shocks and springs - LJ78 (1 Viewer)

[dabasscow]

Hi bbpjunk, I will check the coil specs when I get back to work I have been sick the last few days.

I will try and find the email where the person described the difference in feeling.

At the moment I am testing a set of mono tube shocks on the rear, they have basically eliminated the rear body roll like having a rear sway bar. I go over 2 rail way lines every day, and I need to slow down for them as they are to firm. They would suit a loaded vehicle nicely.

 

[dabasscow]

Do it!

Who else will support Crushers stocking some Dobinsons suspension?

 

[bbpjunk]

Thanks again for sharing your experience with the springs. Sounds like the way to go. Now I'm going to have to have to try jumping it...

I contacted the Miami Dobinsons dealer via email yesterday and they got right back to me and, not surprisingly, the springs aren't in stock. However they quoted me $174.50 per pair for the 60mm/65mm springs plus $60 ground shipping for all 4 to CA. I wrote back to find out how long it takes to get them in stock and if they can in fact get them for me. If this works out, even if it takes a couple months, it should be totally worth it.

 

[dabasscow]

No Problem bbpjunk.

Both the 45mm lift and 60mm lift have the same spring rate.

Identifying the market needs for the USA branch has been dificult, but we will be attending SEMA this year to assist identify the market. Once we have a better idea of the market we will be able to stock the parts most needed.

 

[dabasscow]

Comments from person I mentioned.

I'm quite satisfied with the setup. On tarmac the car does lean to the outside more then before when cornering and it needed some time to get used to it, but on rough tracks like in Iceland or in the dunes of the northern Sahara the car now is in its element.

 

[bbpjunk]

Thanks, dabasscow for the information. That's really helpful. Are the monotube shocks you're trying made by Dobinson? I didn't see them in the catalogue online so was just curious. I'm planning to get the springs installed and then evaluate my current shocks and see how they match with the spring rate.

I also just wanted to update this post and say that I was able to order a set of 4 coils: 60mm front and 65mm rear from the Miami distributor today for $408 shipped to my door in California. Of course they weren't in stock but they said they will have them in their next container arriving in October. I'd say that's pretty awesome if it all works out. BTW Dobinsons has been really, really good with communication and customer service.

 

[dabasscow]

No Problem bbpjunk, the Mono tubes were a test sample, we have been looking at a different line of premium shock absorbers, we have decided against the mono tube at this stage and we are looking at foam cell 9 stage adjustable. These are still in early stages of development, I don't have an ETA of when stock will be available.

Glad to hear you have ordered the suspension, and are happy with the service.

 

[niwde11]

bbpjunk; feedback please when your coils arrived and installed. planning also to change my 71 existing susp with dobs. any ETA on the coils in the Phils?

 

[crushers]

just for the record, i tried foam shocks way back when and was less than impressed. the adjustable units might be better, i have not tried them.
the shocks that i do recommend are the adj Rancho RS9000. i have installed dozens of these over the years and they do the job extremely well. what i have found is that you adj them once but the idea that you can fine tune the ride and handling is well worth the extra $$$. AND they take forever to start rusting.
think of it this way:
2 things i don't screw with (read cut corners), steering and brakes.
the way your suspension handles affects the steering AND braking. if you have too much body roll then you loose the control (or at least some of it) on corners, over wash boards and stopping. if you have to panic stop and the vehicle wabells around then you can not stop as fast or as safe as a vehicle that stays firm. too firm and the ride is uncomfortable.

with adj shocks you can dial in for YOUR driving style and ride want.

i don't know if anyone remembers the Black Diamond lift kit from 20 some years back. we could only get them in Canada for a very short time. the kit was complete and very nice, ride was great, cost was up there but what made me REALLY like the kit was the shocks were plated. they never did rust. they went on all shinny and purdy and 3 years later they still looked like new.
the shocks that come with most kits have a "Powder coated" white coating that rusts almost immediately after coming out of the box. s***ty fawking job and even though the kits are complete and nice the shocks look like crap after a year. even stock factory shocks look nice for years before rusting.

if i could make a recommendation, if you are designing a high end kit (and i feel Dob is one of these) then supply shocks that match the market you are targeting.

 

[bbpjunk]

bbpjunk; feedback please when your coils arrived and installed. planning also to change my 71 existing susp with dobs. any ETA on the coils in the Phils?

There is a distributor for Dobinsons in the Philippines but they want 28k php for a set of 4. They say 3-4 weeks. Mine will take a couple months (4 weeks AUS-US and 5 weeks US-Manila) since they come from the US but I'll save a our $200 by waiting.

 

[rojjim]

There is a distributor for Dobinsons in the Philippines .....

which distributor in PH?

 

[bbpjunk]

This is the email of the contact in the Philippines. I never did any more with them other than get a price quote and an estimate for how long it would take to get in stock. I was told 28,000PHP for the 60/65mm lift springs and 3-4 weeks to get them in stock. I emailed them at this address: anaislandsolution@yahoo.com. Here is the additional contact info from their email signature. I hope this helps you get in touch with them. I was originally given the contact info through someone who answered my inquiry through the Dobinson's website.

Anamarie T. Ocoy
Island Automotive Solutions
Jd Extreme Solutions, Inc.
http://www.islandautomotivesolutions.com/
http://www.jdextremesolutions.com/
09228076066/09175640692
0632-966-1498

 

[bbpjunk]

I just received my Dobinson springs last week and everything looks right at first glance. I'm traveling now and will install these when I get a chance. I'll do my best to report back when I get them on. It cost me about $550USD after shipping, ($180 of it was customs and duty) so it's not terrible but not as good as I thought it would be. That's just the risk of importing things into the Philippines! Dealing with Dobinsons at every level was fantastic. They were very easy to work with and quick to answer questions. I was impressed.

 

[AMDFusion]

I just received my Dobinson springs last week and everything looks right at first glance. I'm traveling now and will install these when I get a chance. I'll do my best to report back when I get them on. It cost me about $550USD after shipping, ($180 of it was customs and duty) so it's not terrible but not as good as I thought it would be. That's just the risk of importing things into the Philippines! Dealing with Dobinsons at every level was fantastic. They were very easy to work with and quick to answer questions. I was impressed.

Did you bought only springs?I mean,did you buy other dobinson's product like the shock absorber,castor kit/bushes..etc?

Is it better to have one set of Dobinson or mix and match?(Spring Dobinson,absorber rancho..etc)?

 

[bbpjunk]

Did you bought only springs?I mean,did you buy other dobinson's product like the shock absorber,castor kit/bushes..etc? Is it better to have one set of Dobinson or mix and match?(Spring Dobinson,absorber rancho..etc)?

I only bought springs because my old ones started sagging. I'm going to see how the spring rate behaves with my current shocks (ironman foam cells) and go from there. The truck already has a 40mm lift and castor correction bushings so I didn't need a complete kit. I had rancho 9000xl shocks on the rear and they were nice because you could adjust the ride to match the springs but the rebound was out of control with the ranchos/ironman spring combo. The shocks quit altogether inside of a year so I went with what shocks I could get locally and quickly and it was ironman foam cells.

 

[cicak]

I just received my Dobinson springs last week and everything looks right at first glance. I'm traveling now and will install these when I get a chance. I'll do my best to report back when I get them on. It cost me about $550USD after shipping, ($180 of it was customs and duty) so it's not terrible but not as good as I thought it would be. That's just the risk of importing things into the Philippines! Dealing with Dobinsons at every level was fantastic. They were very easy to work with and quick to answer questions. I was impressed.

If your lifting your Jaloppy are you putting in the castor kit else it will become quite twitchy. How long do your control arm bushes last do you use stock or PU?

 

[bbpjunk]

If your lifting your Jaloppy are you putting in the castor kit else it will become quite twitchy. How long do your control arm bushes last do you use stock or PU?

I imagine nothing can beat stock bushings for longevity. Ideally I'd do a caster correction with modifying the drop brackets but since I've just got a modest lift I opted for easy and simple bushings. I had OME caster correction at first and they grenaded themselves apart in no time-less than a year if I remember right. A couple years ago I put SuperPro PU bushings in all the radius arms and so far they look as good as new. Given that the OE Toyota bushings lasted for about 20 years I have a long time to wait to determine which lasts longer, PU or Rubber. I'm betting on Toyota. I opted to go with all PU since that's all I could find for caster correction. I didn't want to mix flexible rubber with more rigid PU bushings to help keep one set of bushings from getting exploited over the others. Not sure if it really matters, but that's how I thought about it.

 

[cicak]

A stock bushing here lucky to last 6 to months in the climate and jungle mud they tear spart thats why i asked.

The handling is very different with raised with and with no castor correction.

 

[crushers]

I ran the full dobinson kit, complete with caster correction, as well as ome kit on an identical truck with no castor correction and they both handled the same.
I swapped out the dob shocks for the ranching 5000 and the ride was a touch better but the travel was noticably better, your shocks should never be the limiting factor. Use retainer straps to control travel.

Just a suggestion and my experiences

 

[niwde11]

bbpjunk; hows the spring doing? thinking of also getting the 60mm front but still undecided on the rear since mine is a swb LJ71(1kzte transplant also).