My 2011 Trail is about 4K miles short of 100K. It still runs like new but the suspension is starting to seem a little tired.

I recently swapped my KO2s for Falkens, moving from the 275s back to the 265s. I much preferred the look of the larger KO2s but I noticed the extra weight immediately – more sluggish off the line, rode a little rougher, gas mileage took a hit.

After a few years running them, I decided to switch back to stock. The change has been noticeable but also made it clear the tires weren’t the only thing to blame. The suspension needs to be updated.

I’ve ordered the Fox TRD Pro suspension. I didn’t want anything more than a small lift up front and the Fox set up seemed to have the most advanced tuning for stock configuration.

Yes, it was wildly more expensive but other than tires, brakes, and fluid changes I’ve spent nothing on maintenance for this car, so why not?

Questions...

In addition to the shocks and springs, are there any other common suspension wear items I should update while the mechanic in there? Bushings? Ball joints? Etc?

Anything else I need to know before making this upgrade (tricks, tips, etc)?

Thanks all!

If you have KDSS, replace the rubber bushings - they're about $8 each and you might as well do them when you unhook the KDSS sway bar during the suspension install.

No KDSS. It’s a bare bones Trail. I was in a rush to get one just after the tsunami hit Japan. Recall it being one of the last ones left in SoCal at the time. Wasn’t sure how long production would be impacted.

I would changing the rear springs too
what did you get for rear springs?

Yes, planning to replace the rear springs as well. Was just going to stick to stock springs since that’s what the shocks were designed against. I’m looking to retain the factory height in the rear.

Following along to see what tips you end up getting. Pocketing the info for the future lol

You don't need to replace the rear springs, right? Springs don't really wear out like shocks... and TRD PROs use the same rear spring as all other trims (except Limited apparently).

From what I'm reading bump stops might be a good idea.

You can go crazy with the “while you’re in there” stuff but at only 100k miles, unless you really beat in that thing off-road over the years, I’d probably just do sway bar end links and tie rod ends. They’re pretty cheap and easy to get to. You could do control arm bushings too but not sure if it’s necessary for that mileage or not and you’d need a press to replace them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I replaced xRES on my wife's 2010 LTD with the 2019 TRD Fox take offs. also changed rear springs with the ones that came off the Fox set. Nothing else.