Hey guys. It's the noob again... Anyways we have a desert trip coming up and I was eyeing the bilstein's but this community informed me they are on backorder everywhere. So I was looking at the OME nitrochargers on wheelers. Not too much more $$. Can't find much at all in the way of people's opinions who have used them. Search turned up hardly anything. Anybody have any thoughts on them?

You need to use the advanced search or Google to find much here.

But having had both the Bilsteins & OME's there are a few differences. The fronts both ride well. The OME build is a little beefier. The rear valving is quite different though. The rear nitro's are designed to be run with the 895 or higher rate springs. The rear valving is intitally firmer, but if you keep weight is the back they get more comfortable. They are definitely more of a truck feel, very controlled but firm. With my fridge & gear in the back they were solid and planted feeling. Without weight in the back your wife/girlfriend might comment about it being rough.

IMHO the OME are a better quality shock than the Bilstein. If you are cost shopping you may find the entry level Fox rear shocks on Amazon for a good deal.

Well my wife loves trucks so I doubt she'd complain lol. Be nice to have the capability to haul some weight even though I don't see myself doing too much of that. I judge by your fox rear shocks suggestion that those are better than the bilstein or the OME?

Also would the Bilstein's for the front that are still available paired with OME or Fox rears be a good setup or is it dumb to mismatch the shocks? Looking at OME coils all the way around or possibly superflex in the rear.

The Superflex are only 15% stiffer versus the OME 895 are 40% stiffer. I wouldn't use the OME rear shocks with Superflex.

The Fox rear would be fine with Superflex's. You could do Bilstein front & Fox rear due to avalibility. The basic Fox is similar but IMHO a slight upgrade from the Bilstein

http://www.ridefox.com/product.php?m...p=1&ref=filter

Well I'm about to go pick up slightly used 885 fronts and super flex rears off Craigslist for $180. So I'm leaning towards the basic fox rears or possibly the reservoir for not too much more. Also pretty sure I saw basic Icons for a reasonable price. Saving a couple hundred on the springs frees up a little more to spend on shocks. Any more input greatly appreciated. Buying by Friday.

I just replaced my original Xreas suspension at 199,000 miles with the OME Nitrocharger Sport and a set of brand new FJ Coils from Toyota. I know I know waited way to long. My rear shock was actually frozen solid no compression at all. Anyways the ride is just right with this setup, minimal lean around corners, not to harsh and the BREAK dive is completely eliminated. Wish i would have done this 150,000 miles ago. I do have a v8 and plan on doing a hidden winch mount in the near future. I ordered my stuff from Metal Tech, Thanks LT for all your help.

Attached Images

   

Good stuff! I've been exhanging emails with Wheeler's all day. As of now it will be the OME Nitro sports in the rear w/ the superflex coils. Still deciding on the front to pair with the 885.

Well I ordered OME nitro sports all the way around to go with the 885 front and super flex rears. Josh at Wheeler's was great. Promptly answered my emails all day. Struts were shipped out in less than an hour and I'll have them tomorrow. $22 shipping. Hope to get the setup on this weekend.

Pictures of the end result?

I have used several OMEs and two sets of Bilsteins (5100s) and one set on 5160s. These have been on a Nissan Pathfinder and two Jeep Wrangler Rubicons, not the 4R...so take it FWIW. I have also used ELKAs and Rancho 9000s. Anyway, the Bilsteins seem to have the most sophisticated valving of all. The OMEs were the least sophisticated. What I mean by this is the Bilsteins were the smoothest. While they were slightly stiffer than all those I mentioned, the ride was the smoothest. The valving is very nice and the ride seems to be vey well controlled. This may not translate to the 4Runner but I used both the original OMEs and the Nitrocharger Sports and did not like either- the ride was busy and slightly "jittery" compared to the Bilsteins. Offroad, they all did well at low-speed crawling but I still find the Bilsteins to have the best resistance to drops. It firms up faster and limits body roll. I currently have the FJ TRD shocks on but when these go, I will go to the aftermarket Bilsteins for sure.

Well that's not what I wanted to hear lol. Getting this setup put on right now. Should be picking it up in about an hour. I hope the 4runner is different than your experience.

I hear OME/ARB have been revalving the Nitrochargers a bit- not sure when. So you may be pleasantly surprised.

Also, they are solid reliable shocks. A LOT of Jeep guys and Cruiser guys (I see thee groups the most often) run them. If you like the ride, you should be golden. I also used some of the earliest Nitrocharger Sports.

Keep us posted.

Pics of my V8 Sport running FJ Springs/New from Toyota and OME Nitrocharger Sport. Tires are 265 70 17 bfg at ko.

Attached Images

   

Well after a good amount of around town driving I have to say I really like the feel of this setup. It's pretty firm which we like. Definitely drives like a traditional truck now and not floaty at all. Doesnt feel jittery or bouncy either but you definitely feel the road. Slammed it pretty hard into shopping center parking lots and hauled ass over some big speed bumps and love the way it handles those now. I would recommend this setup and was even to be able to get 285/70/17 tires to work with a little trimming and a front spacer. Pics soon. Can't compare it to other aftermarket setups because this is the first aftermarket setup ive ever run on a truck but we are very happy with the purchase so far. I will post again once we take it out to the desert in the next couple weeks. Thanks to all who posted.