Dobinsons 3 inch Progressive / Flexi Coil Review Pt.2 (1 Viewer)

[half k cruiser]

In case you missed pt.1 you can view it here Dobinsons 3 inch Progressive / Flexi coil review . This thread will be my thoughts and photos from my most recent trip. This has been long delayed as I've gathered all of the various pics together and had to resize them for uploading. The trip was as follows..

March 26th - April 1st
26th Lawrence, KS - Grand Junction, CO via I-70 (808mi)
27th & 28th Kokopellis trail Fruita, CO - Moab, UT (120mi +-)
29th Moab
30th White Rim, Schaefer Switchbacks, Potash road Canyonlands National Park (70mi)
31st Moab
April 1st Moab, UT to Lawrence, KS via the southern route. Including Mesa Verde NP, Sand Dunes NP (1200+miles)

The drive across I-70 is always a treat as moving West you are constantly going uphill and constantly fighting a crosswind. This trip was no different and I ddint' notice anything unusual having swapped to the new springs.

The first 2/3rds of the trip across Kokopellis offered little chance to flex the springs. It did however offer plenty of choppy road conditions and washouts. All handled nicely with the new progressives. I am still surprised what a difference just swapping springs made. When I spoke with @David Otero of Dobinsons USA he was careful to point out that shocks would be the biggest factor effecting my ride and not to expect too much from just a spring swap. Since I was still saving for reservoir shocks at the time I figured for $500 I would at least give some new springs a try.

The final day of the Kokopellis gave me the opportunity I had been looking for to flex them a little ...

 

[half k cruiser]

The rear of these trucks always flex nicely, and this was no exception. Downward travel in the rear is exceptional. As you can see the front is more reluctant due to the radius arms and attached sway bar.

 

[half k cruiser]

If you've been down Rose Garden Hill in the last 3 weeks, your welcome ! It took 5 hours for us to get 5 rigs the 1/4 mile to the bottom. Most of that time was spent constructing a road through the worst of the obstacles. The hill was easily doable with the two 80 series in the group. However, we had to be much more careful with the 4runners and especially the long bed Tacoma. Everyone made it down without any body damage, the closest call nearly being the Tacomas rear drive shaft.

 

[half k cruiser]

So here's my thoughts on the green springs after roughly 2500 miles of adventure ....

In town - they are great. A noticeable difference over bumps and potholes compared to the OME that were on it.

On highway - pretty much the same. Truck still gets blown across the road in a stiff wind. Maybe a bit milder over expansion joints then before.

On rocks - the truck feels more stable, you can tell there is more travel. It wasn't until the 3rd day we were on trail that I realized I hadn't heard a single spring pop loose. With the OME you would constantly get noise as the fronts would come loose from the spring perch.

Off highway - hello ! This is where these springs really shine. We were able to absolutely attack a several mile section of the White Rim. 40+ mph speeds over some fairly uneven and corrugated terrain was no problem with these springs installed. This was the only time I felt the truck bottom out and that was on some pretty harsh dips that I didn't see coming. The old setup would have never tolerated this for so long. The only reason we had to let up was we had gotten several miles ahead of the nearest member of our group, and my air compressor came out of its mount and was threatening to take out the side window.

Overall - I couldn't be happier. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about these springs. I don't even mind the color ! To be honest I had originally envisioned these as a stop gap between the OME's that I couldn't stand and a tapered wire dual rate. After driving on them for a few thousand miles I really am impressed. These would be an excellent, cost effective upgrade for anyone who is unhappy with their OME or other linear rate setup. For that matter someone looking to do their first suspension install would be wise to give these a look. Personally I could see myself completely satisfied with these for a very long time to come. So the next step will be to replace all of the old worn factory bushings then pair these springs up with an adjustable reservoir shock.

 

[souzgs]

@half k cruiser Nice review! This is exactly the route I'm hoping to take. If you don't mind me asking, which adjustable reservoir shock do you have in mind?

 

[shocktower]

I am looking for some new springs, the 6bt is a pig and want some thing diffrent, thank you for sharing real world uses of them

 

[baldilocks]

Did the rears maintain 3" of lift with your load? What is your estimation of the weight of the load you were hauling? Lack of info on this is why I decided to order green springs for my front end only and, for now, stick with the 4" HD, progressives I have in the rear.

 

[half k cruiser]

@half k cruiser Nice review! This is exactly the route I'm hoping to take. If you don't mind me asking, which adjustable reservoir shock do you have in mind?

I am not set on any one shock in particular. I know ICON has a good rep. King and RadFlo would also be in the running but I don't see a lot of feedback on them in this forum. Dobinsons is brining an adjustable reservoir sometime this year and it sounds very promising. Right now i'm just doing research.

I am looking for some new springs, the 6bt is a pig and want some thing diffrent, thank you for sharing real world uses of them

With that much weight up front you may need a linear rate. I would contact @David Otero and see what he recommends. Mine have just a little bit of gap between the coils of the ride rate. With a 6bt I imagine you would collapse the whole top of the coil and be down into the load rate. Most of the dual rate stuff I have seen has a close to factory ride rate and that is going to be too soft for what you are rocking.

 

[half k cruiser]

Did the rears maintain 3" of lift with your load? What is your estimation of the weight of the load you were hauling? Lack of info on this is why I decided to order green springs for my front end only and, for now, stick with the 4" HD, progressives I have in the rear.

With dual rear swing outs, 60'' hi-lift, 315 spare, and 10 gallons of fuel on the bumper the truck is sitting completely level right now. That is with no interior load. With 400lbs of kit in the back I could tell it had a slight rake to the rear. If I wanted to compensate for load conditions I could do so with a 30mm trim packer. This would give me a slight rake to front when I didn't have my overland kit with me.

 

[shocktower]

With that much weight up front you may need a linear rate. I would contact @David Otero and see what he recommends. Mine have just a little bit of gap between the coils of the ride rate. With a 6bt I imagine you would collapse the whole top of the coil and be down into the load rate. Most of the dual rate stuff I have seen has a close to factory ride rate and that is going to be too soft for what you are rocking.[/QUOTE]

I spoke with him, about it, and if I need to get a single rate spring, I have other cost effective options

 

[thebrassnuckles]

Man these look pretty slick. How much lift did you net? Could you get an axle to frame measurement?

Fender to ground measurements aren't very useful for my front, I cut off lots of fender.

 

[Brimley]

Do you have a measurement of this lift over stock? I have J-springs and would love a bit lower, less "stink bug" and a better ride; more flex is a plus! I'm at some thing like 3 to 4" front and 5" plus rear. Flex on hard wheeling is great but also looking for a little less drive line angle and needed castor correction. And some day may go back to 255/85/16 (33-34") over present 315/75/16 (about 35"). From center of hub to lip of flair, I'm about 23.5" front, 25" rear.

thanks

 

[half k cruiser]

Man these look pretty slick. How much lift did you net? Could you get an axle to frame measurement?

Fender to ground measurements aren't very useful for my front, I cut off lots of fender.

I can try and get these for you tomorrow.

Do you have a measurement of this lift over stock? I have J-springs and would love a bit lower, less "stink bug" and a better ride; more flex is a plus! I'm at some thing like 3 to 4" front and 5" plus rear. Flex on hard wheeling is great but also looking for a little less drive line angle and needed castor correction. And some day may go back to 255/85/16 (33-34") over present 315/75/16 (about 35"). From center of hub to lip of flair, I'm about 23.5" front, 25" rear.

thanks

If you look in pt 1 I have the measurements in there. I do not have before measurements with the old 850J/863 setup.

 

[DirtScaresMe]

What ome coils did you run? There's a lot of ride difference between light/medium/heavy and then combos of them, it's a little unfair to treat ome as ome, if you see where I'm going.

 

[crikeymike]

After seeing all these photos, I think we need to relocate the company out West.... Way too many amazing trails and awesome experiences being had by you guys!!! Thanks for posting up all these pics. Your truck looks awesome, and that whole front end setup you have suits the truck so well.

Oh yeah, back on topic, glad you're loving the springs!!

 

[malteserunner]

This is great! Thanks for posting your experience @half k cruiser .

I've been following the Dobinsons and Slinky threads, since I plan to upgrade from my J springs, down the road. They both seem to work well!

I hate to say it, but the color of the Dobinsons will be a part of my decision between the two. Are they available in another color @crikeymike ? (Sorry, color choice seems so petty).

 

[slow95z]

I was told that was the only color

 

[crikeymike]

I was told that was the only color

That's true. They're a lot darker at night though, especially if you turn off all the lights, then they're pretty much black. That feature comes at no extra cost.

 

[crikeymike]

I hate to say it, but the color of the Dobinsons will be a part of my decision between the two. Are they available in another color @crikeymike ? (Sorry, color choice seems so petty).

In the Jeep world, color is life. hahaha

They come packaged extremely well, and they're super easy to paint. Just clean them off and spray them whatever color you'd like. With over 30 different 80 series coils, we can't offer multiple colors, plus the skittles green is our "stand out" color from the rest of the market.

 

[half k cruiser]

After seeing all these photos, I think we need to relocate the company out West.... Way too many amazing trails and awesome experiences being had by you guys!!! !!

You are definitely missing out. Its only an easy 8 hr drive from my house to the rockies and as much wheeling as you can desire. Though after hitting Moab I am ready to go back.

I hate to say it, but the color of the Dobinsons will be a part of my decision between the two. Are they available in another color @crikeymike ? (Sorry, color choice seems so petty).

No, but you could easily rattle can them. I wouldn't let the color turn you off.