Coil/strut advice for a 02

[gumbii]

So I my struts are well over the milage for a change out and Im trying to upgrade them from the typical OEM setup. I went wheeling yesterday and it was a pretty rough ride. The car is a little over 160k. I have never swapped out the shocks, and I dont know if the previous owner or not (bought at 80k).

This is a new project for me so I am a little in the dark about the specs and what can/cant be done. There seems to be no lack of information on what I can do but bottom line is I want to upgrade the system but NOT lift the vehicle which is where I am having trouble as most people tend to do stuff like this when they put a few inches on their rides.

As far as shocks go, Im pretty sold on the Rancho RS9000XLs. What Im not sure is if I need or want to swap out the coils as well. I have heard its possible to put Tundra TRD coils on a 3rd gen (which would suit the tundra brakes I put on it well) but everyone I have seen mentioning it was doing a lift. Can you put Tundra coils on an 02 without lifting it, and if not is there another recommended set of coils?

 

[gumbii]

Bump

 

[Brique]

Replying to bump and give my limited thoughts. I don't know for sure if you can put tundras on at stock height, but I imagine if you did, you'd lose the move progressive ride due to the fact you're pre-compressing them. Someone who actually knows might correct me on that, though.

 

[poser]

Look on Toytech's website. I believe they have some shocks and springs that are an upgrade over OEM, but do not lift.

 

[AZ4Running]

Hard to beat tbe oem Toyota Bilstiens for over all performance at stock height for on and off road driving. KYB adjust-a-gas are pretty good. Stay away from Monroe. Jmo

 

[gumbii]

Hard to beat tbe oem Toyota Bilstiens for over all performance at stock height for on and off road driving. KYB adjust-a-gas are pretty good. Stay away from Monroe. Jmo

So Im new here, but why all the hate for Monroe? I thought Rancho was a separate company.

 

[AZ4Running]

Rancho are decent. Monroe OE Spec and SensaTracs suck. They are ok at best for a dd car but they wont last long off roading. As a mechanic i do lots of Monroe shocks and struts and i see them leaking and failing way early, under a year. I have pulled them out of the box and have had them be leaking and blown out. For a good stock replacement KYB or Bilstien. Pro Comp is a little more off road friendly/ ment for off road. I have never used them so i no experience with them but i hear enougb good things.

 

[gumbii]

Rancho are decent. Monroe OE Spec and SensaTracs suck. They are ok at best for a dd car but they wont last long off roading. As a mechanic i do lots of Monroe shocks and struts and i see them leaking and failing way early, under a year. I have pulled them out of the box and have had them be leaking and blown out. For a good stock replacement KYB or Bilstien. Pro Comp is a little more off road friendly/ ment for off road. I have never used them so i no experience with them but i hear enougb good things.

I think Im going to go with the Ranchos for the struts. So now I have to figure out what to do with the front and rear coils. OEM or something else?

 

[theriddler]

So I my struts are well over the milage for a change out and Im trying to upgrade them from the typical OEM setup. I went wheeling yesterday and it was a pretty rough ride. The car is a little over 160k. I have never swapped out the shocks, and I dont know if the previous owner or not (bought at 80k).

This is a new project for me so I am a little in the dark about the specs and what can/cant be done. There seems to be no lack of information on what I can do but bottom line is I want to upgrade the system but NOT lift the vehicle which is where I am having trouble as most people tend to do stuff like this when they put a few inches on their rides.

As far as shocks go, Im pretty sold on the Rancho RS9000XLs. What Im not sure is if I need or want to swap out the coils as well. I have heard its possible to put Tundra TRD coils on a 3rd gen (which would suit the tundra brakes I put on it well) but everyone I have seen mentioning it was doing a lift. Can you put Tundra coils on an 02 without lifting it, and if not is there another recommended set of coils?

Stick with OEM struts and shocks for the best ride quality. I've had the Monroe, Rancho, Doetsch Tech, Bilsteins, Fox, OEM, and Donahoe (now ICON off road I believe), the best riding shocks were Donahoe and OEM. Bilsteins are good shocks as well. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong), KYB makes shocks for Toyotas, but they're good shocks too from my experience. I've had bad luck with shocks in the past, most shock "upgrades" I did to my vehicles in the past resulted in a rough ride (Monroe, Rancho, etc.) so I'm picky about the shocks I get now.

As far as springs go, only replace them if they're sagging or you plan on hauling more weight. Springs control ride height and load carrying capacity, the shocks/struts do the dampening.

Do the springs really need to be replaced?

 

[gumbii]

Stick with OEM struts and shocks for the best ride quality. I've had the Monroe, Rancho, Doetsch Tech, Bilsteins, Fox, OEM, and Donahoe (now ICON off road I believe), the best riding shocks were Donahoe and OEM. Bilsteins are good shocks as well. I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong), KYB makes shocks for Toyotas, but they're good shocks too from my experience. I've had bad luck with shocks in the past, most shock "upgrades" I did to my vehicles in the past resulted in a rough ride (Monroe, Rancho, etc.) so I'm picky about the shocks I get now.

As far as springs go, only replace them if they're sagging or you plan on hauling more weight. Springs control ride height and load carrying capacity, the shocks/struts do the dampening.

Do the springs really need to be replaced?

This I dont know. The rig is sitting on 165K and as far as I know has never had any suspension work done on it. I know that when I test each tire (push down and see if it comes up beyond its normal height), all four wheels give a lot of bounce beyond its running height. Buddy of mine commented on it last weekend while we were wheeling.