Dobinsons Suspension - 4th Gen Options

Finally put everything together and got a chance to take some photos.

Pretty happy with the rear setup so far, comparing to the 5100 with spacers. Extra flex is so much fun.

The front is a bit stiff yet, but I am hoping that a winch is going to fix that.

I'm contemplating on upgrading my current set up to long travel rears and seriously considering those 677v. How do you like them? Daily driven? Do you normally have weight or no weight? How much shock travel do you have? Are you swaybarless?

Sorry for all the questions and if you've already mentioned this in the previous 50 pages..
 
I'm contemplating on upgrading my current set up to long travel rears and seriously considering those 677v. How do you like them? Daily driven? Do you normally have weight or no weight? How much shock travel do you have? Are you swaybarless?

Sorry for all the questions and if you've already mentioned this in the previous 50 pages..

Its all good, legit questions.

So the 4runner is daily driven despite all the mods. 677v work fine, they are definitely less comfortable than stock when I am unloaded (the word "harsh" comes to mind) so day to day commute is okay. I dont expect anything much from a lifted SUV on E rated tires, so its whatever. When I am camping I have a few hundreds pounds of additional weight (plus the tent on the roof) so airdown loaded on the trail its perfectly fine. Dont slam the bumstops as I used to with billies and spacers.

I didnt measure the travel, but I feel the difference when I am offroading, I hear atrac engaging less often. I have attached a photo comparing this setup (picture above) to the old one (5100 + 1.5 spacers + 30" tires). You can see how lower is the tire going judging by the top of the wheel and also can subtract another 1.5" due to the tire size difference.

I didnt remove the swaybars yet, for some reason I am not too comfortable with this idea for now, so I have put extended links in the front and in the rear.
 

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Its all good, legit questions.

So the 4runner is daily driven despite all the mods. 677v work fine, they are definitely less comfortable than stock when I am unloaded (the word "harsh" comes to mind) so day to day commute is okay. I dont expect anything much from a lifted SUV on E rated tires, so its whatever. When I am camping I have a few hundreds pounds of additional weight (plus the tent on the roof) so airdown loaded on the trail its perfectly fine. Dont slam the bumstops as I used to with billies and spacers.

I didnt measure the travel, but I feel the difference when I am offroading, I hear atrac engaging less often. I have attached a photo comparing this setup (picture above) to the old one (5100 + 1.5 spacers + 30" tires). You can see how lower is the tire going judging by the top of the wheel and also can subtract another 1.5" due to the tire size difference.

I didnt remove the swaybars yet, for some reason I am not too comfortable with this idea for now, so I have put extended links in the front and in the rear.

Thanks.. I at least have an idea what to expect with these coils now. My truck is also daily driven and no weight. Hopefully its not as bad and just slightly firmer than what I have now, toytec superflex.

Wow.. so sway's are still on and you get that much flex? Pretty awesome. I plan to remove mine and if needed, can adjust the icon adjustable cdcv to sort of tune the firmness if needed.

How much lift are you getting with no weight, or what are your height measurement from center of hub to top of fender? Did you have to get aftermarket arms and extend the brake lines too?
 
Thanks.. I at least have an idea what to expect with these coils now. My truck is also daily driven and no weight. Hopefully its not as bad and just slightly firmer than what I have now, toytec superflex.

Wow.. so sway's are still on and you get that much flex? Pretty awesome. I plan to remove mine and if needed, can adjust the icon adjustable cdcv to sort of tune the firmness if needed.

How much lift are you getting with no weight, or what are your height measurement from center of hub to top of fender? Did you have to get aftermarket arms and extend the brake lines too?


No problem. I can only compare to the stock 5th gen springs + spacers so its an improvement in that sense anyway haha.

I am quite impressed with it as well but here are some pictures of what people can get without sway bars and that blows my mind %)

I will measure it later tonight. You dont have to get an aftermarket arms (although I got ICON rear links which are offset to gain a bit more flex) but you really HAVE to get extended brake lines and extended bump stops with this shocks. Even with the bump stop extensions my 33 are tucked pretty well I think but there is a thread on an fj forum that talks about doing LT without extending the stops. Google "flexy on cheap".

1 - photo of the tucked wheel
2 and 3 photo of some rad 4runners from fb page with same setup and no swaybars
 

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No problem. I can only compare to the stock 5th gen springs + spacers so its an improvement in that sense anyway haha.

I am quite impressed with it as well but here are some pictures of what people can get without sway bars and that blows my mind %)

I will measure it later tonight. You dont have to get an aftermarket arms (although I got ICON rear links which are offset to gain a bit more flex) but you really HAVE to get extended brake lines and extended bump stops with this shocks. Even with the bump stop extensions my 33 are tucked pretty well I think but there is a thread on an fj forum that talks about doing LT without extending the stops. Google "flexy on cheap".

1 - photo of the tucked wheel
2 and 3 photo of some rad 4runners from fb page with same setup and no swaybars

That’s pretty good flexin! Which extended bump stops do you have? I currently have the toytec 2” bumpstop but do plan to get the metal tech 3” one and sell these off or something.

Thanks for the info! I’ll be ordering a set of these coils soon.
 
That’s pretty good flexin! Which extended bump stops do you have? I currently have the toytec 2” bumpstop but do plan to get the metal tech 3” one and sell these off or something.

Thanks for the info! I’ll be ordering a set of these coils soon.

Hey! It took me forever, but I checked the height and back is 25" hub to fender while front it 24" hub to fender (unloaded, only 100lbs bumper and rtt);

as far as bumpstops -- apache offroad
 
[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] or anyone can help. I ordered my dobinsons Coils for a Rear air suspension swap and instead of ordering the OEM top spring isolators i got the Moog K160061 Isolators, as many stated fit and lots of gx470 owners swapped with them. It seems like the isolators dont full cover the top spring, i can stretch it and fit almost all of it aside from the end of the coil which sticks out a little. I wanted to know if that was ok?
bnNYt8l
 
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[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] or anyone can help. I ordered my dobinsons Coils for a Rear air suspension swap and instead of ordering the OEM top spring isolators i got the Moog K160061 Isolators, as many stated fit and lots of gx470 owners swapped with them. It seems like the isolators dont full cover the top spring, i can stretch it and fit almost all of it aside from the end of the coil which sticks out a little. I wanted to know if that was ok?
bnNYt8l
How thick is the isolator. The main thing is that you DON'T want the coil to touch the frame, that metal on metal contact creates a terrible noise. If the isolator is thick enough, then the coil shouldn't touch it I guess, but the isolator is supposed to cover the full size of the coil while holding it centered in the mount on the frame.
 
How thick is the isolator. The main thing is that you DON'T want the coil to touch the frame, that metal on metal contact creates a terrible noise. If the isolator is thick enough, then the coil shouldn't touch it I guess, but the isolator is supposed to cover the full size of the coil while holding it centered in the mount on the frame.

Moog K160061 Coil Spring Insulator, Insulators - Amazon Canada this was the one i used, many people used it for the gx470 swaps. It seems to be decently thick and sits over all of the coil just the end bit sticks out a little,
 
[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION]

I currently have C59-314/GS59-221 front, C59-505/GS59-705 rear and plan on adding maybe ~100-170lbs (hybrid steel front bumper with and without possible future winch) and ~175lbs (rear steel tube bumper + swing out + wheel/tire), and ~110lbs sliders, and mayybe 53lbs for skid plates at some point (all weights on the slightly generous side to help estimate). I'm assuming I will have some sort of sag here so I was wondering which springs (in any?) you think would match well here? I'd like to retain at least around 2" front and 1" rear clearance at worst.

Thanks as always Mike!
 
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[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION]

I currently have C59-314/GS59-221 front, C59-505/GS59-705 rear and plan on adding maybe ~100-170lbs (hybrid steel front bumper with and without possible future winch) and ~175lbs (rear steel tube bumper + swing out + wheel/tire), and ~110lbs sliders, and mayybe 53lbs for skid plates at some point (all weights on the slightly generous side to help estimate). I'm assuming I will have some sort of sag here so I was wondering which springs (in any?) you think would match well here? I'd like to retain at least around 2" front and 1" rear clearance at worst.

Thanks as always Mike!
Hey bud,

So the front will probably come down 1/2"-3/4" with that weight. I'd suggest C59-352 to bring it up to where it is now with the weight to the 2" mark. It wouldn't be a bad idea to add the weight, see how much it drops and how it rides, then compensate after. If it's only the bumper, you could just add 1/4" spacers to both struts to add 1/2" lift if you like the way it rides still.

For the rear, I don't have heavy rate 1" coils. You can use 2" coils and with the calculated weight have them sit at about 1" of lift, but you're not getting the proper spring rate to support that weight and leverage off the rear end. The minimum rear coil I'd suggest with that weight is the C59-327. But if you wanted to try and shoot closer to the 1" mark, then use C59-325 and have it squat down with that rear bumper and swing out weight. Keep in mind the spare wheel and tire can easily be 40-50LBS or more too.
 
Hey bud,

So the front will probably come down 1/2"-3/4" with that weight. I'd suggest C59-352 to bring it up to where it is now with the weight to the 2" mark. It wouldn't be a bad idea to add the weight, see how much it drops and how it rides, then compensate after. If it's only the bumper, you could just add 1/4" spacers to both struts to add 1/2" lift if you like the way it rides still.

For the rear, I don't have heavy rate 1" coils. You can use 2" coils and with the calculated weight have them sit at about 1" of lift, but you're not getting the proper spring rate to support that weight and leverage off the rear end. The minimum rear coil I'd suggest with that weight is the C59-327. But if you wanted to try and shoot closer to the 1" mark, then use C59-325 and have it squat down with that rear bumper and swing out weight. Keep in mind the spare wheel and tire can easily be 40-50LBS or more too.

[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION]

Thanks for the approx drop numbers - surprised the drop would be that much in the front considering I chose the lightest components possible (90lb bumper). I guess I could do sit on the existing bumper since that's how much weight I'll be adding (with a winch - and I still probably weigh more) :lol:. I had thought about the spacers too - it's a possibility but I didn't want to compromise ride quality - if any. It seems like the 314s and the 352s might net me the same actual height with the 314s being softer but much longer and the 352s being shorter but thicker. I'll have to play with this I guess.

For the rear, it's not that I want 1" coils, it's more about keeping my current proportions. My current ride height (2.5/1.5) is just about perfect for me and I was trying to retain that - I want to try to balance my lift out accounting for all the new weight. The 327s might the the ticket here - I'd rather have it ride correctly. I'm guessing the sliders could mostly be added to the rear weight, so the total would likely be somewhere ~285lbs (plus any tools/gear) - so the 327's max holding being around 400lbs would probably be helpful. The 329s would probably not ride right (looks like 600lbs constant load on the low end) - hopefully the 327 would still be ok for the times I'm actually carrying a load in addition to the constant load - a 1/2" drop during those times wouldn't be too bad. Hmmmm...now I'm weighing between 327 and 329 rear...ride compliance is king for me.

I was also curious if the variable springs (675V/677V) would work with my current shocks? ~.5" more lift but perhaps it would ride better? Might lift the rear end too high though - not that I'm super against a little lift back there - just want to keep her level. I'm having a feeling I shoulda just went LT to begin with now...

I've estimated the rear weight with the wheel/tire mounted (~90lbs) in mind and tried to account for removing the stock spare/V8 towing hitch and adding in tubing/new lighter style hitch and swing out (doesn't weigh nearly as much as a full plate).

Thanks for all the input Mike!
 
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[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION]

Thanks for the approx drop numbers - surprised the drop would be that much in the front considering I chose the lightest components possible (90lb bumper). I guess I could do sit on the existing bumper since that's how much weight I'll be adding (with a winch - and I still probably weigh more) :lol:. I had thought about the spacers too - it's a possibility but I didn't want to compromise ride quality - if any. It seems like the 314s and the 352s might net me the same actual height with the 314s being softer but much longer and the 352s being shorter but thicker. I'll have to play with this I guess.

For the rear, it's not that I want 1" coils, it's more about keeping my current proportions. My current ride height (2.5/1.5) is just about perfect for me and I was trying to retain that - I want to try to balance my lift out accounting for all the new weight. The 327s might the the ticket here - I'd rather have it ride correctly. I'm guessing the sliders could mostly be added to the rear weight, so the total would likely be somewhere ~285lbs (plus any tools/gear) - so the 327's max holding being around 400lbs would probably be helpful. The 329s would probably not ride right (looks like 600lbs constant load on the low end) - hopefully the 327 would still be ok for the times I'm actually carrying a load in addition to the constant load - a 1/2" drop during those times wouldn't be too bad. Hmmmm...now I'm weighing between 327 and 329 rear...ride compliance is king for me.

I was also curious if the variable springs (675V/677V) would work with my current shocks? ~.5" more lift but perhaps it would ride better? Might lift the rear end too high though - not that I'm super against a little lift back there - just want to keep her level. I'm having a feeling I shoulda just went LT to begin with now...

I've estimated the rear weight with the wheel/tire mounted (~90lbs) in mind and tried to account for removing the stock spare/V8 towing hitch and adding in tubing/new lighter style hitch and swing out (doesn't weigh nearly as much as a full plate).

Thanks for all the input Mike!
If you only do a 90lb bumper ONLY, then it won't drop that much. Better to add the weight and compensate with suspension changes after it's done so you can see what happens when you add the weight. What you have now will "hold" the weight up but it will of course lose some height.

The 3" lift rear springs will give you factory rake again, so it doesn't sound like that's a good option. The 327's would be more ideal. 675V's are a pretty soft final rate, so not good for what weight you'll be adding.

Sliders are perfectly balanced front and rear. At least that's how they should be made for the most part.
 
If you only do a 90lb bumper ONLY, then it won't drop that much. Better to add the weight and compensate with suspension changes after it's done so you can see what happens when you add the weight. What you have now will "hold" the weight up but it will of course lose some height.

The 3" lift rear springs will give you factory rake again, so it doesn't sound like that's a good option. The 327's would be more ideal. 675V's are a pretty soft final rate, so not good for what weight you'll be adding.

Sliders are perfectly balanced front and rear. At least that's how they should be made for the most part.

Thanks for the input Mike, I definitely will be adding the weight before messing with the suspension while anticipating needing the 327s rear.

Another quick question, I have massive rear lean towards the driver side, would the C59-727 versions he helpful? I noticed that they are 415mm/430mm length which would be useful for me, albeit slightly longer than the 327s at 410mm/410mm.
 
Another quick question, I have massive rear lean towards the driver side, would the C59-727 versions he helpful? I noticed that they are 415mm/430mm length which would be useful for me, albeit slightly longer than the 327s at 410mm/410mm.
Yeah, you could use those and maybe still need the 15mm spacer on the taller side coil too if your lean is extreme.
 

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