100 series suspension kit to achieve 2' lift

[fisherman978]

hello all !
im sure this post has been spoken for but i thought id give it a chance. thank you for your time and opinion!
Well I've made the leap and purchased a 1998 toyota Landcruiser that was tastefully upgraded before purchase from a older local land cruiser enthusiast. Before this purchase i had just finished up a renovation of my 2003 Tundra build. I installed SPC uppers with a rancho adjustable suspension. entire new front end and steering rack.The tundra was a fun build for me and have just recently been riffling through page after page of threads on here and thought well maybe i could document this land cruiser build/renovation and some create some videos for DIY installs on the parts im planning too replace....


When i purchased the LC it had installed the Old Man Emu Nitro shocks and i believe 863 springs. with OEM TB. the suspension has seen its day and i have been researching some new options when it comes to a Suspension kit. I'd like to get a Diff drop as well, was thinking a adjustable pan hard bar and plan on doing the rear control arms. ( i was looking into the SPC rear lower arms and they seemed nice but they are the same size as OEM. has anyone purchased these and had any advice). now its just time for me to make the decision and bite the bullet on a suspension order. i have the funds ready but can not seem to land on one


i have the cash and ready to make a purchase on a suspension

what i run:
Slee front bumper with winch
Kaymar rear bumper with tire swing out ( have been looking for a additional swing out for the left side but can't seem to find one anywhere comparable with the kaymar bumper any leads?)
Slee rock sliders
planning on purchasing a rack for my CVT tent whats the best rack under 800$?
planning on purchasing the dobinsons drawers as i can't find a aussie titan kit that will ship to the USA.
I have uninstalled SPC UCA.

I've been happy with my OME suspension from SLEE and can't say enough great things about them as they are a staple in the industry. i would like to go a different route and try something new.

ive been looking a couple Australian companies. As i have been chatting with some vendors who have also been lightning fast to respond to any inquire I've had.

Ironman 4x4 100 Series Land Cruiser Suspension - 2" Lift Kit (Foam Cell Pro Shocks)

TOUGH DOG 2" trail tailor - tourflex suspension kit with diff drop

Dobinsons -
front monster shocks - GS59-698
Rear gas shock - GS59-782
Coil spring - C59-171
dobinsons TB

I do not do a ton of heavy offroading on a regular basis , i do camp often and trail ride with some rough terrain frequently but this build is mainly for my daily driver camping rig so i do not want to compromise so much on ride quality

how do the Aussie brands stand the test of time? has anyone had longevity issues with them or abrupt issues?

looking to make a purchase this week. any input would be greatly appreciated. thank you everyone for your time!

 

[TheForger]

Why’d you uninstall the SPC UCA’s? I vote for Tough Dog. I just installed a pair of the 53mm Ralph front shocks and I absolutely love them. I have a steel bumper with winch so the added weight up front really makes the new shocks perform very well and the ride is much more compliant now. No brake diving, bottoming around in turns, and a little less body roll. I run SPC UCA’s on my truck with these shocks. Now I’m just waiting to purchase the rears and a set of TB’s later on down the road.

 

[fisherman978]

Why’d you uninstall the SPC UCA’s? I vote for Tough Dog. I just installed a pair of the 53mm Ralph front shocks and I absolutely love them. I have a steel bumper with winch so the added weight up front really makes the new shocks perform very well and the ride is much more compliant now. No brake diving, bottoming around in turns, and a little less body roll. I run SPC UCA’s on my truck with these shocks. Now I’m just waiting to purchase the rears and a set of TB’s later on down the road.

SPC uninstalled. waiting to be installed just waiting to do the suspension along with UCA.
Which rear controls have you been eyeing?
thanks for your input i am leaning towards TD!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

@cmck @DirtDawg @LS1FJ40 @mervo

Here are 80 and 100 guys with a few thousand to 20k+ on the TD suspensions. A few more will chime in I'm sure.

J

 

[DirtDawg]

Been running my Tough Dog kit for a while now, about 15k. Go Tough Dog, I couldn’t be happier. The ride is dfinitely firmer than stock, but I prefer a sportier ride.

Having hands on experience with almost every brand out there, Tough Dog still remains my favorite. No experience with Ironman or Dobinsons, but way more compliment than OME and much more stable than OEM. I like Ironman shocks on the 80s. I’d avoid Dobinsons just because the lack of info/experience with their kit. AFAIK, nobody runs their kit on our 100 series forum, or at least active members.

I’ll be installing the adjustable rears this weekend just to have on-the-fly adjustability.

 

[fisherman978]

Been running my Tough Dog kit for a while now, about 15k. Go Tough Dog, I couldn’t be happier. The ride is dfinitely firmer than stock, but I prefer a sportier ride.

Having hands on experience with almost every brand out there, Tough Dog still remains my favorite. No experience with Ironman or Dobinsons, but way more compliment than OME and much more stable than OEM. I like Ironman shocks on the 80s. I’d avoid Dobinsons just because the lack of info/experience with their kit. AFAIK, nobody runs their kit on our 100 series forum, or at least active members.

I’ll be installing the adjustable rears this weekend just to have on-the-fly adjustability.

what size lift did you go with? do you have any photos?
I've read many good things about Dobinsons Coil Springs and am honing in on the tough dog kit and possibly the Dob's
C59-171 coils.

Do you run a panhard ?

 

[DirtDawg]

what size lift did you go with? do you have any photos?
I've read many good things about Dobinsons Coil Springs and am honing in on the tough dog kit and possibly the Dob's
C59-171 coils.

Do you run a panhard ?

I went with the 2.5” kit in the lightest coil variation, not Jason’s tourflex springs. There are photos in my build thread. Edit: just realized there are not photos in my build... looks like I need to update it.

Quickly looking on their site, Dobinsons lists the C59-171 coils as 80/105 series coils. Once again, I’d go with someone more reputable on our forum unless you want to be a guinea pig for us.

Panhard/track bar will probably happen at some point, but prob due to work bushings. I don’t feel it’s necessary for geometry correction at 2.5”. I would invest in upper/lower links first.

 

[fisherman978]

I went with the 2.5” kit in the lightest coil variation, not Jason’s tourflex springs. There are photos in my build thread.

Quickly looking on their site, Dobinsons lists the C59-171 coils as 80/105 series coils. Once again, I’d go with someone more reputable on our forum unless you want to be a guinea pig for us.

Panhard/track bar will probably happen at some point, but prob due to work bushings. I don’t feel it’s necessary for geometry correction at 2.5”. I would invest in upper/lower links first.

Much Appreciated. i read Aus articles and builds where people decided to go with the Dobinsons Toyota Landcruiser 100 Series Wagon White 66325 | Superior Customer Vehicles
of course its just personal preference and to be honest i see about the same amount of stuff when it comes to TD and Dobinsons ,I tried looking online for Tough Dog reviews etc and theres some but usually those promoted by Tough dog themselves which can be bias in my opinion, not many youtube reviews etc. i see more 80 series threads pertaining to Dobinsons and people are impressed. hard to find a heavy duty kit shipped with TB for under 900$ i like to hear different views and opinions sometimes the ratio to cost/performance weighs out. Im all for buying if the quality there. just trying to protect a large investment by doing the proper research i don't have a lot of capital to be risking.
thanks again!

 

[DirtDawg]

Much Appreciated. i read Aus articles and builds where people decided to go with the Dobinsons Toyota Landcruiser 100 Series Wagon White 66325 | Superior Customer Vehicles
of course its just personal preference and to be honest i see about the same amount of stuff when it comes to TD and Dobinsons ,I tried looking online for Tough Dog reviews etc and theres some but usually those promoted by Tough dog themselves which can be bias in my opinion, not many youtube reviews etc. i see more 80 series threads pertaining to Dobinsons and people are impressed. hard to find a heavy duty kit shipped with TB for under 900$ i like to hear different views and opinions sometimes the ratio to cost/performance weighs out. Im all for buying if the quality there. just trying to protect a large investment by doing the proper research i don't have a lot of capital to be risking.
thanks again!

When I was talking about information on each kit I was mainly referring to this forum. Like you said, 80 guys have experience with Dobinsons. The 100s don’t. Be the first to really offer input if you go with it.

Not sure what that link is for, shows a 105 with Tough Dog kit.

There’s not a ton of info on Tough Dog because it’s practically an Australian exclusive brand that we were fortunate enough to have Jason bring over for us. But there are a handful of 100s running them so we have a good general opinion forming. But if you watch videos of aussies doing their thing, you’ll start to notice the ToughDog paw print on a lot of their rigs. Aussies are also not on the net as much as we are, so they have less of a forum presence on their forums and less videos out there (excluding Ronny Dahl).

Pretty sure you can get a basic Heavy Tough Dog kit with the standard shocks from Jason for around that Dobinsons price. The 53mm fronts and adjustable rears are an upgrade. At the end of the day you get what you pay for.

 

[krice118]

@fisherman978 giveJason a call to talk though options and learn more about TD....he will stand by his product. I worry about the customer service of dobinson if you have an issue only because there isn't much support on Mud from them or a retailer

There aren't to my knowledge a lot of options under 1000 for full suspension replacements for these 100 series. Spend a little more for the suspension that fits your needs, don't count pennies on suspension bc that can make or break the way your 100 rides and drives

 

[CreasyBear]

I vote for a new roller fairlead for that poor bumper. Yikes that looks rough!

 

[fisherman978]

I vote for a new roller fairlead for that poor bumper. Yikes that looks rough!

yeah pictures are the day i purchased it which was two weeks ago. waiting for spring to get to most of the work as here in Boston we have some unpredictable weather lately. The winch mount underneath is rotted also, i plan on pulling off both bumpers front and rear and respray them. while they are off fabricate a new winch mount and in the rear where the tire carrier locks onto the bumper a nice 5" section needs to be cut out and rehabbed. looking forward to it! I had a chance to repaint the rock sliders, and gave the interior a once over but other then that. just trying to purchase the parts and plan for spring.

So far have a
ASIN timing belt kit
SPC UCA
New LCA
and some well visors vent shades
new poly sway bar and rack bushings

previous owner included the KAYMAR hi lift jack mount to go onto the tire carrier so this evening i will de rust that and give it a fresh coat of rusteloum.

thanks so much everyone super helpful 80% on the Top Dog as its nice to have the peace of mind in customer service and am planning a purchase before the weekend!

 

[LS1FJ40]

Cross posting this as we discussed this over in the 80 section recently.

Buy Tough Dog from @reevesci. Very good suspension from an even better dude.

25k miles on mine. Couldn’t be happier. Will be upgrading my son’s 92 this spring to TD as well.

OME shock replacement

 

[Tareq]

I have the IM Foam Pro, very happy!
20psi offroad, soaks up bumps well.
40psi in the city, you feel the small bumps but not bad.
50psi on hwy, smooth cursing even at 90mph.
Minimum body roll on the switchbacks which is confidence inspiring.

Only complaint offroad is i dont feel the front shocks expand after retracting fast enough.

 

[fisherman978]

Cross posting this as we discussed this over in the 80 section recently.

Buy Tough Dog from @reevesci. Very good suspension from an even better dude.

25k miles on mine. Couldn’t be happier. Will be upgrading my son’s 92 this spring to TD as well.

OME shock replacement

Ive read a lot about people claiming TD Shocks would need replacing fast and dubbed frequently not reliable did they ever address this issue? was this a earlier model? i don't speak for anyone but this is just what I've come to see after reading into these shocks across different forums like prado point. theres always going to be good and bad stories was just curious what truth lie in these claims.

i trust the people pushing for the TD i just want to do my homework before investing.

Im not meaning to down talk any brands i was just curious if this was known in the industry or ever addressed as a known issue.

Im sure things change and no doubt TD puts out a great product just got me thinking after reading into it.

 

[REZARF]

2 feet is a big lift... (title typo!)

 

[LS1FJ40]

Ive read a lot about people claiming TD Shocks would need replacing fast and dubbed frequently not reliable did they ever address this issue? was this a earlier model? i don't speak for anyone but this is just what I've come to see after reading into these shocks across different forums like prado point. theres always going to be good and bad stories was just curious what truth lie in these claims.

i trust the people pushing for the TD i just want to do my homework before investing.

Im not meaning to down talk any brands i was just curious if this was known in the industry or ever addressed as a known issue.

Im sure things change and no doubt TD puts out a great product just got me thinking after reading into it.

I talked to Jason. I had purchased sliders, roof rack, and vinyl flooring from him. He knew I had had quite a few different suspensions over the past 26 years. He asked me if I would try the TD. So I bought the TD without doing any other research. I have been extremely happy. And have put a fair amount of miles on them.

I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences. I’d take what Prado guys are saying with a grain of salt thought. We all know Prados aren’t REAL Land Cruisers...

 

[fisherman978]

I talked to Jason. I had purchased sliders, roof rack, and vinyl flooring from him. He knew I had had quite a few different suspensions over the past 26 years. He asked me if I would try the TD. So I bought the TD without doing any other research. I have been extremely happy. And have put a fair amount of miles on them.

I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences. I’d take what Prado guys are saying with a grain of salt thought. We all know Prados aren’t REAL Land Cruisers...

its easy to give a 10k mile review on these shock as they should still be like new, i take the prado guys opinions because they have a lot more use with TD and longevity. a shocks a shock im not talking about the truck itself. i just wanted to see if there was any truth in the pudding. its easy to say these guys don't know what their talking about but in reality about half the reviews were knocking the TD shocks, something i just can't ignore when thinking about spending 1300$ just trying to do my homework. its a big investment for me at this point in my life im by no means wealthy at all just looking for a company i can see myself being satisfied with my investment. Jason has been crazy helpful!!!.

my only concern and question was just if this was a known PAST issue with TD that they addressed. like maybe they released new technology or models fixing the problems that many people are explaining.

I love the feedback and can't thank everyone enough.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

its easy to give a 10k mile review on these shock as they should still be like new, i take the prado guys opinions because they have a lot more use with TD and longevity. a shocks a shock im not talking about the truck itself. i just wanted to see if there was any truth in the pudding. its easy to say these guys don't know what their talking about but in reality about half the reviews were knocking the TD shocks, something i just can't ignore when thinking about spending 1300$ just trying to do my homework. its a big investment for me at this point in my life im by no means wealthy at all just looking for a company i can see myself being satisfied with my investment. Jason has been crazy helpful!!!.

my only concern and question was just if this was a known PAST issue with TD that they addressed. like maybe they released new technology or models fixing the problems that many people are explaining.

I love the feedback and can't thank everyone enough.

I have no experience with the past issues pre-2015 other than what I've read. But from 2015 to present I've sold over 400 kits and components and have a zero warranty rate, so I really can't reply to those. I have guys beyond the warranty range and they are still very happy. I've read several of the reviews from Oz and other places and yes they are mixed. Some good, some bad, but you can find this type of broad scale review on any kit/mfg out there.

But for a box or mass consumer suspension kit I'll put TD against anything in its design class. Many of the reviews are replied by "you need to go with ICON, FOX or Koni..." You really can't compare the two. I can easily retort and say let me build you a KING shock, then we'll see what you think about your recommended shock you think so much of. But now were talking about 2-5X over your budget. A majority of the recommendations are for something outside the initial cost range. If you are needing that next level suspension, you need to hold off and save up some more money. But other than having a medium/heavy rig... I don't see the need for you.

I tell customers this daily. A suspension is like a bed. Some guys will love it, some guys will hate it and some guys will tolerate it and just learn that that's the ride they have now. Everyone has their own comfort level. Some like a soft Cadillac ride others like a firm and aggressive ride.

Thanks,

J

 

[LS1FJ40]

its easy to give a 10k mile review on these shock as they should still be like new, i take the prado guys opinions because they have a lot more use with TD and longevity. a shocks a shock im not talking about the truck itself. i just wanted to see if there was any truth in the pudding. its easy to say these guys don't know what their talking about but in reality about half the reviews were knocking the TD shocks, something i just can't ignore when thinking about spending 1300$ just trying to do my homework. its a big investment for me at this point in my life im by no means wealthy at all just looking for a company i can see myself being satisfied with my investment. Jason has been crazy helpful!!!.

my only concern and question was just if this was a known PAST issue with TD that they addressed. like maybe they released new technology or models fixing the problems that many people are explaining.

I love the feedback and can't thank everyone enough.

26k miles now. Not 10k. On my TD setup. I’ve run Rancho, Bilstein, and OME. None of them compare to the Tough Dog.

My point was that I took a “leap of faith” with Jason on the Tough Dog setup. But it really wasn’t a leap of faith because I trusted his expertise. I do not want to make the time to research every product I use, I rely on experts that I trust for that.

FWIW, I’ve been able to notice fairly quickly if something was junk. Rancho, Bilstein, and OME all were pretty obvious.

The foam cell shocks are not the same at conventional shocks.

Now, if you compare TD to a King setup then yes, there is a difference. But the King setup would cost more than my entire cost of my 93 80 Series.