NOW AVAILABLE: Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Suspension of 2021+ 4DR Ford Bronco

[Inlinejohn]

Pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered BRONHK3 (Heavy/Heavy) for my 4dr Badlands build. I compared many many options, very few heavy spring options and watched so many videos over and over. The final decision zero'd in on OME Nitrochargers and watching the OME video on their website about their long history of successful suspension for Overlanders was the final nail in the coffin. I have an extra set of top hats, isolators, etc so am ready once suspension arrives. I do plan to use all the shims to maximize the lift (I think only adding an additional .25"). Very excited and can't wait to lift this thing and fit my new 37s

Sponsored

 

[Murph914]

Pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered BRONHK3 (Heavy/Heavy) for my 4dr Badlands build. I compared many many options, very few heavy spring options and watched so many videos over and over. The final decision zero'd in on OME Nitrochargers and watching the OME video on their website about their long history of successful suspension for Overlanders was the final nail in the coffin. I have an extra set of top hats, isolators, etc so am ready once suspension arrives. I do plan to use all the shims to maximize the lift (I think only adding an additional .25"). Very excited and can't wait to lift this thing and fit my new 37s

Are you keeping your sway bar disconnect or replacing it?

 

[Inlinejohn]

Are you keeping your sway bar disconnect or replacing it?

definitely keeping. The OME sway bar will be useless to me

 

[Murph914]

definitely keeping. The OME sway bar will be useless to me

Yeah. That’s my feeling too. I just hope they come out with 2 door packages at some point.

 

[Inlinejohn]

Yeah. That’s my feeling too. I just hope they come out with 2 door packages at some point.

why can't you use their 4dr coilovers on a 2dr? If you just adjust for weight, maybe in the rear you'd pick medium instead of heavy depending on your rear loading

 

[Murph914]

why can't you use their 4dr coilovers on a 2dr? If you just adjust for weight, maybe in the rear you'd pick medium instead of heavy depending on your rear loading

It’s not that you can’t I just prefer to wait until they come out and address it. The 2 doors that have used used the emu ride a bit higher than I’d like. I’m also in no rush as I want to wear out my 33s first.

 

[Inlinejohn]

@Ryan at ARB

Got my OME struts and they are missing OME labels and the Emu…Was the label thing an early version and now they are blank? Any chance you have stickers I could adhere to the shocks?

 

[Inlinejohn]

We just installed this kit (medium load, kit2, no rear sway bar) on our non-sasquatch Badlands, and wrapped 37" Falken Wildpeak M/Ts on some Relations Race Wheels (RR6s) with a -12mm offset. We installed two shims per corner in order to prepare for our front/rear steel bumpers, winch, lights, etc.

On-Road
First of all, the on-road experience is almost on par with the factory Bilsteins. The OMEs offer an incredibly smooth ride, and just as OME states, the compression, and rebound feel identical to the Bilsteins. There is, however, a noticeable increase in body roll and sway around corners at speed. An increase in nose dive is also noticeable, however, not as much as the body roll. With the 37" tires, the gearing is now completely off and it's VERY noticeable. The shift points are dramatically late and obnoxiously slow. The 4.46 gears need to be re-geared FOR SURE to something much lower; 5.13 or 5.38 - not sure which option I will go with yet. I am leaning on the 5.38s as I will likely push for a larger tire after these 37s.

Off-Road
I am still amazed at what the Bronco can do off-road, and this suspension takes it to a new level. The shock stroke (Front 7.68” and rear 10.276”) in addition to our 37s proves to provide a very capable rig in the rocks when travel is needed. I was able to traverse through 2-3' boulder fields without teetering once, and this was through sections where my belly skids were sliding over rocks, shock skids slamming down, and sliders connected a few times as well. I'll have some b-roll shots on IG (@trail_bronco) and a follow-up review post coming soon.

Until then, here is the installation guide for our setup:

https://trailbronco.com/2023/04/02/arb-ome-lift-kit-install-6th-gen-bronco/

I assembled my OME yesterday and forgot to install the bump stops and boots but I just now noticed you did not either. Why?

 

[mrbrenan]

I assembled my OME yesterday and forgot to install the bump stops and boots but I just now noticed you did not either. Why?

Well, that's annoying. We didn't get boots or bumps. Where did you order from?

 

[Inlinejohn]

Well, that's annoying. We didn't get boots or bumps. Where did you order from?

You’re supposed to install bumps/boots from old SAS suspension. I used from Hitachi and worked fine and fits.

My only annoyance with OME is the paint quality/coverage is not that great. During spring compressing and assembly, paint chipped off pretty easy and coverage is 90% as there are areas that just got overspray at best.

Got bumps/boots/spacers installed today and I bought some touch up paint. Not perfect match but will cover the bare areas.

 

[Inlinejohn]

@Ryan at ARB

Is it normal for the front springs to bend/flex like this when you assemble the struts? Should I adjust anything?

Including @mrbrenan

 

[mrbrenan]

@Ryan at ARB

Is it normal for the front springs to bend/flex like this when you assemble the struts? Should I adjust anything?

Including @mrbrenan

Yeah, mine flexed out like that as well. See this step:
https://trailbronco.com/2023/04/02/...l-6th-gen-bronco/#Step_35_Insert_Fender_Liner

It's been fine on the trail though. No issues so far.

 

[Inlinejohn]

Yeah, mine flexed out like that as well. See this step:
https://trailbronco.com/2023/04/02/...l-6th-gen-bronco/#Step_35_Insert_Fender_Liner

It's been fine on the trail though. No issues so far.

Did you personally install or have someone do? If you did or watched, did they have to flex the bottom once the top wat inplace and mounted?

 

[mrbrenan]

Did you personally install or have someone do? If you did or watched, did they have to flex the bottom once the top wat inplace and mounted?

I installed them at my buddy's shop (stellarbuilt.com) using their coil spring compressor. Everything on the spring compressor was straight until we let out the pressure and as soon as the top of the coil hit the top hat, it bowed out. We all kinda looked at it and thought "that's weird" but everything was installed correctly so we didn't think much of it after that.

 

[Aut-Lin]

Question to those that have installed your OME suspension: what are you all doing with your trim packs? Keeping them, using them, throwing them out?

Looking for a solution to shim up the rear of my Bronco a bit as it now squats with my bike rack on the back, and these shim packs seem like they would do the trick.

Sponsored