OME Shock Ride Quality: 60046 / 60048 vs 60047 / 60049

[deadbeat son]

Hey OP -

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've been running the RS5000X (like most others). While the ride is plush, it's a little mushy. Plush is more important to me than response, but I can't help but wonder if the OME Sports strike a better balance .

My TJ is certainly on the heavier side. I have a full size bull bar up front with a Warn x9000i (synthetic). In the rear, I have a swing out with an overhead rack, 10lb propane tank, and 5 gal of water. Based on your feedback, I'm guessing the Sports will ride nice considering I have an extra 200lbs up front and 300lbs in the rear.

You still happy with them after a few years of use?

I have no experience with the Ranchos, so I can’t compare. Although I ran the OMEs for two years, that only amounted to 5000 or so miles. As I mentioned, they were stiff, but smoothed out considerably when loaded for a trip.

I sold the Jeep they were on last month, but not before removing the OME suspension. I bought a new TJ with hardtop, full doors, and AC. This ‘05 Sport has the factory HD shock absorbers, whereas the previous ‘02 X had the standard duty. From driving the new Jeep around in stock form, it behaves similarly to the OME equipped X. A bit stiff day to day, but smooths out nicely when I loaded it up for a road trip recently.

I’ll be installing the old OME suspension on the new Jeep, along with a number of other things, in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be happy to post back with an update of how it feels on a heavier Jeep then.

 

[deadbeat son]

Hey OP -

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've been running the RS5000X (like most others). While the ride is plush, it's a little mushy. Plush is more important to me than response, but I can't help but wonder if the OME Sports strike a better balance .

My TJ is certainly on the heavier side. I have a full size bull bar up front with a Warn x9000i (synthetic). In the rear, I have a swing out with an overhead rack, 10lb propane tank, and 5 gal of water. Based on your feedback, I'm guessing the Sports will ride nice considering I have an extra 200lbs up front and 300lbs in the rear.

You still happy with them after a few years of use?

So my initial impressions after driving the 60046/60048 combo on a heavier TJ are that they behave exactly as they did in my previous lighter TJ when it was loaded. That is, nice and compliant but not noodles or marshmallows. However, you're likely much heavier than I am; while I have a HT, full doors, and AC, I'm still running stock bumpers. The only real added weight is the M8000 with synthetic line and an 84 lb (according to Discount Tire shipping weight) spare tire; I'm still running stock bumpers and no added armor. I feel like this may be the limit of the shocks, but really won't draw any conclusions until I have had a chance to load up the Jeep and go for a longer run. I'll follow up in another month or so when I have had an opportunity to put some miles on when loaded, both on and off road.

 

[deadbeat son]

This is probably my last update to this thread. For my purposes with my current Jeep, the 60046/60048 combo is too soft. While it rides nicely on the highway, and the shocks do a great job of taking the initial edge off of impacts, they lack the control I like. In rough off road sections, these shocks allow the Jeep to rock back and forth substantially. Watching @jjvw drive in front of me down a rough forest service road on our way to the trail yesterday, I could see his head and windshield staying relatively steady and stable, while I could see my windshield frame rocking back and forth significantly as I was being rocked about. We also traded Jeeps for a short bit, and I could absolutely feel the increased control from his setup.

I'm not sure what route I'm going with shocks yet, but I may consider the 60047/60049 that everyone complains is too stiff. I'm not looking to rock back and forth like a small boat in rough seas, and the Rancho 5000x is not anywhere on my radar as an option. I'm looking for a shock that is compliant in absorbing the initial impact, while providing the necessary support to hold the body as level as possible, letting the axles articulate underneath. I need control and a planted feel while maintaining a compliant ride.

Those of you who complain that the OMEs are way too stiff and looking for a soft ride, the 60046/60048 may be the shock for you. I did really like them in my '02 with half doors, soft top, no AC, stock bumpers, M8000 winch with synthetic rope, and 31" spare on OEM steel wheel when I loaded up with 100 - 200 lbs of gear. With the heavier Jeep, they just don't work for me. Regretfully, I never weighed my previous TJ so I can't provide that data point.

 

[jjvw]

The shocks you have right now remind me of what mine was like with the original OME Nitrochargers. They are nowhere near stiff and leave a lot to be desired for controlling movement. It would be nice to know what the allegedly stiffer version of the new Sport is really like.

 

[JMT]

This is probably my last update to this thread. For my purposes with my current Jeep, the 60046/60048 combo is too soft. While it rides nicely on the highway, and the shocks do a great job of taking the initial edge off of impacts, they lack the control I like. In rough off road sections, these shocks allow the Jeep to rock back and forth substantially. Watching @jjvw drive in front of me down a rough forest service road on our way to the trail yesterday, I could see his head and windshield staying relatively steady and stable, while I could see my windshield frame rocking back and forth significantly as I was being rocked about. We also traded Jeeps for a short bit, and I could absolutely feel the increased control from his setup.

I'm not sure what route I'm going with shocks yet, but I may consider the 60047/60049 that everyone complains is too stiff. I'm not looking to rock back and forth like a small boat in rough seas, and the Rancho 5000x is not anywhere on my radar as an option. I'm looking for a shock that is compliant in absorbing the initial impact, while providing the necessary support to hold the body as level as possible, letting the axles articulate underneath. I need control and a planted feel while maintaining a compliant ride.

Those of you who complain that the OMEs are way too stiff and looking for a soft ride, the 60046/60048 may be the shock for you. I did really like them in my '02 with half doors, soft top, no AC, stock bumpers, M8000 winch with synthetic rope, and 31" spare on OEM steel wheel when I loaded up with 100 - 200 lbs of gear. With the heavier Jeep, they just don't work for me. Regretfully, I never weighed my previous TJ so I can't provide that data point.

You might want to outboard and get tuned shocks IMO. I don't think any off the shelf shock is going to make you happy or rival what jjvw's rig drives like.

 

[rasband]

Watching @jjvw drive in front of me down a rough forest service road on our way to the trail yesterday, I could see his head and windshield staying relatively steady and stable, while I could see my windshield frame rocking back and forth significantly as I was being rocked about. We also traded Jeeps for a short bit, and I could absolutely feel the increased control from his setup.

I chased this as well, and am really glad I did. I can now bomb dirt roads incredibly comfortably and approach obstacles with much more predictable movements than before. Without being able to tune the shocks, this performance isn't really approachable. However, if you can reproduce this without these - I'd love to know all the time and money I wasted along the way!

 

[deadbeat son]

I chased this as well, and am really glad I did. I can now bomb dirt roads incredibly comfortably and approach obstacles with much more predictable movements than before. Without being able to tune the shocks, this performance isn't really approachable. However, if you can reproduce this without these - I'd love to know all the time and money I wasted along the way!

I’m not looking to duplicate, but would like to find a 65-75% solution. I’m currently researching non off-the-shelf options.

 

[Whitejeeptj]

Any solution yet?

 

[deadbeat son]

Any solution yet?

No progress, I've been focused on other (non-Jeep) projects lately. I may look further into things this winter or next spring. I really just want to see what it would take to fit a set of 8" travel Fox smooth body remote reservoir shocks in the stock mounts. They appear to be discontinued, but in stock or available through some vendors. The biggest hurdle is adapting the OEM mounts to the shock eyelets. All of the adapters and spacers that are required take up precious space in-between the mounts, and may render it not feasible. I bought some eyelet to stem adapters to test fit, I really just need to take a full day to pull everything apart, measure 3x, and see what I can get away with.

Ultimately, at my small lift height, the tradeoff will be ditching ~9" of mediocre quality travel for 8" of high quality travel. And I'm fine with that, as long as I can make the 8" work. I'm not prepared to go with a 6" travel shock just because I could make it fit without changing out the OEM mounts.