Now that my new suspension has been put through the rigors I thought I'd give you some perspective around my choices and the results of the install - maybe it will help someone.

So first off - I've got a 2009 Forerunner limited with a V6. I had put in a Demello front bumper, warn 9ti winch and a cornfed spacer kit right off the lot almost.

At 130,000 miles or so, I tore the suspension out and put in the following:

Metaltech 2.5" IFP Coilovers with upgraded springs...
A pair of JBA's HD UCAs
A set of rear Toytec Superflex HD springs
A pair of rear Bilstein shocks

I had just taken off the OEM Warn wire up front and added a nice synthetic replacement lightening things up a bit but I also have a heavy hardened mud spike up front - probably 30 lbs which rides on the bumper...

I have all the room in the world for lifting the front with those new coil overs and have beat them severely but have to say I may have overestimated both front and rear spring rates and sacrificed a little off road ride quality.

I can abuse it and its held up well now for 25-30k miles and handles very well but in hindsight, I think the standard rate 650s up front for the Metaltech's and the standard Superflex out back would have been better on jarring bumps off road than the HDs.

Its manageable and not bad but could be better for my hoop-di-do washboard and bolder crawling app. Its a hunting rig, so mud, water, snow, rock, etc. is what it gets.

The spring shock combo out back got me nice and high - but too keep the geometry civil up front - I've only raised it a small amount so it looks a bit raked out for my taste.

The on pavement ride is excellent and I've loaded the truck to the gills with gear and felt little difference in the ride. It handles it beautifully on the road loaded or light.

I wanted it to eat up some of those jarring blows offroad but the increased spring rate probably doesn't give enough... at least on the big ones, and especially when the load it light.

I also wanted to mention that I think the rear stabilizer bar / panhard bar has a bunch of pressure on it. I lost a bolt off the bar end on one side put in a new link - but think I'd do better if I had longer "tie ends" on there. I'm not sure the panhard bar is running in the right position with all that lift.

Long term, I may look for, or make a longer set of end links for it. As with the front - I would normally take off a sway bar but I tow my boat often and like that in place for that. At some point I may take off the front sway and give it a go as I did with my other forerunners.

In the future I'll install a locker diff - probably get it off a junked car, and may switch to the regular super-flexes out back if I haven't beat these HDs into submission.

That's the report. I'll give it an 8 out of 10, deducting two points for my insistence that the standard level spring rate was not enough - front and rear and the stress on the rear end links I can see which will probably bite me later.

T

What are these "Metaltech 2.5" IFP Coilovers with upgraded springs" or "heavy hardened mud spike up front" that you speak of?

They are the Metal Tech supplied Overland valved Radflo 2.5" tubed coil overs - and I asked and received for a little more $ the 700 lb Eibach springs instead of the standard 650# version. I think with the 650s it would be more forgiving...

The mud spike or bull prick looks like a 4 to 5 foot long oversized nail you pound in the ground when you don't have a tree or a rock to winch off. Its hardened, cold rolled steel as I picked it out.


Where most hang their shackles - I run that and don't think of it until I need it. Its got me out of some crazy jams where without it, I'd had lost my rig. Its in the ice low on the bumper - and looks like a big nail.

T

Are you running bilstein 5100 or 5160 rear shocks? I would look into getting matching radflo 2.0/2.5 rear shocks to replace them. I do believe I’ve read that the bilsteins are not really designed to run a stiffer rate than stock. I do not have any experience with either bilstein or radflo though, so take my words with a grain of salt.