UAE BUYING GUIDE
Old Man Emu Shocks — GCC Road & Trail Guide
ARB's Old Man Emu shock range is the benchmark for touring 4x4s in harsh climates. This guide compares the two families we stock — Nitrocharger and BP-51 — with honest data on heat handling, tuning, rebuild intervals, and which one belongs on your vehicle.
Quick Answer
- Nitrocharger — twin-tube, nitrogen-gas, fixed tuning. Bulletproof and set-and-forget. From DHS. 640.00 AED per shock in our catalog. Best for daily-driven, moderately loaded 4x4s.[1]
- BP-51 — aluminium body, remote reservoir, bypass valving, user-adjustable compression & rebound. From DHS. 2,020.00 AED per shock. Best for heavily loaded tourers and serious desert use.[2]
- Heat handling: BP-51 wins decisively — aluminium body + remote reservoir versus Nitrocharger's steel twin-tube. In UAE summers this matters.
- Rebuild: BP-51 is designed to be serviced (rebuild every ~80,000 km depending on use).[1] Nitrocharger is replace-when-worn.
1. Why OME for the GCC?
Old Man Emu is ARB's in-house suspension brand, developed in Australia's outback — an environment that resembles the GCC in heat, dust and rough corrugations. The OME engineering philosophy is load-carrying: springs and shocks that cope with full touring weight (winch, steel bumper, drawers, roof-top tent, 80L water tank) without sagging or fading.
Against purely-offroad brands (Fox, King) OME compromises slightly on high-speed desert performance. Against purely-street brands (Bilstein OE, KYB) OME is dramatically better loaded and on trails. For a GCC touring 4x4, OME sits in the sweet spot.
2. Nitrocharger — the workhorse
The Nitrocharger Sport is OME's flagship twin-tube shock. The design has been refined over decades and is now the baseline for most GCC Toyota, Nissan and Jeep touring builds.
What's inside
- Twin-tube design — inner tube for piston travel, outer tube holds hydraulic fluid reserve and a nitrogen-gas chamber that prevents cavitation at speed.[1]
- High-flow piston with application-specific valving — the shock is tuned to the spring it's sold with, not tunable after install.
- Nitrogen-charged to reduce fluid foaming (cavitation) on corrugated tracks.
- Steel body — hard-wearing but not as thermally efficient as aluminium.
Nitrocharger Front — JL (60150)
- Direct fit for JL front
- Matched to OME JL coils (3134)
- Replace as pair with rear 60151
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 640.00 AED
View Shock →Nitrocharger Rear — JL (60151)
- Pairs with 60150 front
- OEM-fit for JL rear
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 640.00 AED
View Shock →Nitrocharger Front — LC 76/78/79 (60008)
- Fits Land Cruiser 76, 78, 79
- Heavy-duty valving for loaded troopy
- Pair with 2856 front coils for 2" lift
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 640.00 AED
View Shock →3. BP-51 — the tourer's shock
BP-51 ("Bypass 51mm bore") is OME's premium shock family. It borrows engineering from race bypass shocks and packages it for road-legal touring use.
What's different
- 51mm aluminium body in 6061 grade with Type-III hard anodised finish — lighter than steel, dissipates heat far better, resists corrosion.[2]
- Remote reservoir — separate oil chamber away from the damper body, so working fluid stays cooler during sustained corrugations. Critical in UAE summer temperatures.
- Bypass valving — internal position-sensitive bypass tubes; the shock is stiffer in the middle of its travel and softer near full droop/compression. This lets it ride smoothly on road and still control full-travel offroad impacts.
- User-adjustable compression & rebound — knob on the reservoir lets you tune the shock for load (towing, bumper added) or track (dunes vs rocks vs highway).[1]
- Rebuildable — seals and valving can be serviced at roughly 80,000 km intervals depending on use.
BP-51 Bypass Shock — Patrol Y62 Rear
- BP-51 bypass damper with reservoir
- Adjustable compression & rebound
- Aluminium body, Type-III anodised
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 2,020.00 AED
View Shock →BP-51 Coil-Over — Patrol Y62 Front
- Integrated spring + damper coil-over unit
- Adjustable ride-height collar
- Full BP-51 damping technology
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 3,000.00 AED
View Coil-Over →BP-51 Coil-Over — Tacoma V6 Front
- Direct strut replacement for V6 Tacoma
- Coil-over with ride-height adjuster
- Pair with BP-51 rear bypass
- Stock: In stock
DHS. 3,000.00 AED
View Coil-Over →4. Head-to-head comparison
| Feature | Nitrocharger | BP-51 |
|---|---|---|
| Body material | Steel, twin-tube | 6061 aluminium, extruded passages[2] |
| Reservoir | Internal | External remote reservoir |
| Damping adjustment | Fixed (tuned at factory) | User-adjustable compression + rebound |
| Heat dissipation | Adequate | Significantly better |
| Price per shock | From DHS. 640.00 AED | From DHS. 2,020.00 AED (bypass), DHS. 3,000.00 AED (coil-over) |
| Rebuild | Not serviceable — replace | Serviceable at ~80,000 km |
| Best match | Daily driver, moderate load | Heavy tourer, sustained high-speed desert, towing |
5. BP-51 fit kits — what they do
Because BP-51 shocks are taller and wider than OEM, most applications need a small "fit kit" — brackets, spacers, or stud adapters that match the BP-51 geometry to the factory mounting points. These are vehicle-specific and inexpensive (typically DHS. 450.00 AED).
Example: JL Front BP-51 Fit Kit (VM80010038)
Required for BP-51 on the Wrangler JL front. Includes bushing spacers, hardware, and mount brackets. View fit kit — DHS. 450.00 AED.
Always check fitment
Not all vehicles need a fit kit — some BP-51s are direct-fit. Always check the product page, or WhatsApp us with your year/trim and we'll confirm.
6. How to choose for your build
Decision tree — pick the usage that matches your vehicle best.
-
Stock or mild lift, daily-driven, weekend dunes
→ Nitrocharger Sport paired with OME coils or your existing factory springs. It's the best-value package in the OME range and handles UAE roads well without breaking the bank.
-
Heavy tourer — steel bumper, winch, rooftop tent, drawers
→ BP-51 with heavy-duty OME springs. The remote reservoir stops the shock fading during long Liwa runs. User-adjustable damping lets you stiffen for load and soften when the family is sleeping in the rear seat.
-
Sustained high-speed desert (Sweihan, Liwa flats)
→ BP-51 no question. At 100+ km/h across sustained corrugations, the heat build-up in a twin-tube damper ends the shock in a year. BP-51's aluminium body + reservoir are designed precisely for this duty cycle.
-
Weekend rock-crawler, slow technical terrain only
→ Nitrocharger is sufficient. Rock work is low-speed, so heat buildup is minimal. Save the BP-51 budget for lockers or longer control arms.
7. Frequently asked questions
Can I mix Nitrocharger front with BP-51 rear?
Technically yes, but we don't recommend it. Matching shock families across the vehicle gives consistent damping behaviour. If budget forces a split, put the better shocks on the end that does the hardest work — usually the rear on a heavy tourer.
Do BP-51s come with the reservoir pre-charged?
Yes — BP-51s ship fully assembled and charged. You mount them, make initial damping adjustments, and drive. Re-gas only during rebuild at ~80,000 km.
How do I set the BP-51 damping?
Start at the middle of the range. Stiffen compression one click at a time if the vehicle bottoms on hard hits; soften if it rides harsh on highway. Rebound adjust similarly — too fast = bouncy, too slow = feels glued. ARB publishes base settings by vehicle on the product page.
Where can I get BP-51s rebuilt in the UAE?
ARB-authorised workshops in the GCC handle BP-51 rebuilds. We can refer you to a specialist — WhatsApp us with your location and we'll point you to the nearest option.
How long do Nitrochargers last in UAE conditions?
Typical life is 80,000-100,000 km for mixed road + off-road use. Heavy dune use shortens life; pure street use extends it. Visual inspection for leaks and bounce-test annually.
Do I need matching OME springs to use OME shocks?
Strongly recommended. OME shocks are tuned to OME spring rates. Mixing Fox shocks with OME coils, or OME shocks with Dobinson coils, breaks the matched-set engineering. Pair within a brand.
Shop the full OME range
100+ OME products in stock for Jeep, Patrol, Land Cruiser, Tacoma, FJ, Defender, Hilux, Jimny, and more.
Sources & further reading
- Shock Surplus — Choosing the Right Old Man Emu Shocks: Nitrocharger vs. MT64 vs. BP-51 (design differences, rebuild intervals).
- ARB 4x4 Accessories — BP-51 official product page (51mm aluminium body, Type-III anodising, bypass valving specs).
- IH8MUD Forum — Nitrocharger Sport vs BP-51 Setup discussion (real-world user experiences).
- ARB USA — How to Choose an Old Man Emu Suspension System (application matching).
Shock performance is a function of vehicle weight, driving style, terrain, and ambient temperature. Recommendations here are general guidance; always verify fitment and specification on each product page or WhatsApp us for application-specific advice.