Harsh ride lifted (1 Viewer)

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Long story short I have 2 rigs a Lexus lx450 and an fj80 same year. The Toyota is stock and the Lexus has medium duty OME 3" springs and entry level Bilstien shocks and the ride just seems harsh at times on road. If I hit a solid whoop off road it soaks it up nicely but will beat the crap out of you in a pothole or washboard road. I have no body armor on the Lexus so my gut tells me the OME springs are too stiff for my no weight added. My question is I want to lift the Land Cruiser but would like a little bit better on road manners so is my problem with ride In the springs, the shocks or combination of both? I have always been a fan of Bilstien so I would like to go with the shocks again and try maybe Icon Springs. Any advice is helpful
 
Look into the dobinsons line of springs. They have a greater selection of spring choices. If you springs are to stiff then shocks will not change that characteristic of your ride.
 
How long have you had the OME lift on? I find that OME lifts always take time to break in and seem to ride better when loaded. I have had them on a previous Jeep and my LC and both were very harsh at first. Speed bumps were not fun in the first few weeks.
 
what color are your bilsteins? The yellow ones are obnoxiously firm on the compression valving.
 
shocks have more effect on ride quality than springs.

I pretty much agree...I have OME springs that use Dobinsons shocks and the ride, which is much nicer than the OME/OME spring & shock combo I used to have, is probably not as nice as what it will be when I move to Dobinsons flexi springs with their shocks. I say do good shocks first, then decide. My Dobinsons shocks ride way better than the OME shocks on the same springs. A bit of weight always helps OME springs too:deadhorse:
 
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If you have the correct springs for your desired application then shock will make a difference. If your run heavys as an exaggeration front and rear with no weight and stock tires then your going to have a rough ride over terrain like he described no matter what shocks you run. My understanding is the shocks control the rebound of the springs not the flex. Just my thoughts
 
I have the heavy duty springs on mine. I thought the same thing about the harsh ride. I then took it off road and actually used the springs. It was was a night and day drive afterwards. they just need to be broken in.
 
Just curious, why is the Lexus lifted, and the Toyota not?
 
Playing with the air pressure will help greatly! I had 40’s on my last Heep, and at recommended psi... it would kill you! At 20 psi it rode like a Caddi! My Cruiser rides the best at 22 psi..... (33/10.50/15.... zero lift)
 
Well you opened a can of worms with that question so here comes the long story. Bought the fj80 first about 6 months ago, has 280k on it all original everything from the original owner that took great care of it but needs paint work, at the time I couldnt find what I wanted which was a clean paint job but needed engine work (ive been a lead tech for 10 years and turning wrenches for 15). 2 days after I buy the fj80 this Lexus pops up with engine pieces hanging out of it but beautiful paint, so I bought it and did a full build on a donor motor. Then lifted the Lexus with OME medium duty springs and Bilstien shocks, during all this the fj80 just sat because it developed a head gasket leak 2 weeks after I bought it and I was too deep into the Lexus to start another project. I have always liked the Land Cruiser better because of the color and not all this fuffy extra molding stuff and it just so happens I have a painter now that can paint the Land Cruiser so Im putting together a plan to build it up and eventually sell the Lexus. All this being said the setup on the Lexus works amazing when I am hauling @$$ down some country road and hit stuff with some speed, it really soaks up the BIG stuff really well. Its just the washboard roads and city streets where every little crack is felt.
I am running Goodyear Duratrac in about a 34" range with 25 psi. Even dropping down to 10 when we went up to do some crawling it still beat pounded the road pretty hard. I do believe its a weight issue, the OME springs are designed for overland and there is no extra weight like bumpers so Im leaning towards a dual rate coil like ICON or Dobson that I will do some research on.
 
It will be cheaper to swap springs then it is to swap for really high end shocks. If your already leaning towards a dual rate spring I would say go that route. Keep in mind it can only do so much, your current shocks may not be able to keep up regardless of what you use.
 

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