Leaf Spring Upgrade and Shock compatibility

WanderRanger75

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Hi all,

Edit: I have found another set that may work, but feel free to add your thoughts still on what brand you prefer and why.

So recently I've noticed that my leaf springs are sagging. I expected this would happen at some point as I have a bedrack, RTT, and trail tools in the bed just about all the time. I recently was looking at Old Man Emu medium leaf springs with a 1.7in lift. I have the Eibach Pro Truck 2R kit, and Eibach states the rear shocks are good for 1.5in of lift. I don't jump the truck so it would likely rarely see full suspension droop unless I was fully flexed. My question is, has anyone run these leafs with a similar shock setup (like a fox 2.0) and how has it gone? Or thoughts on taking the gamble with the combo. I was also looking at the Dobinsons kit which is only a 1.5in lift, but it's an extra 150lbs stiffer and about $200 more expensive from what im seeing, so OME is my first option right now. TIA!
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Dereku

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Bumps in the road or hard braking can cause full extension. Not that it would stop you from driving but the shock could fail. I would not push it.
 

FrostedTurkey

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Would the Bilstein B8 rear shocks work? They are 0-2" lift.
 
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WanderRanger75

WanderRanger75

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Would the Bilstein B8 rear shocks work? They are 0-2" lift.
Probably, but I already have the Eibach Pro Truck 2R kit that I like, so I don't want to buy new shocks if I don't need to.
 

Frenchy

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I would not mix suspension components. The best option is to keep everything as close to the same when it comes to brands as they are meant to work together.

With the Old Man EMU Suspension there are 3 different Leaf Springs available. All of them are designed for different loads at a predetermined lift height of 1.5 inches.

The standard lead is meant for no load at loft height. With my experience with the Old Man EMU Suspension Lift Kit, these leafs will level out with about 800 LBS in the bed.

The medium Leafs are meant to carry 660 lbs at lift height. If my theory is correct, add an additional 800 lbs and you will level the truck out.

The heavy leafs are meant to carry 1320 lbs at lift height.

Depending on what you plan to normally carry, I would recommend looking at a bigger leaf spring.

Also I would also recommend looking at Dobinsons. I have found them to have better shocks over the Nitrocharger Shocks and Struts.
 
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WanderRanger75

WanderRanger75

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I would not mix suspension components. The best option is to keep everything as close to the same when it comes to brands as they are meant to work together.

With the Old Man EMU Suspension there are 3 different Leaf Springs available. All of them are designed for different loads at a predetermined lift height of 1.5 inches.

The standard lead is meant for no load at loft height. With my experience with the Old Man EMU Suspension Lift Kit, these leafs will level out with about 800 LBS in the bed.

The medium Leafs are meant to carry 660 lbs at lift height. If my theory is correct, add an additional 800 lbs and you will level the truck out.

The heavy leafs are meant to carry 1320 lbs at lift height.

Depending on what you plan to normally carry, I would recommend looking at a bigger leaf spring.

Also I would also recommend looking at Dobinsons. I have found them to have better shocks over the Nitrocharger Shocks and Struts.
After some more looking right after I posted this I found 1.5 lift medium load leafs which is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Normally the truck has about 400lbs in the bed, after all my gear for a long trip it's probably easily around the 700 mark. So I think those are probably what I'm going to go with. I appreciate your input though, thanks!
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