Gotcha! I knew there was a reason. So is there a better selection for the front if flex is the main concern up front, and not necessarily the excellent ride quality that the SAWS offer?

Chris

 

In my opinion, there is no better choice for the front unless you go with better adjustables such as the ones from King or Donaho Racing, which in my opinion are priced sort of high. the flex can be made longer with the addition of quick disconnects for the swaybar. I don't think there are any options for more flex than the stock setup offers, I think the SAWs give the same travel as the stock assembly up front does.

 

Good deal! Thanks for all the help Keisur!

Chris

 

no problemo. I added another sentence to the above post.

 

Yeah, I guess the IFS suspensions are limited to how much travel can be achieved. Thanks again,

Chris

 

OK so if I go to 890's I may loose an inch... I guess I can live with that.

Thanks

 

I'm probably going to go with 890's or Downeys, and depending on the amount of sag after a while, I'll probably add trim packs as needed to maintain 2.5-3" height gain. This way, I can run 2-2.25" with the SAW's upfront, and still us the Revtek diff drop spacer, and be real safe on the CV's. And, if I need more height after that to run the 285's without rubbing, I'll get the roger brown 1" body lift to top it all off.

Chris

 

If I had it to do over, I'd go with the downey's. they seem, from what I've heard on this forum, to hold up better with time. the ome's tend to sag, and at different rates because I had to shim one side up higher 8 months after install. and yes, the taller spring is on the drivers side.

 

it's not good to stack trim packers. Mike at Xtreme can get you 10mm ones at $10 each. best thing if you need to gain that inch back is to get a 1 inch spacer. I had 890's to begin with and ended up taking them back to 4WP's and having them order the 891's for me because I didn't like the way my runner sat and they were a little less stiff, I prefer stiff. my rear end is actually a softer ride than my wife's '03 with the X-Reas. I know this because my mom's in town and I spent yesterday in the backseat riding around on the crappy houston roads.

 

In comparison to the stock coils, do you think the 890's would firmer or softer than stock? I've heard the downey's are pretty much the same spring rate as stock and they yield 2-2.5" of lift. Is that what you've heard? Plus they come with the e-brake and 18" straps, which I thought was a decent deal. If you were going to go with the downey's would you go with the comfort shocks or firm shocks?

Chris

 

You might want to consider the Bilsteins with the Downey coils. I really like the combo. It soaks up bumps nicely without jarring the hell out of me or my passengers. The only guy I know who has run both setups (Downey/Bilstein and OME/OME) is Steve Schaefer.

This leads me to think the Downey/OME combo might be way too mushy. I know what I have now is great (stock bumper and spare tire in rear cargo area). My present concern is how the Downey/Billie combo will handle the additional weight of my rear bumper/tire carrier.

 

Okay, so that answers my question then. I'm going to go with the Downey's with the OME firms, because the bilsteins are shorter when fully extended and don't allow for full flew in the rear, from my understanding.

Chris

 

From what I understand, the OME shocks (N86 at least) will extend ~1" more than the Bilsteins. That was a huge subject on ODW last year.

If Downey/OME is what you are going with then I will be curious as to what type of ride you get. IMO the Downey coil is kind of soft which was offset by the stiffness of the Bilstein. If the OME shock is indeed softer than the Bilstein then I am concerned about how soft your rear is going to get.

 

Me too! I just don't want it as stiff as the PP springs were. And, if they are too soft, then I'll jut put my Air lift system back on it to firm it up a tad. I'd rather be soft then firm and not be able to do anything about it. At least this way, I'll have the ability to firm it back up if I desire.

Chris

 

Actually Dr. Zhivago recommended the Bilstein \ Downey combo with the SAWs in the beginning of the thread. Too bad the SAWs are just out of my budget for right now. Anyone have an extra $600 just lying around that they don't need.

 

It sounds like the Downey/ Bilstein combo is a good setup for the road, but you lose an inch worth of articulation, when compared to the Downey/OME combo. I'm probably going to go with the downey/OMEN86 Firms.

Chris

 

I might have to try the downey \ billestein combo myself.

Dr. Zhivago:
Has anyone just gone with the downey \ billestein combo all the way around (ie no SAWs in the front)?

Where is the best place to get them?

 

Anybody know if I would need to extend any brakelines etc. if I run OME 891s and 881s on a 97 Runner? Thanks.

C

 

just the rear.

 

So where can I get the extensions?