[OffroadZoe]

Hey guys just got a question i was ment to be ordering my suspension kit in 2 weeks time for my sierra which was gonna be 2 inch EFS because thats what i got told is good for the zooks but now apparently some suzuki experts recommend old man emu for suzukis an say thats the best for the car so im a little un sure i got quoted a great price for EFS what does evry one else run on theres????

[Rossco]

I have had both the ome were much softer but they flatten out pretty quickly. I've had efs in for two years and while they haven't flattened at all I'm I need of a few organ transplants. If I were to do it again I would go efs and take a leaf out.

[supa_slim]

Ome are nice and soft but as rossco said they flatten out quick

[christover1]

PM Dank on here,
he does Dobinsons at a good rate for forum users.
KPD in the business section.

I had OME for 12 years on my Sierra,
highly recommend it.
Dobinsons have a good rep.
EFS too stiff, unless you carry a lot of weight.

[Wazz]

Has anyone used maxitrac? Repcos branded stuff. Rumour is its rebranded ironman and a good sign its got a diff part number for drivers springs. Also its cheap as.

[Zook_Fan]

Ironman is crap for sierra's anyway. We had nothing but trouble with the Dobinson's suspension we had in a sierra. It was rock solid. Literally no movement. Took it back to Dobinsons who "reset" the springs, even though the height wasn't the issue, and they were no better. I'd steer well clear of them.

The debate is generally between OME and EFS. I've always had OME in my swb Sierra that I've had for four years now. I've just replaced the rear springs because I bent them but under the circumstances I'm not surprised.

I personally don't like EFS, like christover said they are too stiff. I've had them in a couple of other sierra's and just did not like the ride or the travel. However some people will say they have had problems with OME snapping springs and that is why they choose EFS over OME. If you have a search you will find all this information repeated many times over.

[zukmeista]

EFS

[JrZook]

If you are after a nice ride and descent offroad performance without having to muck around with your brand new spring packs then OME's combined with some softly valved shocks would be the way to go. Yes they will eventually flatten out but if your not using your vehicle for 90% extreme offroad then you should get a descent life out of them.

+1 for all the factory un-touched EFS spring packs being stiff as a board!

[Gwagensteve]

I think the other thing to remember about OME is they are intended to provide 40mm of lift. Buying HD springs might well give you heaps of lift but you'll have no droop and the car will ride really badly.

Just to recap what suspension "lift" means. *Please note these are rough numbers only for the point of explanation*

when you change to "lifted" springs all you are doing is changing the "rest" point of the suspension. A stock sierra has 5" of front suspension travel, and factory fresh, they had about 2.0" of compression and 3.0" of droop.

Adding 2" lift springs will mean compression travel will be 5.0", but droop travel will only be 1" That won't result in an improvement in off road performance, in fact, it can make the car feel less stable and harsh.

Also take into account that when you are driving down a road at speed, the car bounces and rebounds as it hits bumps. A car needs enough compression travel so it doesn't hit the bumpstops on compressions, but enough droop so that it doesn't then top the shocks out on the rebound.

what of long travel shocks? Surely a suspension kit will come with shocks long enough to take into account the lift to prevent this "topping out"

Well, no, not really. If the axle can still reach the original bumpstop on full compression regardless of the new springs (and it should be able to) then the shock can only be a tiny bit longer - the kit manufacturer can play with tolerances a bit to sneak a bit more travel in, but it's not very much. usually less than 1". Add to that that all "lift" springs are designed to work with standard shackles. If much more droop was permitted by longer shocks, then the shackles may invert on full droop.

My point is that the key to ride quality with aftermarket springs is being realistic about how much lift height is possible. OME decided the maximum lift height whilst maintaining acceptable ride was 40mm. This wasn't decided on by accident. I haven't seen a sierra with more spring lift than that that rode nicely.

The EFS springs I've seen have been very stiff, same with Kings.

Steve.

[GeckoXL7]

I had Ironman, Dobinson and Maxitrac, so far out of all the maxitrac kill dobs and ironman.

Ironman provided quite a stiff ride. Dobs was nice but on corrugated roads car seemed to jump around a bit so had to limit speed to around 89/90.

Maxitrac have a real comfortable ride, barely feel corrugations and ive found myself traveling 110-120 on dirt roads before just because they ride so good, off road i find i can climb rocky tracks much better too as have alot more control and dont bounce around as much. Only issue i had is on the rear it used a coarse thread so my shock extensions didnt go on, but a few brands are going coarse thread lately. Drivetech 4x4 will be replacing the repco shocks eventually.

I looked into OME years ago and they where made at the monroe factory, and told way overpriced., have a look at Monroe Gas Magnum TDT then look at OME Nitro... spot any differences? not even the colour.

I only have kings as have lifetime warranty

[Gwagensteve]

OME shocks are made by Tenneco automotive, as are a very large number of aftermarket and OEM shock absorbers, including Monroe and Rancho. OME specify the valving, tolerances and specifications they require. Obviously this effects the price. Just because two shock absorbers look the same doesn't mean they are going to perform the same, or be as suitable for your application.

Steve.

[Chop]

GeckoXL7 wrote:

I had Ironman, Dobinson and Maxitrac, so far out of all the maxitrac kill dobs and ironman.

Ironman provided quite a stiff ride. Dobs was nice but on corrugated roads car seemed to jump around a bit so had to limit speed to around 89/90.

Maxitrac have a real comfortable ride, barely feel corrugations and ive found myself traveling 110-120 on dirt roads before just because they ride so good, off road i find i can climb rocky tracks much better too as have alot more control and dont bounce around as much. Only issue i had is on the rear it used a coarse thread so my shock extensions didnt go on, but a few brands are going coarse thread lately. Drivetech 4x4 will be replacing the repco shocks eventually.

I looked into OME years ago and they where made at the monroe factory, and told way overpriced., have a look at Monroe Gas Magnum TDT then look at OME Nitro... spot any differences? not even the colour.

I only have kings as have lifetime warranty

They're after experience with leaf springs in sierra's not coils in a GV

[GeckoXL7]

I know that just have my input on maxitrac shocks lol. I have them now mate had them before on a Leaf toyota gave good lift and was solid.

Was told that by Teneco, OME shocks where made my them, but yes valving is slightly different, but the difference wasn't that much.

I cant say for spring sierras though but can say Maxitracs are good for price.

[OffroadZoe]

Thanks for all the feed back guys!! Still kinda left me undecided. Once my Zook is lifted there usually won't be a track I wouldn't try so the suspension has to be able to handle ruff shit and sometimes long very long distances as I would eventually like to head to cape York ect. An I have already got a good quote from dobinson as I have a mate that is sponsored by them. Most patrols run dobinson haven't seen a lot of sierras so I'd like something commonly used. So it's a toss between OME and EFS there seems to be good feedback on OME but then again I don't wanna have to change springs again after a year or 2 due to flattening and don't exactly want a stiff ride either so maybe ill flip a coin an see what happens

[Wazz]

Got a set of maxitrac leafs going into my brothers hj75, gotta be better than whats in it

And best trade price i got through rapeco was 50ea front and 62 ea rear for sierra leafs.

[christover1]

My Sierra OME lasted me 12 years and then I sold them still in good nick.
I only ran a 1.3 with 31's and mild gearing,
so that may be the reason they lasted so well.

The leaf springs are not made in OZ now,
so that could be a factor, too?

[JrZook]

Unfortunately there isn't a lot off the shelf to for-fill those requirements hence you are left with compromises. The next step is to modify these off the shelf packs by either removing leafs or swapping leafs between packs although playing with spring packs is not everyone's cup of tea.

[kenn]

I've had both the efs were stiff until I pulled a leaf then they worked fine but they sagged very quickly, the Ome's were fine and lasted at least twice as long. Just for a reference point my cars done 30000k's in the past 6 years 25000 of them have been off road, I'd go the Ome's.

[KEENSY85]

Iv got efs rears in my zook know, iv dropped a leaf allready but I'm thinking about swapping the Secound leaf for a factory leaf about the same length, the third leaf is the one with the bolt through it with EFS

[OffroadZoe]

Thanks guys does any one recommend anything else tough dog maybe??

[GeckoXL7]

Whats rancho like?

http://snakeracing.com.au/store/suspens ... 4e74213534

[kenn]

Efs or Ome are at the top end, anything else would be going backwards IMO.

[atari4x4]

GeckoXL7 wrote:

Whats rancho like?

http://snakeracing.com.au/store/suspens ... 4e74213534

you're new around here, hey?

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic ... ancho+mart

[GeckoXL7]

Reminds me of the days when i was servicing printers under warranty.. He must of had a bad day..

Got my ironman from 4wd1 service was pretty good, but he was straight to the point.

Lovells? have a decent warranty. what about customer service?

[Gwagensteve]

No, it's not a "bad day"- its standard operating practice for that business.

Steve

[OffroadZoe]

Rancho LOL no thanks

[squibby]

Haven't got a SIerra, but I'm alwasy happy to chip in regarding OME kit. I tried them out on a Jimny (coils/damper) after reading a few ironman/EFS/OME debate and after having been a number of different aftermarket suspension kits on other vehicle, I'm impressed with the way the OME is both a lot softer then the stock suspension, and yet still improved handling and ride. Sign of a decent kit imo if you can go soft and yet improve handling. There could be others better kits, but the OME was pretty cheap too so I like.

[stockman]

I've tried OME, KingSprings, and BluePac.

OME is much more comfortable and flex's more.
KingSprings and BluePac both upset my back they were that stiff, and had as much flex as a brick.

OME FTW!

[KEENSY85]

Custom,

[MacDaddy]

While i dont have leaf springs, i now have the Tough Dog springs, and i am loving them, yes they are a firm ride, which i like, but they flex up really well off road, and handle me getting my GV in the air really well... have a look at the Tough Dog website, and select Suzuki, then Sierra, they have a downloadable PDF catalogue...

http://www.toughdog.com.au/?page_id=13