[Advice] Calling all King Suspension Owners

[KimIsAGuy]

Hi,

Currently I'm running (1st Gen Tundra) Bilstein 6112 (650lbs) and (FJ) 5160 w/ OME 890. I like the setup, but I'm getting old and want a better ride quality. Right now, I have a TNF plate bumper w/ winch and my rear is roughly 300lbs heavier than stock.

I'm thinking of getting King extended front, and MAYBE considering a OSR kit with a 10" King rear.

1. This is my DD. I drive the crap out of my car (with love)... I am at 430k miles and still trucking along.

2. How's the ride quality both on and off road? I don't want mushy rides, but hoping it'd ride closer to a GX or 5th Gen.

3. Aside from ride quality, how stable is the ride? What I mean by that with the current setup, car kinda isn't stable at high speed (70+). I have to constantly correct the steering. Right now if I hit a big enough bump, the rear would hope.

4. I'm currently near Portland, OR so if some one is near here. I'm down to meetup and get more information.

Thanks in advance!

 

[RomanSchnobrich]

I can't comment on King quality, but I'd like to recommend ADS to you. They're on par with King but from what I've read they use higher quality components, are less prone to rust/moisture issues, and have significantly shorter lead times right now. When I ordered mine last spring, they took around six weeks and their customer service was top notch. I have an ARB bumper up front with a lighter winch, paired with 650 lb coils. It's a joy to drive around town but truly shines off road in the dirt and rocks. To me, it's the perfect mix of stiff and cushy for a healthy mix of pavement and off road miles.

 

[PrinceValorum]

Following out of curiosity.

I have the stage 5 Icons and the tl;dr is they are borderline harsh around town and through pothole riddled roads at low speeds, but they're excellent on the highway and on twisty backroads at speed. Turned down to full soft off road they're more pleasant over rough terrain, and are very capable through everything I've put them through in Colorado. They're certainly not holding me back.

Edit:

1. This is my DD. I drive the crap out of my car (with love)... I am at 430k miles and still trucking along.

2. How's the ride quality both on and off road? I don't want mushy rides, but hoping it'd ride closer to a GX or 5th Gen.

3. Aside from ride quality, how stable is the ride? What I mean by that with the current setup, car kinda isn't stable at high speed (70+). I have to constantly correct the steering. Right now if I hit a big enough bump, the rear would hope.

1. My truck is my DD as well

2. It's not mushy at all. At full soft it reacts slower and I'd say it might feel a little dead/muted, but not mushy. At full stiff it's a completely different animal. Saying it feels like a "sports car" feels a bit trite, but it's extremely tight and responsive. I normally have it around 4-5 on the scale of 1-9 with 1 being full soft. (I also have the heavy front coils, and heavy rear Superflex coils, and a lot of weight with full armor) It's been a while since I've driven a GX, but it has the potential to be way more responsive than a new stock vehicle.

3. My blown out stock suspension was downright scary on the highway going over expansion gaps, especially bumps around curves. These transformed the truck, and highway driving is excellent now.

 

[thenightman]

I have kings in the front, non remote resivore. Back is ome coils and bilstien shocks. I have a steel cable 9500lb smittybilt on a homemade winchplate inside the gutted OEM bumper, and a 2nd battery, as far as extra weight up front. No complaints about the kings. In the rear the bilstiens dont control the weight well, and the steep panhard causes side to side movement, the combination of those two things makes me lose traction in kind of a scary way while cornering on washboard. But the front is great. Love the kings.

Ride quality is better than stock was. On and off road.

Stability is fine, for a lifted truck with a high lift and 5 gallons of gas on the roof. This summer we cruised along at 80mph for hundreds of miles, it felt great.

Its not my DD. We have other cars for that and a spare. But if those were down I wouldn't hesitate to take it to work.

 

[KimIsAGuy]

I can't comment on King quality, but I'd like to recommend ADS to you. They're on par with King but from what I've read they use higher quality components, are less prone to rust/moisture issues, and have significantly shorter lead times right now. When I ordered mine last spring, they took around six weeks and their customer service was top notch. I have an ARB bumper up front with a lighter winch, paired with 650 lb coils. It's a joy to drive around town but truly shines off road in the dirt and rocks. To me, it's the perfect mix of stiff and cushy for a healthy mix of pavement and off road miles.

A have a buddy who’s running ADS, I should ask if I can take his car out for a spin. He said the same thing too in regards to ADS vs Kings.

I have kings in the front, non remote resivore. Back is ome coils and bilstien shocks. I have a steel cable 9500lb smittybilt on a homemade winchplate inside the gutted OEM bumper, and a 2nd battery, as far as extra weight up front. No complaints about the kings. In the rear the bilstiens dont control the weight well, and the steep panhard causes side to side movement, the combination of those two things makes me lose traction in kind of a scary way while cornering on washboard. But the front is great. Love the kings.

Ride quality is better than stock was. On and off road.

Stability is fine, for a lifted truck with a high lift and 5 gallons of gas on the roof. This summer we cruised along at 80mph for hundreds of miles, it felt great.

Its not my DD. We have other cars for that and a spare. But if those were down I wouldn't hesitate to take it to work.

That’s what’s happening with my rear Bilsteins… I’m maybe 250lbs extra in the rear too.

 

[jross20]

My two cents...

If you get kings I would get them custom valved. To me stock kings for 3rd gens are far too stiff. To each his own but 5100s on my previous second gen Tacoma felt significantly better to me.

No I'm not saying they have the same performance, I'm just purely talking about driving around, hitting bumps and stuff

It might work out better for you if you have a lot of extra weight, I'm curious to see if my situation improves when I add armor

 

[KimIsAGuy]

My two cents...

If you get kings I would get them custom valved. To me stock kings for 3rd gens are far too stiff. To each his own but 5100s on my previous second gen Tacoma felt significantly better to me.

No I'm not saying they have the same performance, I'm just purely talking about driving around, hitting bumps and stuff

It might work out better for you if you have a lot of extra weight, I'm curious to see if my situation improves when I add armor

From what I understand, custom valving is the way to go with the coilovers in general.

But, right now with the TNF (w/ stinger) + Warn M8S, the front has roughly 160-170lbs extra. The rear has a LRA tank which is roughly ~110lbs empty, ~260lbs filled.

With the gas tanks filled, it's a bit better. Definitely, still stiffer than a stock 5G 4R (TRD off-Road/TRD Pro (Fox)). I do feel like if I go to 600lbs springs in the front the ride might be a bit more bearable, but I feel like it won't be as refined as going to adjustable coilovers.

 

[fixxor]

Interested in this too. I'm running Bilstein 6112 as well and they seem to be worn out. Was going to go Kings but who knows when they will be available. Just looked at the ADS shocks with clicker on their site and they are $2500, damn.

 

[tx_shooter]

Hi,

Currently I'm running (1st Gen Tundra) Bilstein 6112 (650lbs) and (FJ) 5160 w/ OME 890. I like the setup, but I'm getting old and want a better ride quality. Right now, I have a TNF plate bumper w/ winch and my rear is roughly 300lbs heavier than stock.

I'm thinking of getting King extended front, and MAYBE considering a OSR kit with a 10" King rear.

1. This is my DD. I drive the crap out of my car (with love)... I am at 430k miles and still trucking along.

2. How's the ride quality both on and off road? I don't want mushy rides, but hoping it'd ride closer to a GX or 5th Gen.

3. Aside from ride quality, how stable is the ride? What I mean by that with the current setup, car kinda isn't stable at high speed (70+). I have to constantly correct the steering. Right now if I hit a big enough bump, the rear would hope.

4. I'm currently near Portland, OR so if some one is near here. I'm down to meetup and get more information.

Thanks in advance!

I have around 15k miles on my Kings right now. I wish I had bought them sooner. I have the extended travel with adjustable remote reservoirs in back. On road they are great; even my wife comments about how smooth they ride. Off road the adjustable settings in back are great. I have had them on day trips off roading bu will have them back in the dirt at Big Bend next month. I have done some high speed driving on ranch trails without any complaints and am not expecting any issues in Big Bend.

Expensive - yes. But at no point have I had any doubts that I did not buy the best suspension available.