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1986 Toyota Pickup - OME CS009R springs with Bilstein 4600 shocks?
Hello everyone,
I've done a lot of research on refreshing my 1986 Pickup x-tra cab suspension. I've settled on OME springs and torsion bars. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the OME CS009R springs and Bilstein B6 4600 shocks. I'd like to go with the Bilsteins, but I'm worried that the amount of lift from the OME springs will be too much for them at full excursion. I've read a lot of reports that the springs lift the rear more than their rated 2". Any experience and advice is appreciated.
We use this truck as a gravel grinder with mild to medium off-road use on Colorado mountain roads. We rarely load the bed with a few hundred pounds. It's usually empty unless we're helping someone move stuff on paved roads.
Thanks for your input! Please don't be critical of other people's opinions. I'm really interested in general fitment experience and if the parts will work together.
I'd like to know the same. No idea about the Bilsteins. As far as I know, the 2" Old Man Emu lift kit EK2202A1 has these parts:
Leaf Springs (2 x CS0009R)
Torsion Bar (1 x 303003)
Front Nitrocharger Sport Shock (2 x 60072)
Rear Nitrocharger Sport Shock (2 x 60065)
Steering Damper (1 x OMESD33)
Greasable Shackle Kit (1 x OMEGS3)
Greasable Pin Kit (1 x OMEGP3)
Spring Bush Kit (2 x OMESB6)
U Bolts (4 x OMEU53B)
You have to crank up the tbars to get 2" in the front.
This guy installed the kit in his single cab pickup with 33" tires:
Yeah, I've seen that vid and have a the parts list, as well. I think the OME shocks are pretty expensive and I've read some posts saying they're a little stiff on small bump compliance. I'd prefer Bilstiens if they fit due to their tuning and openess on design information, not to mention their life time warranty vs. the ARB warranty. I reached out to Bilstein and they responded very quickly with info about their products but wouldn't specify if the 4600's would work with a 2" lift. I've found one post with no follow up on the combo so it was useless. Plus they were carrying a lot of weight so it might work within the shock's usable range better than my needs.
Does anyone have the ARB OME CR009S springs and GS3 shackle kit installed on their pickup? If so could you jack it up on the frame and take a measurement of the shock length from center-center of the mounting points? (ideally without the shock attached)
I have the B6-4600 on my 1987 4Runner, and love them, but my ride height is pretty close to stock. I had OME springs on the back, but I'm in the minority and didn't like them. The OME raised it higher than stated and made the vehicle ride like a rock. I ended up pulling them. But most seem to like OME.
I have the B6-4600 on my 1987 4Runner, and love them, but my ride height is pretty close to stock. I had OME springs on the back, but I'm in the minority and didn't like them. The raised it higher than stated and made the vehicle ride like a rock. I ended up pulling them. But most seem to like OME.
Thanks Jimkola. I think I will resign to doing the Bilstein 4600's up front and the OME 60062's in back. Those are their softer Nitrocharger Sport shocks. From my reading I think there are a lot more reports of the OME CS009R springs causing too much lift on the 4Runner vs. the Pickup, though it does on both to different degrees. Why doesn't the internet have all the answers!!!!!!!???? jk.
What I ended up doing is removing the OME and taking the spring pack apart. Then did the same with the Toyota springs. I took one of the medium length springs from each and swapped them. Then I reinstalled the Toyota springs that now had one OME. That raised the vehicle back up close to original height, maybe 1/2” above, and the ride is decent. A I bit like a add-a-leaf, but I wanted to salvage something from my OME purchase. The one good thing over the add-a-leaf is I have the same size spring pack, and the new spring is longer than the add-a-leaf, so I’m hoping it spreads the load better in the pack.
So don’t toss your Toyota springs right away after installing the OME. Keep your options open until you’re happy with whatever setup you choose.
What I ended up doing is removing the OME and taking the spring pack apart. Then did the same with the Toyota springs. I took one of the medium length springs from each and swapped them. Then I reinstalled the Toyota springs that now had one OME. That raised the vehicle back up close to original height, maybe 1/2” above, and the ride is decent. A I bit like a add-a-leaf, but I wanted to salvage something from my OME purchase. The one good thing over the add-a-leaf is I have the same size spring pack, and the new spring is longer than the add-a-leaf, so I’m hoping it spreads the load better in the pack.
So don’t toss your Toyota springs right away after installing the OME. Keep your options open until you’re happy with whatever setup you choose.
That sounds like a great way to do it. You get the blanace of the new leaves but no height issues. Unfortunatly the previous owner stressed my springs so one has a broken leaf and bent overload leaf and the other side has a bent middle spring. The cost of dealer springs or the LCE replacement springs is far too high for what they are. I understand they're custom type springs, but... I like the mix and match leaf idea better or just go OME if it works for you.
I am currently using the Ironman rear springs, which look a lot like the OME springs in the pictures I have seen. I ended up taking them apart and removing some leaves to attain the lift I was after. I went
with Bilstein 5100's, PN 33-247717. They are technically made for the right rear of a Tacoma with a 1 - 1.5 inch lift. They are: 14.07 collapsed, and 22.09 extended. These worked great because I get a little more down travel and they use the same 19mm mounts that our vehicles use. The ride is great also.
I am currently using the Ironman rear springs, which look a lot like the OME springs in the pictures I have seen. I ended up taking them apart and removing some leaves to attain the lift I was after. I went
with Bilstein 5100's, PN 33-247717. They are technically made for the right rear of a Tacoma with a 1 - 1.5 inch lift. They are: 14.07 collapsed, and 22.09 extended. These worked great because I get a little more down travel and they use the same 19mm mounts that our vehicles use. The ride is great also.
Excellent info. Do you know if the bump stops ever touch? I ask since that is a sign that the shock can collapse the full range of the suspension. Also, how much weight do you carry in the back? Also, what truck is that in the pic? We're considering the earliest IFS trucks, here. Thanks for the input and measurements!
Do you know which part number Ironman springs those are? Also your on that shock are intreuging. That might be the right thing if the damping is correct.
The bump stops do touch on full compression, but the shock doesn't bottom out. This is on a 1988 4Runner and I travel pretty light, but I am planning on installing an auxilliary fuel tank and building a swing away tire carrier so my GVW will increase. I took out three leaves per pack, so I will end up adding some back.
The Ironman springs are TOY011C, they are rated for a constant 660 lbs and up. I wanted to buy the TOY011B which is their performance load (0 -660 lbs) but they were sold out. I contacted Ironman and asked what the difference was between the two types. They said if I removed a specific leaf it reduces the load capacity, otherwise they are identical, so that is what I did.
I get that the OME's are stiff and they've probably valved the damping for their springs, but I'd rather have a softer ride and maybe for proper height even remove the smallest middle spring on the OME CR009S. Thoughts? I'll repeat: this is for a truck used moslty empty.
The bump stops do touch on full compression, but the shock doesn't bottom out. This is on a 1988 4Runner and I travel pretty light, but I am planning on installing an auxilliary fuel tank and building a swing away tire carrier so my GVW will increase. I took out three leaves per pack, so I will end up adding some back.
The Ironman springs are TOY011C, they are rated for a constant 660 lbs and up. I wanted to buy the TOY011B which is their performance load (0 -660 lbs) but they were sold out. I contacted Ironman and asked what the difference was between the two types. They said if I removed a specific leaf it reduces the load capacity, otherwise they are identical, so that is what I did.
Excellent and concise. Thanks for that. It's nice of them to talk about how to modify their product. That's something that most companies won't do.
I get that the OME's are stiff and they've probably valved the damping for their springs, but I'd rather have a softer ride and maybe for proper height even remove the smallest middle spring on the OME CR009S. Thoughts? I'll repeat: this is for a truck used moslty empty.
I ended up with the softer ARB/OME rear shocks option (60062) and springs (CS009R). I went that route to avoid travel compatibility issues. The rear is very stiff. I think it's a combination of the springs and very stiff compression damping. It has only felt normal once I have roughly 500lbs or more in the bed. I'm going to pull the 3rd biggest leaf out of the packs and see if it helps to lower the rear as well as reduce stiffness. The fronts are Bilstein 4600's, stock part size and original torsion bars so they're fairly soft for ride comfort. When it comes time to replace the rear shocks, I think I'll go for the Bilstein 5100 (33-247717) since the OME springs do provide a bit (+1" to +2") more lift than they advertise, and probably will have some lift even with the 3rd leaf removed. Like vwrunner said, those shocks allow for a little more down-travel, as well.
Also, I needed to replace a missing bumps top. I picked up Toyota part 48306-35110 that is almost exactly the fitment of the discontinued 1986 original. Again, it's for a Tacoma. Here's my thread on that: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...p-stop-317057/
Ok gotcha I really appreciate that reply. Right now I am stock everything but got 4 brand new Bilstein 4600 shocks, and found a smoking deal for 2 CS0009R OME springs. There's also someone who's keeping a set of unknown spring for me (they do look like rough country though) which gives approx 2 inch of lift and 4 OME shocks and also a steering stabilizer. I wonder what should I do with it all, just install my 4600 shocks right away since my actual shocks are really bad and try the CS009R with those ? What do you think
Ok gotcha I really appreciate that reply. Right now I am stock everything but got 4 brand new Bilstein 4600 shocks, and found a smoking deal for 2 CS0009R OME springs. There's also someone who's keeping a set of unknown spring for me (they do look like rough country though) which gives approx 2 inch of lift and 4 OME shocks and also a steering stabilizer. I wonder what should I do with it all, just install my 4600 shocks right away since my actual shocks are really bad and try the CS009R with those ? What do you think
If you end up installing the OME springs, pull the 3rd biggest leaf first, unless you regularly have 500lbs in the back. At least that would be a good starting point. I think the 60062 shocks have too much compression damping that make the ride too rough unless you're carrying a lot of weight. Their rebound seems fine. Go with the Bilstein's discussed above if price is not a concern.
edit: if you have stock Bilstien 4600's they might hit their max before the the springs do. I'd consider selling at least the rears if you get any other springs than stock.
03-18-2021, 08:24 AM
