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

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MrMikeyG said:
@ZackR It's been a couple of years, would you do the same shocks again? The Ims option looks really nice but I need to try and keep a piece or 2 of my truck in some sort of budget. $1200 shocks vs. $600. I'm not doing any high speed desert racing with a higher milage 1FZ.
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I’m not Zack, but I had a twin tube Dobinsons failure at ~25k miles. Upgraded to IMS. For pavement missions I’m sure the twins would be fine. Noticeable difference in lack of fade with IMS.
 
ZackR said:
It is black Butte, not bachelor though.
Click to expand...

Okay, got me thinking about when I was living up there. I grew up in Boring, OR just outside Gresham and headed to Mt Hood.
 
@MoJ Thank you. Single unit failure, or multiple? I just don't think my driving style needs $1200 in shocks.
 
HardyDanger said:
I’m 220/223 and super happy. Zero complaints. Have maybe 5000 on road and 700 miles off road in lots of mixed condition on them and for what I do…not sure I could ask for more.
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I have a 1996 HDJ81 with 1HD-FT.

I'm planning to order C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs. I already have IMS mono-tube shocks (not installed yet).

Do I need to order caster correction bushings or any other parts like sway-bar extensions etc. for this setup to work properly? From what I know, caster-correction bushings are not needed for any <2" lift.

Thanks!
 
Rakaposhi said:
I have a 1996 HDJ81 with 1HD-FT.

I'm planning to order C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs. I already have IMS mono-tube shocks (not installed yet).

Do I need to order caster correction bushings or any other parts like sway-bar extensions etc. for this setup to work properly? From what I know, caster-correction bushings are not needed for any <2" lift.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You probably won't gain too much lift with that setup, so you should be ok without adding caster correction or sway bar extensions. You can take a look at the angles of the sway bar to determine that once the coils are installed, and the alignment shop can check if you need more caster too.
 
Hey guys here is my 96 cruiser that I installed the dobinson C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs with 295/75 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Huge improvement over stock suspension for sure. I also did the extended sway bar links and extended brake lines just in case. Instead of running dobinsons shocks I chose the yellow and blue Bilstein 4600's. I was on the fence about the shock length but so far they have done well. And the ride with them is great especially with a load. But I have not yet installed the correction bushings so I get a little searching on crowned roads, but nothing crazy. Steering is helped when aired down to around 30 psi from the 36 psi that I usually run for highway travel. The spring and shock combo is nice when unloaded but seem to work better with a load. On the trails they are soft yet you feel when they firm up on bumps and obstacles. Washboards are do-able at speed but tire pressure is the big factor. I included some pictures of loaded up and unloaded. I am happy with the height and ride, might move up to 3" lift one day but not sure of how much gain I would really get over these. Also no trailer tongue droop when towing my boat. The first picture is of the cruiser loaded with no lift using original springs and shocks, so these springs are a big improvement.



No lift with original springs and shocks loaded down

landcruiser-4.jpg


Here the truck is unloaded with lift

landcruiser-3.jpg


Loaded up to camp with lift
landcruiser-1.jpg

Loaded for camping with lift

Landcruiser-2.jpg


landcruiser-3.jpg
 
crikeymike said:
You probably won't gain too much lift with that setup, so you should be ok without adding caster correction or sway bar extensions. You can take a look at the angles of the sway bar to determine that once the coils are installed, and the alignment shop can check if you need more caster too.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This is really helpful.

Swampfox77 said:
Hey guys here is my 96 cruiser that I installed the dobinson C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs with 295/75 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Huge improvement over stock suspension for sure. I also did the extended sway bar links and extended brake lines just in case. Instead of running dobinsons shocks I chose the yellow and blue Bilstein 4600's. I was on the fence about the shock length but so far they have done well. And the ride with them is great especially with a load. But I have not yet installed the correction bushings so I get a little searching on crowned roads, but nothing crazy. Steering is helped when aired down to around 30 psi from the 36 psi that I usually run for highway travel. The spring and shock combo is nice when unloaded but seem to work better with a load. On the trails they are soft yet you feel when they firm up on bumps and obstacles. Washboards are do-able at speed but tire pressure is the big factor. I included some pictures of loaded up and unloaded. I am happy with the height and ride, might move up to 3" lift one day but not sure of how much gain I would really get over these. Also no trailer tongue droop when towing my boat. The first picture is of the cruiser loaded with no lift using original springs and shocks, so these springs are a big improvement.
Click to expand...

Good information. I have a full length rack, sliders, and custom front & rear bumper (not heavy duty). I'm planning on adding full sound deadening soon. For tires, I am running 285/85/16 Cooper STT Pro with the spare wheel mounted on the rear bumper. I still have the extra seats in the trunk area, so I'm hoping to get a good comfortable ride on and off road. I went with Dubinsons IMS mono-tube (non-res) shocks as I read really good reviews on them. Let's see how it pans out.

I'll post the final before/after pictures of the setup once done.
 
bicycleagent003 said:
I installed the 222V/223V springs and Dob's IMS shocks on my rig in November 2021. I have probably 3K miles and about 6 off-road adventures on the setup right now. I'm very happy with it. I did install 20mm spacers up front and 15mm spacers in the rear. My truck sits perfectly level, and I actually wish it had a bit of rake. I might go back in and install 30mm spacers in the rear. My truck feels much more composed on the trail now, and I don't have such nosediving in the rollers on the trail. I can move much faster over rolling terrain without fear of bottoming out. The springs do feel pretty stiff in the rear, like when I drive over seams in the road. My old TJM progressive springs were much softer, but that is part of why I got rid of them. They couldn't handle any load. I have a 55Q Dometic fridge in back and usually at least another 100 pounds of food, water, recovery gear even on light trips.

Overall, I'm very happy with my Dob's setup. No one setup is ideal in all situations, and it's hard to buy such expensive parts without being able to drive the options back to back in same circumstances to really test them. But I'm happy with what I have now and I don't plan to change it again.
Click to expand...
This spring set is in-bound for me. Question to you is why the spacers?
And also, was the rig level from left to right? Or did you or anyone else on this thread need to use spacers to level their rig with these springs left to right?
Thanks in advance so I don’t have to have to pull the springs an extra time just to chuck a leveling spacer in.
 
Surfdc said:
This spring set is in-bound for me. Question to you is why the spacers?
And also, was the rig level from left to right? Or did you or anyone else on this thread need to use spacers to level their rig with these springs left to right?
Thanks in advance so I don’t have to have to pull the springs an extra time just to chuck a leveling spacer in.
Click to expand...
I can only speak to the comparison between my TJM 50mm progressive lift kit and the Dobinson's springs and shocks I switched to (shocks are non-reservoir Dob's MRR shocks, springs are C59-222V front and C59-223V rear). I lost some height in the swap from TJM to Dob's, which surprised me. Unloaded my rig sits about 1" lower in the rear with the Dob's, in the front it's about the same. The Dob's springs do not sag as much under load, they are more firm, but I still want more height in the rear. I was previously using 20mm poly spacers on my TJM front springs, and I'm still running those spacers on top of the Dob's in front. I was hoping not to run spacers in the rear, but I ended up putting in 15mm rear spring spacers. However, I have now ordered 30mm spacers and I'll be putting those in shortly. It's kind of a hassle to be tinkering with the suspension in bits and pieces like this, but that's where I'm at. I've looked around to see if there is a metal spring spacer for the rear, like @Delta VS makes for the front 80 Series springs, but I haven't found anything like that.
Regarding the side to side level, mine is about .5-.75" lower on the DS. I attribute that to my 75 pound X2 battery, my fridge and slide which I installed on the DS to avoid impeding my view out the rear PS, and the 4X4 Labs jerry can holder I installed on the DS between the fridge and the rear sliding window. Also, the gas tank is on the DS. I think you'd be closer to level L to R without all that stuff.
I hope that helps.
BTW, @Swampfox77, your paint looks Great. It looks outstanding. Good looking truck!
 
There are a few folks on here who have helped me out with a lot of conversations. The Cliff's notes are that I am on about 1.5" of lift, and I need a bit of caster correction. The general rule that at 2" lift and less still holds mostly true I think, I just ended up on the "wrong" side of things for some reason.
1994 fzj80
OEM Tokico shocks
Dobinsons c59-222v front
Dobinsons c59-223v rear

Arb+winch out front
rear drawer system start, and rear diy swing out on rear

21.5" flare to hub center at all 4 corners (give or take 1/8")
 
Swampfox77 said:
Hey guys here is my 96 cruiser that I installed the dobinson C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs with 295/75 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Huge improvement over stock suspension for sure. I also did the extended sway bar links and extended brake lines just in case. Instead of running dobinsons shocks I chose the yellow and blue Bilstein 4600's. I was on the fence about the shock length but so far they have done well. And the ride with them is great especially with a load. But I have not yet installed the correction bushings so I get a little searching on crowned roads, but nothing crazy. Steering is helped when aired down to around 30 psi from the 36 psi that I usually run for highway travel. The spring and shock combo is nice when unloaded but seem to work better with a load. On the trails they are soft yet you feel when they firm up on bumps and obstacles. Washboards are do-able at speed but tire pressure is the big factor. I included some pictures of loaded up and unloaded. I am happy with the height and ride, might move up to 3" lift one day but not sure of how much gain I would really get over these. Also no trailer tongue droop when towing my boat. The first picture is of the cruiser loaded with no lift using original springs and shocks, so these springs are a big improvement.

Loaded up to camp with lift
View attachment 3155490
Loaded for camping with lift
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this description and pics. I have some relatively new shocks that were OE replacements and would like to do a mild lift without just using spacers and the 220V/223V seemed like a good option. I don't plan on a new bumper, so 220V should be good, but I do have a full frontrunner roofrack and often have a bike on a hitch rack, so the 223V seemed like a good idea with the <=220lbs capacity. Hopefully I'll see you around town sometime.
 
Hey guys,
Im new to this stuff and 80 series in general and just interested to know if the variable rate coils (c59-222v/c59-223v) will allow for more flex than the linear coils ( c59-166/c59-167), im assuming they probably would? Anyone got any flex pics with these variable coils? Also should bumpstops be extended for this setup (variable coils and gs59 682/683 shocks)?
 
1hdft80 said:
Hey guys,
Im new to this stuff and 80 series in general and just interested to know if the variable rate coils (c59-222v/c59-223v) will allow for more flex than the linear coils ( c59-166/c59-167), im assuming they probably would? Anyone got any flex pics with these variable coils? Also should bumpstops be extended for this setup (variable coils and gs59 682/683 shocks)?
Click to expand...
They can technically compress a little easier due to their lighter initial spring rate, but it would be hard to tell the difference. The shocks are what are limiting the down travel, and the stock bump stops limit the uptravel. Extensions aren't needed with those shocks and those coils.
 
Swampfox77 said:
Hey guys here is my 96 cruiser that I installed the dobinson C59-220V (front) and C59-223V (rear) springs with 295/75 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Huge improvement over stock suspension for sure. I also did the extended sway bar links and extended brake lines just in case. Instead of running dobinsons shocks I chose the yellow and blue Bilstein 4600's. I was on the fence about the shock length but so far they have done well. And the ride with them is great especially with a load. But I have not yet installed the correction bushings so I get a little searching on crowned roads, but nothing crazy. Steering is helped when aired down to around 30 psi from the 36 psi that I usually run for highway travel. The spring and shock combo is nice when unloaded but seem to work better with a load. On the trails they are soft yet you feel when they firm up on bumps and obstacles. Washboards are do-able at speed but tire pressure is the big factor. I included some pictures of loaded up and unloaded. I am happy with the height and ride, might move up to 3" lift one day but not sure of how much gain I would really get over these. Also no trailer tongue droop when towing my boat. The first picture is of the cruiser loaded with no lift using original springs and shocks, so these springs are a big improvement.



No lift with original springs and shocks loaded down

View attachment 3155496

Here the truck is unloaded with lift

View attachment 3155493

Loaded up to camp with lift
View attachment 3155490
Loaded for camping with lift

View attachment 3155491

View attachment 3155492
Click to expand...
Great looking 80, nice pics. Do you know your Center of Hub to Flare measurements unloaded?
 
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