1stDeuce
Explorer
Well, after years of getting the crap kicked out of me by whatever shocks I put on my jeep back when I built it in 2005, I finally bucked up and ordered some new shocks. I debated Bilstein and OME to great length, and ended up going with OME for two reasons:
1. More travel from the same length shock. (Monotube shocks always have a longer compressed length than twin tube shocks of the same extended length.)
2. Hopefully a better washboard road ride. (The old OME hydro shocks were AWESOME over rough roads!)
According to the marketing stuff I read, the OME "Sport" shocks are suppose to be an improvement on the old hydro shocks in terms of low speed (handling) response without the high speed harshness of "stiffer" valved shocks. (Hey, that's what digressive valving should do!!) I knew from experience that I like the ride of the old hydro shocks, but I was told they are no longer available, so I ordered 600046 and 600048 Sport shocks. (These are not the OME "heavy valving" versions, and not the "extended travel" versions either.)
In doing the install, I was pleased to see that they were about 3/4" longer than the shocks I was running front and rear, and my Jeep will appreciate that! (I'm about 1.5" lifted, with TJL springs on the back and XJ springs on the front with a spacer, all very similar to the OME spring rates.)
(Don't they look nice?!)
Initial ride quality was pleasant, but I figured they would firm up as the air worked out of the valving, and they did. After a few days of driving, they settled out at a ride quality that hasn't changed much in the month since I put them on.
So what do I think? The Nitrocharger Sport's are NOT a soft riding shock. The rear is slightly less stiff than whatever crappy shocks I was running, but the overall ride is very firm, particularly over abrupt inputs. I tried some washboard and found that they are fairly harsh there too. Big Disappointment. My Jeep weighs about 3900 lbs as daily driven. (Stockish with 125lbs of winch and mount on the front and 50lbs of tire carrier on the back, but soft top, no rear seat, manual trans.) That's not "light" as far as I'm concerned, considering that a normal length TJ weighs 200lbs less, and if you take off the winch and tire carrier, even less than that...
Thinking perhaps it was my heavy tires, I switched from my E-rated 285's (At 28psi) to some C-rated 265's (at 30psi). Nothing changed. (I'm running OE control arms, etc, so no poly to add harshness to the ride.)
The shocks had mfg dates of May 2013, so they are not from early in the history of this shock, which was rumored to have some excess harshness when first released, at least in the extended length version...
In summary, I think these shocks would be great on a Jeep weighing 4500-5000lbs, but they are not so sweet for a mild (ie. only slightly overweight) Jeep. I would be happy with the ride if I had ordered the "HD" valving, but I wanted a softer ride, and what I got is not soft, it's HD. I am really disappointed in OME right now. I'll probably give the shocks a little more time, and see if warmer weather improves the ride significantly, but it really shouldn't, and shocks don't really soften with age unless they're built pretty poorly.
I'm going to start looking for some old OME hydros and see if I can eventually sell these to someone with a heavier TJ I guess. Failing that, I may try some Bilstein 5100's, but I'm not excited about losing travel.
I'll see if I can contact OME and get a response from them too. I'll keep the list updated as I learn more...
Chris
1. More travel from the same length shock. (Monotube shocks always have a longer compressed length than twin tube shocks of the same extended length.)
2. Hopefully a better washboard road ride. (The old OME hydro shocks were AWESOME over rough roads!)
According to the marketing stuff I read, the OME "Sport" shocks are suppose to be an improvement on the old hydro shocks in terms of low speed (handling) response without the high speed harshness of "stiffer" valved shocks. (Hey, that's what digressive valving should do!!) I knew from experience that I like the ride of the old hydro shocks, but I was told they are no longer available, so I ordered 600046 and 600048 Sport shocks. (These are not the OME "heavy valving" versions, and not the "extended travel" versions either.)
In doing the install, I was pleased to see that they were about 3/4" longer than the shocks I was running front and rear, and my Jeep will appreciate that! (I'm about 1.5" lifted, with TJL springs on the back and XJ springs on the front with a spacer, all very similar to the OME spring rates.)
(Don't they look nice?!)
Initial ride quality was pleasant, but I figured they would firm up as the air worked out of the valving, and they did. After a few days of driving, they settled out at a ride quality that hasn't changed much in the month since I put them on.
So what do I think? The Nitrocharger Sport's are NOT a soft riding shock. The rear is slightly less stiff than whatever crappy shocks I was running, but the overall ride is very firm, particularly over abrupt inputs. I tried some washboard and found that they are fairly harsh there too. Big Disappointment. My Jeep weighs about 3900 lbs as daily driven. (Stockish with 125lbs of winch and mount on the front and 50lbs of tire carrier on the back, but soft top, no rear seat, manual trans.) That's not "light" as far as I'm concerned, considering that a normal length TJ weighs 200lbs less, and if you take off the winch and tire carrier, even less than that...
Thinking perhaps it was my heavy tires, I switched from my E-rated 285's (At 28psi) to some C-rated 265's (at 30psi). Nothing changed. (I'm running OE control arms, etc, so no poly to add harshness to the ride.)
The shocks had mfg dates of May 2013, so they are not from early in the history of this shock, which was rumored to have some excess harshness when first released, at least in the extended length version...
In summary, I think these shocks would be great on a Jeep weighing 4500-5000lbs, but they are not so sweet for a mild (ie. only slightly overweight) Jeep. I would be happy with the ride if I had ordered the "HD" valving, but I wanted a softer ride, and what I got is not soft, it's HD. I am really disappointed in OME right now. I'll probably give the shocks a little more time, and see if warmer weather improves the ride significantly, but it really shouldn't, and shocks don't really soften with age unless they're built pretty poorly.
I'm going to start looking for some old OME hydros and see if I can eventually sell these to someone with a heavier TJ I guess. Failing that, I may try some Bilstein 5100's, but I'm not excited about losing travel.
I'll see if I can contact OME and get a response from them too. I'll keep the list updated as I learn more...
Chris
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