitting whoops at 50mph on desert trails.. But I do 20 on desert trails.. I don't want to break the 40k camper on the back! I want a softer ride. So, I think accutune is correct in their suggestion, based on that. My main concern about the lighter springs is, I drive fast on mountain roads. I don't want a bunch of body roll. But I do want a softer ride.. I know those two desires are kind of opposite requirements from the suspension....
My leaves in the back are from Deaver, designed for the weight of the camper.. not an off the shelf pack.

 

It’s the coils. Try Dobinsons they will work with nitro chargers. 888 may be less stiff but you have too much weight to run 887.

 

Personally I would not worry about body roll. You have an anti-roll bar to control that (unless you took it off). Regardless it’s so minimal unless you are taking it to the track or trying to avoid a crash on the hiway.

I’m surprised your truck weights 7000 lbs and the front axle has only 300-400lbs extra on it. I haven’t tried to do the math farther than estimating that about 40% of that 2400 lbs is on the front axle and that is about 960lbs. I’ll trust the scale over my napkin estimate.

 

Axle weights attached.
What I've read here on the forum is that factory front weight is about 2500.

I do still have my front sway bar. Not planning on rock crawling w/ my tiny house . Although I do wish there was a way to easily disconnect it if necessary, but oh well. Hopefully I'll never be in that situation in this rig.

 

In any case, it’s hard to diagnose such a problem without more information and knowledge. I’d trust accutune. They seem knowledgeable.

My non-expert guess is that most OEM replacement shocks are tuned from the factory to work best with a stock weight truck on stock springs and are too light for a 7000lb truck. Weight, damping, spring rate, and intended use all need to considered together. OME nitrochargers have two different tunes as I remember: light and heavy. Kings like mine can be tuned to whatever setup.

Does the truck tend to oscillate up and down after a bump?

Do you suspect you might be hitting the bump stops or is it more like the suspension isn’t compressing enough when you hit a bump?

Have you measured your down travel?

 

My personal experience with lighter springs and body roll is that it made no noticeable difference whatsoever. CAVEAT: I haven’t taken it to the track or simulated a near hiway collision. My truck is ~5000 pounds with King 600 lb/in coil overs and medium OME Dakar leaf packs.

 

Thanks, good to know.
I'm looking at adjustable fox suspension. So, maybe the lighter springs w/ the ability to stiffen up the shocks if necessary is exactly what I want.
As w/ so much of this stuff.. Really a shame we can't try everything before making a decision!

 

You can likely get a better answer from @AccuTune Offroad, but I’d be concerned that the adjuster doesn’t fully replace a custom tuned shock. It might only give you a way to fine tune the shocks without having to remove and disassemble them.

CAVEAT: 25% extra weight seems like a lot, but at the same time a typical adjustable dirt bike shock can likely handle a 25% weight difference. I used to ride dirt bikes and rarely adjusted the damping.

 

I didn't notice these questions earlier..

Truck does not oscillate on bumps.. It handles dips and bumps really well. I barely feel something like the low/wide speed bumps they have in residential areas, while my car hops up into the air and then bounces, on the same type of thing.

I don't think I'm hitting the bump stops.. I think it's not compressing on fast hits like rocks or potholes. And I definitely have a lift.. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd think if I were sitting close to the bump stops, I'd be low.
My wife and I can stand on my bumper (big flat ARB bull bar), jump up and down, and the truck doesn't move.. Over 300lbs together, and we might as well be jumping on concrete. But like I said, it is definitely compressing on slower bumps like those speed bumps I mentioned.

I have not measured my down travel.. I'll look that up. And I'll check my bump stops to be sure I'm not sitting on them... But I really don't think I am.

I didn't quote it above, but you also mentioned OME nitrochargers having a couple different options, and mine are the stiffer model.

 

I wasn’t asking you if you were sitting on the bumps at ride height. I was asking if you were hitting them when hitting bumps.

I’m just surprised that a 7000lb taco could be over sprung, but at the same time I’ve never approached that weight. My mistake could be not fully understanding the effect of your extreme axle weight ratio.

 

Sounds like the OP has already reached out to our sales team, so I won't want to dive too far into this.

In general we like to run the softest spring acceptable and let the shock valving control everything else. Ride quality mainly comes from the valving, not the spring. If the valving is not tuned for the weight, it can throw off the ride quality also.