I have the 2.5”/1.5” lift setup with 255/80/17 on 5th gen trail wheels and did not have to do the bmc. I did get a lot of rubbing once I put 1.25” spacers on so I did the bmc after that. Stock wheels you should not have any problems.
Dobinsons Suspension - 4th Gen Options
- Thread starter Crikeymike
- Start date
I have the 2.5”/1.5” lift setup with 255/80/17 on 5th gen trail wheels and did not have to do the bmc. I did get a lot of rubbing once I put 1.25” spacers on so I did the bmc after that. Stock wheels you should not have any problems.
Crikeymike
Senior Member
If you only want to lift the front up to level the vehicle, it doesn't add much at all as far as spring rate goes. The combo of shock valving and spring rate is what controls the ride quality and lift height.
Spacer lifts generally feel pretty harsh, but it all depends on what type of setups you're referencing. $500 front suspension will always feel different than $2k front suspension.
I have the 2.5”/1.5” lift setup with 255/80/17 on 5th gen trail wheels and did not have to do the bmc. I did get a lot of rubbing once I put 1.25” spacers on so I did the bmc after that. Stock wheels you should not have any problems.
Out of curiosity, did you replace your UCA with that setup? I was hoping to punt my lift until June when some of my employer's stock offering goes qualified, but I have a strut that may need replacing, so I'm trying to do a little bit at a time if possible.
I ran stock Uca’s for about a month, but my caster numbers were at like +1 and steering was very twitchy on the highway. I have spc’s now and don’t have that problem anymore
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Crikeymike
Senior Member
Just getting back from a week off work.
BLACK FRIDAY SALE GOES UNTIL END OF THE MONTH!!
15% off everything Dobinsons offers!! Drawers, suspension, fridges, 4x4 recovery gear, etc. Go to www.dobinsonsdirect.com and see the deal listed on the front page with coupon code.
Email me directly (no PM's) please for assistance or to buy something not shown on the site.
BLACK FRIDAY SALE GOES UNTIL END OF THE MONTH!!
15% off everything Dobinsons offers!! Drawers, suspension, fridges, 4x4 recovery gear, etc. Go to www.dobinsonsdirect.com and see the deal listed on the front page with coupon code.
Email me directly (no PM's) please for assistance or to buy something not shown on the site.
adkfinn
Member
This is a great deal on top of what are already excellent prices. Now that I have a few thousand miles on my install with lots of New England off-roading I have to say I think this suspension rides great and probably can't be beat for the money, not to mention the excellent customer service. Thanks again Mike! :trophy:
anybody interested in trading out rears?
Soooo I've talked with mike multiple times about this. I have the following setup:
Front-300 springs on 1" lift struts
Rear-677 springs on 575 long travel shocks
I gained a net 3.75" rear and net 3.875" front lift (ground to fender), compared to my 200K stock suspension with sagging springs. This increased to net 5" rear and net 4.875 front after I added 255/80/17 tires. Rear net increased more than 1" because of the relocation of my heavier spare, pretty sure that evened out some of my drivers lean, giving me more net lift in the rear.
Rides great, but I've still got a solid 2" rake front to back. I know this will be reduced once I add a rear bumper, and a drawer system, but I'm also planning on long term removing the RTT and adding a trailer instead. Basically, the rake I currently have is driving my OCD a bit crazy, and I want to do something about it. I only seem to lose an inch at most when loaded down. My thought is I'd rather go from 1" rake to level, or even slightly reversed rake when loaded down, instead of 2" rake down to 1" rake. Most of the time I drive around empty, so most of the time I see it with the rake in the pic. Only thing I'm not sure about is how much rear height I could expect to lose after I've done a full dual swingout rear bumper.
1) What would be a good rear setup for me with the RTT, rack, tools, camping gear, and future rear bumper to lose 1" front to rear rake?
2) Anybody interested in trading out a 327 rear spring/shock combo for my 677's and long travel shocks? (Got about 5K miles on it currently)
3) Am I just being impatient, and should I just deal with the rake for another year until I get my rear bumper? Is it possible that the addition of a dual swingout rear bumper would completely fix all my problems, and give me the perfect setup with my existing springs?
At this point I'm figuring I can drop the rear an inch, then add a 1" body lift, I"ll get a little wheel well clearance, get the height I want, and not have to mess with my front suspension at all.
Note: I also talked with Mike about possibly just adding a small spacer in the front to bring the front up a bit. Given how much lift I already got from the suspension components, he was concerned about binding CV's at full droop. My CV's are great on the ground, and I don't have any binding issues right now, I really don't want to mess with that. So adding more suspension lift for the front is something I'm staying away from.
Pic for funsies. Also, as an aside, this is not an indication of a poor product! I literally LOVE my Dobinsons suspension. My 4runner rides better than a brand new one, even when its empty with those stiff rear springs. I think my problem is ultimately a combo of 1) me saying I wanted a 3" rear lift, not realizing how much rake that would create, and 2) me maybe overselling how much weight I was actually carrying most of the time.
Soooo I've talked with mike multiple times about this. I have the following setup:
Front-300 springs on 1" lift struts
Rear-677 springs on 575 long travel shocks
I gained a net 3.75" rear and net 3.875" front lift (ground to fender), compared to my 200K stock suspension with sagging springs. This increased to net 5" rear and net 4.875 front after I added 255/80/17 tires. Rear net increased more than 1" because of the relocation of my heavier spare, pretty sure that evened out some of my drivers lean, giving me more net lift in the rear.
Rides great, but I've still got a solid 2" rake front to back. I know this will be reduced once I add a rear bumper, and a drawer system, but I'm also planning on long term removing the RTT and adding a trailer instead. Basically, the rake I currently have is driving my OCD a bit crazy, and I want to do something about it. I only seem to lose an inch at most when loaded down. My thought is I'd rather go from 1" rake to level, or even slightly reversed rake when loaded down, instead of 2" rake down to 1" rake. Most of the time I drive around empty, so most of the time I see it with the rake in the pic. Only thing I'm not sure about is how much rear height I could expect to lose after I've done a full dual swingout rear bumper.
1) What would be a good rear setup for me with the RTT, rack, tools, camping gear, and future rear bumper to lose 1" front to rear rake?
2) Anybody interested in trading out a 327 rear spring/shock combo for my 677's and long travel shocks? (Got about 5K miles on it currently)
3) Am I just being impatient, and should I just deal with the rake for another year until I get my rear bumper? Is it possible that the addition of a dual swingout rear bumper would completely fix all my problems, and give me the perfect setup with my existing springs?
At this point I'm figuring I can drop the rear an inch, then add a 1" body lift, I"ll get a little wheel well clearance, get the height I want, and not have to mess with my front suspension at all.
Note: I also talked with Mike about possibly just adding a small spacer in the front to bring the front up a bit. Given how much lift I already got from the suspension components, he was concerned about binding CV's at full droop. My CV's are great on the ground, and I don't have any binding issues right now, I really don't want to mess with that. So adding more suspension lift for the front is something I'm staying away from.
Pic for funsies. Also, as an aside, this is not an indication of a poor product! I literally LOVE my Dobinsons suspension. My 4runner rides better than a brand new one, even when its empty with those stiff rear springs. I think my problem is ultimately a combo of 1) me saying I wanted a 3" rear lift, not realizing how much rake that would create, and 2) me maybe overselling how much weight I was actually carrying most of the time.
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Crikeymike
Senior Member
Do you have new UCA's on the front? We could add more to it to help level it out.
Ultimately you have the correct rear coils for the weight you "will" add, but still haven't added it yet. That rear bumper will really lever the rear end down once it's added.
I do. Are you sure we could go higher on the front? Last discussion we had you weren't sure that was a good idea. I have wondered if the stock weight front springs I have are being compressed a bit lower because of all of the rack weight I have. I've calculated my roof weight at 315...and that's not JUST in the rear. That front tool box weighs close to 85 pounds.
If I ultimately have the correct rear coils for my ending weight, maybe I need to just hold off and keep my OCD in check for a while.
If only the trees rained cash......then I wouldn't have this problem :cry2:
4RunnerIdiot
New member
Crikeymike
Senior Member
You're running the GS59-220 front struts, right?
Yeah, you could add more height. Looks like there is some weight transfer there. C59-302 is the next step up with 10mm more free height adding about 20mm height (just under 1") at the wheel.
Yep, that's what I'm running!
If you think that's a possibility, that would be way simpler. And I'm guessing if I added a hidden front winch and full rear bumper at the same time, it would still be roughly the same rake, just a tad bit lower and riding a tad bit softer from increased weight.
I need an alignment, gonna check with the techs to make sure my LCA cams are still adjusting correctly and not frozen, if I've got a little more caster available, I may do this instead of my lowering plus body lift plan.
glockman
New member
I have about 2k miles on my Dobinson's kit. It has started to settle and I am really happy with the results. I went with OME stuff on previous runner (3rd gen) and it was too harsh. The Dobinson stuff is slightly softer and just perfect in my opinion. Here is my 07 V8 sport on 265/70's.
I ordered C59-314 front springs with GS59-221 shocks. For the rear I went with C59-325 springs with the GS59-637 shocks.
I ordered C59-314 front springs with GS59-221 shocks. For the rear I went with C59-325 springs with the GS59-637 shocks.
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Looks great. Mine are arriving tomorrow and going in next week. I was thinking about going bigger tires with more lift, but seeing yours I may just stay with 265/70-17. Any thoughts?
glockman
New member
I am staying with these since the tires are almost new. They don't look bad but are on the smaller side of my acceptable range. The next set will be 255/80's or 2285's. I'm running rough country 1.5" wheel spacers so the 285 will fit. Plus I've done a BMC on two FJ's and it's not hard.
I was also trying to stay with factory UCA's. After getting the alignment (after replacing all the LCA bushings grrr) I am at +1 degree of castor so SPC UCA's are going to be a christmas present to me from me. LOL.
hstexan
New member
Got mine installed yesterday—I was nervous about doing it myself because I usually don’t dabble in things this serious. I used a mix of three guides from here and a buddy (who has also never done suspension before) and I finished it up in 4.5 hours. Wayyyyy easy and not one thing gave us much issue. I’m sure it helped my truck has always been in the south so there was no rust on any of it, and the preassembled front struts helped tremendously too. The teal and yellow looks so good—I’m thrilled beyond belief with this setup, the ride is so nice on the road—can’t wait to go out and see how it does on some trails!
300 coils and 221 struts on the front with 505 coils/637 shocks rear. Should be about 2” lift in the front and 1.5” in the rear. I like to think of it as OEM +. Next up are wheels and tires—going to try to fit 275s
300 coils and 221 struts on the front with 505 coils/637 shocks rear. Should be about 2” lift in the front and 1.5” in the rear. I like to think of it as OEM +. Next up are wheels and tires—going to try to fit 275s
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Got mine in this week. In hindsight, I might have gone slightly lower in the rear. Have to see how it sits when I'm loaded for camping.
C59-300 - V6 - Stock front end load, 2" lift. 385/385mm, 17mm wire,
GS59-221
C59-505 - Stock rear end load, 1.5" lift. 405/405mm, 17mm wire,
GS59-637
C59-300 - V6 - Stock front end load, 2" lift. 385/385mm, 17mm wire,
GS59-221
C59-505 - Stock rear end load, 1.5" lift. 405/405mm, 17mm wire,
GS59-637
