Finally, I installed the kit and gave a good workout at a near national forest service road.
Setup: TRD Pro FJ suspension kit + Toytec 1” lift front shock lower perch + Dobinson CP59-505R (1.25-1.5” lift) for rear
Installation: i almost gave up the installation after cursing at myself for not working out enough to bench press 600lb. After wrestling with spring compressor for 2hr, i remember seeing “no spring compressor” method here somewhere. Man.. that was my life saver. Anywayz, took me about 8hr total.
Alignment: i was able to squeeze out only 1.6* (driver) and 1.3* (passenger) castor for the front which are both below factory min spec. (See my onroad comment below)
The Lift: Unfortunately, I did not have any tape measure so I used the finger measurements instead and converted those to inch. So these aint precise but rather relative measures.
Front: 1.5-1.7”
Rear: 1.6-1.8”
Fronts are slightly lower than expected, rear are slightly higher than expected. Also both have slight driver side lean carryover. Despite these, i feel like headlights go out further than before... perhaps this could be pure placebo effect.
The Ride - Onroad: I can definitely tell the extra height when i turn but the car remains composed - probably due to stiffer/firmer shocks/speing combo, and there is slightly less rocking back and forth during accleration/decelleration as well. HOWEVER, I definitely lost the highway speed stability. With much smaller castor along with raised center of gravity, I feel like the car lost good amt of wind stability and steering wheel became lighter too.
The Ride - Offroad: More available travel appear to soak up small and big bumps much more efficiently. I never felt i bottomed out my shocks. Also higher ride height gave additional comfort level when i water-cross. However, ride feels little more harsher than before. The rougher ride quality could be attributable to KO2 not so much on the new suspension set up. This was my first time taking KO2 to some decent offroad trails.
I will come back and provide more update after putting more miles. So do i regret? Nope. This is a truck so I am willing to accept the trade offs for higher offroad capability.
Setup: TRD Pro FJ suspension kit + Toytec 1” lift front shock lower perch + Dobinson CP59-505R (1.25-1.5” lift) for rear
Installation: i almost gave up the installation after cursing at myself for not working out enough to bench press 600lb. After wrestling with spring compressor for 2hr, i remember seeing “no spring compressor” method here somewhere. Man.. that was my life saver. Anywayz, took me about 8hr total.
Alignment: i was able to squeeze out only 1.6* (driver) and 1.3* (passenger) castor for the front which are both below factory min spec. (See my onroad comment below)
The Lift: Unfortunately, I did not have any tape measure so I used the finger measurements instead and converted those to inch. So these aint precise but rather relative measures.
Front: 1.5-1.7”
Rear: 1.6-1.8”
Fronts are slightly lower than expected, rear are slightly higher than expected. Also both have slight driver side lean carryover. Despite these, i feel like headlights go out further than before... perhaps this could be pure placebo effect.
The Ride - Onroad: I can definitely tell the extra height when i turn but the car remains composed - probably due to stiffer/firmer shocks/speing combo, and there is slightly less rocking back and forth during accleration/decelleration as well. HOWEVER, I definitely lost the highway speed stability. With much smaller castor along with raised center of gravity, I feel like the car lost good amt of wind stability and steering wheel became lighter too.
The Ride - Offroad: More available travel appear to soak up small and big bumps much more efficiently. I never felt i bottomed out my shocks. Also higher ride height gave additional comfort level when i water-cross. However, ride feels little more harsher than before. The rougher ride quality could be attributable to KO2 not so much on the new suspension set up. This was my first time taking KO2 to some decent offroad trails.
I will come back and provide more update after putting more miles. So do i regret? Nope. This is a truck so I am willing to accept the trade offs for higher offroad capability.
