Any 100-Specialists in the Valley?

[fengler]

So i bought this rig already done up, but i dont feel the suspension is right. I feel everything going down the road, even traffic paint markings. I believe it has an OME lift on it, and i was talking to LCphil about this and he may or may not believe the front torsion bars are wound too tight - would this cause this? I mean its a 100 series and even when i air down, i can feel everything through the seat - is this common?

 

[murf]

you could adjust the front torsions to lower your ride height about one inch and drive it to see if it makes a difference. quickest and cheapest way to determine it.

The higher they are turned up, the stiffer they will ride.

Also with that heavy ARB bumper in the front, they are cranked up even more to offset the weight on the nose. Maybe BlueCrusier can jump in and say if he felt if his 100 felt the same way?

 

[bluecruiser]

Do you have the aftermarket (OME) torsion bars on it? If so, they are pretty stiff, especially if you do not have the appropriate level of droop (torsion bars cranked too high). Like Murf said, cranking down the t-bars a bit, may help. Additionally, if you have too much rear spring (more that what you need for your load weight), that can contribute to the stiff ride, as well. Can you still see the tags on the rear coils? If so, and they say 863, you will have a stiff ride unless you have about 400 lbs in the back. There is a pretty strong placebo affect in the 100 series forum about how much better a 100 rides when lifted (you spend money, it must be better, right??). You will find that it takes some dialing in to really make it right.

 

[re_guderian]

I have a lightweight TJM T3 bummer and sliders on my 2000. It had full OME suspension when I bought it, and rode as you describe, stiff as all get-out. I swapped for some used OEM torsion bars and springs. Added 30 mm spacers in back, and cranked bars to match. Much better ride, but still not the same as my stock '04 (which also has spacers and cranked t bars.). Not sure whether it's worn control arm bushings, bad body mounts (they're not loose) or some other worn out component. After trying some Fox 2.0 shocks and finding them way too soft, I switched back to OME coils and Toyota shocks in the rear, and still complete OEM setup in the front. The 2000 has the diff drop, and new OEM rear upper control arms, and new Slee lower rear control arms. Front control arms are OEM and have ~215k miles on them. Poly bushings on both sides of the steering rack as well. Bottom line, still haven't pinpointed the reason(s) why some trucks ride plusher than others. The 2000 has seen a LOT more off road miles, and that might affect it.

 

[blatant]

I have ome torsion bars and 866. It rides stiff and takes bumps, dips, curbs and road drainage very comfortably. I like the way it rides, truck-like. It isn't overly stiff or annoying but on a road with tons of cracks which have been tarred, on a cold day, i can feel them all. Anything more heavy duty in the rear, for me, would be a bit much unladen.

 

[re_guderian]

Oh, and my smooth riding 100 has E-rated 18" 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers on it, which should ride harsher than the 295/75/16 D-rated Nitto tires on the harsher-riding truck. I even swapped some used Michelin OEM tires on it at first with no noticeable impact on the OME setup.

 

[mtkreitz]

Oh, and my smooth riding 100 has E-rated 18" 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers on it, which should ride harsher than the 295/75/16 D-rated Nitto tires on the harsher-riding truck. I even swapped some used Michelin OEM tires on it at first with no noticeable impact on the OME setup.

I have a 2006 with no armor and a 1.5" lift via OME torsion bars including diff-drop. Rode a little stiff with the BFG's I had, but once I replaced them with the Nitto's the ride seemed MUCH softer. Overall I think it rides real nice, not too stiff, not too much road feel. My only complaint is when the front comes down off of a speed bump. The drop/rebound is quite harsh. Just makes me take my time going over them now.

 

[re_guderian]

Yeah, there's gotta be something else playing a major role in the "feeling the cracks in the road" besides just the torsion bar and shock, but I haven't been able to isolate it. I have 285/65/18 E-rated NTG's on the '04 with a very smooth ride compared to the '00. Short, stiff sidewall is not killing the ride. Who knows, maybe it's cumulative of all things involved? I would like to try some longer front sway bar links, since that gets pre-loaded pretty good when lifted.

 

[murf]

I think the sway bar preload is a very likely theory. Thankfully an easy thing to mod dollar wise and see if it helps

 

[Hondo]

On my 2004 I installed the TJM lift with torsion bars. The only extra weight on my cruiser was the rock sliders which spread the weight to front and rear springs. As described above by Blatant, mine also rode like a truck, which I'm sure was quite a bit stiffer than stock (which is what I was aiming for with my lift choice), but it also seemed better controlled and more stable.
My only complaint with my setup was the stiffness and road noise from the 285 Nitto Trail Grapplers that I ran. Might have been E, rated, not sure though.


The adjustment of the torsion bars to lift height seemed to really affect ride and handling and would be a very easy place to start as well since it only takes a socket wrench to adjust it.

After testing mine at higher and slightly lower lift amounts the affect on the ride was greatly affected. I seem to recall that the higher it was set the stiffer it ran and it had the harsh speed bump/suspension knocking issue.

MTKREITZ - Dropping your front lift even a tiny bit will help to reduce/eliminate the speed bump issue.

Fengler - ride comfort might be improved by reducing lift height, but as Murf indicated the ARB will affect this as well. I have a set of low mileage stock torsion bars I'd part with if you want to try this route, but with the ARB it might require the extra tension to get to your lift height which may or may not improve on ride comfort.

 

[fengler]

Thanks for the tips guys, what really got me worried was when i was following murf over some washboards on our last minute crown king run and i started fishtailing on solid flat road, ill try the torsion bars first and if that doesnt work ill mess with the sway bars. I looked for tags on the rear springs but didnt see any. The torsion bars and the rear springs are silver, so I'm sure they are aftermarket/OME.

 

[enterconnect]

This is my setup and it rides pretty smooth. The only time I notice anything is if I go though a speed bump at a higher speed.

ARB Front winch bumper, Kaymar Rear bumper with swing out jerry can carrier, Old Man Emu HD suspension, Slee Diff Drop Kit. BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM2 255x85x16.

 

[f5driver]

I have an extra set of rear springs you can try. I believe they offer 2" of lift but they are too soft for my rig.

 

[bluecruiser]

Silver rear springs sound like Slee springs. I think he only makes 'heavies' for the 100 which are pretty equivalent to 863 in load capacity but do not give quite the same lift height. The silver torsions are probably OME's. My 100 was super slick on the fast dirt 'whoops', I could fly, but in town it was pretty harsh on the streets. However, on trips I was much more loaded down and the truck always felt better that way.