Toyota 200 series suspension upgrade

[ben.lang 81@bigpond.com]

Has anyone upgraded there 200 series with Old Man Emu suspension.
(To take the sage out of the front and stop the tyre wear) steel bullbar.

What rating spring did you use? Towing 17.56.2 outback expanda

 

[Hubble80]

I have two mates that have it in theirs. One has KDSS and the other not, both love the way it has changed the vehicle. I am planning to do mine, but I am looking at Tough Dog gear, no particular reason why, just personal preference I guess...

 

[Shane Norwell]

I know it's not a cruiser but I've had ome suspension on my last 2 cars and it truely is the best thing I've done to both. It's made them so much smoother and more pleasant to drive, it's something you enjoy every time you get in your car.

I've got the heaviest front coils (125kg) and 200kg rear coils and they handle the weight of the car perfectly.

As for other brands (and I mean no offence by this) but over the years between my family we've had 4wds for years and have used most brands of suspension including rancho, raw, peders, iron mand and tough dog and all I can say is we all run old man emu now

 

[achjimmy]

On the 200 OME stuff seems to do about 50mm front and 20mm rear lift to level them up. Which is a popular choice for those not really chasing ground clerance. Other than one guy on lcool who had a duff shock that caused his CV to let go never really hear any bad things on 200. Arb are no longer doing any GVM upgrades at present so that option is not open to anybody with OEM ATM. Personally if your not chasing GVM upgrade and want the best ride going I'd go Konis maybe with some variable rate springs on the rear. kings are popular.

Btw arb don't make there OME stuff it's made for them to thier specs. Kings springs in QLD I think used to be one such supplier.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Haven't done a 200, but certainly have with my 100.

I have OME springs front and back with a 50mm lift.

I originally put Bilstein shocks front and back, but after 3 failures on the rear (over 8 years) I replaced them with some heavy duty Tough Dog shocks on the rear, and still have the Bilsteins on the front.

I also have Polyair bags on the rear with onboard compressor and individual pressure guages so I can inflate and deflate on the move.

Keeps the expanda nice and level without the need for WDH.

The air bags allow it to be deflated and brought back to road trim when not towing

 

[TRAKADU]

I have upgraded my 200 with the following:-
- 200kg springs
- 2 inch lift
- Bilstein suspension all around. Absolutely love them. (sorry to hear @Bellbirdweb that yours failed. probably a one-off incident)
- Adjustable airbags at rear. Only inflate it when towing 24-25psi and 8psi in normal driving
Pretty happy with the setup and certainly levels the rig nicely. It also avoids any excessive ware & tare. I tow 17.52OB and no need for WDH.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Not a one off @TRAKADU, had 3 of them fail over several years.

I had always been a Bilstein fan, but they simply didn't seem to be designed properly to take the punishment on the 100 series.

I previously had them on several other vehicles without a problem

 

[ben.lang 81@bigpond.com]

I have upgraded my 200 with the following:-
- 200kg springs
- 2 inch lift
- Bilstein suspension all around. Absolutely love them. (sorry to hear @Bellbirdweb that yours failed. probably a one-off incident)
- Adjustable airbags at rear. Only inflate it when towing 24-25psi and 8psi in normal driving
Pretty happy with the setup and certainly levels the rig nicely. It also avoids any excessive ware & tare. I tow 17.52OB and no need for WDH. View attachment 31759[/

Thanks for the info.
How much lift did you end up with? From factory to now?

 

[ben.lang 81@bigpond.com]

thanks for all the info.

Think I'll go 200kg springs in rear, with 25mm lift,
I'll see how it goes
Cheers

 

[AndrewC]

I just went for heavy duty bags in rear and snake racing strut spacers in the front to give me about a 40mm lift. I tow over three tonne regularly and it handles fine. I think the stock spring rate and shock combo is quite good for most people unless you hitting corrogations

 

[achjimmy]

Been a few Bilstien failures talked about over recent years in all manner of models. They certainly don't appear to be the quality they once were. The last set I had I only kept the car for about 45k but they were faultless.

Good move @AndrewC the 200 rides pretty well standard and you can't beat oil only shocks for ride comfort. But you certainly need to lift the front up especially if you have any extra weight on there. Otherwise she will bottom out and step out which is not ideal.

 

[Hubble80]

Btw arb don't make there OME stuff it's made for them to thier specs. Kings springs in QLD I think used to be one such supplier.

I spoke to a guy at work who used to be an ARB fitter and yes Kings make the springs and shot peen them so they don't sag or lose tension. Tough Dog does this process also.

The shocks are made by Monroe to OME spec and go through a pretty hefty testing process.

 

[ben.lang 81@bigpond.com]

I spoke to a guy at work who used to be an ARB fitter and yes Kings make the springs and shot peen them so they don't sag or lose tension. Tough Dog does this process also.

The shocks are made by Monroe to OME spec and go through a pretty hefty testing process.

Thanks