Dobinsons Suspension - 4th Gen Options

Question about going to a softer front spring rate.

Current setup:
2007 v6 4x4
ARB Bumper (~180 lbs as weighed by me)
Synthetic line winch (~60 lbs weighed by me)

Front: gs59-220 / 59-350
Rear: gs59-705 / 59-505

Ride height: 22.75" front / 23.5" rear

Right now, the front is stiffer than I'd like it to be. It's pretty jarring off-road. I live in a very rural area and half of the time I drive the 4runner it's off-road (mostly remote and rough mountain roads and some light 4wheeling where I actually need 4lo). I'd like to gain comfort, and if the front end dropped 1/4" to 1/2" that would be great too. Would going to the c59-302 achieve all this? Or would it be way too soft?
 
Last edited:
enilson said:
Question about going to a softer front spring rate.

Current setup:
2007 v6 4x4
ARB Bumper (~180 lbs as weighed by me)
Synthetic line winch (~60 lbs weighed by me)

Front: gs59-220 / 59-350
Rear: gs59-705 / 59-505

Ride height: 22.75" front / 23.5" rear

Right now, the front is stiffer than I'd like it to be. It's pretty jarring off-road. I live in a very rural area and half of the time I drive the 4runner it's off-road (mostly remote and rough mountain roads and some light 4wheeling where I actually need 4lo). I'd like to gain comfort, and if the front end dropped 1/4" to 1/2" that would be great too. Would going to the c59-302 achieve all this? Or would it be way too soft?
Click to expand...
It would more than likely be too soft. You would be bottoming out the front end quite often because the springs would be working hard with the extra leverage of the front of your vehicle with that bumper weight on there. I recommend checking your tire pressure and probably lowering it when you are on those rough roads. I was out with a guy yesterday that had 80 psi in his 35-in all-terrain tires if you can believe that. You should be running about 35 PSI and he had been complaining about the suspension being too stiff when it was the tire shop that way over inflated his brand new tires.

It would be the 302 coils to run though if you did want to try it and it felt like it will be worth the change
 
Crikeymike said:
It would more than likely be too soft. You would be bottoming out the front end quite often because the springs would be working hard with the extra leverage of the front of your vehicle with that bumper weight on there. I recommend checking your tire pressure and probably lowering it when you are on those rough roads. I was out with a guy yesterday that had 80 psi in his 35-in all-terrain tires if you can believe that. You should be running about 35 PSI and he had been complaining about the suspension being too stiff when it was the tire shop that way over inflated his brand new tires.

It would be the 302 coils to run though if you did want to try it and it felt like it will be worth the change
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I have 255/75 r17's Duratracs and run 30-32 on the road and drop down to 18-20 when doing light off-roading, so that's probably not it. Good suggestion though. Can't imagine what 80 psi in 35's feels like!

While too stiff isn't great I don't really want to be blowing through my suspension either, doesn't sounds like it would be a good fit. (Although Dobinsons USA says they would be fine...)

Are there other coils brands that are compatible with the struts in a 650 in/lbs rate that would fit my struts?
 
Crikeymike said:
It would more than likely be too soft. You would be bottoming out the front end quite often because the springs would be working hard with the extra leverage of the front of your vehicle with that bumper weight on there. I recommend checking your tire pressure and probably lowering it when you are on those rough roads. I was out with a guy yesterday that had 80 psi in his 35-in all-terrain tires if you can believe that. You should be running about 35 PSI and he had been complaining about the suspension being too stiff when it was the tire shop that way over inflated his brand new tires.

It would be the 302 coils to run though if you did want to try it and it felt like it will be worth the change
Click to expand...

Mike, how much more clearance from the tire do I get with the tubular or billet UCAs vs OEM. Can you get me a measurement from the center of the ball joint to the edge of the UCA? I’m thinking only a 2-2.5” lift so I don’t need a lot of caster. Wondering if the billet ones could be dialed in for just an extra degree and not 3?
 
parsky1 said:
Mike, how much more clearance from the tire do I get with the tubular or billet UCAs vs OEM. Can you get me a measurement from the center of the ball joint to the edge of the UCA? I’m thinking only a 2-2.5” lift so I don’t need a lot of caster. Wondering if the billet ones could be dialed in for just an extra degree and not 3?
Click to expand...
I measured them earlier in the year and the 2 Dobinsons arms are almost the same. The wall thickness of the tubular arm is 5mm beyond the edge of the ball joint. I think the billets were about 7mm.

I think the factory thickness is like 1/2" or more from memory.

Here's a photo comparing factory to the tubular arms.
 

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Your website is going crazy man. Sometimes you have a shipping charge and tax sometimes you have no tax but shipping sometimes you have no shipping but tax. Sometimes it has neither. It's also adding things to your cart that you didn't click on. Even when you choose no thanks it still adds it to your cart.I don't know what's going on, but it was really crazy trying to place an order. It would not let my son exclude the sway bar relocation brackets.
 
Rear spring selection

Hello. I have a 2016 TRD Pro 4 Runner that has 58,000 miles on it. Two years ago, I had a Wescott kit installed so I could run 285’s on it with the stock Pro wheels. That kit uses the existing Pro suspension components with a 1.25” spacer for the rear stock springs. It sits about level empty, but sags when I put bikes on the back or pull a boat to the point I can hear a banging noise up front when I go around a corner or stop fast. I have a LFD full powder coated stainless roof rack and a Baja ladder on the back; the tire remains under the vehicle. I like the ride quality, but need to do something about the sagging. I am also planning a trip out west this October and will have 300-500 # of gear in the vehicle.

The following measurements are from the ground to the bottom of the fender through the center of the wheel hub:

Drivers front 37.25” rear 37.75”
Passengers front 37.4” rear 38.0”

What spring set do you suggest to get rid of the 1.25” spacer, lift the back just a bit to give it slightly more rake, and prevent the tail sagging issue?

Thanks!

Uggggg, just saw a video about measuring lift height and realized I should have started from the middle of the hub, not the ground. Makes sense when thinking about all, the variables considering tires. I’ll have to measure again, but I won’t be home until Friday to do it
 
Last edited:
Sr. Carrots said:
Hello. I have a 2016 TRD Pro 4 Runner that has 58,000 miles on it. Two years ago, I had a Wescott kit installed so I could run 285’s on it with the stock Pro wheels. That kit uses the existing Pro suspension components with a 1.25” spacer for the rear stock springs. It sits about level empty, but sags when I put bikes on the back or pull a boat to the point I can hear a banging noise up front when I go around a corner or stop fast. I have a LFD full powder coated stainless roof rack and a Baja ladder on the back; the tire remains under the vehicle. I like the ride quality, but need to do something about the sagging. I am also planning a trip out west this October and will have 300-500 # of gear in the vehicle.

The following measurements are from the ground to the bottom of the fender through the center of the wheel hub:

Drivers front 37.25” rear 37.75”
Passengers front 37.4” rear 38.0”

What spring set do you suggest to get rid of the 1.25” spacer, lift the back just a bit to give it slightly more rake, and prevent the tail sagging issue?

Thanks!

Uggggg, just saw a video about measuring lift height and realized I should have started from the middle of the hub, not the ground. Makes sense when thinking about all, the variables considering tires. I’ll have to measure again, but I won’t be home until Friday to do it
Click to expand...
This was posted in the 4th Gen section, but you have a 5th Gen.

Dobinsons don't offer lifted springs to do what you're trying to do while keeping the stock front TRD Pro strut. That banging could be a noise from the strut, since those seemed to only have a life span of 50-80k miles.

For the rear, you'll probably need the C59-505, which are 1.5-1.75" lift with your daily weight. Adding 300-500lbs to the back will have it drop about 1". To counter that, you can add airbags inside the springs, or just deal with the squatting for that 1 trip.
 
Sorry, I’ll go to the 5th gen page, I didn’t realize I was in the 4th gen page.

The Wescott kit lifts the vehicle about 3” with the stock Pro components, so I don’t think those springs suggested will work, but I’ll take it to the 5th gen page.

Thanks!
 
I finally tracked my steering wander to worn UCA bushings, with one inner portion separated enough I could push it out by hand! I have new bushings but it's been difficult trying to separate the bushing flange from the UCA enough to use a bearing splitter/press.
[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] do you have any tips for how to swap the bushings?
 
maxdef said:
I finally tracked my steering wander to worn UCA bushings, with one inner portion separated enough I could push it out by hand! I have new bushings but it's been difficult trying to separate the bushing flange from the UCA enough to use a bearing splitter/press.
[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] do you have any tips for how to swap the bushings?
Click to expand...
It's not a simple trick, because they get pressed from the outside in, and getting them from the inside out takes some work. The way I've seen it work "the easiest" was to cut out the rubber bushing, then push the sleeve inwards with an air hammer to then get the outer bushing sleeve out. It depends on what tools you have on hand really. A shop with a press and someone that knows how to do it could most likely pop them out very fast. And getting the new ones in is very easy with a press.

Make sure that the arms are only torqued with the full vehicle weight on the ground. Torquing in the air can lead to the center sleeves ripping as they get preloaded when not tightened on the ground.
 
Hi Mike! Got an '05 SR5 V8 4x4 with 220K miles on it, and want to finally lift it. I love the look of all the daystar 2.5/1.5 I've seen, but don't want to do spacers. I was going to do the 5100s and OME 884/895 but the more posts I read the more unsure I became because of so much conflicting advice, but many hours and many many hundreds of posts later, I think I've decided on Dobinsons but want to double check my planned set up, and ask some question. At this point I'm just going to order something tho, becuase the decision paralysis is driving me nuts!!


This is my daily driver, and most of my miles will be pavement miles, so ride quality is my top priority. I do some light offroading so any increase in performance there is great, but I'm not going to lie, the lift is purely for aesthetics. Since I want the look of the 2.5/1.5 I'm looking at the C59-314 front coils and the C59-505 rears. But I've seen some conflicting stuff about the 505s, that its 1.25-1.5" of lift or that it's 1.5-1.75" of lift. And this is my biggest uncertainty right now. I want to level it or have a slightly higher rear end, I definitely don't want the rear lower, and i'm worried thats what I'll get if it's actually 1.25". Also, I tow a utility trailer sometimes and do the occasional trip with my very light pop-up trailer, as well as throw on the hitch mounted bike rack sometimes, so I dunno how much that comes into play. Do I get the the C59-325's to play it safe? or will that end up being too stiff?


For struts, whats the difference between the IMS59 and the GS59s? I can't tell from the website, but it seems the IMS only comes in a 220 for the front? which is the long travel which means I'd actually need to get get the C59-300 front coils because the shocks add an extra 1", is that right?? Otherwise I go with the GS59-221s, and for the rears do I want 701s or 745s??

I'm going to have them pre assembled so I get new top hats and can install them myself, I'm also getting new UCAs so I don't have to worry about any alignment issues.I know I'm not supposed to need to do a diff drop at 2.5", but is there any benefit if I do? Same for the sway bar relocate, any reason to do it? Also, I don't have any lean currently, does that mean I don't have to worry about getting any driver-side spacers?

ugh, I felt like I knew what I wanted basically, but typing all that out made me feel like I'm still lost. Thanks for reading my wall of text
 
Alobar said:
Hi Mike! Got an '05 SR5 V8 4x4 with 220K miles on it, and want to finally lift it. I love the look of all the daystar 2.5/1.5 I've seen, but don't want to do spacers. I was going to do the 5100s and OME 884/895 but the more posts I read the more unsure I became because of so much conflicting advice, but many hours and many many hundreds of posts later, I think I've decided on Dobinsons but want to double check my planned set up, and ask some question. At this point I'm just going to order something tho, becuase the decision paralysis is driving me nuts!!


This is my daily driver, and most of my miles will be pavement miles, so ride quality is my top priority. I do some light offroading so any increase in performance there is great, but I'm not going to lie, the lift is purely for aesthetics. Since I want the look of the 2.5/1.5 I'm looking at the C59-314 front coils and the C59-505 rears. But I've seen some conflicting stuff about the 505s, that its 1.25-1.5" of lift or that it's 1.5-1.75" of lift. And this is my biggest uncertainty right now. I want to level it or have a slightly higher rear end, I definitely don't want the rear lower, and i'm worried thats what I'll get if it's actually 1.25". Also, I tow a utility trailer sometimes and do the occasional trip with my very light pop-up trailer, as well as throw on the hitch mounted bike rack sometimes, so I dunno how much that comes into play. Do I get the the C59-325's to play it safe? or will that end up being too stiff?


For struts, whats the difference between the IMS59 and the GS59s? I can't tell from the website, but it seems the IMS only comes in a 220 for the front? which is the long travel which means I'd actually need to get get the C59-300 front coils because the shocks add an extra 1", is that right?? Otherwise I go with the GS59-221s, and for the rears do I want 701s or 745s??

I'm going to have them pre assembled so I get new top hats and can install them myself, I'm also getting new UCAs so I don't have to worry about any alignment issues.I know I'm not supposed to need to do a diff drop at 2.5", but is there any benefit if I do? Same for the sway bar relocate, any reason to do it? Also, I don't have any lean currently, does that mean I don't have to worry about getting any driver-side spacers?

ugh, I felt like I knew what I wanted basically, but typing all that out made me feel like I'm still lost. Thanks for reading my wall of text
Click to expand...


For what it's worth, here's a couple pics of my V8 with the following

Front Springs: C59-302 - V8 - Stock front end load, 2" lift.
Front Shocks: GS59-221
Rear Springs: C59-505 - Stock rear end load, 1.5" lift.
Rear Shocks: GS59-705 - Twin Tube, suits 0-2.5" lift

Also put Freedom Offroad UCAs on.

Might go a bit bigger if I were doing it again, but I'm happy. I was aiming for stock+ with this suspension/tire combo, and keeping the slight factory rake. I achieved that goal. Have 3.6 deg caster on driver side, 4.1 deg caster on passenger. Good numbers thanks to the UCAs

With stock 265/65R17 tires
KnM3O2x.jpeg


With 255/75R17 pizza cutters
ttiT9sr.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Alobar said:
Hi Mike! Got an '05 SR5 V8 4x4 with 220K miles on it, and want to finally lift it. I love the look of all the daystar 2.5/1.5 I've seen, but don't want to do spacers. I was going to do the 5100s and OME 884/895 but the more posts I read the more unsure I became because of so much conflicting advice, but many hours and many many hundreds of posts later, I think I've decided on Dobinsons but want to double check my planned set up, and ask some question. At this point I'm just going to order something tho, becuase the decision paralysis is driving me nuts!!


This is my daily driver, and most of my miles will be pavement miles, so ride quality is my top priority. I do some light offroading so any increase in performance there is great, but I'm not going to lie, the lift is purely for aesthetics. Since I want the look of the 2.5/1.5 I'm looking at the C59-314 front coils and the C59-505 rears. But I've seen some conflicting stuff about the 505s, that its 1.25-1.5" of lift or that it's 1.5-1.75" of lift. And this is my biggest uncertainty right now. I want to level it or have a slightly higher rear end, I definitely don't want the rear lower, and i'm worried thats what I'll get if it's actually 1.25". Also, I tow a utility trailer sometimes and do the occasional trip with my very light pop-up trailer, as well as throw on the hitch mounted bike rack sometimes, so I dunno how much that comes into play. Do I get the the C59-325's to play it safe? or will that end up being too stiff?


For struts, whats the difference between the IMS59 and the GS59s? I can't tell from the website, but it seems the IMS only comes in a 220 for the front? which is the long travel which means I'd actually need to get get the C59-300 front coils because the shocks add an extra 1", is that right?? Otherwise I go with the GS59-221s, and for the rears do I want 701s or 745s??

I'm going to have them pre assembled so I get new top hats and can install them myself, I'm also getting new UCAs so I don't have to worry about any alignment issues.I know I'm not supposed to need to do a diff drop at 2.5", but is there any benefit if I do? Same for the sway bar relocate, any reason to do it? Also, I don't have any lean currently, does that mean I don't have to worry about getting any driver-side spacers?

ugh, I felt like I knew what I wanted basically, but typing all that out made me feel like I'm still lost. Thanks for reading my wall of text
Click to expand...

Hey bud.

For what you're doing with the vehicle, you pretty much don't need the IMS. The GS twin tube option will be ideal, and it rides so nice, just like the other member just posted. Read this for a quick take on the shock differences too:
https://exitoffroad.com/different-shock-types/

This is the most common setup we have ever sold for 4x4 V8 models, 2.5" front and 1.5" rear. You'll be ok with these rear coils unless your constant weight goes up.

C59-314 front coils, 2.5" on a V8
GS59-221 front struts
C59-505 rear coils, 1.5"
GS59-701 rear shocks - because you'll be towing
UCA's
Rear sway bar links
Front sway bar drop is recommended, to realign it and get the geometry corrected
Diff drop kit is not needed with these struts. If you were to run the extended travel GS59-220 or IMS59-50220 with UCA's, you'll need it because at full droop, the CV's will bind.

That's great if it's not leaning currently, as most are. You can always add lean spacers later if you develop a lean.

This page here walks you through all the parts and what they're for:
https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-1-to-3-5-lift-kit-toyota-4runner-4x4-2003-2009/

C59-300 coils with GS59-220 struts will also yield 2.5", but with the extra travel that those struts give plus the 1" of lift from the coil seat. For a road vehicle, you wouldn't see a benefit of the extra travel, that's for offroad.
 
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