Coilover Questions

[thebwlife]

Ok I have a few questions about coilovers.

First my end goal is to run 285/70/17 BFG T/A KO’s with improved brake dive and body roll. This thing rolls and bounces pretty bad on any type of non-perfect concrete. I do 80/20 street/off-road with my off-road being rough dirt roads and fire roads? Most of my off-road involves driving in really bad weather to a ski slope.

I plan on piecing together my own lift kit as follows:

Some non-reserve coilover for the front - Radflo 2.0's
SAW rear 1.5” springs
Bilstein 5100 rear shocks – these should be fine for my type of off-roading not a whole lot of desert racing to be done in Oklahoma.

I really like the idea of running the toytec coilovers because they are basic and simple. You can pick up a Bilstein 5100 at any Autozone, O’Reillys’s, Advance Auto within the day. This makes the just-in-case something goes bad an easy fix. But some of the negatives is your paying a premium coilover price for a Bilstein 5100 with a fancy coilover bucket. I’m not really excited about having to put sway-bar relocation brackets and now some kind of radiator drop bracket on.

I know with all the 2.5 coilovers (Icon, Radflo, Sway-a-Way) you have to use the sway-bar relocation brackets, but do you have to do the radiator brace brackets too?

I’m leaning toward the Radflo 2.0’s because I really have a mostly stock truck and it will never have a bumper and a winch on it, maybe a budbuilt hidden winch later on and the 2.0’s should be fine, but not anytime soon. I was told from overland warehouse (before they ended business) that I wouldn’t need the sway-bar relocation brackets with the 2.0 fronts.

So my couple questions are do you have to do the radiator brace brackets on all coilovers? And how often would a Radflo really need to be rebuilt?

I know UCA are recommended but is it a true necessity for coilovers set at 2.5” of lift?

 

[brockeverly]

Why not save ssome coin and do an OME kit? I LOVE mine, and UCA's were not needed.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I have not heard of one person doing a radiator relocation when lifting their truck. with the 2.5 kit you will definitely need to relocate the sway bar though, but that is very easy.

 

[thebwlife]

Why not save ssome coin and do an OME kit? I LOVE mine, and UCA's were not needed.

Because I'll do the coilovers first to stiffen up the front while I wear out my factory tires. My wife hates the nose dive more than I do. We have 4 month old twins so a full lift is on the back burner until they are not in carriers or car seats. BUT I could swing coilovers and level up the front a bit with the factory tires.

I like the OME stuff too, just would be nice to only do the suspension one time. Just not a ton of adjustability with the OME lift.

 

[thebwlife]

Does anyone know if the radflo 2.5's actual coils have a larger diameter than the 2.0's?

 

[brockeverly]

You have said that you are not doing a bumper, so adjustable coilovers are not really needed. Not trying to hijack, but if you look back at my threads you will see I also went through this.

For the cost of just the fronts you could have front and rear done through ToyTec's OME kit in one shot. No nose dive, much better ride, much better articulation.

In my experience with adjustable coilovers (WRX set up for track duty) they are far from set and forget. More moving parts, more crap to break or need rebuilt. OME is set and forget. Even with as much wheeling as I do (which is not super crazy stuff, but I go almost every week) I do not regret the OME kit one bit.

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

Sounds like the Radflo 2.0 would suit you pretty good.

Radflo Adjustable Front coilovers - Toytec Lifts: Toyota Lift Kits: FJ Cruiser Lift Kits, Tacoma Lift Kits, Tundra Lift Kits, 4 Runner Lift Kits, Sequoia Lift Kits, Toyota Truck Lift Kits

The 2.0's have a 650lb coil, shoudl help with the nose dive and body roll quite a bit and still maintain good comfort levels.

Also, no radiator relocation needed.... never heard of doing that on anything but a body lift. As others have mentioned, you will need to relocate your sway bar which is not a big deal at all.

 

[H2O_Doc]

Why not save ssome coin and do an OME kit? I LOVE mine, and UCA's were not needed.

How much lift did you end up with? I'm toying with the idea of OME, but don't want too much lift. No more than 2.5in, but 2 front/1.5 rear would be better.

 

[brockeverly]

How much lift did you end up with? I'm toying with the idea of OME, but don't want too much lift. No more than 2.5in, but 2 front/1.5 rear would be better.

You can get different springs for lower lift. I got about 2.75". PM sn0wrunner, he works at Toytec and get you the right kit nailed down.

 

[thebwlife]

You have said that you are not doing a bumper, so adjustable coilovers are not really needed. Not trying to hijack, but if you look back at my threads you will see I also went through this.

For the cost of just the fronts you could have front and rear done through ToyTec's OME kit in one shot. No nose dive, much better ride, much better articulation.

In my experience with adjustable coilovers (WRX set up for track duty) they are far from set and forget. More moving parts, more crap to break or need rebuilt. OME is set and forget. Even with as much wheeling as I do (which is not super crazy stuff, but I go almost every week) I do not regret the OME kit one bit.

Post 4 explains why I want coilovers. Cause I'll just be leveling it first, then when new tires are needed I'll finish up the lift and add 285's.

 

[thebwlife]

Sounds like the Radflo 2.0 would suit you pretty good.

Radflo Adjustable Front coilovers - Toytec Lifts: Toyota Lift Kits: FJ Cruiser Lift Kits, Tacoma Lift Kits, Tundra Lift Kits, 4 Runner Lift Kits, Sequoia Lift Kits, Toyota Truck Lift Kits

The 2.0's have a 650lb coil, shoudl help with the nose dive and body roll quite a bit and still maintain good comfort levels.

Also, no radiator relocation needed.... never heard of doing that on anything but a body lift. As others have mentioned, you will need to relocate your sway bar which is not a big deal at all.

Not knocking toytec but metal tech has them cheaper. I think they do free shipping too?

 

[brockeverly]

Post 4 explains why I want coilovers. Cause I'll just be leveling it first, then when new tires are needed I'll finish up the lift and add 285's.

I took the "swing" as financially swinging the expensive lift. My bad LOL. Good luck to ya in your search I would call Jeff @ Toytec and tell him what you want. In my experience with him, he did not push me to a more expensive kit to gain a larger sale. He gave me what worked best for the end result I wanted.

His number is 3032554959 extension 107, or PM sn0wrunner, same guy

 

[brockeverly]

Not knocking toytec but metal tech has them cheaper. I think they do free shipping too?

How much cheaper? I know Jeff has a forum discount set up for us, might level the playing field.

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

You have said that you are not doing a bumper, so adjustable coilovers are not really needed. Not trying to hijack, but if you look back at my threads you will see I also went through this.

For the cost of just the fronts you could have front and rear done through ToyTec's OME kit in one shot. No nose dive, much better ride, much better articulation.

In my experience with adjustable coilovers (WRX set up for track duty) they are far from set and forget. More moving parts, more crap to break or need rebuilt. OME is set and forget. Even with as much wheeling as I do (which is not super crazy stuff, but I go almost every week) I do not regret the OME kit one bit.

Or this ^^^

All of this is true. Lots of people, including some of my good buddies LOVE the OME kit, it works well for them and stands up to everything they throw at it.

I like coilovers due to the adjustability - example.... I put my coilovers on and ran them with the pre set height for a few months.... later i added a roof rack, rock armor and stuff and lost almost .75" or ride height. Simple fix with coilovers, jack the truck up, loosen the spring collar and give it a few turns to re gain that lost ride height. Done.

Also, coilovers are rebuildable and should last for the lifetime of the truck which is nice. My dad is currently on his 3rd set of Bilstein's on his Tacoma with a tick over 100k miles. First set blew under warranty and was replaced... second and thrid after warranty and replaced on his dime. In the end he would be money ahead if he bought the coilovers I told him to get...

 

[brockeverly]

Or this ^^^

All of this is true. Lots of people, including some of my good buddies LOVE the OME kit, it works well for them and stands up to everything they throw at it.

I like coilovers due to the adjustability - example.... I put my coilovers on and ran them with the pre set height for a few months.... later i added a roof rack, rock armor and stuff and lost almost .75" or ride height. Simple fix with coilovers, jack the truck up, loosen the spring collar and give it a few turns to re gain that lost ride height. Done.

Also, coilovers are rebuildable and should last for the lifetime of the truck which is nice. My dad is currently on his 3rd set of Bilstein's on his Tacoma with a tick over 100k miles. First set blew under warranty and was replaced... second and thrid after warranty and replaced on his dime. In the end he would be money ahead if he bought the coilovers I told him to get...

Both are coilovers, just one is an adjustable coilover

Bilstein 5100s --edit-- have a lifetime warranty --edit--, and are what is used in the Toytec kit. Radflos are rebuildable and are used in the OW 2.0 / 2.5 kits and the Radflo kit.

If you must have adjustables, here is another way to do both at once for a less expensive price :biggrin2:
3" lift kit W/ Bilstein 5100 Height adj. Coilovers FJ & - Toytec Lifts: Toyota Lift Kits: FJ Cruiser Lift Kits, Tacoma Lift Kits, Tundra Lift Kits, 4 Runner Lift Kits, Sequoia Lift Kits, Toyota Truck Lift Kits

 

[thebwlife]

I took the "swing" as financially swinging the expensive lift. My bad LOL. Good luck to ya in your search I would call Jeff @ Toytec and tell him what you want. In my experience with him, he did not push me to a more expensive kit to gain a larger sale. He gave me what worked best for the end result I wanted.

His number is 3032554959 extension 107, or PM sn0wrunner, same guy

To say money doesn't matter would be dumb, but money is not my biggest driving factor. I'd rather do it once because my life is hectic and (to me) my time is worth the extra money. Kind of one of those things where you get into it and say damn for 300 bucks more I could just go out there torque up the coil and drop it off to be aligned. Instead with a swap again I'd have to make a day out of it, possibly get a buddy to help, hear my wife nag, listen to the kids scream while I'm dirty and can't pick one up. Simplicicity is what I'm mostly going for.

I should have put about leveling it for a while with factory tires in my goal section in my OP.

 

[thebwlife]

Both are coilovers, just one is an adjustable coilover

Bilstein 5100s are rebuildable, and are what is used in the Toytec kit. Radflos are also rebuildable and are used in the OW 2.0 / 2.5 kits and the Radflo kit.

If you must have adjustables, here is another way to do both at once for a less expensive price :biggrin2:
3" lift kit W/ Bilstein 5100 Height adj. Coilovers FJ & - Toytec Lifts: Toyota Lift Kits: FJ Cruiser Lift Kits, Tacoma Lift Kits, Tundra Lift Kits, 4 Runner Lift Kits, Sequoia Lift Kits, Toyota Truck Lift Kits

5100's are not rebuildable, they just warranty them out and replace them. But they should have a lifetime warranty now days from most places.

 

[brockeverly]

5100's are not rebuildable, they just warranty them out and replace them. But they should have a lifetime warranty now days from most places.

Sorry, its been a few months since I was looking at them. Either way, they are effectively the same. Not like any of us would physically rebuild them ourselves, so we would just swap them anyway LOL. Depending on the warranty on the Radflo's, this could save some coin later. IIRC, OW charged around $95 to rebuild. A lifetime warranty > rebuildable shock IMO. Rebuilds cost money, warranty swap outs don't.

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

Sorry, its been a few months since I was looking at them. Either way, they are effectively the same. Not like any of us would physically rebuild them ourselves, so we would just swap them anyway LOL. Depending on the warranty on the Radflo's, this could save some coin later. IIRC, OW charged around $95 to rebuild. A lifetime warranty > rebuildable shock IMO. Rebuilds cost money, warranty swap outs don't.

Yessir - you are correct, all coilovers indeed. My brain was only 25% dedicated to writing that stuff down, haha, the rest was answering the phone and programming a CAD model.

Good to know about the lifetime warranty on the 5100's, I think Icon charges around 95$ for a rebuild as well. The nice thing about the higher end 2.0 and 2.5" coilovers is that you shouuuuldn't need to "rebuild" them due to failure, most of the guys I know have their coilovers rebuilt after a couple years, or "x" many miles just to freshen em up. Granted, I know some guys out there have had issues like shaft rust (no one likes a rusty shaft!) squeaky seals, etc, but most all of those issues were solved with warranty swap outs as well.

I guess what it all comes down to is first of all what you can afford, what you want to afford, what kind of performance you want, and what makes you happy. The nice thing is there is such a wide range of options to suit everyones budget and needs. I honestly dont think that there is a bad option out there, and if you do buy something, run it for a while and decide to upgrade or downgrade, there are plenty of happy T4R members to trade your gear with!

To go adjustable or to not, that is the question....

 

[thebwlife]

I email Doug at toytec and he said any Coilover needing the sway-bar relocation brackets will need the radiator support lowering kit.

Does this sound right? Toytec is the only one I've ever read or heard or doing this???