Front suspension options

128keaton

128keaton

New member
Hey folks..its about time for new front suspension (again).

Its kinda fun owning a car long enough to replace wear items twice.

The junk Gabriels need to go anyway.

What do you guys run? Looking for something with stock height and comfortable on the road, and good enough for light off road. I have a set of KYB gas-a-justs in the rear and they're just too stiff imho.
 
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128keaton said:
Hey folks..its about time for new front suspension (again).

Its kinda fun owning a car long enough to replace wear items twice.

The junk Gabriels need to go anyway.

What do you guys run? Looking for something with stock height and comfortable on the road, and good enough for light off road. I have a set of KYB gas-a-justs in the rear and they're just too stiff imho.
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I've been running old man emu on the front and back for about the last 500 miles. No complaints so far, but I'm just warming them up!
 
128keaton said:
Do you recall the model # and price for the front setup? I'm looking around for sure, those sure seem $$!
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#60072 for the front and #60073 for the rear. They are a bit pricey, but so many people recommended them to me that I thought it would be worth the extra $$$.
 
Just put billistein 4600's on my front and they are amazing. Have the rears to go on this weekend hopefully but after doing some research they seemed like the best fit for stock to 2in of lift.
 
I just put the sensen 1272 set on mine. It made a world of difference. Ride is great and the price is pretty low at less than $70 for the set of four.
 
COMTB said:
Just put billistein 4600's on my front and they are amazing. Have the rears to go on this weekend hopefully but after doing some research they seemed like the best fit for stock to 2in of lift.
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I've been considering these. I live in a city with HORRIBLE roads and I'm tired of feeling every..single..road irregularity.
 
128keaton said:
Hey folks..its about time for new front suspension (again).

Its kinda fun owning a car long enough to replace wear items twice.

The junk Gabriels need to go anyway.

What do you guys run? Looking for something with stock height and comfortable on the road, and good enough for light off road. I have a set of KYB gas-a-justs in the rear and they're just too stiff imho.
Click to expand...

Just shocks, or are you replacing more than that?

I've heard that the OME usually have a soft ride option. They also have a reputation for lasting a long time, so they may be the last shocks you need.
Other than that, I don't know how you're going to improve the ride. Lifting with stiffer torsion bars would make the ride harsher, not smoother.
 
Blind Cleric said:
Just shocks, or are you replacing more than that?

I've heard that the OME usually have a soft ride option. They also have a reputation for lasting a long time, so they may be the last shocks you need.
Other than that, I don't know how you're going to improve the ride. Lifting with stiffer torsion bars would make the ride harsher, not smoother.
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If I had $300 bucks to throw at this truck, it wouldn't be on shocks.
 
128keaton said:
If I had $300 bucks to throw at this truck, it wouldn't be on shocks.
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Translated, you think OME are too expensive? If you're pinching pennies, Bilsteins hardly seem like a good choice either.

Either case, I don't consider shocks to be part of the suspension, hence my question. These torsion bar front ends are almost as rough as leaf spring fronts.
For a smoother ride, try out a 3rd generation with coils.
 
Blind Cleric said:
Translated, you think OME are too expensive? If you're pinching pennies, Bilsteins hardly seem like a good choice either.

Either case, I don't consider shocks to be part of the suspension, hence my question. These torsion bar front ends are almost as rough as leaf spring fronts.
For a smoother ride, try out a 3rd generation with coils.
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I personally cannot afford OME but I have no doubt their parts are worth the premium price. I'm also just saying I have many better ways to spend $300. Heck for $220, I got the set of 4600s for the front, a new idler arm assembly, and new sway bar end links and bushings.

I'm well aware :) I've driven this car for almost three years and I plan to take it back across the country again in May.

I'd love to buy a 3rd gen if they had a tailgate, more power, and had better styling. I'm pretty sure my next car will be a FJZ80.

If i had to buy a 3rd gen, it would have to have a 5speed or be able to swap in a 5speed. Have to have a sun roof, and musn't be red or that ugly hunter green that people seem to love.
 
128keaton said:
I personally cannot afford OME but I have no doubt their parts are worth the premium price. I'm also just saying I have many better ways to spend $300. Heck for $220, I got the set of 4600s for the front, a new idler arm assembly, and new sway bar end links and bushings.

I'm well aware :) I've driven this car for almost three years and I plan to take it back across the country again in May.

I'd love to buy a 3rd gen if they had a tailgate, more power, and had better styling. I'm pretty sure my next car will be a FJZ80.

If i had to buy a 3rd gen, it would have to have a 5speed or be able to swap in a 5speed. Have to have a sun roof, and musn't be red or that ugly hunter green that people seem to love.
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I owned a 3rd gen for a year. They do have a tailgate. But, I'm with you on the superior styling of the 2nd generation. Haven't owned FZJ80 but have driven one. I'd say the 3rd gen is faster, handles better, smoother ride and almost double the MPG. Mine was auto-it's OK. Sunroof is a nice feature unless you're tall like myself, in which case it is a drawback.

2nd gen new idler arm-good idea!
 
Blind Cleric said:
I owned a 3rd gen for a year. They do have a tailgate. But, I'm with you on the superior styling of the 2nd generation. Haven't owned FZJ80 but have driven one. I'd say the 3rd gen is faster, handles better, smoother ride and almost double the MPG. Mine was auto-it's OK. Sunroof is a nice feature unless you're tall like myself, in which case it is a drawback.

2nd gen new idler arm-good idea!
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They have a lift gate. 3rd gen styling just didn't age as well imho. There are some heavily modded 3rd gens I like, but it would require a decent bit of mods and $$ to get it where I'd want it. Around here a 3rd gen is very common, just usually a mommie mobile :)

The FJZ80 should ride way better than a 4Runner, as it is a Luxury offroader. I'd argue that the interior inside is better built. As much as I like the size of the 4Runner, I almost feel that it is too small for me (6'1").
 
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My buddy has a 80 series and my girlfriend drives a 3rd gen, I have to say the 3rd gen has much better ride quality. It's really hard for a solid front axle to ride as good as coilover ifs. I'm 6'3" and I fit very well in a 3rd gen with a sunroof. Just thought I'd add some thoughts while i sit at Goodyear getting an alignment haha.
 
I am interested in hearing how you like the 4600's too. I am about to pull the trigger on all front and rear shocks.
 
I ran bilsteins on my last pickup and they were a great shock. Never faded on me over 50,000 miles. It took some time for them to get broken in, but once they were worn a bit they rode nicely (stiff at first).
 
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