Dobinsons Suspension - 4th Gen Options

[joshik]

I've been running the MRAs with the LT rears (675v spring + 575A shock) and had some thoughts. Wanted to get peeps take on it.

It seems to me the rear LT setup is not worth it unless you are going to do the full LT setup with the Dob rear arms and such. I don't get any more down travel because my OEM arms are limiting that and my up travel before engaging the extended bump stops is now reduced because of the requirement to run extended bumps. I hit my bump stops often (even with various LSC and HSC settings) and while they are nice cushy Durobumps (5.25") I'd rather only hit them on extreme compression and let the awesome adjustable shocks do their thing. I have about 2-2.25" clearance (with no load in the car) between my axle tube and the rear bumps and I think I would have had 3-3.25" with the non LT rears (using the 4.25 durobumps) and engage them a lot less.

What are your thoughts?

 

[PJP71]

Sounds like C59-314 up front and C59-675V out back for ~2.5 all around...but it might not be level - the rear might be a bit high. I'm at 2.5/1.5 and it appears to be pretty level.

I personally had only (significant) rear driver's side lean and it look a large spacer to fix that.

[MENTION=117203]Drift Monkey[/MENTION] Do you remember what size tires you had in these pictures?

 

[Bluesky 07]

Hey Russell,

Thanks for the post!!

Looking at your current build, it's basically all stock weight coils but with some added lift. Sounds like that's all you'd be needing from the Dobinsons options then, as there doesn't appear to be any constant weight on it?

Are you using airbags in those FJ springs now? I figure you might have to with towing a heavy setup and avoiding the sag.

I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of 2" front and rear, maintaining factory 2" rake for towing.

Not at present as the towing is a future thing, not doing any for now. Thanks for the suggestion, I will review the gear.

 

[y=mx+b]

[MENTION=117203]Drift Monkey[/MENTION] Do you remember what size tires you had in these pictures?

They're 295/70r17 Milestar Patagonias. He and I are buds

 

[y=mx+b]

I've been running the MRAs with the LT rears (675v spring + 575A shock) and had some thoughts. Wanted to get peeps take on it.

It seems to me the rear LT setup is not worth it unless you are going to do the full LT setup with the Dob rear arms and such. I don't get any more down travel because my OEM arms are limiting that and my up travel before engaging the extended bump stops is now reduced because of the requirement to run extended bumps. I hit my bump stops often (even with various LSC and HSC settings) and while they are nice cushy Durobumps (5.25") I'd rather only hit them on extreme compression and let the awesome adjustable shocks do their thing. I have about 2-2.25" clearance (with no load in the car) between my axle tube and the rear bumps and I think I would have had 3-3.25" with the non LT rears (using the 4.25 durobumps) and engage them a lot less.

What are your thoughts?

So the extended bumps are not to limit uptravel. The stock shock has about 8" stroke vs the Dobs LT shocks with about 12" stroke. In order to have a longer stroke, the body of the shock must be longer too. The extended bumps are there to prevent the new longer shock from bottoming out.

My dobinsons don't bind at all with the stock links. I may be getting a bit of contact with the lower link and the axle tube right before the shock fully droops, but its not limiting a whole lot. Did you reset all the bushings when you lifted? Rubber bushings articulate with internal torsions in the bushings, so if you didn't reset their "home" position by loosening and retightening all the links, they're already is a pre-stressed state.

I also never hit the rear bumps under regular driving conditions. Only really when flexed all the way out. I've got the stock hard rubber bumps + 2" extensions, so I'd know if I hit them lol. Do you have a bunch of stuff in the trunk? I've got C59-677V in the rear

 

[rattlesnake]

Anyone out there with a V8 running C59-296 springs in the front and C59-323 springs in the rear? If my calculations are correct that would be about a 1" rake which I'd like to keep for towing. If anyone has that setup, any issues with 265/70r17 tires on TRD Pro wheels fitting? Thanks in advance.

 

[joshik]

So the extended bumps are not to limit uptravel. The stock shock has about 8" stroke vs the Dobs LT shocks with about 12" stroke. In order to have a longer stroke, the body of the shock must be longer too. The extended bumps are there to prevent the new longer shock from bottoming out.

My dobinsons don't bind at all with the stock links. I may be getting a bit of contact with the lower link and the axle tube right before the shock fully droops, but its not limiting a whole lot. Did you reset all the bushings when you lifted? Rubber bushings articulate with internal torsions in the bushings, so if you didn't reset their "home" position by loosening and retightening all the links, they're already is a pre-stressed state.

I also never hit the rear bumps under regular driving conditions. Only really when flexed all the way out. I've got the stock hard rubber bumps + 2" extensions, so I'd know if I hit them lol. Do you have a bunch of stuff in the trunk? I've got C59-677V in the rear

(that droop is insane!)

Isn't limiting uptravel and preventing the shock from bottoming out kinda of the same thing? You don't want the shock to compress tooooo much, right?

Your rear susp may not be binding necessarily with the stock links but I'm sure it has the ability to drop lower if the extended links and such were installed, no? The claims are that the rear tire can droop below sliders with all the right parts. I don't expect mine to do that as is (just maybe in the future if i went with longer links) but was just didnt take into account the amount of uptravel limitations. What rear bumps are you using and how much space from the rear bumps to the axle shaft do you have?

I have nothing in the rear. It doesn't hit during normal driving. Only when hitting things like dips thru intersections.... and not drivign like a mad man hitting them at 60mph... but a reasonable speed. It's not a harsh hit but def can tell. I might just go back to stock bumps with extension and let the suspension do it's thing up until it hits the bump. I mean, how tall is the stock bump... 1.5" + 2" ext so 3.5-4"? My Duros are 5.25" so thats 1.25" of additional unimpeded travel. I'm prob gonna strap a go pro underneath and get some vids.

 

[y=mx+b]

(that droop is insane!)

Isn't limiting uptravel and preventing the shock from bottoming out kinda of the same thing? You don't want the shock to compress tooooo much, right?

Your rear susp may not be binding necessarily with the stock links but I'm sure it has the ability to drop lower if the extended links and such were installed, no? The claims are that the rear tire can droop below sliders with all the right parts. I don't expect mine to do that as is (just maybe in the future if i went with longer links) but was just didnt take into account the amount of uptravel limitations. What rear bumps are you using and how much space from the rear bumps to the axle shaft do you have?

I have nothing in the rear. It doesn't hit during normal driving. Only when hitting things like dips thru intersections.... and not drivign like a mad man hitting them at 60mph... but a reasonable speed. It's not a harsh hit but def can tell. I might just go back to stock bumps with extension and let the suspension do it's thing up until it hits the bump. I mean, how tall is the stock bump... 1.5" + 2" ext so 3.5-4"? My Duros are 5.25" so thats 1.25" of additional unimpeded travel. I'm prob gonna strap a go pro underneath and get some vids.

Well because the shock body is longer by the distance that you're extending the bump stops, its not limiting much because it can't physically compress the body of the shock, so theres no travel there to lose.

I just have 2" square tubes that I drilled holes in for the bumpstop extensions. Thats pretty much what all the bumpstop extensions for stock bumps are

I'd classify loosing uptravel as using the bumps to keep the tires from rubbing the rear pinch welds or something and limiting the travel of the shocks from say 12" to 10"

 

[Crikeymike]

Dobinsons sale starts Monday the 8th. Click here for full details:
November / Black Friday Sales - Exit Offroad

 

[jkim824]

I am currently sitting on bilstein 6112 up front and dobinson 323 in the rear. I plan on getting a tire carrier in the future and also running a fridge/gear/RTT.

Should I be upgrading my rear springs and if so, which springs would fit my build? I do plan on lifting the front a little more with 650 lbs springs and a higher clip setting, so I wouldn't mind lifting the rear a little more.

 

[Crikeymike]

I am currently sitting on bilstein 6112 up front and dobinson 323 in the rear. I plan on getting a tire carrier in the future and also running a fridge/gear/RTT.

Should I be upgrading my rear springs and if so, which springs would fit my build? I do plan on lifting the front a little more with 650 lbs springs and a higher clip setting, so I wouldn't mind lifting the rear a little more.

Yeah, you'll squat down with all that weight added, probably about 1" I'd say, so the C59-599 would be the minimum I'd suggest to go with to put you back at the same height. It just depends what lift height you want the rear to be with the added weight.

 

[jkim824]

Yeah, you'll squat down with all that weight added, probably about 1" I'd say, so the C59-599 would be the minimum I'd suggest to go with to put you back at the same height. It just depends what lift height you want the rear to be with the added weight.

If I wanted to go with a 2 inch rear lift, would you recommend the 327 or 329? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Crikeymike]

If I wanted to go with a 2 inch rear lift, would you recommend the 327 or 329? Thanks again for all the help!

The 327s would do the trick for you

 

[Kymudder]

Awesome thank you. Glad you posted the site, didn’t know it existed and breaks down the lift components much better than I’ve seen.

We decided on the 2”. 302 fronts and 325 rear springs. I’ve also added the lower rear control arms and extended sway bar links. Is there anything else required or recommended besides the lean spacers that are on BO? Would hate to have it apart and be stuck bc I left something out. And how are the dobinson front UCA compared to the spc and though it says not needed, would it have a negative impact on a 2” lift? (Need new uppers anyways so figured I’d check before I ordered). Haven’t seen much posted about them on the fb groups.

Also, how hard are the lean spacers to put on post lift or would it be better to just wait until they came in?

I apologize for the laundry list of questions, I do very much appreciate it.

Yeah, you can use the C59-300 front coils for 1.5" lift on a V8. There's no issue to use those.

I have the options a little better broken down on my website, here:
Dobinsons Lift Kit for Toyota 4Runner 4x4 2003-2009 (all options 0-3.5")

 

[Crikeymike]

Awesome thank you. Glad you posted the site, didn’t know it existed and breaks down the lift components much better than I’ve seen.

We decided on the 2”. 302 fronts and 325 rear springs. I’ve also added the lower rear control arms and extended sway bar links. Is there anything else required or recommended besides the lean spacers that are on BO? Would hate to have it apart and be stuck bc I left something out. And how are the dobinson front UCA compared to the spc and though it says not needed, would it have a negative impact on a 2” lift? (Need new uppers anyways so figured I’d check before I ordered). Haven’t seen much posted about them on the fb groups.

Also, how hard are the lean spacers to put on post lift or would it be better to just wait until they came in?

I apologize for the laundry list of questions, I do very much appreciate it.

The only required parts are front and rear coils and shocks. Everything else is optional. With a 2" lift, it doesn't need as many parts.

Dobinsons are fixed in added caster and have no adjustment and work perfectly fine with a 2" lift or more. The SPC's are fully adjustable so you can dial in the alignment differently with them. The Dobinsons would last longer due to them being fixed and not adjustable and also having a sealed ball joint.

It's almost as much work to put in spacers as it is to change out the coils or strut assembly. It's not hard, but it will take a bit of time to do it. If you have a lean now, it will lean more when lifted, so you should add them at the same time. Not all 4Runners lean though, so some don't need them.

 

[PJP71]

[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] I saw this post of yours.

2.5" front and 1.5" rear looks really good on these, leaves about 1" of rake and still aligns and drives well.

Are you saying that it will still align well without adjustable UCAs? Or would I still need them?

 

[Crikeymike]

[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] I saw this post of yours.



Are you saying that it will still align well without adjustable UCAs? Or would I still need them?

You can get a factory alignment without them but lifted Toyotas drive much better with uca's and a high caster alignment

 

[Bundutrailer]

After being on the fence for a while took the plunge. Had looked at
Ome and Ironman, everyone I knew rated Dobinson higher. Doing a light build so got lowest rated springs and twin tubes 2” lift. A bit firm than stock, hope it settles softer.

 

[PJP71]

They're 295/70r17 Milestar Patagonias. He and I are buds

Wow! Surprised they were 295s. Good to know. I’m about to purchase the 2.5 and 1.5 springs he had at that time but will only run 285s. Assuming he had to trim a little right?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[y=mx+b]

Wow! Surprised they were 295s. Good to know. I’m about to purchase the 2.5 and 1.5 springs he had at that time but will only run 285s. Assuming he had to trim a little right?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah probably had to trim. With all tire fitting, I recommend pulling the front shocks and cycling the front suspension bump to droop and steering lock to lock to ensure fitment throughout the range of motion