Old Man Emu (OME) Installed and tested

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ranosgood
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Location: Seattle

Old Man Emu (OME) Installed and tested

Postby ranosgood » Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:41 am

There is a lot of good and bad feed back regarding OME suspension components for the R51 Pathfinder, so I thought I would write a quick review.

One week ago I had a qualified shop install my OME suspension and perform the alignment. The alignment went very well with no issues. Initial drive confirmed this as the Pathfinder tracked true with zero pull either direction.

After a week of dirt roads, high speed highway driving on crappy freeways I can only say that the suspension does exactly what OME says it will do. I admit I was very hesitant to believe the suspension would perform as described by OME, but it did.

Highway driving is refined and controlled. Bumps at high speeds are hardly noticeable and the Pathfinder tracks true. High speed cornering is improved even with the lift from the suspension and slightly larger tires.

Rough dirt roads: At first I had a hard time finding the bumps to test the suspension. I could see them, but I could hardly feel them. There is no "hopping" around when driving on washboard board road, regardless of speed. Other bumps are quickly dissolved and I always had a feeling of control. The suspension had enough travel to adjust to the varying terrain without bottoming out. Inside I was never "thrown" around due to the suspension not handling the terrain. This is a huge plus in my opinion.

My test drives were performed with the tire air pressure at 35 psi. Certainly airing down a little on the dirt roads would only improve the ride, but was not necessary.

In my opinion, this is the best set up I could imagine. The lift looks great and the ride and handling is impressive. I'm sold on the Nitrocharger shock as it provides the correct amount of damping for the given situation. I've had monotube shocks in the past and always felt the ride was too stiff. If anything changes over time I will update this post accordingly.

My next "upgrade" is to consider 285/70/17 tires.


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Thupertrooper
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Postby Thupertrooper » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:17 pm

Nice write up glad they worked out great for you.

...YouKnowWho
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Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:32 am

Postby ...YouKnowWho » Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:34 am

I've been looking into the OME lift for a while. If you're in the U.S. can you please let me know where you purchased this? The ARB website doesn't have any R51 lifts from OME.

Thanks for your help!

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HiBRiD109
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Postby HiBRiD109 » Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:06 pm

...YouKnowWho wrote:I've been looking into the OME lift for a while. If you're in the U.S. can you please let me know where you purchased this? The ARB website doesn't have any R51 lifts from OME.

Thanks for your help!
I think some members got there at rocky road. They also supply rock sliders. They claim to beat anybody else's price. I don't have any experience with them so I can't make any claim. I also am looking to do a full OME suspension replacement.

www.rocky-road.com

...YouKnowWho
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:32 am

Postby ...YouKnowWho » Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:24 pm

HiBRiD109 wrote:
...YouKnowWho wrote:I've been looking into the OME lift for a while. If you're in the U.S. can you please let me know where you purchased this? The ARB website doesn't have any R51 lifts from OME.

Thanks for your help!
I think some members got there at rocky road. They also supply rock sliders. They claim to beat anybody else's price. I don't have any experience with them so I can't make any claim. I also am looking to do a full OME suspension replacement.

www.rocky-road.com
Awesome! I've been looking at that site!

Is the "complete suspension w/front struts" what I would be looking at to do a full OME suspension replacement? Or do I need to order 2 of those sets?

Edit: Also, everywhere that I am finding OME suspension I keep seeing the disclaimer "Not USA manufactured Model". Is this what people are using anyway? Is there a reason why it wouldn't work on ours?

ranosgood
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Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:27 pm
Location: Seattle

Postby ranosgood » Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:21 pm

...YouKnowWho wrote:I've been looking into the OME lift for a while. If you're in the U.S. can you please let me know where you purchased this? The ARB website doesn't have any R51 lifts from OME.

Thanks for your help!
I purchased from Rocky Road which worked out well, Their "R51 Kit" was all I needed. I did not shim the front to take out the rake as I was too paranoid about alignment issues. The only issue is that there seems to be a shortage of rear medium springs in stock in the US.

I also purchased new strut mounts and accessories from Oreilly Autoparts.

ranosgood
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Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:27 pm
Location: Seattle

Postby ranosgood » Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:26 pm

Regarding the "Not for USA Manufacture":

I think this has more to do with the alignment issues earlier users experienced during the conversion. A good alignment shop will get it right for you.

Essentially, any lift should cause the same alignment issues, not just with the OME supply. This would include adding spacers, etc. Drop down kits would be the exception as the geometry is modified as a result of the drop down kit.

...YouKnowWho
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Postby ...YouKnowWho » Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:42 pm

Thanks for the prompt response! It's nice to hear that other people have had success with the equipment.

Did you happen to get different upper control arms? I'm wanting to run 285/75/16's and wasn't certain whether I should upgrade the UCA's while I'm in there.

ranosgood
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Location: Seattle

Postby ranosgood » Fri Jul 14, 2017 4:13 pm

...YouKnowWho wrote:Thanks for the prompt response! It's nice to hear that other people have had success with the equipment.

Did you happen to get different upper control arms? I'm wanting to run 285/75/16's and wasn't certain whether I should upgrade the UCA's while I'm in there.
I did not replace the control arms as I do not expect to push the suspension to that level. My limited understanding is that the longer upper control arms help gain clearance between the UCA and the shock tower.

Since I'm a die hard R51 guy and plan to keep my pathy for a while I will replace the control arms when I'm ready to start replacing bushings. In other words, instead of replacing just the bushing I'll replace the control arms with the ball joints and knock it all out. Additionally, I did not have to replace the bolts with the camber bolts either.

Livinfly
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Location: Aspen, CO

OME rear coil question.

Postby Livinfly » Mon Jan 29, 2018 7:06 pm

Hey guys. New to the forum.

If I were to add OME HD rear coils to my pathfinder with a current Rancho quickllift/airlift/spacer setup approx. (2-3†of lift)....would I be able to ditch the rancho spacers in the rear? Or are they still needed to sustain the lift. Running 285s need the clearance.

I know the threads been dead for a while. Help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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Thupertrooper
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Location: Mesa,AZ

Re: OME rear coil question.

Postby Thupertrooper » Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:38 am

Livinfly wrote:Hey guys. New to the forum.

If I were to add OME HD rear coils to my pathfinder with a current Rancho quickllift/airlift/spacer setup approx. (2-3†of lift)....would I be able to ditch the rancho spacers in the rear? Or are they still needed to sustain the lift. Running 285s need the clearance.

I know the threads been dead for a while. Help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
The ome springs should provide the lift but not sure on the amount of lift.
3" of rear lift is the max you can get without horrible alignment.

th3ic3m4n
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Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2011 9:56 am

Postby th3ic3m4n » Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:53 pm

Hi!
time fly by, anyone use the bilstein front strut with OME coil setup ?

It is complicated to get OME strut here and they are not cheap and I already have almost new rear bilsteain shock because they where leaking.

I would like to make a combination of OME coil and bilstein strut for my "12 pathy.

Thanx!

604Allstar
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Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:03 am
Location: Canada

Postby 604Allstar » Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:35 am

ranosgood wrote:
...YouKnowWho wrote:I've been looking into the OME lift for a while. If you're in the U.S. can you please let me know where you purchased this? The ARB website doesn't have any R51 lifts from OME.

Thanks for your help!
I purchased from Rocky Road which worked out well, Their "R51 Kit" was all I needed. I did not shim the front to take out the rake as I was too paranoid about alignment issues. The only issue is that there seems to be a shortage of rear medium springs in stock in the US.

I also purchased new strut mounts and accessories from Oreilly Autoparts.
You mention there is a rack, I was wondering what the height of difference is in the front and back now after your lift?

Lost
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Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:41 pm
Location: Bulverde, TX

Postby Lost » Sun Apr 14, 2019 10:57 am

Long story short, after a nightmare of issues to lift the Pathy I have the Rancho quicklift ip front and Amada 2wd non airbag coils in the rear. I had the 4wd HD coils in the rear but they were jarring and dangerous in the rain.

The 2WD Armada coils I currently have are still too much, so want to install the OME medium rear springs. I know you can't compare the two, and OME does not release their spring rates to compare.

I'd just like to know how the rear ride is with the OME, and how safe it is in the rain with a proper alignment? Are they progressive springs?

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Chris Steffen
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Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Old Man Emu

Postby Chris Steffen » Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:21 pm

I purchased a 2006 diesel Pathfinder about a month ago with 200,000km mileage. I was really impressed with its offroad abilities on a trail and how well the traction control worked (having had most of my previous off road experience with manual systems). Only limitation was the ride height, especially since the front coils have sagged a bit. I am REALLY enjoying driving it :P !!

Nevertheless, TODAY I dropped it off to get an OME lift installed. Its about 50mm. Am really excited to see and use it after the installation :D

Thank you ranosgood for the good feedback on the OME suspension!


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