[Dagger13]

Hey all ,
i have a 86 1.0 liter body sierra lwb, with 1.6 baleno distributor less, rear disc conversion all wide track running gear. 2 inch body lift on 31" tyres. twin auto lockers

currently i have a 2" spring lift which are al pretty old and my front left leaf is practically dead along with the shock, and i have decided i want to do a big upgrade and go for yj leafs and drop shackles on all 4 corners.

how ever havnt really found too much in the way of where i can get ome leafs in aus and not sure what height yj leafs i will need

i intended on upgrading to 33" tyres in time but want to get the suspension all sorted out.

i intend on getting the sky yj wrangler kit from low range of road, if the is also a vendor for this part in aus that would also be quite helpful

so am wondering if anyone knows of any where to get old man emu leafs in auz?
what would be the standard height ones to get, and weather i get 4 the same or different load rated front to rear etc?
and will i have to change any steering components for this to work thank

Many thanks,
lawrence

[jordan00191]

Hi dagger,

Old man emu or OME suspension is a company owned by ARB. They merged a few years ago and so ARB is the sole and only distributor of OME products now.

Simple answer, ARB is the place to buy OME. They should be able to source you almost any springs, US or AUS.

However it is ARB we are talking about and they are capable of pulling some pretty dumb stunts sometimes so make sure you have a plan B.

JB.

[Gwagensteve]

That yj kit won't work with the 1.0 litre chassis, it's designed for the WT 1.3 chassis which has outboarded springs.

[MrRocky]

Ive got a mate with a full new set in w.a.
$200

[Dagger13]

thanks for the input guys i did look at arb in their catalog and it would seem they no longer sell yj leafs.

gwagensteve: would you happen to know how much moddification would be required to have the kit work?

thanks mr rocky are they just stock height yj leafs or are they lifted? im in qld so quite a fair ways to go but ill consider the postage if i have no other option.

would any of you guys be able to point me in the direction of any one here in qld that may have already done the yj kit with missing link just so i could take my zook over and compare what the differences are etc and what ride hide they get out of what leaves they used

thanks again guys

[alien]

Just consider that if you're already finding it hard to get springs, when you need to replace them it's going to be just as hard all over again. I used Hilux front leaves on mine for this reason, as they're far more readily available than YJ.

[Red89]

Lux springs are the same size as YJs from memory too. There was someone in WA using that kit on a Drover which I think was a NT.

[alien]

I THINK lux leaves are a touch longer and just slightly thicker material. There's a width discrepancy as well, I think YJ are a 2.5" wide leaf and Hilux are a bit wider at 65mm??? I can't remember 100%, but it's VERY close. Crewsy on here ran a bolt on YJ kit with Lux fronts and had no issues, might find pics if you search the rigs section.

[jordan00191]

Personally dagger, stay away from OME springs anyway, not sure about everyone else, but I personally have had nothing but bad luck with them on multiple vehicles and so have many friends.

Get on the Lovells website and have a look. Their suspension is fantastic and the guys there know there stuff. They should be able to match you something. If you ask them for springs the same width and length as a yj they will actually go and do some research for you and find out.

Not many companies now days and are doing that kind of customer service anymore. They should be able to build you a kit like they did with my old zuk. There was bits and pieces from many cars but it all worked perfect!

[vet 180]

I personally think the YJ kit is great, but wouldnt run with the drop shakles. The kit has plenty of flex without and I am not a fan of drop shackles.

Steve wrote a good article on drop shackles somewhere on here

[Red89]

alien wrote:

I THINK lux leaves are a touch longer and just slightly thicker material. There's a width discrepancy as well, I think YJ are a 2.5" wide leaf and Hilux are a bit wider at 65mm??? I can't remember 100%, but it's VERY close. Crewsy on here ran a bolt on YJ kit with Lux fronts and had no issues, might find pics if you search the rigs section.

Doesnt mention spring rate though
http://www.4x4spot.com/misc__spring_information.htm

[alien]

ah-hah - so hilux is a 60mm and YJ is 63.5mm wide - i was close.

I am almost certain that the lux main and secondary leaf are thicker material than YJ though.

[vet 180]

alien wrote:

ah-hah - so hilux is a 60mm and YJ is 63.5mm wide - i was close.

I am almost certain that the lux main and secondary leaf are thicker material than YJ though.

Considering the main issue with YJ's is they can wrap, the toyota springs look like a good idea

[Dagger13]

i wasnt a big fan of the drop shackles my self but looking at some yj drop shackle photos its pretty cool
i know my approach angle will take a bit of a hit but im fine with that i do like having a fair bit of flex

i plan on using the sky yj kit which has the option of bolting up the drop shackle with i am going to make a piece so i can do the same with the rear, (for on road use) then pull them out when i wanna play around

i have never heard anything bad about old man emu in fact your the first person iv ever herd to have majour problems,

also just asking this again since no one has really touched on it , if i get 2" yj leafs , does anyone think i will need to ugrade my steering to be higher sorta thing or will i have no troubles with the stock setup.

thanks again
lawrence

[Gwagensteve]

Drop shackles are for posing on ramps. They don't improve real world performance.

I fundamentally don't understand modifying and bolting on an (illegal) unique imported bracket kit to run springs that are almost impossible to get here. If you have the skills to fit the sky kit you have the skills to do a RUF which will probably be significantly superior due to reduced front roll stiffness.

The idea that any part that comes from the states must be good is why so many Sierra's have hilux axles and spring overs. The US market are unable to think outside of this mindset.

I'll post in more detail when I get a moment in front of a computer.

[alien]

Leave my spring over alone =)

[AckerDackerly]

Like Gwagensteve said, drop shackles are not all that good - mostly they can upset handling characteristics and create side-to-side stability problems - which requires MORE money to be spent for a fix.

"Good for posing on ramps" pretty much nails it as a description.

Also - If you can't get 'Merican YJ springs and installing them on a NT is a fabbing project, then maybe you need to consider a RUF like Gwagensteve suggests. It was a straightforward install and works well on my offroad Samurai/Sierra WT.

Here is a bit of OME negative performance information:

According to Myron Thorson at ZuksOffroad.com, OME springs - by their soft-ride nature - tend to break easily under severe offroad use. Apparently he has some personal experience with this. They will help make a Sierra's ride somewhat "smoother" compared to stock leaf springs IF you do not plan to drive like a maniac off road.

BTW, I purchased a set of 1.25" lift OMEs for a Samurai/Sierra WT that I am restoring which will be a daily driver. There will be a softer ride and no crazy offroading with it...


I hope that this helps!

[Gwagensteve]

I have not seen a broken OME leaf in twenty something years of working with Sierras. I have seen plenty bent.

OME leaves are designed to ride properly, but as you know, in a Sierra the leaves both support the car, locate the axle, and transmit torque.

Suzuki owners (relative to the weight of the car) run more tyre, more gearing, and generate more traction than the very low spring rates can tolerate, more so than probably any other brand.

Then we run RUF, derate leaf packs, remove clips to let the packs fan open, run long shocks and longer (sometimes folding) shackles which overcompress the leaves, and then because we're all suspension engineers then say "OME springs are no good" because if you run a leaf that's 30% stiffer and rides poorly ("because that's what Suzukis do") they won't bend or flog out.

You can't have it both ways unfortunately.

[Dagger13]

okay so if i do the ruf up front
would it stil be worth while to do a yj rear but without dropshackles

have rang up arb and the can get me ome yj springs

is thee some where i can get a ruff kit or is it more or less extending the chassy and moving the front purch forward

if not what spings would give me good driveability on road and off what brands to get etc

thanks for the input guys im sure all of these questions have been asked many times

[Gwagensteve]

Yes they have been asked many times. Auszookers is a resource- the more searching you do the more you'll learn. Many of us don't respond to threads (or respond tersely or glibly) because these topics have been done to death and a search will uncover loads of info.

OME yj springs will provide miles of lift and ride high and hard unless you derate them- that's my guess based on rates and height info I've found.
As to the sky kit in the front- I don't know how you'll get the drivers side U bolt past the diff centre. The rear hanger won't work with the smaller NT Spring hanger.

In the rear the spring will hang way out the back, you'll still have bracketry issues, and adding rear travel makes stuff all difference to off road capability.

Steve.

[alien]

My build thread has pics of how flat i run my leaves for maximum mushiness - that's the 2 main leaves and the bottom leaf. The middle of the pack is entirely unused.

[vet 180]

Yeah considering this is a narrow track running WT diffs you will get plenty of flex with RUF. I would just buy 4 OME 2 inch lift springs and go for it