Unner's Build, 2001 T4R 4x4

[theesotericone]

One day I'll make it to see all 50 hopefully. The only ones I haven't been to are mostly ones that border Canada, a few in the northeast, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Which ones haven't you been to?

The two Dakotas as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Traveling is quite fun but now instead of an automobile the GF and I opt for air travel if it is in the budget.

Nice guys. The only state I've not made it to is Hawaii. Don't tell the wife but it's gonna be an anniversary trip in a few years.

AK is a must visit. Everything in the lower states pales in comparison. It's huge and wild and bad ass.

 

[Unner]

The two Dakotas as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Traveling is quite fun but now instead of an automobile the GF and I opt for air travel if it is in the budget. Plus I never had something as off road capable as the 4runner to travel in, where if something caught my eye off the beaten path I could go and explore it.

Visit the Northeast in the fall, great foliage color. I love Boston, Vermont, Maine, but as fellow Southern boy I know you understand when I say I couldn't ever live in cold weather.

Nice. I've seen South Dakota, but not North Dakota.

I was in the Northeast a little this summer. Added New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont to my list. It was really pretty up there with the rolling mountains, and the temperatures were amazing for August, compared to down south. I just can't see myself living up there with the cold winters, and being in the rust belt makes me cringe as I like working on cars too much. One day I want to explore the Allagash/North Maine Woods.

Nice guys. The only state I've not made it to is Hawaii. Don't tell the wife but it's gonna be an anniversary trip in a few years.

AK is a must visit. Everything in the lower states pales in comparison. It's huge and wild and bad ass.

Anniversary trip to Hawaii would be pretty awesome. My dad was lucky enough to go there on work travel a few years ago.

I'd love to drive to Alaska. Sounds ridiculous, but there would be so much to see along the way.

One of my friends girlfriends parent's moved to Alaska as a final station of duty for his Army career. It was supposed to be a short thing to finish up, maybe a year or two. They took it as an opportunity to move somewhere new for a few years, and then retire. They had already bought a house in Augusta, GA and planned on retiring there many years before moving to Alaska. They fell in love with Alaska and have since decided to stay up there and sell the house in Augusta. There must be something magical about it.

 

[Unner]

Well I've got a blown Toytec Boss coilover on the passenger side. Now I have to make a decision. I can get new Toytec Boss shocks for my coilovers and just swap my springs, perches, and top hat over. I assume the driver side isn't much farther behind the passenger side so I would replace both. That would cost about $425 for the new shocks.

Or I can get a set of Kings for $992 from DownSouth Motorsports. I think I'd go with 650 lb springs.

 

[Chuckles89]

I would go with Kings. 30k miles or so on the BOSS? Not impressive...

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Well I've got a blown Toytec Boss coilover on the passenger side. Now I have to make a decision. I can get new Toytec Boss shocks for my coilovers and just swap my springs, perches, and top hat over. I assume the driver side isn't much farther behind the passenger side so I would replace both. That would cost about $425 for the new shocks.

Or I can get a set of Kings for $992 from DownSouth Motorsports. I think I'd go with 650 lb springs.

I think the choice is clear.

For the front end of these rigs, I think any of the top shelf coilovers are well worth the money. Now you just have to read 138 threads covering 2,431 opinions on Icon vs. King vs. Fox vs. ADS. Then another 32 on whether or not it's worth it to go remote reservoir. Then 11 others on whether or not to go with the compression adjusters.

 

[octanejunkie]

I think the choice is clear.

For the front end of these rigs, I think any of the top shelf coilovers are well worth the money. Now you just have to read 138 threads covering 2,431 opinions on Icon vs. King vs. Fox vs. ADS. Then another 32 on whether or not it's worth it to go remote reservoir. Then 11 others on whether or not to go with the compression adjusters.

....

 

[Unner]

I would go with Kings. 30k miles or so on the BOSS? Not impressive...

Actually I had about 65k on the Boss coilovers, so I'm not too upset with them leaking. I wish I had gotten Kings the first time around though, so I could have just rebuilt them and had like new coilovers for a much lower price.

I think the choice is clear.

For the front end of these rigs, I think any of the top shelf coilovers are well worth the money. Now you just have to read 138 threads covering 2,431 opinions on Icon vs. King vs. Fox vs. ADS. Then another 32 on whether or not it's worth it to go remote reservoir. Then 11 others on whether or not to go with the compression adjusters.

The choice was clear. I ordered Kings from Downsouth Motorsports. I went with 650 pound springs. I'm really excited to get them in and see how they ride. Plus I've always liked blue!

Luckily for me ADS and Fox were out of the budget, as well as reservoirs and clickers. That made the decision easier.

Now I have to figure out what I want to do with the rear. My rear passenger LC shock is leaking a little as well. There aren't a whole lot of good options out there though it seems. I really like the length of the LC shocks, even with 861's in the back it'll flex really well.

I might just get a new pair of LC shocks from Toyota since they're only $100 or so for the pair, or go with something different, but I'm not sure what.

Flexing the 861's in the Mojave desert.
DSC01512 (2) by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC01513 by Unner Unner, on Flickr
DSC01517 by Unner Unner, on Flickr

 

[Road Bull]

Congrats on your Kings purchase. I think you will dig them. I am happy with how they feel, and I am running the 861's with black LC Tokico shocks. I know that a few have run Kings in the back, but that starts to get spendy and some have reported clearance issues for the remote reservoirs. I am sure that there is a way to make it work, but the LC's feel good, match up with the 861's well, and are pretty inexpensive. That is some pretty good flex you got going on there. Is your rear sway bar disconnected in those pics?

 

[Unner]

Congrats on your Kings purchase. I think you will dig them. I am happy with how they feel, and I am running the 861's with black LC Tokico shocks. I know that a few have run Kings in the back, but that starts to get spendy and some have reported clearance issues for the remote reservoirs. I am sure that there is a way to make it work, but the LC's feel good, match up with the 861's well, and are pretty inexpensive. That is some pretty good flex you got going on there. Is your rear sway bar disconnected in those pics?

I'd be more interested in a set of kings in the back if they were longer and allowed more travel, but you are right. The price for them is very high, especially when you can get the LC shocks for $100 haha

My rear sway bar is connected in those pictures. I bought disconnects awhile ago, but don't run them. Both of my sway bars are always connected.

 

[Road Bull]

I'd be more interested in a set of kings in the back if they were longer and allowed more travel, but you are right. The price for them is very high, especially when you can get the LC shocks for $100 haha

My rear sway bar is connected in those pictures. I bought disconnects awhile ago, but don't run them. Both of my sway bars are always connected.

Yeah, with travel like that, why bother disconnecting sway bar links? Great pics Man! Looks like you have been busy getting out and seeing the world.

 

[Unner]

Yeah, with travel like that, why bother disconnecting sway bar links? Great pics Man! Looks like you have been busy getting out and seeing the world.

Exactly, my limiting point is the longer bump stops I installed, not the sway bar.

Yeah lots of good pictures from my recent adventures, hopefully I can get the rest of them posted in the coming weeks!

 

[Black798]

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] it will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the king shocks, I'm looking at getting them for the front in the next year. Be prepared to wait for them though. I ordered my rear shocks beginning of November from downsouth Motorsports and they still haven't received them from King and can't even give me an ETA because king is so far behind on production

 

[fourfive]

Actually I had about 65k on the Boss coilovers, so I'm not too upset with them leaking. I wish I had gotten Kings the first time around though, so I could have just rebuilt them and had like new coilovers for a much lower price.

The choice was clear. I ordered Kings from Downsouth Motorsports. I went with 650 pound springs. I'm really excited to get them in and see how they ride. Plus I've always liked blue!

Your boss coilovers had a good life but I'm digging the upgrade. Your 4runner keeps getting better & better. I actually think it's a good thing you started off with a middle of the road set of coilovers because it'll give you a good baseline comparison to the big league brands. I haven't looked in depth of what all's involved with rebuilding a set of coilovers but wonder how long the 4runner would have to be down during that process. That was something I was considering when I was looking through my suspension options but you got that extra little supra so I guess it wouldn't really matter for you ;P Great trip pictures!

I think the choice is clear.

For the front end of these rigs, I think any of the top shelf coilovers are well worth the money. Now you just have to read 138 threads covering 2,431 opinions on Icon vs. King vs. Fox vs. ADS. Then another 32 on whether or not it's worth it to go remote reservoir. Then 11 others on whether or not to go with the compression adjusters.

That was hilarious!...so specific :lmao: but it's true

 

[Unner]

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] it will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the king shocks, I'm looking at getting them for the front in the next year. Be prepared to wait for them though. I ordered my rear shocks beginning of November from downsouth Motorsports and they still haven't received them from King and can't even give me an ETA because king is so far behind on production

I'll be sure to post up my thoughts on the Kings vs the Boss coilovers. I actually shouldn't be waiting too long for them. I ordered from Downsouth Motorsports. He said they have the coilovers in stock, so all they have to do is swap the springs to 650 pound springs instead of 600 pound springs. I ordered Thursday morning, he said they would ship Friday most likely. I haven't got a shipping notification, so I'm hoping they either shipped, or will ship Monday so I can put them in next weekend. You ordered a custom shock didn't you? That might be the hang up in production.

Your boss coilovers had a good life but I'm digging the upgrade. Your 4runner keeps getting better & better. I actually think it's a good thing you started off with a middle of the road set of coilovers because it'll give you a good baseline comparison to the big league brands. I haven't looked in depth of what all's involved with rebuilding a set of coilovers but wonder how long the 4runner would have to be down during that process. That was something I was considering when I was looking through my suspension options but you got that extra little supra so I guess it wouldn't really matter for you ;P Great trip pictures!




That was hilarious!...so specific :lmao: but it's true

Thanks! I'm happy with what I got out of the Boss coilovers. They saw a lot of miles, and a good bit of rough miles. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference in performance between the too. My wallet wishes I would have just ordered Kings from the beginning, but live and learn. Now I know for the next build.

Rebuilding doesn't look hard really. You basically take the shock apart, drain the old oil, replace all the o ring seals, refill it with shock oil, and then charge it with Nitrogen. Charging it with Nitrogen would be the hardest part for us being down south instead of out west, there aren't many places around here that have nitrogen on hand for charging shocks. Or you can build your own at home nitrogen set up. If you do that, the truck would only be down for half a day or so. If you time it right and have to take it somewhere to be charged with nitrogen probably a full day of downtime.

 

[Black798]

I ordered a 2x10 shock with remote resi. Only custom part is it is valved for my truck. I didn't have them do any custom lengths or anything but they must not have had it in stock. Originally I was told 4 to 5 weeks after week 5 I called was told another 2 weeks waited 3 called again and then was told they can't give me any kind of ETA at this point.

 

[Road Bull]

I ordered a 2x10 shock with remote resi. Only custom part is it is valved for my truck. I didn't have them do any custom lengths or anything but they must not have had it in stock. Originally I was told 4 to 5 weeks after week 5 I called was told another 2 weeks waited 3 called again and then was told they can't give me any kind of ETA at this point.

I don't think this it too uncommon for them unfortunately. I ordered mine through Total Automotive Performance a couple years ago. I told them that I thought that I needed a 650# spring set up. I told them what I had going on as far as extra weight and told them to pass that along to King to make the final call on what spring rate to build. TAP has a good system for updates on your order process, but once they send it out to King, you are on the dark side of the moon. Waiting sucks, but you should be happy with their shock. I really dig mine, and I don't have the remote resi. But, I don't drive all that fast off road. That, and tbh, I think that the rear LC shocks would have a hard time keeping up at speed. For me, the Kings in front and the 861's and LC Tokicos in back work great.

 

[Black798]

I really dont mind waiting at this point since DSM said they wont charge me untill the shocks ship. Now if I had already paid them that would be a different story.

I opted to upgrade my rear shocks first since my 5100s I have up front have done alright but my rears have overheated a lot this year. And after seeing what [MENTION=57546]4-Ripcord[/MENTION] did with his I couldn't help trying my own spin on it and it turned out to be way cheaper than just buying better rear shocks

 

[Unner]

I ordered a 2x10 shock with remote resi. Only custom part is it is valved for my truck. I didn't have them do any custom lengths or anything but they must not have had it in stock. Originally I was told 4 to 5 weeks after week 5 I called was told another 2 weeks waited 3 called again and then was told they can't give me any kind of ETA at this point.

Gotcha. I thought you got custom lengths and stuff. Not sure why yours are taking so long... I'm hoping mine ship today. I want to get everything back to 100%.

I really dont mind waiting at this point since DSM said they wont charge me untill the shocks ship. Now if I had already paid them that would be a different story.

I opted to upgrade my rear shocks first since my 5100s I have up front have done alright but my rears have overheated a lot this year. And after seeing what [MENTION=57546]4-Ripcord[/MENTION] did with his I couldn't help trying my own spin on it and it turned out to be way cheaper than just buying better rear shocks

How much did it end up costing you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Black798]

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] it ended up costing 768.54 for both shocks fully built tuned which was over 100 dollars cheaper than any other high-end drop in shock that would go to the stock mounts so I just decided to go all out and do custom mounts. This allowed more efficient use of the shock and a little more travel. I had the steel already and cut out the parts at work so that didn't cost anything but I would say someone else could do that for less than 200 dollars since I already have plans and stuff, all they need to do is load it into the machine and run it.

The one company I didnt look at was fox simply because Ive seen too many of them snap off on the upper mount and just didnt want to have to deal with something like that

If your still looking to upgrade your rear shocks, after I make sure all the clearances and stuff work with my mounts I could sell you a copy of the plans for pretty cheap

 

[Unner]

Kings are shipped! Should be here Friday, hopefully I can get them on this weekend.

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] it ended up costing 768.54 for both shocks fully built tuned which was over 100 dollars cheaper than any other high-end drop in shock that would go to the stock mounts so I just decided to go all out and do custom mounts. This allowed more efficient use of the shock and a little more travel. I had the steel already and cut out the parts at work so that didn't cost anything but I would say someone else could do that for less than 200 dollars since I already have plans and stuff, all they need to do is load it into the machine and run it.

The one company I didnt look at was fox simply because Ive seen too many of them snap off on the upper mount and just didnt want to have to deal with something like that

If your still looking to upgrade your rear shocks, after I make sure all the clearances and stuff work with my mounts I could sell you a copy of the plans for pretty cheap

Not sure why I don't get email notifications when I get tagged anymore...

That's not too bad for tuned, resi shocks. I've heard the same things about Fox shocks so I'm staying away from them. I'll let you know about the mounts and keep an eye on your build to see how they come out!