Rhett,
Nitro Charger shocks are made by Old Man Emu (a subsidary of ARB) and have just recently come on the market for our Explorers. They are indended for 95+ models who want to do the "Torsion Bar Twist", to be used with the OME 2" lifted springs, because they will give you an extra 2" of play, same as the Edelbrocks.
Here is the report I did on the shocks. The last paragraph is about the springs.
Project "Off the Beaten Path" 97 Explorer
The other day our illustrious Editor and Chef, Rick Horwitz asked if I would be willing to do a product review on the new "Nitro Charged" shocks made by Old Man EMU, for the late model Explorer. I wished he had asked me that 2 weeks earlier, before I laid down the cash for the new Edlebrocks that I just put on, but hey, this might be just what he needed. I already have new Edlebrocks on, so why not do a comparison of these new OME's against the King of the shocks, Edlebrocks. These shocks are made in Australia and they haven't come to the American market yet, so we here at Off the Beaten Trail are breaking the news first.
First off the OME's are built heavier. The shafts are 18mm thick, as opposed to the Edlebrocks, which are 12.7mm thick. Also the OME's shocks are 1/2" longer. The front OME shocks are positioned different than the Edlebrocks. On the Edlebrocks the shaft is on the bottom connected to the A-arm. On the OME's, the shaft is connected to the upper shock mount. Both use grade 8 bolts. OME's are 1.5" and Edlebrock's are 1" in length. The mounting rod on the OME's is solid metal, machined. The Edlebrocks look like it is heavy tubing with the ends pinched together and the holes drilled for the bolts to mount. I had to put the mounting rods together and insert them in the shock, then put a snap ring on to hold the whole thing together on the OME's. All very nicely done. I did use a little silicone lube to make it easier to push the mounting rods into the shock. The front shocks were a little hard to mount, because the 1.5" bolt that goes closest to the CV boot was a pain to get into the hole. It was easier to put the Edlebrocks in because the bolts on them were 1" and the mounting rod is not as thick. The rear shocks would have been easier if I had two 13mm box wrenches instead of one and a socket. I couldn't use the socket on the top of the upper mounting bracket, and it was pretty hard using it on the bottom side of the upper mounting bracket, because of the width of the shock, it wouldn't allow for the socket to go on straight on the bolt.
Now that they are on, it was time to take a spin and see how they ride. My initial impression is that they are very stable and smooth. To me they felt even smoother than the Edlebrocks, and I really like the Edlebrocks. Being a technician by trade, I figured that just saying "It felt like this shock was better than that shock" was not good enough, so I needed to find some way to gauge the difference between the two shocks. Well, after some thought I came up with a method of comparison to substantiate my opinion. I would use a Discman (more susceptible to bumps than the truck's CD player), taped to the console and my favorite CD (The Dixie Chicks) to use as a gauge. Any time the truck hits a bump that would jolt the CD player to skip, I would consider that a point. The shock with the most points looses.
The coarse would be up and over Highway 152, which gives me plenty of curves, bumps and highway speeds, then I would take it to Hollister Hills, to see how they handle off road. Before I changed the shocks I took the trip with my Discman playing as I went over the 152 and down 101, back to 152 then home. I got the CD player to skip 5 times with the Edlebrocks. After putting the Nitro Chargers in I went over the same course. The CD player also skipped 5 times in the same place that the Edlebrocks did. Well what does this tell me? The OME shocks are as good as the Edlebrocks as far as the test is concerned, but in my opinion the OME's just hedged the Edlebrocks out. I thought that the OME's had less side roll then the Edlebrocks and didn't have that little springy bounce that the Edlebrocks have at high speeds (80+mph).
So in conclusion the Old Man Emu "Nitro Charged" shocks are a heavy-duty constructed shock.
They are as good if not slightly better than the Edlebrock shocks.
When I put the springs on I did that exact same course, but what I found out was going over the same bumps, the CD player didn't skip once. I also went over a wash board road and didn't have to slow down. The spring/shock combination worked superbly. Hope this helps