Dobinson’s 2 Inch? (1 Viewer)

[Sonofaskipper]

anybody install the 2” lift from Dobi on their truck? Debating between this and the stock height springs. Wondering what reall world difference in height over stock/sagging springs people were seeing going with the 2” set up?

 

[BILT4ME]

Nope. No one has installed a set.





















See the suspension thread in the stickies above.....

 

[Sonofaskipper]

While your sarcasm is appreciated, I didn’t see a review of the 2” specifically in that thread.

 

[jeeprjames]

I put one on my 97 LX a few months ago. I went with the progressive rate medium duty springs (they were out of the standard ones at the time). I plan on adding front and rear bumpers in the near future. It definitely sits higher than stock. Rear is a tad higher than the front though. It does ride a little firm with the medium duty springs. I'm guessing that will smooth out once i put on the extra weight of the bumpers and sliders. My old shocks and springs looked original from the factory. I can email or text some before and after pics if interested.

 

[nigelsiam]

Looking forward to some "real" responses as well because hoping to go this route.

 

[cavboy78]

i am probably going to be pulling my stock height OME springs off after 2 years of use. going with 35s and a lift. let m know if you're interested. You are supposed to get about 1" over stock height. i gained a little over 2" over my sagging original springs and she felt like a race car afterwards...seriously.

 

[ChiYota]

I put one on my 97 LX a few months ago. I went with the progressive rate medium duty springs (they were out of the standard ones at the time). I plan on adding front and rear bumpers in the near future. It definitely sits higher than stock. Rear is a tad higher than the front though. It does ride a little firm with the medium duty springs. I'm guessing that will smooth out once i put on the extra weight of the bumpers and sliders. My old shocks and springs looked original from the factory. I can email or text some before and after pics if interested.

Ditto...I feel like the truck is perfectly level with about 400 lbs. in the rear....less roll...pretty confident around turns. Noticeable height difference over stock. I have read that stock height Dobinson springs will give a bit of lift over stock.

 

[Dindu Nuffin]

Does the 2.5" tapered count?

 

[JHB Cruising]

Does the 2.5" tapered count?

I would like to see that setup. That's the plan for my rig.

 

[jeremy56]

2.5 tapered with 4-5 shocks, tires are 285s and bumpers and winch. Love it. This pic is empty rear end and light

 

[JHB Cruising]

2.5 tapered with 4-5 shocks, tires are 285s and bumpers and winch. Love it. This pic is empty rear end and lightView attachment 1749834View attachment 1749836

Looks great! How do you like the ride and travel?

 

[cavboy78]

Thanks for posting pics! I'm about to pull the trigger this week on this same lift. Did you use the tapered coils all around, or their flexis in the rear?Any spacers used? It looks like some stinkbug there, unless its the terrain/angle.

 

[jeremy56]

Love the ride, travel is more than I would need but it's set up for great articulation. Did quite a bit of desert testing but not rock crawling as I'm still not fitted with aprropriate bumpstops. No spacers.
Tapered all around, gained about 3 inches from old stock springs. Stink bug is a problem but when I put spare tire and swingout on will be gone to unnoticeable I bet. Like I said empty in back.
I got trail gear tierod kit and new draglinks with an alignment. It's like a new truck.

 

[OffRoadScott]

The Dobinsons were one of the springs I was thinking of going with due to the progressive spring rates that are available. But after pricing out the Dobs and everything else I needed to complete the lift, I went with the OME 2.5" med kit from Slee, the only reason I went medium as per the recommendation from the guys at Slee and a few others I have talked to. If you do not plan on carrying a lot of gear (1500#) extra the heavies with be a harsh ride.

 

[Dindu Nuffin]

I have bumpers, skid plate, a winch, York oba, a 35" spare on a swing out and have about 100 lbs of gear in the back, and I got the same stinkbug results with my 2.5" tapered; that last side shot Jeremy posted looks exactly like mine does, except that my fender gap is slightly less due to the 315s. I'm in the process of accumulating the extra parts needed to space the front up another 1.5" using Metal Tech spacers for a full 4" in the front to match what I ended up with in the rear. Additionally, while I'm there, I'm going to swap the four springs left to right. I installed them correctly according to the tags on the springs, but because the right springs are an inch shorter and because I have the spare on the right, there's and out a 1.125" difference left to right measured from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender. David said that if theres an inch dofference, the springs not mounted on the wrong sides. My response to that is that the springs were incorrectly marked if that's the case. The lift was the last thing I did to the truck, and it didn't lean nearly this bad on the stock springs, all things being equal down to the tires. I'm really hoping that after the left-right swap that it doesn't then lean an inch to the left...

The ride on the road is slightly stiffer than stock but more conpliant, if that makes sense. It's a stiffer ride but it is less harsh, and the smaller bumps aren't felt nearly as much. I don't have sways, so it still leans like a trophy truck in the turns just the same but once settled over on its side, it feels more stable. The shocks have a lot of rebound damping- it takes longer for the truck to bring itself back upright after a quick straightening of the wheel after the turn. I'm not going to tell you to remove your sways, but it really isn't bad at all if you do. My personal take is that if I want sports car handling, I'll drive my sports car. But I understand that these are DD's and/or only vehicles for some of us so do what you feel is right for you.

On the trail is where this stuff really shines. Again, no sways for me so my experience is different than those with, but the body stays more level than with the stock springs (and no sways). The suspension definitely is much more willing to cycle through its range than it was before. Running up a bumpy fire road at 30 mph with 13 PSI in the tires feels like I'm on a fairly smooth highway. It is far more comfortable on the trail and more befitting what was a high end off road vehicle for its day than some wooden block springs I've seen a few locals struggle with. After a 12 hour day on the trail, I'm far less beat up than I was with the stock stuff and with the extra clearance from the tires and lift, it makes wheeling the easy and moderste stuff no more difficult than backing out of a driveway. I haven't measured travel when fully flexed, but there's a lot of it.

Even with the stink bug and left/right issues I'm working through, I do not regret the purchase one bit. They're fantastic and once dialed in for aesthetic reasons, will be my go to for every rig I build from here on out. David is a great guy to work with- he does what he says, is easy to get ahold of, and ships stuff out immediately. While there are options that you should explore so you get what fits your needs best, you will not be disappointed if you do end up with the Dobinsons.

 

[cavboy78]

thanks for the feedback @Dindu Nuffin. That is quite a height difference from ps to ds!

 

[Dindu Nuffin]

You're welcome, and it absolutely is. I had even thought of installing them on opposite sides because of the difference in length and that my truck did already lean a small bit, but figured Dobinsons knows better than me.

 

[Tools R Us]

The Dobinsons were one of the springs I was thinking of going with due to the progressive spring rates that are available. But after pricing out the Dobs and everything else I needed to complete the lift, I went with the OME 2.5" med kit from Slee, the only reason I went medium as per the recommendation from the guys at Slee and a few others I have talked to. If you do not plan on carrying a lot of gear (1500#) extra the heavies with be a harsh ride.

Other than height, there isn't much difference. On the front, the std springs (med, heavy and J) are all the same spring rate, the rear med are slightly lower, but negligible. On a blind driving test, is difficult to tell them apart.