OME vs. Downey

I have been through a couple suspension setups and have been pretty happy so far with all of them.  I am someone that likes to be connected with the road.  Espcially when it comes to a heavy SUV.  When I decided to lift my truck I already had Heavy Duity Bilsteins waiting to go in.  Over much thought I went ahead with the Heavy Duity OME (Old Man Emu) Coils.  I loved this setup.  My truck handled better than most cars, and I took it to its limits quite a few times as the road I drive to work is quite curvy.  Since I added the TJM T-15 Bull Bar the weight pulled the front of the truck down so I had to do something about it.  I could have gotten a spacer put in, but I got a great price on an adjustable coilover setup made by Downey.  I like the design of the unit as I can change out the shock without sending them off, you just replace the shock.  There is also more adjustability offered than the compeditor Sway Away (SAW).  Not only will the Downeys give me 3.5" of lift but will also lower.  Not that I'm interested in lowering, but I have a feeling they did this incase the truck is a 2x4?  I don't know, but it's there.  The Downey setup isn't as stiff as my OME setup, but I had to crank them all the way up to get the correct height with the TJM on.  Lucky for me the higher you go the stiffer the spring rate.  I have been happy with both of these setups and would recomend both.  For someone that can sacrafice a half harsh ride for a truck that can handle like a car and more importantly have the confidence to avoid an accident.  I would say go with OME HD Coils and HD Bilsteins.  I have only had the Downeys in for about a month now, so I'll post my thoughts after I get some time with them.  I'm confident they will do fine as it's designed around a bilstein shock and Downey has been around and I'm sure know what they are doing by now.

*Update* Roger Brown 2" Body Lift

Body lifts have been looked down upon for years mainly because on most domestics you can see through the frame and quite frankly, it looks like crap.  Lucky for me the 4Runner does a good job of hiding it.  You can see through a little bit at the rear, but its minimal and easily fixed with pond lining.  The bennifits of body lifts are that it allows for bigger tires and at the same time keeps the center of gravity low.  It also allows for things to be lifted up out of the way of rocks.  Most importantly on 3rd gen 4Runners is the fuel tank.  Because I have an aftermarket winch bumper, a simple bumper reloaction was not possible.  Not only would it be a pain in the butt to make a custom bracket.  But it would also make the bumper quite a bit weaker when winching and I have heard enough horror stories of ARBs breaking off, no thanks.  A fellow forum member thought of cutting one side of a $5 piece of lattice from home depot and use self tapping scews and put it inbatween the body and the bumper.  Turned out great, and keeps the bumper lower for winching/hitting ricers.

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Stock

OME/Bilstein

OME with TJM and 285 Tires

Downey Adjustables

OME vs Stock and the Downeys mounted in the truck.