Improving 1st-gen ride quality

[offthepoint]

I've got an 86 5spd just recently finished: rebuilt engine & trans., rear diff, suspension (u-bolt flip, Bilstein shocks, diff armor, shackles), electrical and interior. 32" Yokohama ATs on Tacoma alloys. Built as a light expedition/camping vehicle for the Southern California deserts and coastline.

But I recently injured my back. While I recover, I've started thinking about ways to prevent my truck from contributing to this happening again. I was thinking of leather seats from a 3rd-gen Limited or perhaps even a suspended setup like big-rigs use (maybe both). Suggestions?

...and don't say buy an FJ80.

 

[SV_Dude]

You can crank down your torsion bars a little bit and pull a leaf out of the rear spring pack. That will soften your ride up a bit, but be careful around big bumps because it will allow your vehicle to bottom out easier. you can also drop your tire pressure by a few pounds.

 

[offthepoint]

Missing details, my fault. Torsions have a slight crank on them and rear leafs
are stock.

Forgot about dropping a bit of tire pressure. Good idea.

Anyone else? Thoughts?

 

[offthepoint]

::Correction::


Rear springs are assumed to be stock. There are only 2 per side and they're pretty flat. The extra height for the tires was achieved by use of shackles.

 

[t4r4life]

only way to make it comfy is first to have a suspension seat, like you said from a big rig, buddy has it for his wheelers loves it, also need to fix the flat leaf springs, explorer springs are quiet soft and very cheap, for the front, torsion bars just sucks theres no way to super coat it, aint nothing you can do about that

 

[SV_Dude]

You can get some newer seats. The seats from the 90-95 4runners bolt in with just a little bit of persuasion on the back inside bracket.

As far as making the biggest improvement, you need to soften the springs a little bit. If your rear springs are already flat then you can't do much with them. Flat springs don't really provide a whole lot of cushion. The arch in the springs is what allows the springs to move up and down while allowing the rear shackle to move forward and back while the springs arch flattens out on bumps. If your rear springs are already flat, there isn't much to do. You can try and put softer shocks on the vehicle but since the shock isn't what holds the weight of the vehicle (they only dampen the bouncing effect of the springs) that will also be a minimal difference.

 

[fourwd1]

The 4runner springs are fairly "flat" to begin with, to provide a softer ride than the trucks, which had more arch to handle heavier bed weights and towing.

The more arch a spring pack has typically results in a rougher ride. It costs more $ to get more arch (and therefore lift) and maintain a good ride.

 

[offthepoint]

I read on another forum (don't remember which one) that 2nd & 3rd gen seats will bolt right into a 1st-gen. True? False? If I have to do a little persuading, like SV said, then that's fine. Also read that Supra/Camry/MR2 seats fit with some light modification. Anyone try that? My first car was an old Supra and the seats were great.

T4R4Life and I seem to be on the same page. Might look into that approach. I'm pretty sure I can scavenge an air-ride seat base from the shop. And that'll give me the excuse I need to pick up an ARB. Do those Explorer springs, by some happy miracle, bolt-in?