Questions on KING coilovers for a LIMITED

[Grug556]

Hey guys, some questions on the King coilovers. I have a 2016 limited with XREAS. I wanted to remove suspension and replace it. ITs ok on the road but abit harsh on bumps and stuff. I do about 90% pavement and some off road on log trails, mud etc, nothing to crazy. i store my 4 runner in the garage and height is critical.

1. For the coilovers what is the least amount of lift you can go with? How is the ride at that level?
2. I was thinking of keeping rear springs. As such if I raise front 1.5inches will this in effect make vehicle level now? Any negatives to levelling other than worse mileage?
3. Should I get the compression adjusters to fine tune it or not?
4. So far extra weight wise I have shrockworks sliders and BFG K02s 265/17s.
5. I plan on adding armor such as skid plates but will be all aluminum
6. No plan for new bumpers at this stage

Any comments on setup above? If I get the king coilover fronts and rear shocks will this be all the parts I need? Any thoughts on retaining factory rear springs for this setup? Or is there a better spring that doesnt lift the rear?
Want to make sure it still fits in garage. Thanks for any help on this, not a cheap system

Lastly to remove XREAS is just dump and drop right? Other than shocks, reservoirs and hard lines theres nothing really else to take off right?

Thanks!

 

[GripT4R]

king coilovers seem like overkill, and a waste of $ to be on pavement 90% of the time, and dirt trails/mud 10% of the time.

 

[Grug556]

Well I figure the XREAS will eventually fail and leak and wanted to get something else installed before this happened. I am not a fan of Bilstein junk so figured Kings seem ok. How are they on pavement? After much reading the ICONs seem to have a bad rep so I am back to Kings.

 

[nb rob]

Hey guys, some questions on the King coilovers. I have a 2016 limited with XREAS. I wanted to remove suspension and replace it. ITs ok on the road but abit harsh on bumps and stuff. I do about 90% pavement and some off road on log trails, mud etc, nothing to crazy. i store my 4 runner in the garage and height is critical.

1. For the coilovers what is the least amount of lift you can go with? How is the ride at that level?

With zero preload on the collar, the king coilovers will level your 4runner. They raise the front approx 1-1.5".
The ride is the best at this level. Every bit of preload after that is a compromise on ride quality. They will have the widest range of compression and available extension at this level.

2. I was thinking of keeping rear springs. As such if I raise front 1.5inches will this in effect make vehicle level now? Any negatives to levelling other than worse mileage?

Correct. Out of the box, the king oem performance series will level the front with the stock rear height. You shouldn't get noticeably worse mileage unless you start adding weight, bigger tires, etc. The slight lift up front won't help aerodynamics, but the 4runner is not aerodynamic to begin with.

3. Should I get the compression adjusters to fine tune it or not?

I have both, The novelty wears off on the adjusters pretty quickly. I haven't touched them in a couple years. This is up to you, but I enjoy my non compression adjust shocks and coilovers just as much.

good luck! There's no need to regret premium shocks. You'll feed the difference on and off road, and they're easy to maintain for a long lifetime of adventures

 

[Grug556]

Hey thanks for that reply. So on the adjusters, the only reason why I was going to get them was for fine tuning. Im use to coilovers on cars and other adjustable shocks ive had over the years. I get it you generally set it and forget it. Main reason was I wanted to fine tune the shock for various conditions.

Anything about King you dont like?

 

[nb rob]

hmmm.... the only dislike is the use of the larger 1" spherical bearings at the rear bottom shock mount. They are a bit more expensive than the com12's (3/4) that everyone else seems to use..... but that's really reaching for a dislike. Otherwise they're amazing. I do a couple big trips a year through days of rutted gravel roads for atlantic salmon fishing, and my friends have a hard time keeping up. It rides like a dream.

Here in eastern Canada, I took the front and rear reservoir brackets off and sprayed them with bedliner. The zinc plating took a beating the first winter, and there was rust on the bare metal. The bedliner has held up like a champ through last winter. If I were to install a fresh set of kings, I'd hit those shiney brackets with bedliner or black rust paint prior to installation.

If you've got the adjusters on your mind, and it's in the budget-- go for it! It's not that they're useless, I just use them less than I thought, and I really don't notice a difference between the two. I will say, increasing the nitrogen pressure from 85 to 100PSI made a much, much bigger difference than the 20 click range of the compression adjusters.... but this is apples to oranges.

I much prefer the hose fitting on the rear shocks on the compression adjust version.

 

[Grug556]

Ah good to know. Im Ontario. Ill get the brackets powder coated. Was wondering how they would handle the corrosion. So the overall shock bodies other than brackets is holding up ok with the salt?

 

[nb rob]

well....

I use icon coilover wraps for the front, and PRP shockwraps for the rears in the wintertime. I posted about them somewhere---
And I use shock boots in the rear. The rear shocks will get sandblasted hard.

If you have salt and sand on the roads, it's going to really affect the rear shocks. The fronts not so much, but I still use the icon coilover wraps, because I don't want rusty threads.

I have icon rears that I may put on for next winter. Cheap insurance, and a good time to rebuild.

So to answer your question, corrosion will be a concern if you do nothing. once the zinc plating is gone, the steel will rust. I just haven't given it a chance to.

 

[Grug556]

gotta love our salty roads huh:cheer2:

 

[Daikon]

good luck! There's no need to regret premium shocks. You'll feed the difference on and off road, and they're easy to maintain for a long lifetime of adventures

I just installed KING coilovers and rear shocks (over a two week period)

0 preload gave me exactly 1.5" front lift (non-kdss). I installed the rear shocks and Eibach 1" rear coils a week later. I ended up raising the front another 1" to make it appear more level. Ride is a little more stiffer but not much. I am satisfied.

[MENTION=122813]nb rob[/MENTION] was very helpful when it came to information on preload and ride height.

Our 4R is a weekend warrior as of now and spends about 10% off-road and I have no regrets on the purchase for premium suspension.

Do what you want. Many people who say not to buy KINGS or similar expensive suspension, don't have it.

I am not rich. I attended a few MDR events (as a spectator) back in the early 2000's and always wanted a nice set up. I have a first gen tacoma with 5100's but when I began my search for a 5th gen 4x4, i saved up on the side for KINGS and Camburg ball joint UCA.

No regrets.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Wouldn't Kings be harsher than the stock XREAS onroad?

I don't think they would fix that problem.

 

[DaddySteve]

I just put Kings on my 2018 Offroad Premium Non KDSS and the difference in Ride Quality is Unbelievable. The ride is more stable and compliant. I think there is a huge benefit both on road and off. If you have the funds do it. You will not regret it.

 

[Daikon]

This is what zero preload looked like with stock rear springs.

Measurements from center of hub to bottom of fender.

Before 20”
After 21.5”

 

[Grug556]

Hawt!!!

Ok ordered the King coilovers, got the adjustable versions. Went with 550lb springs, stock springs in rear. Be here in about 3-4 weeks. Thanks everybody for help.

Last question for road use what to set the compression adjusters to for front and rear?

 

[DaddySteve]

Hawt!!!

Ok ordered the King coilovers, got the adjustable versions. Went with 550lb springs, stock springs in rear. Be here in about 3-4 weeks. Thanks everybody for help.

Last question for road use what to set the compression adjusters to for front and rear?

I ordered from Flithy Motor Sports. Ben and I had a very in-depth talk about compression adjusters. We decided that for my mostly on road use that they were not necessary. Just depends on what your looking for. I ended up with 2" lift up front 550lbs springs and left my 1" spacer in the rear with stock spring. Also went with JBA UCAs. Very happy so far with the results.

 

[Grug556]

I ordered from Flithy Motor Sports. Ben and I had a very in-depth talk about compression adjusters. We decided that for my mostly on road use that they were not necessary. Just depends on what your looking for. I ended up with 2" lift up front 550lbs springs and left my 1" spacer in the rear with stock spring. Also went with JBA UCAs. Very happy so far with the results.

I tried to order from Filthy. Their website is garbage and it wouldnt let me put in Canada for shipment. Called them and the voicemail said they would call back in 2 days :wacko:

Went to Totalautomotive, spoke to Rich, had all the gear ordered asap and was slightly cheaper to. Ive ordered off Total before and last time it worked out ok.

 

[nimby]

Hawt!!!

Ok ordered the King coilovers, got the adjustable versions. Went with 550lb springs, stock springs in rear. Be here in about 3-4 weeks. Thanks everybody for help.

Last question for road use what to set the compression adjusters to for front and rear?

If you're trying to maximize on-road comfort, I would put them on the lowest setting and go from there.

 

[MrGainzz]

You should check out Elka since you are on the east coast(rust concern in winter) and they are made in Quebec to battle against salt and harsh chemicals in winter as they are made of aluminum.

You sound like me,mine is a daily driver (95% of highway),so I only need a mild lift and I’m sticking with 265/70/17.

I bought Elka for my 2017 limited and I didn’t get the adjusters since I figured the difference would be insignificant no matter how I play with it and I’m really lazy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Grug556]

If you're trying to maximize on-road comfort, I would put them on the lowest setting and go from there.

Thanks, so for the fronts set on 1? Do the rears need 1 or do they bump up to say 2 or 3?

 

[Deletrd]

For those who have Kings, what other parts did you guys purchase to complete the lift. I’m going this route also, did you guys get new bumpstops, bumpstops extension brackets, uca, etc? I want to get everything at once and slap it all on and have all parts on hand needed to complete the job.