Installed Dobinson's 1.75 Inch Variable Rate Suspension Kit: C59 - 222V, C59 223V

[Nad Aitch]

Update - I feel dumb now but after crawling under the truck to swap in my new OEM driveshaft, I realized my old shaft was in the "in phase" position.

New OEM shaft came balanced/ paint marked out of phase. I greased it up good, swapped it in, and things felt super smooth on the 2" arms.

With that baseline established, I popped in the 3" arms. Holy Handling, Batman!

That's what we're paying the big bucks for. I've read @Delta VS , @SNLC , @LandCruiserPhil and others that generally know their stuff say 4-5° is ideal for handling and they're not wrong.

Caster is the pearl of great price- having driven before and after, I'd build a rig around 4° and compromise on lift height, 2/AWD and whatever else to achieve those ends.

Much greater straight line stability. Before I was constantly correcting- now I can genuinely say this thing handles as good as a stock vehicle. Having to correct in corners was amplifying body role - I honestly don't feel the need for an upgraded swaybar, but I'll probably still pop it in for science and whatnot.

I jumped to conclusions and was totally ready to p/t the truck but never actually ran my card for the cruiser outfitters t-case. Super conflated on what do do now as the truck is super smooth in fulltime 4x4. A fresh out of phase balanced OEM driveshaft can handle the 3" arms from what I can tell. No discernable vibes at all. I would still love the underdrive though, and the simplicity of pt still appeals to me.

Anyhow, that's all a long-winded way of saying the dual rate coils on a 2" lift with 4° caster kicks ass for a mixed use grocery getter/ camping/ light wheeler rig.

Happy im getting closer to dialed.

 

[YotaTrail]

Report, I got these installed yesterday and love them. Ride is not harsh at all and I'm running the basic yellow dobinson shocks, didn't even get the ims that I was planning on. Saved me good amount of money. The entire kit installed with shop labor was 1500 which is cheaper than just the ironman lift kit stage 1 by itself without labor.

Bumps seem smooth on the road and the height is perfect. I'm not running spacers and I have a rear dual swing bumper with a 35 inch spare. Arb front bumper and it sits level. I am not running any caster correction and the rig seems to drive fine even at 70mph. I will get readings though and adjust as necessary.

Will have pics later. Will also test offroad. On the road it seems to ride better than stock and absorbs speed bumps with ease and smoothly. Special thanks to Mike at exitoffroad for answering my questions regarding this lift.

 

[YotaTrail]

Here she is. Perfect stance in my opinion. Car is on a slight downhill. Front may go down a little once a add a winch, we will see. This is the 222v/223v combo

 

[Marvelicious]

Update - I feel dumb now but after crawling under the truck to swap in my new OEM driveshaft, I realized my old shaft was in the "in phase" position.

New OEM shaft came balanced/ paint marked out of phase. I greased it up good, swapped it in, and things felt super smooth on the 2" arms.

With that baseline established, I popped in the 3" arms. Holy Handling, Batman!

That's what we're paying the big bucks for. I've read @Delta VS , @SNLC , @LandCruiserPhil and others that generally know their stuff say 4-5° is ideal for handling and they're not wrong.

Caster is the pearl of great price- having driven before and after, I'd build a rig around 4° and compromise on lift height, 2/AWD and whatever else to achieve those ends.

Much greater straight line stability. Before I was constantly correcting- now I can genuinely say this thing handles as good as a stock vehicle. Having to correct in corners was amplifying body role - I honestly don't feel the need for an upgraded swaybar, but I'll probably still pop it in for science and whatnot.

I jumped to conclusions and was totally ready to p/t the truck but never actually ran my card for the cruiser outfitters t-case. Super conflated on what do do now as the truck is super smooth in fulltime 4x4. A fresh out of phase balanced OEM driveshaft can handle the 3" arms from what I can tell. No discernable vibes at all. I would still love the underdrive though, and the simplicity of pt still appeals to me.

Anyhow, that's all a long-winded way of saying the dual rate coils on a 2" lift with 4° caster kicks ass for a mixed use grocery getter/ camping/ light wheeler rig.

Happy im getting closer to dialed.

My "armchair engineer" opinion is that Toyota's OEM caster setting was a bit of a miss on their part. I think they opted for making it handle "more like a car" and their starting point was a too far to that side. It's fine at stock height, but 5º wouldn't have felt lazy by any means and would have given room for a small lift without making it borderline dangerous. I set up a friends solid axle swap at 6º on his Hilux and it was perfect for making big mud tires and flexy suspension track and still didn't feel sluggish when turning.

 

[JohnnyUtah2]

Here she is. Perfect stance in my opinion. Car is on a slight downhill. Front may go down a little once a add a winch, we will see. This is the 222v/223v combo

View attachment 3671256

Looks great! What size tires are those?

 

[YotaTrail]

Looks great! What size tires are those?

Thanks. Tires are 315/75/16 falken wildpeak at4w

 

[1hdft80]

While these coils are by far the nicest I've experienced in an 80 (and ive driven alot of different 80 setups), I would like abit more clearence and want to run 37s. Does anyone know what the closest 3" coil would be to the 222/223v combo as far as ride comfort and general characteristics. Thanks

 

[crikeymike]

While these coils are by far the nicest I've experienced in an 80 (and ive driven alot of different 80 setups), I would like abit more clearence and want to run 37s. Does anyone know what the closest 3" coil would be to the 222/223v combo as far as ride comfort and general characteristics. Thanks

The 3" Flexi coils.

Dobinsons C59-612V 3" Flexi Front Coil Springs | Land Cruiser 80 series - Pair

Dobinsons C59-612V are Front Progressive / Variable rate flexi coils to give a 3" lift with up to 200 LBS of additional accessory weight

exitoffroad.com

Dobinsons C59-613V 3" Flexi Rear Coil Springs | Land Cruiser 80 series - Pair

Dobinsons C59-613V are Rear Progressive / Variable rate flexi coils to give a 3" lift with up to 200 LBS of additional accessory weight

exitoffroad.com

 

[exakt0h]

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread, you played a huge part in helping me make a decision for my daily setup.
222v/223v paired with IMS shocks.

22.5 on all four corners (stock weight with no spare, no third row)
Shouts to @crikeymike for the swift transaction and extra goodies

After about a week, the springs have settled to 22 on all corners.

 

[trojanowl]

Hello Friends - at the risk of sounding stupid, why does nobody seem to go with the comfort springs (234 & 269V)? I've read through every page of this thread & tried searching the forums but couldn't find much information on these options. My 80 has no additional weight added (stock bumpers, no roof rack, etc.)

Would the 220V & 223V option make more sense for an unloaded cruiser? I see a ton of people go that route but almost nobody goes with the comfort springs.

Thanks in advance

 

[crikeymike]

Hello Friends - at the risk of sounding stupid, why does nobody seem to go with the comfort springs (234 & 269V)? I've read through every page of this thread & tried searching the forums but couldn't find much information on these options. My 80 has no additional weight added (stock bumpers, no roof rack, etc.)

Would the 220V & 223V option make more sense for an unloaded cruiser? I see a ton of people go that route but almost nobody goes with the comfort springs.

Thanks in advance

I think more people like the sound of variable rate coils, so they tend to follow the leader (aka this whole thread).

I don't sell very many C59-234, but I do sell a lot of the C59-269V. Ultimately for a daily driver light weight vehicle, those are great options. The C59-223V in the back will be more like 2.5" with no added weight, so the lift height is ~3/4" taller than the C59-269V.

 

[Whitetail]

Hello Friends - at the risk of sounding stupid, why does nobody seem to go with the comfort springs (234 & 269V)? I've read through every page of this thread & tried searching the forums but couldn't find much information on these options. My 80 has no additional weight added (stock bumpers, no roof rack, etc.)

Would the 220V & 223V option make more sense for an unloaded cruiser? I see a ton of people go that route but almost nobody goes with the comfort springs.

Thanks in advance

I originally had 269Vs in the rear and they were great riding around town with no weight, but when I loaded up with my canvas tent and ice chest the rear end would sag and I would be riding on the bump stops. I moved to 223V springs and they solved my issue.

 

[RubyCruiser]

Bumping, as I came across this thread in my suspension upgrade search. I was dead set on stock height to just deal with original saggy springs and OEM replacement shocks and perhaps fit 285/295’s (currently have 305’s and look a little stuffed but don’t rub as a DD).

I agree with @trojanowl and @crikeymike that for the lowest lift option w/ a no added weight use case, I am thinking 234/269V springs would more than ideal if goals are minimal lift/clearance for up to 295s without getting into caster/vibe issues. Max use would be light load camping, day trips, and cars/coffee (ha!).

Could use some guidance here on whether stock height is more appropriate or going with 1.75” would be a great option for minimal lift and nice stance/look w/out getting into caster and driveline issues. If anyone has pics of a 234/269V lift with 33’s or 34’s that would be great.

Thanks.

 

[crikeymike]

Bumping, as I came across this thread in my suspension upgrade search. I was dead set on stock height to just deal with original saggy springs and OEM replacement shocks and perhaps fit 285/295’s (currently have 305’s and look a little stuffed but don’t rub as a DD).

I agree with @trojanowl and @crikeymike that for the lowest lift option w/ a no added weight use case, I am thinking 234/269V springs would more than ideal if goals are minimal lift/clearance for up to 295s without getting into caster/vibe issues. Max use would be light load camping, day trips, and cars/coffee (ha!).

Could use some guidance here on whether stock height is more appropriate or going with 1.75” would be a great option for minimal lift and nice stance/look w/out getting into caster and driveline issues. If anyone has pics of a 234/269V lift with 33’s or 34’s that would be great.

Thanks.

If you don't want to touch caster, then go with stock height.

A 1.75-2" lift will change the caster and caster bushings or another form of correction is needed to properly setup the front caster back to the right number. That's all you'd have to do though. No issues with drivelines or anything else at that minimal lift height.

 

[nagrom46]

Bumping, as I came across this thread in my suspension upgrade search. I was dead set on stock height to just deal with original saggy springs and OEM replacement shocks and perhaps fit 285/295’s (currently have 305’s and look a little stuffed but don’t rub as a DD).

I agree with @trojanowl and @crikeymike that for the lowest lift option w/ a no added weight use case, I am thinking 234/269V springs would more than ideal if goals are minimal lift/clearance for up to 295s without getting into caster/vibe issues. Max use would be light load camping, day trips, and cars/coffee (ha!).

Could use some guidance here on whether stock height is more appropriate or going with 1.75” would be a great option for minimal lift and nice stance/look w/out getting into caster and driveline issues. If anyone has pics of a 234/269V lift with 33’s or 34’s that would be great.

Thanks.

I ended up with the 234s up front as the 220Vs were back ordered for several months. Tires are 315/75/16. 223V in the rear

 

[TWILLY]

As promised, here’s how that sits. This is unloaded shot with iPhone--should have brought a 50mm lens to avoid the slight distortion. Anyhow... Nice smooth ride, eats up the washboards, and corners without body roll. I like it. We’ll see how she ages and holds my touring weight.
View attachment 2768541View attachment 2768540View attachment 2768542

I recently noticed that, with C59-220V front coils and 2" front sway bar extension, the front sway bar will knock the axle while flexing.

Have others encountered this? I presume the solution is to remove the front sway bar extension.

 

[RubyCruiser]

I ended up with the 234s up front as the 220Vs were back ordered for several months. Tires are 315/75/16. 223V in the rear View attachment 3853698

I would have a similar stock set up as yours, as in no accessories. Any feedback or concerns with the comfort ride 234’s (linear?) vs. 220V? I assume the 220V.s feel similar or even more plush until you load more weight on them but just guessing.

 

[RubyCruiser]

I recently noticed that, with C59-220V front coils and 2" front sway bar extension, the front sway bar will knock the axle while flexing.

Have others encountered this? I presume the solution is to remove the front sway bar extension.

Was there a need for the extension with a 2” lift?

 

[crikeymike]

I recently noticed that, with C59-220V front coils and 2" front sway bar extension, the front sway bar will knock the axle while flexing.

Have others encountered this? I presume the solution is to remove the front sway bar extension.

That doesn't sound normal. You're using the extension brackets that attach at the rear part of the sway bar? Got any photos?

I've seen sway bars get off-center before, more over to one side than it should be. Usually from bad bushings, or someone didn't notice during the install.

 

[nagrom46]

I would have a similar stock set up as yours, as in no accessories. Any feedback or concerns with the comfort ride 234’s (linear?) vs. 220V? I assume the 220V.s feel similar or even more plush until you load more weight on them but just guessing.

I’ve only had the 234s so can’t speak to the others. The ride feel is hard to pinpoint because I went from tired old factory suspension and road tires to these springs and E load 35s. I’d say it rides firm but that is what I was expecting by my tire choice alone.