80 series Slinky/ICON Long Travel Suspension officially coming to the U.S.A. (2 Viewers)

[Road Apple]

What stage did you order Dozer? I thought the Mill Creek website said they were out of stock on the stage 1 and 4.
Edit...they just answered !!

 

[Bludozer]

What stage did you order Dozer? I thought the Mill Creek website said they were out of stock on the stage 1 and 4.
Edit...they just answered !!

I already have an Icon set up, so all I ordered were the HD slinky rear springs (they didn't have the fronts in stock). There is a lot of demand out there for this stuff right now, so I'm sure they're out of a bunch of stuff.

 

[Road Apple]

I already have an Icon set up, so all I ordered were the HD slinky rear springs (they didn't have the fronts in stock). There is a lot of demand out there for this stuff right now, so I'm sure they're out of a bunch of stuff.

The owner, Albert, said the springs are on a boat heading our way. He expects the springs to arrive mid June.
Thanks for your help today

 

[Mrsjynx]

Hey ya'll! Thanks for your patience through all this! We have lots of inventory at the moment but are missing front springs, we do however expect some to be coming next month! I would suggest ordering all the components separately so you will have them and then in June when the fronts come in, grab those then. You can use pretty much any fronts as fillers (not stock though) until the LT fronts are available. They are AC7498. I hope that helps and yes, please call the shop, we are small but will get back with you ASAP and get it all sorted! See ya'll on the trails!

 

[junior80]

@AutoCraft Aus Hi mate, can we see a picture of your new radius arms lined up next to a standard toyota radius arm showing the castor correction difference and length?

 

[bigakguy]

I’ve tried searching online to find a US dealer. It appears the 4xusa website is down for maintenance. Are they the only USA dealer for slinky right now?

 

[Road Apple]

I’ve tried searching online to find a US dealer. It appears the 4xusa website is down for maintenance. Are they the only USA dealer for slinky right now?

The new vendor/dealer is Mill Creek Overland

www.millcreekoverland.com

 

[Kolasin]

Question here on the 3" intermediate lift. But first since background. I just installed the rear 7501 coils. I have a 97 with 4x4 Labs bumpers and sliders, spare tire on driver side. Winch w/ synthetic rope in the front bumper. Some recovery gear in back but nothing that affects the lift height as I moved it from left to right in the back and got the same measurements. No roof rack, no drawers, no 3rd row seats, one battery, no aux lights.

The cruiser has always run a bit stiff when not loaded with 5-6 people plus all the gear that can be stuffed in the back and in a cargo box on the roof. Then it rides like a dream, loaded as much as possible. It takes speed tables as well as my minivan when fully loaded instead of like a leaf sprung Suzuki Samurai when it's just me and three small children. Ok, it is still way better than the Suzuki. Initially, with the HD springs the driveline vibrations were unbearable on the highway despite reassurances on this forum to the contrary, assuring that a dc driveshaft wasn't necessary. That still may be true with a 3" lift but this was a 4.5"-5" lift. I installed a DC driveshaft which took away most of the vibrations but they were still there if I took my foot off the gas at >65mph. With the intermediate lift, highway vibrations are gone (still have a front dc driveshaft). I already have 2"spacers for the front swaybars, delta radius arms, HD lower control arms, rear adjustable upper control arms, and a Delta panhard bracket in the rear all in an effort to make a simple 3" bolt on suspension ride nicely.

But let the record show that this suspension has been awesome, especially when I've had 5 people in it. Great on high speed desert stuff, great in crawling situations. I really enjoy the suspension, hence I'm just trying to lower it a bit so it's closer to 3" of lift and rides little softer unloaded. It's not a daily driver, but it does frequent nearby trails a few times per month.

Before ordering the springs last January, I had consulted Darren and was instructed to get an HD setup with 7511 coils. I think the 4x4 Labs armor is comparatively light and I just ended up not adding a ton more stuff that is typical. It's not as heavy as expected.

Here are the lift height measurements:

Rt front 23.75"
Rt rear 23.25" before w/ HD 24.5"
Lt front 24.25"
Lt rear 23.75" before w/ HD 25"

So, given that I now have a reverse rake when unloaded on a path reminiscent of 2nd and 3rd gen 4Runners, what can be done to help address this? I do not necessarily want to drop to 50mm front springs, I really like the ride and travel of the current front springs.

I think I've read Darren mention that coils can be trimmed but I can not find it anywhere and am now questioning my memory. Can a coil or two be trimmed from the front? Will the shocks be too long at that point? I've read about someone trimming the rear spring coils, but not the front coils.

Scott

 

[motormayhem]

Question here on the 3" intermediate lift. But first since background. I just installed the rear 7501 coils. I have a 97 with 4x4 Labs bumpers and sliders, spare tire on driver side. Winch w/ synthetic rope in the front bumper. Some recovery gear in back but nothing that affects the lift height as I moved it from left to right in the back and got the same measurements. No roof rack, no drawers, no 3rd row seats, one battery, no aux lights.

The cruiser has always run a bit stiff when not loaded with 5-6 people plus all the gear that can be stuffed in the back and in a cargo box on the roof. Then it rides like a dream, loaded as much as possible. It takes speed tables as well as my minivan when fully loaded instead of like a leaf sprung Suzuki Samurai when it's just me and three small children. Ok, it is still way better than the Suzuki. Initially, with the HD springs the driveline vibrations were unbearable on the highway despite reassurances on this forum to the contrary, assuring that a dc driveshaft wasn't necessary. That still may be true with a 3" lift but this was a 4.5"-5" lift. I installed a DC driveshaft which took away most of the vibrations but they were still there if I took my foot off the gas at >65mph. With the intermediate lift, highway vibrations are gone (still have a front dc driveshaft). I already have 2"spacers for the front swaybars, delta radius arms, HD lower control arms, rear adjustable upper control arms, and a Delta panhard bracket in the rear all in an effort to make a simple 3" bolt on suspension ride nicely.

But let the record show that this suspension has been awesome, especially when I've had 5 people in it. Great on high speed desert stuff, great in crawling situations. I really enjoy the suspension, hence I'm just trying to lower it a bit so it's closer to 3" of lift and rides little softer unloaded. It's not a daily driver, but it does frequent nearby trails a few times per month.

Before ordering the springs last January, I had consulted Darren and was instructed to get an HD setup with 7511 coils. I think the 4x4 Labs armor is comparatively light and I just ended up not adding a ton more stuff that is typical. It's not as heavy as expected.

Here are the lift height measurements:

Rt front 23.75"
Rt rear 23.25" before w/ HD 24.5"
Lt front 24.25"
Lt rear 23.75" before w/ HD 25"

So, given that I now have a reverse rake when unloaded on a path reminiscent of 2nd and 3rd gen 4Runners, what can be done to help address this? I do not necessarily want to drop to 50mm front springs, I really like the ride and travel of the current front springs.

I think I've read Darren mention that coils can be trimmed but I can not find it anywhere and am now questioning my memory. Can a coil or two be trimmed from the front? Will the shocks be too long at that point? I've read about someone trimming the rear spring coils, but not the front coils.

Scott

I believe you can trim some of the dead coils (the ones that are coil bound until you have a lot of droop) off the top to adjust the height up front. For what its worth I also needed to go to a DC front driveshaft to get things to be happy vibration wise. Suspension rides great!

 

[jfz80]

So you went from 75 mm HD f/r to the 75 intermediate front and rear?

From what I can see you are .5” high in front left that goes away when you sit in it likely and .5” low in back right. Put your tools and weight in back left for only a 1/4” of bro stance

I believe @gwnugget may have trimmed progressive coils. I can’t advise which end to trim but would imagine dead end as well. The easy button is still the 50mm fronts but I get it. I love the ride of mine as well(75hd). Combatting the opposite though. Feels soft and wallows in corners but love it at speed, on and off road. Don’t have the vibes but don’t have enough castle now either. It’s a 3” lift... 3” over factory height vs saggy stock springs.

I can get measurements but they may not apply. Flareless and HD springs.

Have you reached out to Darren or Albert about the results?

 

[Kolasin]

Yes I went from HD rear to intermediate rear. The front coils are the same for both 3" lifts. The 70mm patrol coil is the change I can do to the front. But then I'd have to change my shocks, driveshaft, etc, so not that important to me to drop an inch or so. I want the travel of the 3" lift anyhow for some of the harder trails. This lift has allowed me to take a line that my friend's Jeep Rubicon on 35s with a 2.5" lift kept scraping on and couldn't do. (I have 35s too).

I did talk to Al at Mill Creek earlier today, he was unsure if the front coils could be trimmed and if there would be sufficient coil left remaining in the bucket at full articulation with the long travel shocks. But he thought it would be ok to trim one coil. I thought others might have the same question so that's why I'm bringing it up here instead of PM. My vehicle's weight is in between stock and HD I suppose.

 

[Box Rocket]

Darren might be able to respond but he’s been neck deep in moving to a new home and a new shop since his wife passed away. He’s starting to get back to a few normal business things the past few days but have a little patience in getting a response from him while he completes the move.
I’ve found that posting a question to Facebook and tagging him has been more effective lately.

back to answering the question....
Do you know the part number of the front springs you have? I don’t believe the front springs are all the same. I’m almost positive there is an intermediate and a different heavy duty front coil available.

 

[Kolasin]

AC 7498. Mill creek says the front springs with the 75mm lift are the same for both intermediate and HD lifts. Rear springs are different with intermediate, HD, and heavy duty.

 

[motormayhem]

Post #6 in this thread is what you are looking for to answer the trimming question.

Here is a snip from Darren:
Slinky
Free height is 24" front 22" rear.
Our slinky coils for front are 260 lb [SNOWY has these]
rim to fender is 800-825mm, and because the last 2 5/8 thick coils are completely dead, it allows us to trim heights to suit by removing a coil if we need to.

 

[Box Rocket]

Ok I’m going back through all my info from Darren and photos from my install because I swear there are different front springs for the 75mm lift. I could be wrong but let me see what I can find. Also just pinged Darren with the question. I’ll see if I can get a response on different springs. But the top wind or two of the coil can be trimmed.

FWIW I have the 7498 front coils as well on my HD setup.

My lift height measurements are
LF 24”
LR 24.25”
RR 24.5”
RF 24”
But I am pretty confident I have a heavier truck.

 

[Kolasin]

Yes, post #6. Thank you! I had spent a few days going over all 36 pages here looking for the info that was on the first page. I really appreciate that. I wonder if 2⅝ thick coils that are dead and can be trimmed means 2 full coils?

 

[Kolasin]

Oh, and I realize I posted the lift height incorrectly. My passenger side is higher than the driver side when the vehicle is empty. Should read like this:

Lt front 23.75"
Lt rear 23.25"
Rt front 24.25"
Rt rear 23.75"

 

[Kolasin]

Hold on, I see what I missed there. The last two of the ⅝" coils on the front can be trimmed.

 

[GW Nugget]

I went from 7511 HD to 7501 Int. rears also, my rig doesnt run heavy.
I did cut 1 turn of my 7511 HD coils. Lost the thickness of the last coil of lift...
Cutting front coils though hmm... It can be done but I would sell them before cutting up $400 coils. They might move in the bucket with those long shocks.
With the front coil that is close to same height I have clocked coils 90* degrees to go that little extra height many times. Add a packer, or move the cargo around to change things up. Adding a second battery will lower the passenger side.
In the rear you can add some 10mm packers or 25mm spacers.
Woody gave me fender measurements of the 50mm front HD coils of 22.75" They are 20#s less primary coil of 240# rate compared to the 260# rate of 75mm front Slinky 7498.
I really want a set of these 50mm HD fronts. As soon as the become available I'm going to order a set.

 

[Kolasin]

Movement in the bucket after cutting the fronts was a concern of mine as well . But it is reassuring that Darren wrote that up to two coils can be removed. Sure it was said in 2016, but I imagine it still applies. I'm still waiting to see how the 7501 rears handle loaded on a trip. I've had some recent planned trips fall through (pandemic ), I'm hoping next month I'll get the chance.

The 50mm fronts sound really nice, but aren't they designed for a different shock due to 5" less travel? Can I still use my caster corrected radius arms, dc driveshaft, front swaybar spacers, and long travel front shocks? Given all the potential changes by switching springs, seems easiest to cut a coil and be done. But if that setup would work the 70mm patrol coils and all I would need to do is swap the coils, I would just do that and sell the 3" HD lift springs.

I think I've read that Woody switched from the 3" lift to the 2" lift. Regarding the 2" front coils, has Woody felt like he's missed out on the lost front travel when doing difficult crawling? Or has he not noticed anything significant and feels the crawling performance is more or less equal to the 3" lift on difficult trails?