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Good inputs gents. I don't know if Dobinsons has higher than 440# three inch lift springs.
As I stated, my expectations need to be aligned with my new reality.
From the looks of the videos you posted and the adjustments you have set on the shock, it looks like you are undersprung and underdamped. Just noticing the extra oscillations on some of those smaller movements and how far down your spring is compressing (wheelwell space getting swallowed up). What coils are you running specifically?
No idea with all the load I now carry. I think the last time I had the truck on a scale it was around 4,100#.Still light compared to the Yota monsters we were with, with the exception of @pappy ?? - John, what you weight??
Alright, just got back from five days in UT running the E-hill, Bobby's hole and all that. I've been cranking on the slow comp and rebound knob while driving around at home but after going up/over E-hill I simply maxed out the rebound all the way tight. The slow comp is also cranked hard core, not sure where I ended up and the little wrench was badly NEEDED. When you crank that large knob down, it gets very hard to keep tightening w/o their tool.
I wanted to make sure that my expectations were matching my new reality. I wanted less jarring/wallowing but also wanted more flat body orientation going around corners. I can't have it all, not with this much crap on the roof so the compromise is acceptable to me. The contents of the gear was quieter with these shocks and my new kitchen with foam lined drawers contributed significantly to that end.
This video shows a bouncing body on E-hill: New video by A. Ali - https://photos.app.goo.gl/p6SF1rYntNzQSAk88
More bouncing body on E-hill. Notice the JKR on 2" of lift and less body movements using Bilstein 5100s shocks New video by A. Ali - https://photos.app.goo.gl/i8cQXWy99738wAGs5
This video shows a tighter body on SOB hill: New video by A. Ali - https://photos.app.goo.gl/e5jtnK7GNCtwzMaP7
Another angle on SOB hill: New video by A. Ali - https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gs2pUgkAqdZynPbq9
You brought up some good points @Nay, thanks bud. Seems I'm focused on keeping her "low" but maybe to the point of being detrimental. Are you also suggesting going to the Slee 4" coils or change over to a diff set of Dobi coils? I don't see how I could take advantage of any of those tapered/dual/progressive rated rear coils as my load doesn't change. This isn't a DD.
@Andrew Bluemel post up on what you got and the weight, if you have that handy.
That’s entirely unacceptable suspension performance from what I’m seeing. I’ve had 5 adults onboard with mountain bikes hanging off the back of my 80 with FCP shocks and 4” Dobi Flexi coils flat out raging up a s***ty FS road pre-running an enduro race (the bikes) and it was just outstanding. One of my son’s friends said to him after “I didn’t think that truck could do that”.
As somebody who just moved to the new Dobi 144/145 dual rate coils, my general impression is that we suffer from being under-sprung and over focused on damping to fix that. Swapping coils from the Flexi, the ability to hit ugly stuff at speed, as in “wait, you need to slow down”, is astounding.
@Andrew Bluemel has a RTT and other stuff, Whiteline rear swaybar, the new 144/145 coils, and just the basic yellow Dobinsons shocks and based on those vids his rig would blow the doors off yours at nearly double the lift height.
Fix the coils and stop worrying about lift height, it’s just keeping you closer the ground. Modern coils are about way more than a single stated spring rate for load compression.
You brought up some good points @Nay, thanks bud. Seems I'm focused on keeping her "low" but maybe to the point of being detrimental. Are you also suggesting going to the Slee 4" coils or change over to a diff set of Dobi coils? I don't see how I could take advantage of any of those tapered/dual/progressive rated rear coils as my load doesn't change. This isn't a DD.
@Andrew Bluemel post up on what you got and the weight, if you have that handy.
I have been through the diffrent suspension setups in the past 6 years. Also take my reflection with a grain of salt I don’t remember how it road vividly I was 16 and honestly was just happy to be in a Land Cruiser but I have learned a thing or two.
I started with OME 2.5 inch coils and fox shocks. That sucked the Fox shocks were valved too soft and they started leaking after 20k.
Then I jumped to 4 inch flexi coils and get this RANCHO shocks. I actually sorta liked the ranchos haha they were the 9 way adjustable shocks and they did actually change the ride quite a bit. However with a truck that went from being light with just me daily driving it to filled to the brim with camp stuff and 3 people it was clear when i started loading it remotely at all it lunged along very similarly to how yours did in the video. (This was my first hint that I should have realized it wasn‘t a shock issue but a coil issue but i thought it was a shock issue).
From there I swapped the shocks from the RANCHO (broke one with sway bar contact in Moab) to yellow Dobinson shocks.
Overall I was pretty disappointed to be honest with the change I just felt like I lost the adjustment of the Ranchos with no real benifit it was weird they were stiffer off-road but I still was experiencing the lunging of the truck behind it. At least with the Ranchos when i softened them up it felt like it floated over rocky roads way better
Between this segment and the next segment this is when my truck started putting on some weight. Trail Gear bumper with 9500 pound winch, sleeping platform in the back with all the tools I own, a fridge, RTT, and more often then not my daily drive wasn‘t from my house to high school but on long distance trips with friends. So when the truck is being used it is heavy.
It became more noticeable the coils weren’t cutting it mostly when I tore out my whole interior to insulate how much lift height I got out of the 4 inch fleixis that I forgot I had. I realized I had so much stuff on this truck that I lost like 2 inches of lift compared to when it was totally empty. It was only then that I was overworking these coils.
About at the time I realized this, I got on the list for the 3.5 inch tapered coils. It was nice working with the Huddexpo guys and getting on the list and Dobinson underwent a redesign and changed the tapered coil design a little bit so it almost looks more like a heavy duty flexi. And they came in black which I was so happy for with my black truck.
But anyways as far as driving is concerned I threw these on and I put a whiteline rear heavy duty rear sway bar on with @LandCruiserPhil rear sway bar connects. And damn ya its crazy the diffrence I got. Instead of having the truck jello behind any bump I hit it seems that when one tire hits a bump, thats the only tire that hits the bump. It doesn’t ride like a Cadillac It never will, but it feels so much more controlled and bajaing it at 30-40 mph which always felt so uncomfortable and I felt so disconnected from the car is totally gone now it can do it and it feels happy doing it. Even with the tent on it. I really don’t think a coil can be harsh and I am suprised it took me this long to figure out I sorta had a coil issue. And now I love the Dobinons shocks they ride like they should it all works together like it should
If I could do it all over again I wish I just got a kit and called it a day mismatching components to me has never saved me money and just cost me more in the long run. And now that I am finally running the right coils with the right shocks, with the right castor, etc… life is good. And it is worth saying going back and re reading you saying your load doesnt change, my load changes almost once a month like quite a bit.
Tent on, tent off, one person, four people, loaded, unloaded, it changes all the time. But with my experience this setup doesn’t care regardless of what I’m doing it rides the same and its happy. Not trying to sell Dobinson or sugar coat it but ya I am blown away with how much better the truck rides now it really does make me want to drive the truck and for the first time every I would feel confident having my mom or girlfriend drive it it drives like a normal car. And I got almost 2 inches more of lift out of it which was really necessary astheic wise for my truck
These were with my 4 inch fleixis unloaded. And I have a 30mm spacer up front
View attachment 2713667
This is my truck with the new 3.5 tapereds 1/2 loaded (Bike, tent, fridge, individual camp gear)
View attachment 2713668
Here’s another vid. I have a sloped curb bump into my driveway.
View attachment 2714047
This is regular speed hitting it fast at an angle. You don’t even feel it, no dump, no sway, just absorbed.
Cool thing is, this is a 26” hub to fender lift height on all four corners without any swaybars running 38s. Your truck on e-hill looks like a dump truck ass girl twerking in slo motion and that’s after people convinced you to buy new shocks.
If you’re still stuck on the idea that linear rate springs are somehow better, let’s take a lil’ peak in slo mo. You don’t have IFS this good, or even close.
Trying to help you here before the hive comes back and tells you it’s because you didn’t adjust your shocks properly.
@crikeymike some goods here for you.
From there I swapped the shocks from the RANCHO (broke one with sway bar contact in Moab) to yellow Dobinson shocks.