How does your 100 series ride in town?

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Those of us looking to improve ride comfort have lots of work to do trawling through the many posts we have available on this website. i have been inspired and guided by the many enthusiastic contributors that we have on-board. Am coming up to 500,00 km this week on my one owner 2001 1HDFTE. In the past two years I have replaced engine and transfer case mountings, Lower and upper rear control arms (takes the hula swing out of cornering). One front control arm to reduce the waltzing Matilda tendencies of the front end. Greased and checked balance on drive shaft components (reduces clunk). Replaced fluid and pressure canisters on AHC & adjusted torsion bars (biggest contribution to ride comfort). All jobs that need to be attended to, in order to keep older rigs like ours comfortable and reliable.
 
Mine was riding on LTXs when I got her and at 180k miles I was prepared to replace a lot of different wearable parts starting with bushings probably.
I found a New Old Stock set of Revo tires cheap locally and had them mounted up and am still shocked by the near complete transformation of the ride quality from just this!?
Everyone who has ridden in it has commented about how sweet the ride is now and the long distance comfort is like a different truck overall......really!

Now I am not sure that I will be changing out too much at all at this point.

It is not Broken so I am not planning to fix it right now!

I do know that once you change more than one item it is too easy to lose perspective about which part did what.
 
I had the dilemma. After installing bigger AT’s, the ride got harsher. I had replaced swaybar bushings. While checking wheel bearing play (9-3 tug there was none), I noticed movement in the D bushing. Replaced it. It wasn’t tore up, just soft. Much less “jarring “. While replacing the D bushing I noticed the DS diff support bushing a bit deformed. Replaced it. Now it drives quiet, tight and smooth. Totally different ride up front. Rear, same as expected with the tires and Dobison light duty springs.
It’s mainly the tires.
 
Mine was riding on LTXs when I got her and at 180k miles I was prepared to replace a lot of different wearable parts starting with bushings probably.
I found a New Old Stock set of Revo tires cheap locally and had them mounted up and am still shocked by the near complete transformation of the ride quality from just this!?
Everyone who has ridden in it has commented about how sweet the ride is now and the long distance comfort is like a different truck overall......really!

AHC?
 
Mine was riding on LTXs when I got her and at 180k miles I was prepared to replace a lot of different wearable parts starting with bushings probably.
I found a New Old Stock set of Revo tires cheap locally and had them mounted up and am still shocked by the near complete transformation of the ride quality from just this!?
Everyone who has ridden in it has commented about how sweet the ride is now and the long distance comfort is like a different truck overall......really!

Now I am not sure that I will be changing out too much at all at this point.

It is not Broken so I am not planning to fix it right now!

I do know that once you change more than one item it is too easy to lose perspective about which part did what.
This was my experience as well. I put a set of Toyo Open Country HT P-rated tires on to replace the LTX tires. The difference was night and day. Mine is 1998 LC, totally stock. Rides real nice.
 
Just wanted to have a fun thread about ride quality in the cruiser, so like the title says, how does your 100 series ride?

I run a stock ride height rig with new toyota shocks up front and fox shocks in the rear. Medium OEM springs to handle a bit of weight, but man I feel every bump in the road.

Every time I see someone talk about their plush luxurious ride I get pretty jealous. The truck feels great at low speeds crawling over rocks and handling the weight no problem, but some cracks in the road or washboard dirt roads is enough to make me want to sell the truck. I find myself creeping over sidewalk / entrances to parking lots that my little toyota highlander would just blast over.

I have done everything from checking body mounts, experimenting with different tire pressure, new suspension, deep meditation and hoping things will just get better, but no luck.

Should I just get over it and move on? Maybe empty everything out of the interior, could just be all the crap I have shaking around?

Anyone else having these same concerns or do you all have smooth riding Cadillac feeling cruisers?
Did you need to add washers or spacers to the rear fox bottom side shocks.? Do you have and photos of the top and bottom connections? I am in the process of installing the 2.0 fox on my 2004 and there's a space at the bottom
 
Did you need to add washers or spacers to the rear fox bottom side shocks.? Do you have and photos of the top and bottom connections? I am in the process of installing the 2.0 fox on my 2004 and there's a space at the bottom

I can get you pictures in the morning , I didn't do the install I had toyota do it. I do think they used different bushing / washers and the Toyota stuff did not get used.

Sorry not much help right now, will check soon
 
Wheel/tire aggregated weight has a lot to do with the harsh ride. You may need a shock that better handles the added mass.
 
Mine rides.... I've got extra heavy duty... 400lb springs in the back...
Cause it's my road trip vehicle...
Next week, I'm pulling a 18ft trailer loaded with a tractor.
Around town... it's bouncy, bouncy, bouncy
 
Mine makes sure that I can count each crack, railway crossing or expansion joint in the road directly with my spine! I want to believe that is caused by the E rated tires.
Running TD closed cell foam shocks and new springs and control arms everywhere (except front lowers).
 
Deleted...it appears I've already posted my thoughts in this thread.:doh:
 
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2004 Lc w tough dog shocks (rear adjustable) & rear spring (2+ inch lift), stock t bar. Susp from trail tailor, installed by Noah's ark out of carlbad ca.

very nice local/highway manners. Does respond to certain non-std hardtop conditions harshly (south i5/73, slow lane), but that particular situation is location specific.

Haven't done the off road acid test yet (saline valley rd, Death Valley), but will report on that in the future.
 
Wish I would have read this thread before I bought my E load tires. I do 95% driving on pavement, but wanted the E load for "just in case".
And, to be honest, to look cool when I pick my kids up from school. Just had to put 33's on it, didn't I!

To sum it up-- E load tires make for a harsh ride no matter what else you do to your rig. Am I right??
 
Wish I would have read this thread before I bought my E load tires. I do 95% driving on pavement, but wanted the E load for "just in case".
And, to be honest, to look cool when I pick my kids up from school. Just had to put 33's on it, didn't I!

To sum it up-- E load tires make for a harsh ride no matter what else you do to your rig. Am I right??

I would have agreed until my recent experiences. My ride felt so rough around town and every little crack in the road felt like it was shaking the interior a lot. I blamed tires and worn interior panels.

Recently I came to the obvious reality I just had to much weight for my coil / suspension setup causing a rough ride. Recently all of my bumpers and weight were removed and the truck rides 100% better now. I am riding on E-Rated Cooper STMax.

Lesson being a worn out / overweight rear coil can really make the truck ride like s***. If your not measuring approx 22"from wheel hub to rear fender, chances are your old coils are due for a refresh.
 
Big lesson was the difference of OME and OEM shocks. Didn't have need for rock crawling or 'lifting' per se in my previous truck and found the OEM shocks worked great and retained the stock appearance, and ALSO the stock ride quality.

Went with OME on the newer truck and ... still not sure I'm happy with them for the harsh/jarring ride quality. Have gone with a few different tires [LTXs, Blizzaks, Wildpeaks, BFGs] and found that PSI ultimately determined the ride experience beyond what the shocks introduced. Factory is 36, which feels soft for highway driving but is nice around town.

I'm still a fan of the OEM shocks for price and performance if someone isn't actively going off road or has an instagram hero truck in their head for looks. Remember the adage for carrying international conglomerate execs in the desert?
 
I would have agreed until my recent experiences. My ride felt so rough around town and every little crack in the road felt like it was shaking the interior a lot. I blamed tires and worn interior panels.

Recently I cam to the obvious reality I just had to much weight for my coil / suspension setup causing a rough ride. Recently all of my bumpers and weight were removed and the truck rides 100% better now. I am riding on E-Rated Cooper STMax.

Lesson being a worn out / overweight rear coil can really make the truck ride like s***. If your not measuring approx 22"from wheel hub to rear fender, chances are your old coils are due for a refresh.
Truly good to know!

So......just measured.....I'm at 20" from the center of my wheel hub to the wheel well. Looks like I need some new coils!
 
Truly good to know!

So......just measured.....I'm at 20" from the center of my wheel hub to the wheel well. Looks like I need some new coils!

It's my understanding that the front end is happy around 21.5" and the rear about in inch higher. Someone may chime in an tell me otherwise but given that logic, if your rear is sitting at 20" it could be considered a bit lower than it should be. If your ride quality is suffering swapping with new coils may be a good place to start.
 

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