Dobinson VT coils...not happy (1 Viewer)

[Bigdfj80]

I was running the Slee 4" medium coils for about 8 years. Great spring, I decided to try the Dobinson VT coils 2.5" lift to hopefully get a less harsher ride and lower my CG a bit and keep the spring in the bucket when the suspension droops since the Dobinsons have a lot higher free height. After installing them i noticed the ride was only marginally better, and i had a ton more body sway. I am currently running Fox 2.0 shocks and the Whiteline heavy duty rear swaybar. I am not running a front swaybar because i did a radius arm flip so i had to remove it but it never mattered with the Slee springs, I also raised front a rear panhard bar with steering link raised, I had very little body roll, now with the Dobinsons I have significaly more body roll. I also did not get 2.5 lift and i kinda expected that, based on the reviews, but i did not expect to get a solid 4".

So now my question is...will the Dobinson's settle? Has anybody else experienced a lot of body roll with the dobinsons VT coils? I guess i gotta go and fab up a front swarbar now, just one more thing i did not want to spend money on. Now im considering switching back to Slee's..

Your thoughts...

 

[Surfdc]

Same results here. Net 4” of lift. Terrible body roll on city/freeway, terrible spring slap (which the new design has remedied) And to top it all off driveline vibes.
A great spring for slow off-road tho.
That was two sets of springs ago. Currently running dobs 222/223 up front is good. Rear is too soft…

 

[NeverFinis]

I have front C97-146VT and rear C97-147VT coils, with HD sway bar in the rear.

My truck is heavy, and I am getting much less lift, about 1.5". The top of the front coils are completely compressed and the top of the rear coils are nearly compressed.

I am not a fan of their driving dynamics on road. The top compressed coils rapidly unload around corners suddenly increasing sway.

I will try a front HD sway bar to see if that helps, and if that doesn't help, I will look for heavier single rate coils.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Off-the-shelf variable rate coils don't typically do well on heavy trucks.

 

[Kabanstva]

terrible spring slap (which the new design has remedied)

When were these coils redesigned?

 

[Surfdc]

I think a few yrs ago. Original design were that trademark teal green, with the smaller diameter upper coil winds.
New design is black with same diameter coil winds.

 

[Kabanstva]

I think a few yrs ago. Original design were that trademark teal green, with the smaller diameter upper coil winds.
New design is black with same diameter coil winds.

Gotcha! I got the black ones last year from Exit Offroad. I wish I could report on the ride but I haven’t driven the car yet since I installed them. I guess it’s nice to have a lot of coil options for the 80, they’re not too difficult to swap out.

 

[reklund5]

I have the Dobinsons heavy 97147 rear springs in mine, and did end up with more than the advertised 2.5" of lift. The did settle some after a year, and then a little more after I added rear drawers/fridge/bumper/swingout tire carrier. I'm on the factory swaybar, and have found the road manners to be great with my BP-51 rear shocks. I did dial up the compression and rebound damping to reduce body roll. Also considering the HD rear swaybar, but it's really not bad the way it sits. I'm a happy camper.

 

[concretejungle]

my $.02 here.... I am running slee's 4 inch coils. I am pretty sure that the fronts are heavy and the rears are a variable rate spring. I was running OME L shocks but blew those out after a few years. Upgraded to the Dobinson adjustable shocks. The "stock" setting they recommend for heavy trucks just did not work out for me. Too much body roll and bouncy rebound when going over a bump. It took me a little while to find the right settings but now it rides great. Keep in mind I have a lot of weight on my roof (Bush company RTT and 270 awning). At first I had removed my front sway bar, but that was a bad idea. I reinstalled it and the truck now drives great.

I'm no expert but I've been driving my truck for 25 years so I feel like I know it pretty well. If you want a little extra flex, get the swaybar links for the trail but keep the front swaybar on for all other driving.

All in all, when the truck is unloaded it rides a little stiff, but when it's loaded for a trip it rides smooth as a Cadillac.

 

[Bigdfj80]

The Springs already look like they are settling, I will be installing the front swaybar soon and hopefully that's all I need to get rid of the bady roll