SteveD0603

Update: New suspension on, and some early results. Thanks to all who offered advice to me on this topic from another thread I posted asking for advice! I wanted to replace my rear Downey coils and way-too-soft Bilstein shocks and had no clue on what to use. :bigclap:

I recently purchased OME 890 coils and N86 shocks from a company called High County 4X4 at http://stores.ebay.com/HC4X4. I found 'em on ebay, and a really nice guy named Kyle runs it. Great customer service, fast shipping, and good prices! I also purchased an adjustable trac bar from Sonoran steel at http://www.sonoransteel.com/ (Steve doesn't sell coil spings and shocks outside of the puchase of a lift) and a Daystar front urethane sway bar bushing kit from http://wheelersoffroad.com/. I also used the stock rubber spring cones in the new springs, upon Steve's recommendation, and didn't use his lower bump stops. ALL of these companies gave me great customer service and fast shipping!

At this point I would recommend the adjustable trac bar to anyone who doesn't have one. It does seem to have made a big difference, plus I just like the peace of mind of knowing my rear axle is tracking straight. I think that was a big part of my weird, loose handling problems.

Of course, my old springs and shocks made it looser than I wanted, so that always bugged me. I like a solid riding rig and I now have it that way. My boss has a new Ford F-250 4WD and it's seriously stiff! I have a pretty solid Dodge Ram 1500 4WD work truck and my 4Runner now feels somewhere between the two of those, which is good. It was a little jittery on a bumpy road that leads to where I live, but that's part of it, I guess. Feels like a big solid 4WD pick-up now! I'll miss the smooth part of the ride some, but overall I like it a lot better on road and off. Did a little mild off roading with it yesterday, too.

I'm really glad I didn't go with the 891 coils, as that's what a few OME sellers recommended for my driving conditions, which would have been crazy stiff. Steve at Sonoran and Kyle at High County 4X4 steered me in the right direction though. Probably just as glad that I didn't use the N86C "comfort" shocks, as I tried the new 890 coils with the old Bilsteins still on before installing the N86s and it was a little on the soft side with those. N86s made it much more solid feeling. Maybe a little too stiff, but the other route would have had me on the soft side, and that would not have been good, as I hated it being mushy! Overall, I got about 3 1/4" of lift out of the new set-up, but my measurment method may be a little off and I'm sure it will settle some, too. Take care!