Old Man Emu/OME spring choice questions, progressing from stock to armored

BLUF: Have you used the medium spring (885, 895), stiff shock (90000, 60005) OME lift on a stock weight 4runner? OR, have you used light load springs (884, 895) and standard shocks (90021, 60004) on a heavy 4runner? If so, how did it ride? Did anything break?

Hey guys, I've searched around and haven't seen anybody ask a question quite like this so I'm posting up hoping for answers. I've got a 2005 (4th gen) V8 4WD 4Runner SR5, 262k miles. I suspect the stock suspension is sagged/worn and needs replaced all the way around, it seems to ride a little lower than I'd expect and the old tires had a little cupping. I hit a small divot on the way to work and bottomed out the truck on city streets, it's definitely not controlled like it should be, and faced with the choice between OEM components and upgrading, I'd prefer to upgrade to the end-goal parts and be done with it.

However, it's pretty dumb to jump straight to the endgame of stiff shock, heavy OME spring combo I know it'll eventually need. I also suspect it will be dumb to buy the light load, standard stiffness shocks knowing I'll need to replace them in a year or two with heavier duty components as I build this thing up. This 4R will get heavy, the plan is for front and rear steel bumpers, winch, skids, sliders, long range fuel tank, twin battery, etc. Coils are cheaper to replace than the whole 9 yards, so I'm interested in buying the medium coils and stiff shocks as a way to hold me over until I've got the rest of the truck squared away then buying the heavy coils at the end to swap them, but I'm unsure if the medium coil/stiff shock combo at stock weight will be tolerable/would top out too easily. Some spring sag or a truck-like ride doesn't concern me, nor does ride height/inches of lift; smart spending, load capacity, technical trail capability, and parts durability are my prime concerns.

Edit: It appears the combo over on toyota-4runners for V8 trucks from stock to higher loads is 885/895, so I'm likely to settle on that, all that's left is shock choice, stiff/soft or more likely stiff/stiff.

Edit 2: For anyone who stumbles on this thread, I ended up going with 885/895's with stiff shocks front and rear. Ride is totally OK with a stock weight V8 4Runner. People who complain about the ride are soft people.

 

Option instead of buying the expensive OME stuff right off the bat while still "upgrading" the suspension, is to get used Tacoma Bilstien front shocks with springs (aka the front struts) and buy new ($75 from RockAuto.com) FJ Cruiser rear coils and 4Runner specific Bilstien shock or use Tacoma Bilstien shocks (requires a different bushing for the lower eye).

I ran this setup for a good year or more as I added weight with front and rear bumpers. The front was fine with the heavier offroad bumper and the rear worked well enough until I could buy new suspension to account for the added weight. Before the bumpers, the truck gained about 1" of ride height over stock and handled great both on and off road. The Tacoma stuff is a direct bolt-on in the front using 2005 to 2023 Tacoma front shock/spring assembly. I recommend looking for newer, most take-off can be found on Craigslist or FB Marketplace for around the $200-$250 range, ready to bolt on. Rear shocks can be Tacoma but require replacing the lower rubber bushing as the 4runner uses a larger diameter shock stud on the axle. The replacement bushing is this one -

$9 Energy Suspension 9.8108G 3/4" Hourglass Shock Eye Bushing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CN9D4E. Rear FJC springs are cheap for new using 2007-2011 for the year range.

That way, you spend less on a "temporary" suspension, until you are ready for you more permanent solution.

 

This plan sounds fantastic! Which setting would you run the front 5100's at, OEM/lowest?

 

If you get the Tacoma Bilstiens, they are not the same as 5100s and don't have adjustable settings.

For 5100s, i would start at the lowest and adjust from there as needed.

 

d'oh, I just assumed Bilstiens=5100's, I forgot the factory bits were also bilstiens. I'll also look into the factory takeoffs.

 

Yup, the factory ones will be the standard yellow Bilstein's.

 

After a little looking around I found some used 885's and 895's and a couple examples of guys running them in V8's without UCA's, so I'm going to work on finding some stiff nitrochargers and adding as much weight as possible ASAP lol

 

It's a better/cheaper way to start until you have more of a concrete idea of the end running weight of the vehicle. Then you can get springs that will actually support that weight and still work as intended.

Dobinson makes great kits and can adjust spring rates for additional weight.

 

These front coil overs / shocks just came assembled in the mail. It looks to me like someone went bucknutty on that top bushing nut. Idk if I should loosen it a little? Any advice? Thanks

 

Leave it, it's fine.

 

This one on the driver side is STUCK!! Iv never seen one get stuck like this. Guess I’ll just let it soak in penetrating oil all night & try again tomorrow. It’s especially strange because the frame is only 5 years old

 

5100s will give you height adjustment in the front. I am going to use OME 883s with them up front. . Hard to find specs on results. Summit racing lists specs and lift range with ratings I didn't want to get to crazy until I try them. Really easy to go to far and not like what you get. I'm going use stock springs in rear with Firestone air bags and Energy suspension spring isolators front and rear before I replace rear springs. Always can go up, gets expensive going back down.

 

I tightened mine until top thread shows. Torque is about right, bushing isn't squashed and it helps protect threads from corrosion not exposing them. I bought tools so I don't pay people to screw up what I can for free.

 

Try some heat but I think a little spray will be good overnight. Looks rusty but not corroded. I replaced my strut tops with KYB. 3.5-5 lb hammer and a rubber mallet are handy. Can save some cussing. If it's turning on you try to hold the stud head under rubber isolator long enough to spin off with impact or needle nose vise grips. If you weld, spot weld on stud head to strut top on bottom. Impact should do it. Go buy one to try and return it if it does or doesn't work. I didn't see it but was off. If it is, use your rubber mallet first, unbolt bottom strut bolt. I'd use 3.5 lb hammer so one lick should do it.

 

This is mine after I built them. You need to be sure they are oriented the right way or they probably won't fit. You need to check and make sure spring is facing correct on each side and strut top is aligned, if not you will have to compress and turn them. I bought the tool instead of ordering like that just for that reason. I have mine set up to top height setting and polyurethane isolators and I am looking for 3". These springs were rated 0-3" with many different results from different people on Summit racing online.