suspension question. Remote reservoir vs non

[KiwiKurt]

Hey all.

I have an xterra, but i realize that Im likely to get a wider sampling group by asking this crowd.

Has anyone started with a basic lift kit (ie OME) and gone to something with a remote reservoir set up? If so, how tangible were the differences? Was it worth the extra cost?

The way I'm looking at it now, the OME kit for my truck is a nice, basic, complete package. There is enough lift for some extra ground clearance and fitting my desired tire size will be no problem. It will likely support the load I carry, although is slightly under spec for some of my trips. The alternative is to spend a little over 2x as much and go with custom rear leaf packs and a full on remote reservoir suspension. Advantages would be a little more lift, more wheel travel, and the remote resi's.

I can afford to buy either one, but I'm not big on buying stuff I don't need just for the sake of having it...so that leads me to the question of: "is it worth it?" and Im curious on people's opinions, ESPECIALLY if you started with a basic spring/shock combo and later changed it out for a "gucci" kind of kit.

Thanks all.

 

[ebg18t]

It all depends on how you use the truck. I have had OME, Bilsteins and Fox's with remote reservoir.

 

[KiwiKurt]

Can you elaborate on your findings, please?

 

[mike2100]

Remote reservoirs increase oil capacity, increasing the amount of energy required to induce damping fade. If you never get to the point of fade then you don't need extra oil capacity. For example, before fade sets in there's no difference between Icon coilovers with reservoirs and Icon coilovers without reservoirs. So the question becomes - are you driving aggressively enough for a long enough period of time without enough time to cool between bumps to induce fade?
That's the science behind it but I've never experienced it myself. Until I figure what fade feels like and start getting it enough to be annoyed Ill stick with my non-reservoir Icons. Reservoirs can be added later - something else to think about. It's a bolt-on affair.

 

[keezer37]

I suppose you'd recognize shock fade by the vehicle slipping sideways.

Some of the spring movement energy absorbed by the shock turns into heat. Shocks heat up during off road use and more so in fast off road use. The hotter they get the less effective they become at dampening oscillations. There are a number of approaches to handling this heat and minimizing shock fade, including using multiple shocks.
...
If you are going to drive washboard roads at speed, look into a shock's resistance to heat fade. For most slow cross country trailing the common nitrocharger style will usually do the job without fade issues.

http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/shocks.htm

 

[KiwiKurt]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[1leglance]

I drive alot of washboard with heavy rigs....that is a perfect setup for causing shock fade and thus I have often prefered shocks with reserviors. I know Fox also has some sort of cooling fin setup with could get rid of enough heat to reduce fade.

I would say you should get the basic OME setup and if you notice your shocks fade in use (you will know as they pretty much stop working) then you can upgrade in a year or so.

 

[mike2100]

I considered going OME and upgrading later if I decided I needed to but figured if there was a chance I'd upgrade I might as well start with one of the best damping options available (Icon) and upgrade my own coilovers and rear shocks later. It'll go hand in hand with a rebuild, and in addition to the reservoir upgrade I'll consider the "CDC" valve for adjustable damping as well as converting them to extended travel (no cost option during a rebuild as I understand).
Figure $1100-1200 for OME with springs or ~$1800 for Icon standard coilovers, 2" rear shocks, and progressive add a leaf kit. But if you go OME and upgrade later you eat the initial purchase price of the OME minus whatever you might be able to sell them for. If you start with Icon there's no need to sell when you decide to upgrade.

I feel like we need some experts in here to explain how to recognize damper fade.

I hate to keep discussing theory in the absence of practical experience but a potential disadvantage of coilovers I initially considered and then later read about is longevity/durability. The theory is coilovers need to be rebuilt more often than you'd need to replace "standard" dampers like the OME. Additionally, how strong is the oil line connecting the reservoir to the damper? What's the likelihood of a trail obstacle "jumping up" and destroying that line, spilling your shock fluid everywhere and erasing your damping at that corner? If you're in the middle of nowhere are you comfortable chancing it? While on expedition, is it easier to replace a reservoir line or an OME shock? Are you far enough away from civilization for it to matter? Certainly not the most life-threatening risk while exploring but worth some thought in my opinion.

 

[troyboy162]

I went from OME to a long travel set up with FOA(crappy brand) remote res shocks. The difference is night and day but its all in the valving.

I was happy with OME on road and off. I only switched since it was required for long travel. The best way to compare the difference would be to imagine driving down a rough trail in your truck as it is now now and then riding the same road on a dirt bike. That difference is completely based on the shock valving though and that's really the benefit of a purpose built off road reservoir shock. If you want to make washboard feel smooth you can do that. If you want to hit large bumps fast and stay in control, you can do that. You can set the truck up to handle and feel like you want it to.

I'm assuming those are the two shocks you wanted to compare (full blown offroad shocks vs standard gas shocks). There is "emulsion" offroad shocks. These have no reservoir, but are still oil filled and have the same guts that you can tune like a reservoir shock. Emulsion shocks are good enough for most offroad use. Without getting tech, the res designs have a couple advantages (you may or may not be able to feel) for not much more money so they are more common.

Its another maintenance point though as said above. You will need to maintain nitrogen pressure and change out the shock fluid as it becomes dirty. This and shock tuning are all things the average joe can do by himself with some help from youtube. If you are not willing to do your own shock maintenance then its a pretty expensive ordeal.

Dont worry about the hydraulic hoses failing. They are industrial grade materials and common place in desert racing where a failure would mean DNF. So long as you take reasonable effort to route them out of harms way, you will be fine. They are much beefier then the flexible brake lines you run in truly exposed areas.