King 2.5 w/remote reservoir

[albertomc]

Hey everyone,

I searched all over the place and didn't find much in the way of a "review" or a "first impressions" for this kind of setup so here it goes.

Came from a Bilstein 5100 setup with OMEs up front and Toytec Superlifts in the back. I also have the firestone airbags in the rears which I have barely used. Decided to upgrade as 2 of the Bilsteins were basically shot and ride was all over the place. Rig only has a steel roof rack to add weight, front and rear bumpers are still stock I don't have a winch. Running 265/70R17 KO2s E rated tires (couldn't find any other rating).

Installed a King 2.5 setup with remote reservoirs all around. Due to crazy lead times, I was only able to get the adjusters for the front coilovers. Went with the standard 600 lb King coils and kept the Toytec for the rears with the airbags. This was paired with the Camburg UCAs.

Rig sits a little higher all around. Alignment went well. Initial impressions are a bit of a mixed bag. Car feels much more controlled, especially at speed and on dirt roads. Soaks up bigger bumps and holes with very little effort while never bouncing in an uncontrolled manner. It clearly feels much better than the shot 5100s, but the true COMFORT factor isn't exactly what I was expecting. Small bumps on the road are still felt and the ride is still "harsh" or "aggressive" with imperfections on the road. It doesn't feel "cloud like" or "fluent"... the imperfections are soaked up partially, but what is felt is still fast...

I'm not sure what to think, I had never been on a rig with this kind of setup and bit the bullet on a whim on black Friday thinking this would be insanely comfortable... Any words of wisdom? Any adjustments that you feel may be necessary to make the ride cloud like?

These impressions are all with the front adjusters turned down all the way to soft. Some added weight of the old suspension in the trunk and just me in the car. Is this just a weight issue? Anyone knowledgeable care to point me in the right direction?

Ill keep updating this post as I felt a bit in the dark when buying this because I didn't find any posts specific to this setup.

 

[MAST4R]

Congrats on buying a quality setup. I have not had Kings but the question is not specific to them.

You can have the setup better suited to offroading, better suited to road driving, or you need high-level adjustability, which King does not offer, to get a piece of both. King's mid-level adjustment is for fine tuning.

You can adjust the valving or the springs (supposed to be used for weight adjustments rather than performance).

The Kings will do great offroad so revalving them would essentially downgrade them to where there is no point in having them vs just a 6112 on standard spring (550sh, shops claim 600 but is not) with 5100 rear (a road-optimized setup).

That said, an easy way to improve the ride quality on road is by switching to 550lb front springs. Some King retailers offer free spring replacements. That should make a difference while still preventing bottoming out offroad. It will reduce somewhat the offroad speeds at which you can go through sharp terrain changes.

Btw, I thought King standard springs are 550, are you sure you have 600? If you already have 550, there is nothing you can do without de-rating the set's offroad capability altogether.

Also, possibly the Camburg UCA is not helping the ride quality but at least you seem to have poly bushings instead of heim joints.

Of course, any down-grading of offroad abilities would question the use of Camburg UCA since that style is meant for high off-pavement speeds.

See at 15:00 here how to prolong the life of that spherical bearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4A3QGLEpTQ&t=7s

 

[Inv4drZm]

IMO a single shock designed for soaking up huge bumps and blowing through all of its suspension travel will never feel cloud-like on the street.

I would guess factory shocks, with an unmodified vehicle on p-rated tires would be the closest to street comfort one could get.

If you paired your King shock with a second bypass shock and got it tuned correctly it might be able to come close to matching cloud-like street handling and smooth aggressive offroad driving. If you want to try modifying what you have, try changing tire pressure or swap tires.

 

[albertomc]

Congrats on buying a quality setup. I have not had Kings but the question is not specific to them.

You can have the setup better suited to offroading, better suited to road driving, or you need high-level adjustability, which King does not offer, to get a piece of both. King's mid-level adjustment is for fine tuning.

You can adjust the valving or the springs (supposed to be used for weight adjustments rather than performance).

The Kings will do great offroad so revalving them would essentially downgrade them to where there is no point in having them vs just a 6112 on standard spring (550sh, shops claim 600 but is not) with 5100 rear (a road-optimized setup).

That said, an easy way to improve the ride quality on road is by switching to 550lb front springs. Some King retailers offer free spring replacements. That should make a difference while still preventing bottoming out offroad. It will reduce somewhat the offroad speeds at which you can go through sharp terrain changes.

Btw, I thought King standard springs are 550, are you sure you have 600? If you already have 550, there is nothing you can do without de-rating the set's offroad capability altogether.

Also, possibly the Camburg UCA is not helping the ride quality but at least you seem to have poly bushings instead of heim joints.

Of course, any down-grading of offroad abilities would question the use of Camburg UCA since that style is meant for high off-pavement speeds.

See at 15:00 here how to prolong the life of that spherical bearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4A3QGLEpTQ&t=7s

Thanks for the reply, definitely going to check on the actual springs to see if I have the 600 or 550... even though the invoice stated 600.

Why do you state the Camburg UCAs are not helping the ride quality? I went with the bolt on package that was offered by wheelers off road without much research TBH.

Also, should I be greasing any of these components? Couldnt find any grease points.

 

[albertomc]

IMO a single shock designed for soaking up huge bumps and blowing through all of its suspension travel will never feel cloud-like on the street.

I would guess factory shocks, with an unmodified vehicle on p-rated tires would be the closest to street comfort one could get.

If you paired your King shock with a second bypass shock and got it tuned correctly it might be able to come close to matching cloud-like street handling and smooth aggressive offroad driving. If you want to try modifying what you have, try changing tire pressure or swap tires.

Thanks for the feedback, looks like you went through quite a bit of setups as well so your advice will be taken seriously!

 

[MAST4R]

Thanks for the reply, definitely going to check on the actual springs to see if I have the 600 or 550... even though the invoice stated 600.

Why do you state the Camburg UCAs are not helping the ride quality? I went with the bolt on package that was offered by wheelers off road without much research TBH.

Also, should I be greasing any of these components? Couldnt find any grease points.

You should watch the UCA video I linked in its entirety, it explains a lot of things including how various joints impact ride quality.

He also has a great explanation of ride quality in general:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAP774EaIA&t=3505s

Something that is not in the video:

Traditional shocks are velocity sensitive and that's what you got and what Ben addresses in the video.

In order to get both sides of the spectrum, you need a position sensitive shock. Even so, spring rates will matter as will design intent. For example, the OME 51 is said to be optimized for heavy, Australian style rigs.

And aftermarket monotube can definitely deliver better than stock ride quality on the street while also handling and cornering better.

But unless you get a highly sophisticated shock, you have to prioritize either street or offroad. The King 2.5 is as capable a shock as a 4R can use but it is not a position sensitive shock so it cannot "do it all."

There is a King bypass version that can be used as a dual zone shock but at that point, it is better to just get the three-zone Bilstein 8112.

In your case, check on the spring rate.

As for tires, heavier tires soften up the suspension so if you are running P metric, lighter tires, chances are that going to heavier, LT tires will make the ride feel smoother. There was a Tire Rack test on the subject and my experience has been the same.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

The springs should say 600 in the code printed in white lettering on one of the coils. FYI, I have 600lb springs w a bumper winch combo at 250lbs + dual batteries and an ARB compressor up front on my 5th gen. So it's a lot heavier than yours up front. 550 lb springs and a tire change w lower pressure might be a good place to start.

 

[albertomc]

Ill definitely check that out. After a few days with the new setup... I can definitely say the car is much more controlled. Im sure I can go quite a bit faster on the dirt roads and have never had it bounce to the point where I lose control. Rig seems quite a bit more composed and it definitely shines at speed. Overall I'm quite impressed with the lift. I feel like I can get more comfort out of it by adjusting the coils or adding more weight... ill see how things pan out!

I guess the comments are all in line, we cant really expect it to be a jack of all traits.

I also greased up my upper control bearings as per the video and will continue to do so.

Should I be checking nitrogen pressures or greasing any other point of the new suspension?

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Sausage_gut]

I’ve also been trying to do research about these. I have dobinsons IMS on order but I’m debating on cancelling and going with some kings. Please keep us updated


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[dahveeed]

I’ve also been trying to do research about these. I have dobinsons IMS on order but I’m debating on cancelling and going with some kings. Please keep us updated


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I believe kings are a few months out along with everything else on the planet. Buddy of mine finally got his after waiting a few months. Few weeks after he installed them left rear started leaking. He sent it off to get rebuilt. Got it back and reinstalled, now left front is leaking [emoji52]. I’m going to upgrade to Fox, but same, a few months out


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[4RunnerAquasport]

Ill definitely check that out. After a few days with the new setup... I can definitely say the car is much more controlled. Im sure I can go quite a bit faster on the dirt roads and have never had it bounce to the point where I lose control. Rig seems quite a bit more composed and it definitely shines at speed. Overall I'm quite impressed with the lift. I feel like I can get more comfort out of it by adjusting the coils or adding more weight... ill see how things pan out!

I guess the comments are all in line, we cant really expect it to be a jack of all traits.

I also greased up my upper control bearings as per the video and will continue to do so.

Should I be checking nitrogen pressures or greasing any other point of the new suspension?

Thanks for the help everyone!

I think you need to grease the bushings on your Camburgs. If they have zerk fittings it's a definite. This video by Total Chaos shows how it's done properly. This method should work for your Camburgs. I bought Super Lube in a grease gun tube and it lasts quite awhile.
As far as nitrogen, I'm pretty sure they ship with out being up to the proper pressure. 150 psi is what I have mine set at. It's very hard to check the pressure with just a regular gauge. There is very little volume so just putting a standard gauge on there releases a lot of pressure. You need what they call a "no loss" chuck and a high pressure regulator to do it properly. I have this rig I set up for doing it at home.

 

[originalg00kster]

What do you have for bumpstops?

 

[albertomc]

What do you have for bumpstops?

Stock form for now. I have the Firestone Airbags at some 5psi but honestly haven't felt even close to bottoming out or needing hydraulic bumpstops... that's part of what I feel is a bit harsher than I feel it should be. I don't feel I'm getting much travel within the whole system...

 

[randy88fj62]

I have an order in for king shocks front and rear with resis and adjusters. lead time is 12 weeks .

I'll be watching this post and I'll add my input once I get them installed and out on a few runs.

 

[originalg00kster]

Stock form for now. I have the Firestone Airbags at some 5psi but honestly haven't felt even close to bottoming out or needing hydraulic bumpstops... that's part of what I feel is a bit harsher than I feel it should be. I don't feel I'm getting much travel within the whole system...

When I installed the durobumps bumpstops, it was literally night and day difference.

 

[albertomc]

When I installed the durobumps bumpstops, it was literally night and day difference.

Interesting... I had read about it but I'm not sure if that is my case. What springs are you running? Do you have adjusters? Those might be a happy medium vs the King Bumpstops which are another investment in themselves LOL.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Interesting... I had read about it but I'm not sure if that is my case. What springs are you running? Do you have adjusters? Those might be a happy medium vs the King Bumpstops which are another investment in themselves LOL.

Thanks for the feedback.

Most of us will never need hydraulic bump stops. Expensive and another install rabbit hole. The Durobumps or the Wheelers Bumps which I have been very happy with, will do just fine for most applications.
Here is some video of the abuse I put them through.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OoJUF02t4bo?start=69" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[originalg00kster]

Most of us will never need hydraulic bump stops. Expensive and another install rabbit hole. The Durobumps or the Wheelers Bumps which I have been very happy with, will do just fine for most applications.
Here is some video of the abuse I put them through.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OoJUF02t4bo?start=69" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

yeah, the King's hydrobumps would be overkill for me with my current set up. But I am very happy with Duro's.

 

[albertomc]

Thats pretty impressive... I might just might the bullet... never thought bumpstops would be so important in the setup.

Getting the rig checked out right now, I have some rubbing issues on the inside of the wheel, going to get camber checked out tomorrow.See pic: *BFG KO2s in 265/70R17.

Also, looking into ways to prolong the life of the UCAs, definitely feel like buying the Camburg Uniballs was not the ideal. Should have done a bit more research. :frusty: I filled them up with thick grease but with some use, it evidently becomes uncovered... looking into a way to change them to balljoints or get them covered somehow. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[montijo505]

Thats pretty impressive... I might just might the bullet... never thought bumpstops would be so important in the setup.

Getting the rig checked out right now, I have some rubbing issues on the inside of the wheel, going to get camber checked out tomorrow.See pic: *BFG KO2s in 265/70R17.

Also, looking into ways to prolong the life of the UCAs, definitely feel like buying the Camburg Uniballs was not the ideal. Should have done a bit more research. :frusty: I filled them up with thick grease but with some use, it evidently becomes uncovered... looking into a way to change them to balljoints or get them covered somehow. Any suggestions are welcome!

Can you take another photo of higher up near the UCA? It definitely looks like it’s running on something


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