1993 2.8 LWB - OME complete suspension kit & 1" coil spacers

[Dino]

Looks good! What tires are you running?

[GISdood]

I wonder if when I order I can order a longer OME shock?

That's one option I'm currently looking into. Failing that, I've measured the eyelet dia/thickness as well as the stem dia/threads and will spec something to fit from Rancho or wherever.

Dino, the tires are 31x10.5x15 Multi Mile Wild Country XTX Sport.

https://shop.kaltire.com/tiresdetails1/tireid/1981/

I went with these after my employer's purchasing manager recommended them. We've been using them on a lot of the light trucks and SUV's the company owns and they've been performing well. Also, they have the 'severe winter rated' symbol on them, which is a must for traveling up in these parts in the winter. The 80,000km tread warranty was a nice feature, too.

I've had them on the Pajero since December now and have driven them on bare icy roads, deep dry snow, heavy wet snow& slush and most of the conditions in between. Last set of tires were General Grabber AT's, and these MultiMiles definitely outperform those, especially in wet/slushy conditions and bare icy roads.

[Dino]

Have you had a chance to try them on dry tarmac yet? I have 31x10.50 Hercules Trail Digger M/T on my V46 with the electronically adjustable shocks. They do okay on mud and loose snow, but they are very slippery on packed snow and incredibly noisey on dry tarmac. We don't get huge amounts of snow over here so I'm fine with an all season/M&S rated tire, but I wouldn't mind something more quiet. I was thinking of BFG All-Terrain T/A for next winter, although they probably won't handle packed snow any better than the Hercs.

[GISdood]

Yup, I've done some bare pavement highway driving on them as well. Not sure how effective a comparison it is, but I had 33x10.5x15 BFG A/T's on my Tacoma before we bought the Pajero. These Multi Miles are definitely quieter than the A/T's were at highway cruising speeds.

[nxski]

I have 31x10.5 R15 BFG AT's. Now that they've been driven 65,000km they are noisier and rougher. I don't care too much about that, they're also much worse in the snow now. I also found the 235x75's to be a lot better in snow. The upside is that they don't wear quickly, the downside is that they harden quickly. I'll be going for Duratracs next.

[Torqueluvr]

GISdood, what is the ride like with the new torsion bars? I've heard that some people do not recommend them if not putting on more weight (roof weight, winch, bull bar etc) Is it TOO stiff? I figure my torsion bars are almost 20 years old and they have been holding the weight of the Paj all that time, and could use new ones. And, if I'm buying new I might as well get OME upgrades, instead of cranking them up. What's your review so far on them?

Tanner

[GISdood]

Haven't driven it much yet besides home from the shop and to/from work. I'll get out and hit up some of the pothole-infested rural roads.

The biggest immediate difference I've noticed is the stability. Cornering with the old tired out torsion bars even with the suspension set to firm felt fairly soft with a lot of body roll.

Even with the added height, the new torsion bars seem to keep the Pajero planted a lot more firmly on tighter turns.

I'll have more input after I've romped through some rougher terrain on the weekend.

[Torqueluvr]

So what's the verdict after a week or two of the new gear?

[bionic]

FYI...the torsions will not "fatigue" at nearly the rate as cycled use. (less than 1/100th) The fear is that the torsion would have seen overload which would driven them beyond their yeild point. (doubtful)
IMO, simply adjust the torsions if they do not look physically damaged/corroded. Never had a torsion catastrophically fail, so when it does chose to go, you should get a warning.

[GISdood]

Hey all, sorry for the lack of updates lately. We had a hot water tank fail, creating a mess in my newly renovated basement. Having had my fill of dealing with the basement lately, we had a contractor come in and deal with the removal/replacement of the old heater and some minor repair and refinishing work - while my wife and I took off to Vegas for a 5 days :)

So... just recuperating from THAT, presently. But here's a brief summary of the 'new ride' characteristics.

As I mentioned before, the ride is MUCH firmer. Front still feels a bit harsh at the moment due to the original shocks being refitted as the OME ones were about an inch too short for the leveled-out ride height. OME specs said to have a minimum of 16mm of static sag and the tech at the shop said they were extended to the max, no sag whatsoever, and even then they were difficult to connect.

The rear is a night-and-day difference, very firm and planted. Prior to the shock/spring replacement, there was a lot of 'chatter' whenever going over washboard or lightly-potholed surfaces. The rear end would dance all over the road and you could hear the clattering going on as the axle simply bounced up and down. With the OME shock/spring combo in the rear, its completely planted. Very firm (keep in mind I have the rear jump seats removed, so its a bit lighter than 'stock'), and there's no more audible clatter coming from the rear anymore.

I've sourced some Rancho shocks that are 1" longer than stock (part# RS5223) which I'm currently waiting on. Once they arrive and we get those thrown on the front end, I'll update once again.

PS- I haven't forgotten about you, Yannick! I'll be heading down to get that quote for you first thing tomorrow!

[Torqueluvr]

This sounds great! I ordered mine from Rocky Road a couple weeks ago. I forgot about the shorter front shocks though and ordered the OME's that they provided. The part number in their email/manifest is OME60040. By any chance does that part number look familiar?

T

[GISdood]

Same part number, yup. In wondering if my Paj is an oddball, tho. It's a '93, and of the first run of units that was equipped with the 2.8 so perhaps the '94 and up models are slightly different.

Let me know how the fitment goes with your install, tho.

In other news, I passed a milestone over the weekend!

[pajerry]

Get those springs on the bus, man! Im stoked!

Is that gauge bevel stock? Looks sharp.

[LeeHammy]

Question for you and I am asking this because I just got my spacers today and will be upgrading my regular OME springs with the heavy springs.
By using spring spacers that big will you run into an issue with the angle of your drive shaft into the diff? Also do the regular OME shocks have enough length for a spacer that big? Did you camber adjust your control arm bushings?

Suggestion.. raise up your bump stops. If you drop off a big bump you will end up compressing the spring completely before the bump stop hits because it cant hit because of your spacers.. the point of the bump stop is to keep that from happening. If it does some damage could result.

[pajerry]

At around 4" and up you need to keep an ear out for the driveline vibrations, and you will probably have to extend your brake lines. Drop down brackets for the rest, especially the rear brake compensator.

And I'd definately extend the bumpstop if you do any wheeling/hard driving. Spring bind can be a problem, or springs popping out under full flex.