benzz

I've finally decided to sell my avant and use the money to freshen up my 1994 extracab pickup. Let the fun begin!

Last summer I spent some time reading up on IFS options, and people seem to be really happy with the Old Man Emu kit. From what I remember, people said they could haul butt on fire roads and such, while greatly improving ride quality on the street and the trail. I was pretty much sold on the OME kit, until I recently started reading reviews on the Blazeland Long Travel kit. It seems like an awesome kit as well, and also greatly improves ride quality.

Now I can't decide which one to go with! I'm on a budget, so if I go with the Blazeland kit, I will have to keep torsion bars. I just emailed Deaver, and they make mini packs for pickups on a custom basis for $250. Going the Blazeland/Deaver route I expect to spend about $2,000 for everything, while the OME kit can be had for a little under a grand.

This is/will be my daily driver for at least a year or two, and would love to add some smoothness and improved on-road manners. It will also see plenty of offroad action here in Colorado, and I make it to Moab about twice a year. I love hauling ass out in the desert!

So I guess the point of this post is to get the opinion of the geniuses on here. Do you guys think I would be happy with the OME kit or is the Blazeland kit just the bee's knees?


Thanks!


Ben

benzz

Here are some action shots for motivation. First one is up Left Hand Canyon outside of Boulder, Colorado; last two are outside Moab. It was totally stock then, with mega dense steel wheels.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

welcome to YT ben!

First off, the OME IFS items vs Blazeland are in two completely different categories. The OME stuff for an IFS front end is only a new set of T-bars, new shocks, and steering stabilizer shock. Other than the beefier shocks and tbars (which will make ride stiffer) the setup is pretty much equivalent to a stock rig. If your plans are ultimately to be able to jump your rig and mob down some whoops, then I'd go long travel all the way so you have extra travel to absorb all that suspension cycling -- just remember all the other stuff that comes with it - like the new width of your front end which will have to be dealt with especially if you have to cover all your tire to be street legal.

If you are still unsure, but want to DD the rig and wheel mild trails then I'd say go with OME kit. It's a great kit to get you into the 2" lift range, when paired up with a set of BJ spacers to help level the front out. Definitely get yourself an IFS truss if planning to ever jump your truck, it'll keep the frame from spreading at the LCAs mounting points.

I have the OME kit on my rig, minus the new tbars (and minus my swaybar), and while the ride has definitely improved, I still wouldn't really go out and jump my truck or haul ass in the desert (also likely because that's not the type of wheeling i've ever experienced, my stuff is always slow and on a wooded or rocky trail). I will toss this idea out there, and it's something that's crossed my mind - get the OME kit and run it for the next few years, then install your Blazeland LT when you're ready to tackle it all at once, just like you would if you were to SAS your truck. Heck, i'd have probably gone with the BL kit already if it weren't for the increased width and the need for prerunner fenders or flares. The OME kit is really just a means to remedy your stock worn out components like leafs and shocks - so the $1k to buy it all up isn't really an extra expenditure IMO since you'd be paying that much for new leafs and shocks regardless

Good luck

kornhuskerwizard

Blazeland would be far superior if you have the cash

benzz

HighonPottery, thank you for your first hand thoughts on the old man emu kit. It still sounds pretty solid for the money. I don't know if I would ever try any big jumps, but it would probably be nice to have long travel when the going gets rough. Hum...

Are there any options for a truss othe than Total Chaos? It looks like Sonoran Steel use to make a nice bolt in one, but they haven't been avalable for a long while now.

Also, for a nice comfy ride, are there any good options for the rear other then Deaver mini packs and bilsteins?

Thanks

Zpd426

I have a BlazeLand on my truck with fox coilovers, Its awesome. Ive seen a few BlazeLand torsion bar trucks doing awesome in the dunes. Its a really good option even for a daily driver. The extra travel really helps.

I actually run a Deaver mini pack right now. I used to run it with bilstein 5150s but now I have fox 2.5 internal bypass shocks.

The 5150s did very well for what they were, couldnt quite keep up with the front.

From personally taking the step from stock springs to the deaver mini pack I think its a great choice, im very happy with it and the bilsteins will do fine if thats what you run up front.

(if you want super cush springs and dont want to tow or have a lot of weight in the bed a full spring pack is nice) I still tow with mine so that wasnt the best option for me.

Bottom Line Blazeland up front and deaver in the rear with bilsteins all around you will be very happy. I have not had personal experience with the OME set ups but I hear they are good shocks. Oh and you dont really need the Fiberglass fenders. I think I am actually one of the only BL trucks around that has them. As for the extra width it most likely wont cause any problems on the trail. My t100 now however is 83" wide so I DO notice it but your truck wont be bad.

Check some of the build threads on here and see what you think, either way im sure you will be happy with new suspension components.