FJ40 (soft) Suspension (1 Viewer)

[Bakes79FJ40]

Good morning,

I have had my FJ for over 20 years and love it thats why I still have it. I am looking for recommendations on a softer suspension setup. It has never been a soft ride I have had factory suspension, OME Heavy, BDS, and HFS. This last suspension setup is brutal! spine jarring brutal. I have small kids now and would like to install the rear bench seat without fear of them being ejected out the back (kidding but not kidding) its brutal now. Does anyone have a setup or combination of components that would help soften the ride? Anything from ICON or something similar in quality?

Thanks for any help,

J

 

[ryanwk628]

Right now my 40 has Rough Country springs and shocks and it is harsh, so dont do that. People have different opinions on suspensions, some are too stiff, some are too short and risk inverting. I think what I am going to do as I want mine softer and not 4" is go with Pro-Comps based on what Downey said in another thread

Ristretto, you'll be happy to know that Pro-Comp springs are made by NHK, they are the company who builds genuine Toyota springs. When Downey was in business, we were lucky enough to get to use NHK, and NHK designed more features into a Downey spring than the number of features that genuine factory springs had. Eventually Toyota's factory spring features caught up with Downey springs though. Only problem with your suspension now is Pro-Comp uses Gabriel as their shock supplier, and Gabriel's tend to be on the stiffer side of life.

They do not have military wrap but I dont do hard core stuff. As for shocks:

Dave (DSB345), I recommend something very velocity sensitive (like Bilsteins) for the front, and something very soft for the rear (like Doetsch-Tech MV-12's, that are no longer available). Nothing is happening at your rear end, no engine weight/no pounding, so the softer the shock the better the ride on and off road.

I plan to run Bilsteins in the front and KYB 343403 Excel-G Gas Shock in the back. I saw they made an stock replacement, and that is just a longer version of it, not some harsh performance shock. Like I said, I havent done this yet, but if you do let me know how it is

 

[HemiAlex]

I'm running Bilsteins on my 60 and its plush with Heavy springs front and rear. They make a huge difference.

 

[pjohnson]

You don't mention if they are lift springs or not. Lift springs are always stiffer.

You could try taking the bottom leaf out and running quality shocks (as mentioned above). I run Rancho 9000 adjustable on my SOA and they work very well. Bilstiens are a good choice also.

 

[Bakes79FJ40]

Right now my 40 has Rough Country springs and shocks and it is harsh, so dont do that. People have different opinions on suspensions, some are too stiff, some are too short and risk inverting. I think what I am going to do as I want mine softer and not 4" is go with Pro-Comps based on what Downey said in another thread



They do not have military wrap but I dont do hard core stuff. As for shocks:



I plan to run Bilsteins in the front and KYB 343403 Excel-G Gas Shock in the back. I saw they made an stock replacement, and that is just a longer version of it, not some harsh performance shock. Like I said, I havent done this yet, but if you do let me know how it is

Thank you for the info. I was looking at an adjustable Fox to see if that would help but Im still not sure if thats the way to go.

 

[brian]

no complaints with my skyjacker soft rides

 

[smtdvm]

I removed springs that were bone jarring and replaced with the OME 2.5” kit with their shocks. It took a little while but now, the ride is surprisingly pleasant, even for a 40.

 

[emac]

You mentioned HFS. Which one? I have the HFS "designer lift" kit. It has the shorter shackles, about 3"lift. Currently running 16 " wheels. I find the ride about as comfortable as you could expect a 40 to be. I dont do much off road, but if I am heading across a bumpy field I can feel the suspension really soaking up the hits. The short wheelbase of the 40 isnt helping. It aint no F150 crew cab.

 

[jim land]

Some report good result with 60 serie springs on the rear ,this give more shackle angle for a better ride.

Or flat springs in SOA

 

[fj40ingkc]

I removed springs that were bone jarring and replaced with the OME 2.5” kit with their shocks. It took a little while but now, the ride is surprisingly pleasant, even for a 40.

Hey @smtdvm I just did the OME 2.5 kit CS001F springs with 8 leafs in front. was surprised when it was stiffer than the original suspension setup. Full OME 2.5 all around with BTB anti-inversion greaseable lifted shackles. I spoke with BTB and confirmed the OME is correct Light/Medium which is the lightest OME makes they say. I would have thought it would be less stiff. This is only 2nd day of driving but it bounces you around and shoots coffee or whatever you're drinking (and holding with lack of cupholder) into your face/roof.

the question i have is, wondering if i did something incorrectly or how long you waited for yours to soften/break in?, BTB reviewed my setup on video and confirmed all is good/installed correctly. with the Zero toward frame side on passenger front and + toward frame not shackle side on drivers front. same on the back end.

How long it may have taken for your ride to soften up. I weigh 200lbs and if i jump on font bumper it probably lowers .75 inches temporarily but not much play. Granted with No-Sway bar I understand why they can't do super soft springs but this seems a bit much. or maybe I just need to be patient. not a strong suit of mine... ha.!

 

[flx]

My OME breaked-in after 1500km or so (during the first long roadtrip loaded) but was ok comfortable from the beginning (for a 40...). And I have medium in the front with 9 leafs (but a PTO to put some weigh on it). I re-used the original shackles.

Still, trying to drink a hot beverage while driving a 40 is maybe pushing a bit too much.

By curiosity how many leafs do you have in the rear?

 

[fj40ingkc]

Ha, ya hot beverages or spicy v8 juice!! I have 6 in back 8 upfront. 1500 km eh. What does it feel
Like after they are broken in? I was expecting it to soak up railroad tracks etc ,,, I fear if i went over those at speed I would break something if not the fj then my back… -max

 

[flx]

Ok when I say confortable I don't mean "soak up" anything of the road, definitely suspension will not be that comfortable, it's not a Rolls Royce.

For small things tires pressure is very important for comfort, if you are too high you will feel every imperfection of the road.

 

[A10Driver]

I would remove leaves starting with the shorter ones on the bottom until u get the ride u want. FJ40's have really short springs in the back, lift springs are even shorter resulting in awkward shackle angles. If u want a soft dialed in ride SOA with longer leafs in the back are the answer

 

[fj40ingkc]

Spoke with BTB guys and said 3rd from top in the front spring stack would be the suggested leaf to remove. i think ill have to try it and see if it changes ride height and if improves feel... i don have a winch on it yet. PTO sitting in garage may change ride later but cant imagine that much.. thanks!

 

[fj40ingkc]

Ok when I say confortable I don't mean "soak up" anything of the road, definitely suspension will not be that comfortable, it's not a Rolls Royce.

For small things tires pressure is very important for comfort, if you are too high you will feel every imperfection of the road.

Yup, running Maxxis RAZR 33x10.5x15 on stock white wagon wheels at 22 psi currently. reduced this morning from 30psi. doesn't seem to be noticeably better where my wife will want to ride in it. This is main reason I'm trying to improve ride "plushness" ha...

 

[flx]

You may be asking too much of your FJ40, it will never be nice for someone that doesn't like a rustic experience.

 

[brian]

the problem with the omes, is their length and crappy shackle angles.

 

[ryanwk628]

I am running 2" Skyjacker soft ride springs with Bilstein shocks up front and very soft KYB shocks in back (Toyota T100 shocks made in Japan) and am VERY happy with how it soaks up bumps right out of the box. It is a night and day difference to the rough country lift I had before, which I believe is a combination of the flex, shackle angles and shocks using Downey's advice I linked above. Also I took them apart and made sure the leaves were not stuck together with paint or anything before installing them which I think helped avoid a lot of "break in time."

 

[EWheeler]

I am running 2" Skyjacker soft ride springs with Bilstein shocks up front and very soft KYB shocks in back (Toyota T100 shocks made in Japan) and am VERY happy with how it soaks up bumps right out of the box. It is a night and day difference to the rough country lift I had before, which I believe is a combination of the flex, shackle angles and shocks using Downey's advice I linked above. Also I took them apart and made sure the leaves were not stuck together with paint or anything before installing them which I think helped avoid a lot of "break in time."

I've also read here on the forum that breaking the leaf packs down and applying a good coat of hard epoxy paint to each leaf and then waxing each leaf upon reassembly proves to be worth the effort. I think it was @Godfather90 that posted this info.