Dobinsons 100 Series Suspension options - full breakdown (2 Viewers)

[crikeymike]

@crikeymike , when do you think you'll have the cs59-171's back in stock? I am looking at replacing my ome 864's with these to bring me back to around 3" in the rear. Running full armor, drawers, fridge, on board water dogs etc.. Does anyone have experience with needing more than the 864's, and if so, what did you go with? I was also looking at the ome 868's. The 171's have a slightly lower spring rate than the 868's, but the 171's are a little longer. Decisions... I tried the tough dog constant load heavy duty and they didn't give me the height I wanted.

We still don't have a date on them, but we're hoping for January or February. They're a great coil and I've never had a complaint or issue about height or ride quality with the correct amount of rear weight on them.

 

[crikeymike]

@crikeymike Question on the IMS shocks for a 2-2.5" lift (front shocks). How much additional weight is recommended up front for the valving of these shocks?

None for just the shocks. More weight would make the shocks feel more comfortable, but on a 100 series, there's only one valving setup offered with the IMS.

Edit: OME and other brands will make "standard valving shocks" then heavier rated ones for heavier vehicles. Dobinsons doesn't do that on their cruiser shock lineup, and so they're all on the more comfortable side than the firmer OME's and other brands out there, at least from what all the reviews have shown us.

 

[AlpineAccess]

The aftermarket shocks are valved more aggressively and Dobinsons isnt doing custom valving.

The torsion bars are what one orders/installs to support the heavier weight of added items, not the shock.

"These do not have any valving adjustment. From the manufacturer: Dobinsons IMS Monotube Shock Absorbers are designed for next level performance over Twin Tube Shocks in those hot, harsh, demanding conditions."

From their site:
"Our IMS shock absorbers are made from the world’s highest quality external and internal parts sourced worldwide. They provide a significant increase in performance over the standard shock absorbers. Our IMS shock absorbers feature larger bodies, larger bores and increased valving performance to dramatically improve vehicle handling and control and reduces shock fade."

A simple search could have told you all of this information.

The vendor's response was adequate regarding my initial question. You are answering a question that was not asked. I forgot to link the vendor in my initial question which I corrected later, and I appreciate that they got back to me quickly.

 

[nckwltn]

Just returned from a 5 night trip through DVNP with a 2 month old Dobinsons IMS. I'm running the medium duty springs in the rear, IMS all around, and the Dobinsons control arms & torsion bars up front.

The setup performed better than I could have hoped for. I was able to float down the trail and roll right through ruts and bumps at higher speed really well.

On road the everything is very comfortable, not too soft, not too hard.


I'd highly recommend the IMS suspension to anyone considering!

 

[pili]

Just noticed I’m getting a small amount of contact on the rear of my SPC control arms with full droop on the extended IMS fronts (it was kinda hiding when I checked for clearances initially). Anyone else experiencing this? Maybe I need to tighten the top shock nut a tiny bit more?

(Edit: pretty happy with the shocks! )

 

[nckwltn]

Just noticed I’m getting a small amount of contact on the rear of my SPC control arms with full droop on the extended IMS fronts (it was kinda hiding when I checked for clearances initially). Anyone else experiencing this? Maybe I need to tighten the top shock nut a tiny bit more?

(Edit: pretty happy with the shocks! )

Can you share a wider photo to help understand where this is at on the truck?

 

[OwnerCS]

Just noticed I’m getting a small amount of contact on the rear of my SPC control arms with full droop on the extended IMS fronts (it was kinda hiding when I checked for clearances initially). Anyone else experiencing this? Maybe I need to tighten the top shock nut a tiny bit more?

(Edit: pretty happy with the shocks! )

View attachment 2847550View attachment 2847549

Can you post the picture at a different angle? I can't quite make out which is SPC thatis making contact. I'm running SPC uppers also. We should be similar.

 

[pili]

Thanks guys. This is the only wider photo I have handy, but can snap some more tomorrow.

(This is the rear part of the control arm)

 

[OwnerCS]

Thanks guys. This is the only wider photo I have handy, but can snap some more tomorrow.

View attachment 2847563

Is this what we're looking at? Is the supplemental washer on the inside that sits next to the frame mount? Red arrow in the 3rd picture below.

 

[pili]

Thanks for posting those photos haha, much better than mine! Contact is under the a arm, where the red circle is.

And added another wider pic of my install.

 

[OwnerCS]

Thanks for posting those photos haha, much better than mine! Contact is under the a arm, where the red circle is.

And added another wider pic of my install.

View attachment 2847592

View attachment 2847593

Mine was sitting with AHC unpressurized and the torsion bar lose. It is resting on the part of the frame. I'm not seeing contact on yours?

Your picture would be at full droop with the torsion bar pressing the lower control are down as far as possible.

How much lift do you have dialed in for the front?

 

[pili]

Mine was sitting with AHC unpressurized and the torsion bar lose. It is resting on the part of the frame. I'm not seeing contact on yours?

Your picture would be at full droop with the torsion bar pressing the lower control are down as far as possible.

How much lift do you have dialed in for the front?

The second pic in my original post shows suspension at full droop and torsion bars connected (wheel removed and frame on a jackstand). The bottom of the a arm is contacting the frame here (pic 1 shows the metal deformation on the frame where contact has been occurring).

Shock is installed in all pics, these were from the other day as I was rotating tires.

I’m at a pretty normal lift, about 21.5” hub to fender. But I thought max droop was independent of the amount of lift.

 

[OwnerCS]

The second pic in my original post shows suspension at full droop and torsion bars connected (wheel removed and frame on a jackstand). The bottom of the a arm is contacting the frame here (pic 1 shows the metal deformation on the frame where contact has been occurring).

Shock is installed in all pics, these were from the other day as I was rotating tires.

I’m at a pretty normal lift, about 21.5” hub to fender. But I thought max droop was independent of the amount of lift.

My last measurement for max droop with wheels up was 24.75". I didn't remove the wheel since I'm measuring from the hub center to the fender. As soon as it stops raining, I'll measure and take a look at mine again.

 

[OwnerCS]

With my SPCs, I see the lower part of the arm barely touching the frame at full droop.

Then I went back and looked at pictures of my original upper control arms with AHC and found marks where the upper was making contact with that area.
Not much, but I could tell it had been happening.

Looking back at the arms with AHC, I think this may be intended. Basically "the droop stops here".

Old upper control arm after being run with AHC for over 200,000 miles.

The second pic in my original post shows suspension at full droop and torsion bars connected (wheel removed and frame on a jackstand). The bottom of the a arm is contacting the frame here (pic 1 shows the metal deformation on the frame where contact has been occurring).

Shock is installed in all pics, these were from the other day as I was rotating tires.

I’m at a pretty normal lift, about 21.5” hub to fender. But I thought max droop was independent of the amount of lift.

My last measurement for max droop with wheels up was 24.75". I didn't remove the wheel since I'm measuring from the hub center to the fender. As soon as it stops raining, I'll measure and take a look at mine again.

 

[pili]

Interesting, thanks for looking into it! With the amount of contact being so minimal (and maybe even intentional), I think i'm going to not worry about it.

 

[robgv]

I ordered my Dobinson's IMS kit from exitoffroad/Mike a while ago and I've managed to put some miles on it. It's been great so far, I'd recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their suspension. There was great communication throughout the ordering and waiting process. I'm hoping there will be a front adjustable MRR, extended travel shock option for the 100 series in the future.

Here's a little video of my 100 and what the IMS/MRR looks like installed on my 99 100 series land cruiser, and some California climbing:

 

[AlpineAccess]

I ordered my Dobinson's IMS kit from exitoffroad/Mike a while ago and I've managed to put some miles on it. It's been great so far, I'd recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their suspension. There was great communication throughout the ordering and waiting process. I'm hoping there will be a front adjustable MRR, extended travel shock option for the 100 series in the future.

Here's a little video of my 100 and what the IMS/MRR looks like installed on my 99 100 series land cruiser, and some California climbing:

What locker do you have up front?

 

[robgv]

@AlpineAccess No locker up front, it’s a 99 so I only have the stock e-locker in the rear. I might have been on 4lo with center diff lock on in this video.

 

[AlpineAccess]

@AlpineAccess No locker up front, it’s a 99 so I only have the stock e-locker in the rear. I might have been on 4lo with center diff lock on in this video.

Nice driving on the climb! Kept the wheelspin reigned in so much I figured it was locked.

 

[robgv]

Nice driving on the climb! Kept the wheelspin reigned in so much I figured it was locked.

Thanks! I’m a newb at driving off-road, but am coming from the road racing world so some skills like throttle control and vehicle placement transfer over nicely to this new domain!