GX470 Long Travel Rear Suspension Options

[HomersCanyonero]

Yeah, those are the things I don’t understand.

Dobinson says they are adjustable and curbed.

MT is offset and uses Johnny joints, but not adjustable.

I’m not sure what I need for a 2” rear lift with long travel shocks and 2” variable rate springs.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Ah, thanks Kyle. I was wondering if the bend was the same as an offset.

 

[Kyle Fogle]

it does the same thing yessir

 

[joabmc]

MTs are adjustable. You thread in or out to desired length and then torque down the locknut. IIRC, they should be 3/16 longer than stock for a LT setup. I’ve had mine for 4 years but had to rebuild the Johnny Joint once. I chalk it up to crappy NE winters and lots of salt. Didn’t keep up with them enough but they will take a beating for sure.

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

Rubber over poly indeed!

If it were a track car, poly all day. Rigid and not flexible is not what's needed in an offroad vehicle!

Toyota OEM rubber is actually very high quality and offers a lot of articulation.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I know I'm making this harder than it is...overthinking my selection of rear long travel components. See the attached PDF file with all the options that I'm mulling over. These are just the combination that I'm considering, but there's a lot more to consider.

I'm not ready to get rid of my front Bilstein 6112s (600 lbs/in coils) which are 2.6" body shocks (digressive). I like the way they ride on my GX470. So, this is weighting on my decision on what rear shocks to go with. I'm thinking that I need to go with the digressive shocks on the rear to match the front.

So, these are the two final options. Mix long travel Bilstein 5100 rear shocks with Dobinson variable rear spring and lower links at a low price. Or get the MetalTech long suspension kit with Icon 56550 (digressive) long travel rear shocks and Dobinson variable rear springs. I hate to mix and match, but prefer those Dobinson variable rear springs.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I have my journey documented in my build thread, but just to close out my specifics on my long travel rear suspension on this thread. Here's what I have so far. Hub to fender in the rear is around 23.5" which is 1/2" longer than I wanted. And still need to install the rear lower links (awaiting delivery still). And figure out if my stock GX470 bumpstops are at the right offset and right length. They look okay so far.

If you want to save money, skip the rear lower links until you bend the stock oem ones. Also, use the low cost ProComp rear long travel shocks to save another bundle. Find used Toyota isolators and long travel coils. Finally, keep using your stock oem GX470 4.25" bump stops until they no longer work. This will net you about a $500 coil conversion to a long travel rear suspension.

 

[NomzMatter]

For you cheapo types, I'm just gonna drop this here:

Superflexy on the cheap, or more expensive if...

Version 2.0 is on page 6 with some other cool stuff too http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/suspension-steering-tech/154893-superflexy-cheap-more-expensive-if-youre-into-bigthumb-6.html "Bilstien 5100 #24-186711 front shocks on first/second setting for the old "FJ lean" with stock...

www.fjcruiserforums.com

 

[captainva]

I'm wondering if someone can give me some advice on a few things regarding suspension? I know that this is posted all the time but I feel like I haven't found a concrete answer on some things. For some background, in the span of about a year the suspension on my truck has gone from acceptable to totally blown from (not me) taking speed bumps at 30+ MPH. I don't do any high speed trail running so I don't need external reservoirs and the truck will be used mainly on road (taking speed bumps at high speed), some towing, low speed trail running, and rock crawling. For my setup I'm thinking the following:

• Front Shocks: Bilstein 6112 (for the larger shock body)
• Rear Springs: Dobsion C59-675V with Firestone airbags connected to the factory height control
• Rear Shocks:
  • Icon 2.0 ($160) [# ICON-56550]
  • Radflo 2.5" ($319) [# RAD-6ST 001 2E MT 1]
  • Icon 2.5" ($1030) [# ICON-57812P 1] - this is a big stretch budget wise

I'm like the Icons because they're digressive and there are no other digressive long travel rear shocks that I've found for these trucks other than the Bilstein 5100s that are for the 3rd gen 4runners which I don't want to go with. Can anyone help with the following questions?

• How much longer will a 2.5" shock last vs a 2.0" shock when it sees the same abuse?
• I haven't seen good reviews of Radflo online. What is the damping curve of the Radflo shocks and how would this compare to the ride comfort of the digressive Icons?
• How long would the Radflos last compared to the Icons?
• Is the Dobsion spring long enough for a long travel shock and would it be beneficial to go with the metal tech medium variable spring? I want some lift but I don't want to go beyond 2".
• Last for front UCAs anyone have experience with JBA high caster arms and is there any benefit to pay another $120-200 for SPC?

 

[CarolinaGX]

I have 5100's in front and skyjackers in the back. The skyjackers aren't for our trucks but I am using them for data/research to get the right shock (28.8/16.7 currently). I have Dobinson's 327's in the rear due to my extra weight. With the shocks disconnected, there is some interference restricting the droop of the axle and the springs are still fully seated. I have home-brewed LCA's with johnny joints on both ends so it isnt my LCA's creating the interference. I am planning to make new UCA's for the rear with JJ's to make sure I get all the travel I can. I realize this doesn't actually answer your questions but hopefully it give you insight.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I can only answer one of your questions. I have the dobinson c59-675v that I got used. They net me 23 1/4” in the rear +/- 1/8” hub to fender. They go well with the long travel Icon 56550 rear shocks. Get an OME 10mm spacer to fix the driver side lean. I don’t have much weight in rear (just my tool box and full tank). Works well for me.

according to my Guesstimates, the rear was 21” hub to fender in stock form. So, I’m at 2 1/4” lift.

 

[captainva]

Thanks for the responses guys! I think that I'll probably just end up going with the smaller Icons and when they're blown I'll replace them.

 

[teejnut]

Any downsides for on-road for a rear "long" travel setup?

 

[CarolinaGX]

Mine is not an official LT kit since I built it myself but I am getting about 15" of travel in the rear so we will call it LT. I have no downsides at all. In fact, I can't tell any difference at all, and more importantly, my wife can't either. If you are still running bags in the rear you might notice a difference but mine rides firm, similar to the "sport" setting.

 

[captainva]

Another question for you guys. It seems like going long travel doesn't increase the upward travel of the axle in any measurable way. I'm seeing a lot of posts of people having 2-3" between the bumpstops and axle which is roughly what is there stock. I understand that the front suspension has a lot more upwards travel than down and the rear is the opposite. If one of my goals is to improve comfort over speed bumps and large bumps on the road thats not much travel until the axle bottoms out. If I go with a regular length shock would this give more available upwards travel?

 

[CarolinaGX]

Ultimately, the shock is what determines the travel. Longer shocks used for LT have a longer body therefore moving the bottom-out point downward because the body of the shock is on top. LT setups give more overall travel in that the shock allows for more stroke and thus travel. With the 5100's in the rear and a ~2.5" rear lift, I only had about 2ish inches of down travel and 6"ish in up travel. With little to no rear lift it would be roughly 4" in both directions.

 

[captainva]

I guess that makes sense. Most of the people who have gone long travel rear are lifted 2-2.5" in the posts that I've been reading. Since any long travel shocks will move the top position of the axle where the bump stops are touching down probably 2-3" (based on the bumpstop extensions required), with a 2-2.5" lift those longer shocks would prevent any increase in uptravel vs shorter shock bodies. Is this line of thinking correct?

 

[James C]

Most people going LT also have larger tires than stock, and since LT means more articulation it can cause rubbing on a stuffed tire. Spacing the bumpstops down helps with stuffed tire rubbing, longer shocks bottoming out and maybe to some extent the rear drive shaft rubbing on the gas tank.

Remember that the stock GX rear bump stops are longer than other 120 platform vehicles, but compress more (anecdotally). If you want more "apparent" up-travel (space between axle and bumpstop) then you can get OEM FJ/4Runner bumpstops. If you're still feeling bottom-outs over speed bumps it's time for new suspension!

 

[captainva]

Its definitely time for new suspension now...the original shocks are completely gone. I'm just wanting more uptravel in whatever option I end up going with

 

[CarolinaGX]

Here is a link to a video of my rear suspension doing it's thing. I am really happy with how it performed. Now I have to figure out a good way to disconnect the sway bar.

GX470 Rear Articulation