Dobinsons IMS Shocks - Land Cruiser 100 Series and Lexus LX470 (1 Viewer)

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@crikeymike do you have the complete long travel setup in stock to ship right now with the torsion bars and c59-167 springs?
The short/quick answer is no. There were some torsion bars due next week but I'm quite sure they're all sold out now with this sale.
 
I get it. What about everything else, other than the TB. Are they still available?
Yes, coils and shocks are in stock and front diff drop. UCA's are out, waiting for an ETA on those
 
All I can say is it rides and drives so much BETTER than it did before. I really love the way it drives and handles. I feel so much SAFER now.

It's hard to put into words how it compares to AHC. In a way, it is like the setting between normal and sport. Yet, without the floaty "land yacht" feeling that I would get when taking curves and driving over dips in the road.

I still have the Dobinsons box to add to the rear and rock sliders that will add additional weight. I am running the heaviest Dobbins springs in the rear with OME HD torsion bars.

I will post pictures this weekend.
 
All I can say is it rides and drives so much BETTER than it did before. I really love the way it drives and handles. I feel so much SAFER now.

It's hard to put into words how it compares to AHC. In a way, it is like the setting between normal and sport. Yet, without the floaty "land yacht" feeling that I would get when taking curves and driving over dips in the road.

I still have the Dobinsons box to add to the rear and rock sliders that will add additional weight. I am running the heaviest Dobbins springs in the rear with OME HD torsion bars.

I will post pictures this weekend.

I have all four shocks installed now. The fronts are amazing. The rears are very good too but could use a bit more weight to soften them. My new bumper from Mike at BIOR should be ready early next year. I think they will be perfect then. Can't wait to take it offroad!
 
You guys have any pictures of your rigs after the install?

Note that I have the heaviest springs on the rear and will be installing a Dobinsons box, WKOR sliders and some other armor & tools that that will add roughly 400 lbs to the rig over what you see in the picture. I can tune the front after I'm done adding weight to give me a 1" rake between front and rear.

I was totally surprised at how well it rides basically unloaded.

One thing that I've learned about suspensions on older vehicles that seems to yield good results after installing new shocks and springs, is to start building on top of new bushings, ball joints, end links, and all other components.

In the past I've put new quality shocks on top of old worn suspensions and was immediately disappointed in the ride quality. Once I started refreshing the rest of the suspension the ride quality would improve with each new component until the vehicle started driving like new or better due to a higher quality shocks as compared to the originals.

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Note that I have the heaviest springs on the rear and will be installing a Dobinsons box, WKOR sliders and some other armor & tools that that will add roughly 400 lbs to the rig over what you see in the picture. I can tune the front after I'm done adding weight to give me a 1" rake between front and rear.

I was totally surprised at how well it rides basically unloaded.

One thing that I've learned about suspensions that seems to yield good results with new shocks and springs, is to start building on top of new bushings and ball joints, end links and other components on older vehicles.

I've put new quality shocks on top of old worn suspensions and was immediately disappointed in the ride quality. Once I started refreshing the rest of the suspension the ride quality would improve with each new component until the vehicle drives like new or better due to a higher quality shocks compared to the originals.

Looks good man! Also good idea on the bushings.
 
The noise level coming from my mud tires dropped significantly after the new shocks. What happened?

The mud tires are new. I could almost feel each lug hitting the pavement through the body at low speeds. At higher speeds, the noise would level out.

Still, I thought the tires were noisy. I didn't really care about the noise because my plan was to strictly use the 100 for off-roading. I didn't like driving it enough to really want to use it much on the road. That all changed with the new shocks.

The bushings in the old shocks were worn out.

It appears the noise from the mud tires was being transmitted through the tires, the wheels, and LCA to the body via the old AHC hydraulic pistons.

The new Dobinsons shocks and related upper bushings made a huge difference in dampening all types of road noises. Now I can live with the mud tires.

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The new beefy bushings made a noticeable difference in reducing road noise.

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One item that I want to report is I did not need to purchase an AHC conversion kit for my installation. The rear shocks came with specially shaped washers.

The front uses a specially designed bushing lip that fills in the area where other shocks may require an adapter.

This was verified by @crikeymike before installation.

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A few pics of my "mall cruiser"

DLxFBUQ.jpg


IMS shocks installed

9LidMPH.jpg


BXsqr7f.jpg


sorry about the poor quality of the images, not a photographer
 
A few pics of my "mall cruiser"

DLxFBUQ.jpg


IMS shocks installed

9LidMPH.jpg


BXsqr7f.jpg


sorry about the poor quality of the images, not a photographer

Nice looking! How do you like them?
 
Nice looking! How do you like them?

I like them a lot, sooo much better than the OME Nitro Sports I had initially. I like the fronts better than the OEMs too. The rears need a touch more weight which will be fixed soon with a BIOR rear bumper. The additional cooling capability and travel is nice too!
 
I like them a lot, sooo much better than the OME Nitro Sports I had initially. I like the fronts better than the OEMs too. The rears need a touch more weight which will be fixed soon with a BIOR rear bumper. The additional cooling capability and travel is nice too!

My neighbor buddy who previously had a 100 series (is now restoring an 80) stopped by last night and took it for a drive. He said it drives much better than his setup with OME that he considered being harsh and bouncy. He concluded it doesn't drive like an off-road vehicle at all. Also, we decided that it rides and handles better than our low miles Titan Pro4x.
 
@chuckscap which rear springs did you go with? Did you get the long travel front IMS?

No, when I first got my LX470 5 years ago or so, I paid $9600 (it had 176,000 miles on it), and it came with a new set of BFG KOs and a $3000 / 30 day warranty. I had it inspected by Lexus and the AHC was shot. Their estimate was $3600 in parts plus labor, so I used the $3000 warranty to have Slee remove the AHC and install the OME 1.5" medium lift kit. The rear springs are 865s. I've gone through a starter and a steering rack but other than that it's just me upgrading it slowly over time.
 

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