Which shocks should i go with for my 1990.

Curious if i should get fox 2.0 or 2.5 or keep the bilsteins 4600's.
Just a moderate trail camping 4runner not going into crazy rock climbs.

 

Welcome to the forum, i think keeping the 4600s is a good idea, i don’t know how long you have had them on? Do you not like the ride quality?

 

My son has 1990 and we put M95 mono-tubes by Skyjacker on the rear. We found some De-carbon mono tube Gabriel's that are similar to the KYB's but were super inexpensive on Rock Auto for the front.
My 91 has M95's all around and we have both put spacers under the upper A-arms and urethane spacers on top of the coils at the rear. The M95's offer more travel than most of the other OEM length shocks that you will find. The ride is very nice and very undisturbed by speed bumps. But I am working up a double shock arrangement for the front as its a bit under damped when you are really hauling ass in the rougher stuff. This should work well enough as the shock sees about half of the travel distance that the spindle sees as the suspension is cycled from top out to bottom out. So doubling the force-velocity damping should be about perfect for most terrain. We shall see!...

 

I’m going the more pricey route after my Aisin hubs get here. Check out OME Shocks. Old Man Emu.

 

Bilstein, Eibach and the M95-Skyjackers are all mono-tube shocks with a floating piston that keeps the N2 gas separate from the shock fluid. Are the the old man emu's emulsion or Mono-tube with high gas pressure? Even the KYB's are mono-tube shocks like the Bilstein. That is an answer you need to get before you buy. The emulsion shocks are lower cost, lower performance shock absorbers due to the fact that is is easier for the shock fluid to have cavitation occur near the pistons valving when running for extended periods on rough terrain. With demanding very rapid and successive cycles of the shock absorbers shaft the heat will increase. When the gases in the shock fluid are able to bubble due to lower pressure swings in the fluid as the piston moves through it the force generated for a given velocity becomes lower and your handling can start to suffer as a result. As the shock converts the mechanical motion to heat and the gas bubbles get more prolific as the temperature goes up fade will occur. This heat rise cause the gases in the fluid to expand and come out of suspension within the fluid even more so with an emulsion shock. Shock fade when it happens is quite swift as the damping goes away very quickly as the shock is literally cooked into failure. The de-carbon mono tube will hold out longer than will an emulsion style shock due to the pressure that the de-carbon shock has in it to keep the absorbed gasses for bubbling. That is why they are hard to install because even though the shaft is quite small in diameter the internal gas pressure can be upwards or 200 to 300 PSI and that when applied to the area of the piston rod makes for a fairly good force needed to compress the shock for installation.

 

Even if you're doing crazy climbs, the 4600's would be fine or if you felt compelled to go Fox, the 2.0 version would be more than adequate. The 2.5 would be more of a benefit if you were planning to drive fast over rough terrain, or if you were rock bouncing (benefit of the larger shaft to resist bending).

 

I installed the OME 2” lift kit, with new OME torsion bars. All 4 shocks were worn out and the rear springs had severe sag. The OME Nitrocharger Sport shocks are a twin tube design. The ride is firm but not harsh and the springs lifted the rear 4 inches from where it was. I went with BudBuilt skid plates and crossmember and plan on a winch bumper and winch. That set up adds quite a bit of weight up front and I didn’t want to crank up the stock bars.
I am very happy with the ride quality of the OME kit, both on road and off-road.

 

That’s good to know, I’m thinking that’s my next job after I do upper, lower ball joints & steering components. Going with all four OME shocks and the springs in the rear.