Let me start by saying, in no way is this a slam on ORI's. I ran them for 4 years, with mostly great success; and in their defense, I had the original ST version without doing the X upgrade- but I did add the external reservoirs.
I was blown away when I finished my buggy. Amazed at the difference a well designed 4 link; ( a fortunate accident at the time-pure luck), and the ori's made, versus my leaf sprung yj. I had no reference base to compare to versus coilovers personally at the time.
As time passed, and I feel I mastered the manipulation of the buggy, and thorough research, I began to understand the shortcomings of my spring choice. I started really paying attention to well designed buggies with coilovers. Biggest observation to me was push-off. Trust me when I say- I tuned the bejesus out of the shocks, trying to bring it to a minimum. Yes I could have sent them off, had the tubes modified, Yada Yada. Coilovers have a nearly unlimited tunability-that I can do at home or at camp; when properly sized and sprung for the weight of the application. After researching I firmly believe that there needs to be two elements in the job of a shock- to support the weight by the use of a spring of some sort-( a steel spring, not air) ; and to dampen the movement of the suspension-( again using steel- valving discs, not tubes that are hard to modify properly without an engineering degree. )
Other things I was uncomfortable with...
- the price; I had over $3500 invested in the end; shocks, dual fill kit, bottle, resi's. Again your results may vary. Had about $3300 invested in my first set of fox coilovers- including bumps, springs, straps, and sway bar, oil, and full shim kit. I feel like I got more for my money with c/o.
- every day I walked in the shop; I dreaded opening the door to see a corner down...I'm ocd ya know. This lead me to never traveling without my bottle and fill kit.
-if you blow an o-ring, your done! without parts. With a coil over, you will always have a spring to hold up the rig, regardless whether the dampening of the shock is compromised. Your weekend can continue....I work too hard, and get to travel so little- I hate a ruined weekend...just ask my ARB- I orphaned that SOB for a spool.
I'm not going to go on about all the attributes of coilovers. That information has been available for years, I'm just giving my experience. But, if I could emphasize any one thing about coilovers; if you're not prepared to go the distance with learning to tune, or having them tuned- you will not fully benefit from your investment....and the same goes with ori's.
Side note -Neither a coilover or ori can replace a poorly designed link suspension. But they can be a band-aid for it.
In retrospect....ori's will be great for 95% of us weekend warrior trail riders. They're simple to install....only need 16 shock tabs. The take up the least amount of real estate, and weight. It doesn't take long to find a pressure that you'll be happy with for 80% of your travel through the rough. They are a marvel of engineering.
But for those of us who are a tinker...always trying to get the most performance possible, whether in budget or not, lol- coilovers are the be all, end all....(then come bypasses...)
I take much pride in building something from scratch, that cranks, drives, crawls, defies gravity, bounces, jumps, does four wheel burnouts, with unique design and grace, and hopefully looks good doing all the above! Coilovers help me do all that... better!
I've missed a lot of points that I thought of while driving, I'm sure they'll come to me. I'm ready to sack out on the couch with mini-me...
I'm grateful for the NC4X4 community, and the entire off road scene; and thrilled that so many are interested in this little 27 year old piece of steel that I'm mutilating....thanks guys.
Matt