Best suspension for highway driving and occasional towing? (7 Viewers)

[Prequinox]

This is pretty urgent as I'm moving across country in a few weeks.

I recently bought a GX470, and its left airbag just went out. All the shocks are leaking and also need to be replaced. The ride is extremely harsh and not suitable to drive long distances.

I'm going to switch over to coil springs since it's inexpensive and less maintenance. The problem is I have no idea which setup to choose.

I already did some googling, but I'm overwhelmed by the options. Additionally, the people who inquire about converting are usually off-roaders. I only plan to use the car for commuting and occasionally towing track vehicles. I read that air suspension is better for towing, but I won't tow frequently enough to justify the price and maintenance. I'll use a weight distribution hitch if I have to.

Which springs and shocks are the go-to for my type of driving needs? Many thanks!

 

[drowzyGX]

Highway driving and occasional towing? The suspension that the car came with. You can replace the bags with aftermarket versions pretty cheaply. You snag oem shocks for a reasonable price.

seriously, if you’re just doing road driving and occasional towing, you aren’t going to beat the oem ride quality with a coilover conversion.

 

[little_joe]

If you're swapping to coils in the rear, you obviously also need a coil conversion kit. MetalTech has a nice one, there are some others. For a street-driven rig, the KYB Excel-G shocks (assembled struts/coils up front, rear shocks) are a good option - reasonably good ride, inexpensive, lifetime warranty. Haven't checked if they make it for a GX, but just get the parts for a V8 4Runner if they don't. Moog's FJ Cruiser rear springs seem to match up well with the KYB shocks, and are relatively inexpensive as well.

 

[dcg141]

I'm running Toyotech HD springs and Firestone air bags. Works very well.