emptypockets

FWIW, from the research I've done, this is NOT the case. The OME 880, 881 and 882 DO share the same spring rate (500 lbf/in) and coil diameter (.630"), so the only difference is free height. 880's are 14.37", 881's are 14.76" and 882's are 15.55".

According to the tables I've seen, the 883 has a spring rate of 585 (lbf/in), a length of 14.92" and a coil diameter of .67". So, it's just a little taller than the 881, but has a higher spring rate and thicker coil diameter. Hope this clears up any confusion!

cocoslow

Any rubbing from your 285/75/16 tires?

emptypockets

Just a little bit at full lock and when compressing things, but not too bad.

landozion

Hey Ron, digging up this old thread and looking for an update from you. You have had the lift on for a while, has it settled any? I hope you have gotten it out on some trips, are you happy with how it rides? I know you were worried about the rake of this setup, have you got any pics to share? I am still debating which lift to go with on my 99 with old springs, so looking for a bit more info (so many choices!). Thanks

sajidd

1996 Toyota 4Runner/ Surf :

I have following ARB shocks and springs with me. I understand that these can be used in the rear and I will get about 4 to 5 inch of lift.

OME860 REAR MED 80 COIL SPRING Item #: OME860

N74E FJ80 REAR SHOCK Item #: N74E

My questions is what can I use in the front to get at least 3 to 4 inch of lift so that over all my 1996 4 Runner with IKZ diesel engine looks pretty even.

Also what is the off road and on the road ride quality like with that kind of a lift?

Ron Helmuth

I am happy with it but the front end has come down already a bit, and I am again scraping my stock mudflaps at 90% to full lock in a turn and most definitely in reverse and on the trail under compression. I have a bit of squeak from the new coils but the overall ride quality is decent, though stiff is still a good description.

edit: 05302009 the squeak turned out to be a twisted rear anti sway bar that was rubbing on the axle.

The pics I have are really poor. I will get some more taken and get them posted up eventually. I find this photobucket hosting crap tedious. Private message me if you like with a real email address and I will shoot photos to you in that manner.

If there is one generic suggestion I would want to make for this forum and others is "Please let people post up jpegs and gifs"

I am sure there is some techie reason this is not possible.....

okie81

Bump for a great thread, lots of my questions answered, thanks Ron. Anyone like me looking for lift options should read this thread and all the info Sonoran Steel has on their website (especially the Q&A at the bottom of the page)
http://www.sonoransteel.com/store_co...tml#System_1.2

Ron Helmuth

okie81 you're the one driving the 7th injector-ed S/C model and you're admiring my thread?

shucks!

quick update: My signature now reads 881s up front and 890s in the rear. I was able to swap out with member "CSL" and he now has my 891s as he rides fully loaded most all the time he takes his Runner out and about.

Not that he is loaded-the truck is loaded....

Over time the stiffness of the 891s gets to wearing on us old guys. They were excellent when I loaded my truck up with 400-500 pounds of rock as I do each spring to renew my driveway.

But when the truck is empty-97% of the time-the stiffness is a bit too jarring.

While the 890s feel soft sprung-the 891s were definitely "hard".

I was glad to have been able to compare, but eventually I may just step up to Landcruiser rear springs.

Now that I see how easy it is to do rear springs, I can talk any one of you through that process. Don't ask me about shock replacements-that is another whole ball of wax.

I no longer fear the spring compressors. They are your friends!

98.T4R

does anyone know what they base the lift amount off of, like what is the starting ride heigth before a lift. do they base it off of a particular year of 4runner or new or worn in springs or what?

4biker

Old Man Emu doesn't claim to make "lifts," they make "replacement suspensions." Since 4runners vary from year to year, and original components wear out, you won't see a consistent lift increase (i.e. 3.5" of lift). The best thing is to figure out what tires you want to run, what you want the ride quality to be like, and how much weight you will be hauling, then choose the appropriate springs for your application. If you want to run 285's like most guys, you'll probably look at 891's in the rear and 881's plus a spacer in the front. I have 881's without spacers in the front and 906's in the rear and I just tell people it's 2" of lift. The exact measurement doesn't matter, it's enough to clear my tires and support the 4runner the way I want. Hope this helps.

rbakeremai

Very good thread! Maybe you will have insight on what I’m facing. Sorry to hijack, but I think it pertains…

I have a stock 96 SR5 4x4 v6. I have air shocks in the back in an attempt to counter the constantly bottoming out rear end, which helps a smidgeon, though it is stiff. I like the idea of keeping these on in order to be able to adjust for the load, but I’m open on this. (Maybe 890s ome soft shocks would do the trick?)

Has anybody had problems bottoming out with the 906 springs? My rears are so shot that I’m contemplating going with the 906’s now and saving up for the front 881’s and soft shocks. I would go with the 890’s but that would be quite a rake while I’m waiting for the fronts, or would it be that bad?

My reasoning is that the 906’s wont stick it too high in the rear and the 881’s later should make it about level. When I do need to haul stuff around I could air up the shocks to level it out. BTW, if any body is looking to get rid of some 880, 881, 906 890 or soft front shocks, let me know. Broke as hell at the moment, but I can’t live with the bad springs anymore, it’s damn near dangerous. I’m willing to go all used if I can get it done all at once, which I would prefer.

I have been known to drive around with 900 pounds of people plus camping stuff. As is, any bump in the road hits the conical bump stops, even with 150 psi in the shocks. I would like to be able to take a very rocky dirt road at a decent speed rather than suffer along getting bruised and prolonging the pain by going slow. I would also like potholes to no longer be traumatic events. It’s the little things in life, you know?

Right track, wrong track? Chime in please. Does anybody find the 906 springs insufficient for loads or soaking up bumps? Should I ditch the damn conical stops for now?


No heavy bumpers nor plans for them. I will be getting bigger tires, prolly 265/75/16, though 285’s are a “slight” possibility. Otherwise bone stock. 260k on the clock and still purrs.

Ron Helmuth

hijacking encouraged on my threads no big deal to me.

Welcome to this fine forum and at present I would encourage you to avoid T4R.org but they are Runner specific. Good group of guys over there but the staff has some issues.

One: Were your rear springs ever replaced per the factory recall? Search and you shall read more about it.

Two: 890s in the rear are leaving me with only about one inch of rake now. If you run fully loaded like 900 lbs as you say you may prefer the 891s. Over time they may feel just a bit too stiff for daily use unloaded.

Three: The comfort shocks really do the job well in tandem with my new to me 890s. When I had the 891s the shocks seemed to not perform, the springs were providing all the feedback to my butt.

I encourage you to read up on the Sonoran Steel website. Think of the Old Man Emu springs as providing better load capability and not necessarily for lift. As Steve of Sonoran correctly predicted my 891s got real tiresome for daily use. They were excellent for when I ran fully loaded up. A better shock for the rear would be the non comforts then if you select the 891s.

None of this stuff is particularly expensive. The springs run about $80 each and you certainly do not have to use the Nitro shocks from Old Man Emu. You may want to go with a Bilstein set up for shocks, but opinions vary.

I do encourage you to read virtually every thread you can regarding lifts. Try to find someone near you that has the setup you think you want and go for a ride or drive in their rig. To me all this is butt subjective and what one person thinks is a great ride someone else feels it is all wrong.

Show us a photo of your truck on level ground if you can. Take measurements now of what your body height is-hub to fender is a good comparison test, so as to not be thrown off by tires you are running.

Good luck and shop around and compare. I personally am very happy with the fine service I have always gotten at trdparts4u.com

If you want to run the 285s then you might also now investigate a mild body lift of 1" or 1.5" ---4crawler.com is an expert on that and many other Yota subjects.

rbakeremai

This whole forum is extremely helpful, at some point I’ll do the deck plate mod. The exhaust posts have been helpful too. Sonoran Steel is also a great resource. I have combed through these threads and reread many of them once I got an idea of what I wanted. These suspensions soak up bumps pretty well at speed, right? Recall was done, I think they just added the cones, which I’ve heard just makes it worse. It was done before I bought it.

I think I’ll be plenty satisfied with the 265/75/16. I have 265/70/16 Michelin LTX’s with 100k on them and they still have about 50% on them. Incredible. I still have lifetime warrantee on them, paid $40 at Discount Tire for a brand new one last month due to a non repairable puncture. I may just keep these because of the warrantee, they are far from worn out.

I will try to get some measurements on a level surface. I suppose that would help in determining if I can just go with some 890’s to begin with, if it won’t be too much rake. Looking forward to the soft ride shocks upfront. As for whether I keep the air shocks or go OME soft in the rear will depend on how it feels with the new springs.

I am still curious to see if anybody has had load/bottoming out problems with the 906’s. After so much harshness, the last thing you want is for it to happen again. It would be nice to travel the course of the Baja 1000 some day. Granted I said travel, not race. No way I would even consider driving it with the current setup.

Thanks for the info and the warm welcome. Went out and took measurements on the sloped driveway, about 35.25” upfront and just over 36” in rear. That’s with 125 PSI in the air shocks. I’m guessing just under 35” is the real measurement, just didn’t want to take the air out right now.

Thanks again!

rbakeremai

Hey Ron, what is the new measurement in the rear with the 890's? I saw them for the 891's but not the 890's. Still working on pictures on level ground, as well as letting the air out of the shocks to get a solid rear measurement. I'll get them up as soon as I can.

4biker

You and I have PM'd about 906 coils - Have you looked at Gerdo's profile? He gives his 890 height measurement in post #5. See here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f79/...profile-85724/
Measuring from the center of the center cap to the fender lip is the most reliable since it doesn't matter what tires you are running. My measurement with the 906's is right about 22", so he's a full 1" taller with the 890's (at 23") than I am with the 906's. If you're looking seriously at 890's, I'd pick up some tundra springs for the front or you will have a serious rake. That's a great setup, it's just taller than I wanted to go.

rbakeremai

So, yeah, my brain is broke! This suspension stuff is mind numbing and tedious. I took what you said and read up more on the tundra TRD coils. A 32 page thread? Ouch! Doing my taxes took less time, but the info was incredible! Those actually sound a little better then the 881’s due to the progressive rate, and, as Steve puts it, they are silly soft. The idea that they can handle slow trails and fairly high speed is pretty cool too. Kudos to Andy and Steve!

So where am I at this moment in time? Well, unless I find something “even better”, I will likely run Tundra TRD coils up front, Tacoma Tockico blues to avoid over extension w/OME struts (even though I would prefer the OME but running straps does not sound good to me), and probably the 890’s out back. An SS dif drop will also be on the list, along with Steve’s bump stops.

Why the sudden shift? Well, the jarring was so bad that I got all desperate and I trimmed the bottom puck off of the conical bump stops. This renders them useless of course, and I’m sure this is far from recommended, but I couldn’t stands no more! Now I have more travel and the air shocks actually make more of a difference now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put the wrong bump stops in, having less than an inch before contact is no way for a suspension to be. Now that my truck is more functional, I can wait a little longer and do the lift correctly in one shot rather than in pieces.

I will keep researching my options, but silly soft sounds silly great! Lots of give and travel sounds ideal to me, so the TRD‘s sound like my best bet. Not needing to mess with the pan hard bar or brake lines sounds good too, hence the 890‘s as opposed to the LC coils.

Here are some better measurements for you guys, hopefully I got them right:

Front = 21” and 21.5” from the center of the hub, as best I could tell, or 35” and 35.5” measured from the ground up

Rear = 20.5” or just under 35” with the air out of the shocks

Air in:


Air out:


Feedback? I definitely need to do the suspension soon as the springs are tired, but I have a little wiggle room now.

Ron Helmuth

my rear sits at 38" now ground to fender lip ( I have no fender trim or flares mounted at this time)

my hub to fender lip is 23"

I agree rbakeremai- this lift stuff is numbing. I really thought I did my research before I ordered 891s for my rears. But Steve of Sonoran was exactly correct and that fitment is too stiff for everyday street use.

I am really glad to have been able to swap springs with CSL and am really happy to have these 890s now. CSL uses his Runner exclusively for heavy haul camping and for him it works just perfect.

Good luck with those Tundra coils as my front end is where I need to start tinkering next to run mudflaps again.

FogRunner

To those considering 882s to support a bumper and winch, consider the 883s.

I recently replaced all the springs and shocks on my 4runner with 883s front and 891s in the rear. I was kinda worried it was gonna ride like a log truck but its actually a pretty good ride. Its allot better than how it was riding with the factory springs that had 200K miles on them.

The 883's are a touch shorter than the 882's BUT have a higher spring rate 570 inch/lbs to 500 inch/lbs respectively. With the diff drop and the 250 lbs of winch and bumper the CV angles were not bad at all. The other big advantage is the from talking to several other 883 users they don't sag like the 882s do after a couple of months.

So if your thinking about a set of 882's for your winch/bumper combo, consider the 883s

emptypockets

Well said Fog. I haven't had any sagging issues with my 882's, but don't run a heavy bumper either. If I were to get one down the road, the 883's would be installed at the same time.

Ron Helmuth

good posting Fog Runner that is the kind of real world experience testimonial that means a lot.

So guys- I need just an inch or two more lift up front. I am running the 881s. I don't like the idea of spacers... I want to run with my front mudflaps all the time. On road/off road-all the time.

What is my best option-body lift? What is my least expensive option? Just spacers?