Hello everyone. Just bought a 2016 LC200 and am wanting to upgrade the suspension/wheels/tires. My LC will be on road 85-90% of the time and the majority of off roading will be fire roads/washboard dirt/etc. I don't intend to do any crawling etc in it (not my style, have a SxS for the hard core stuff). I am wondering what is the recommended suspension to go with that allows me to target the ride quality (love the stock ride quality) I desire while going slightly larger with tires. I intend on keeping the wheels at 18". OME BP51 is the most recommended suspension that I've read on these forums but curious to know what else people have experience with. My main obstacle is that my garage door is 82". I am currently sitting at about 74" with the factory roof rack and I don't want to park outside because of too much lift. What are your thoughts and suggestions?
" Raptor-Like" Ride Quality On & Off Road
- Thread starter xd40cal
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How beefy are we talking? I am just seeing various opinions on what you can fit without rubbing and trimming. I'd be game to leave it stock if I knew what was plug and play when it comes to tire size and wheel offset (assuming 18" wheels).
afgman786
SILVER Star
Whether you lift or not you can fit the same tires and have to deal with the same issues. Lifted just means you don't deal with it right away but will still have the same problems.
Your title says "raptor like" I take that as baja running. Get a custom kings setup with remote res and you can bomb washboard roads. Otherwise if you like stock keep it stock and maybe throw the factory spacer to give it annicer stance.
Or...Just wait for the Raptor R to be released 
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Have had multiple Raptors, been there, done that - I'm building a rig for the long haul!Or...Just wait for the Raptor R to be released
Never owned one. Did you have issues with them?
Literally dozens of suspension threads to search and learn from here on mud. While the OME BP51 or the Kings are really cool, if this is also a DD they would not be my 1st choice. Also adding larger (heavier) tires will challenge and change the feel of the stock suspension.
Lots of good options from multiple manufacturers and venders, some on this forum like Cruiser Outfitters (in Utah).
Good Luck.
Lots of good options from multiple manufacturers and venders, some on this forum like Cruiser Outfitters (in Utah).
Good Luck.
Can guarantee you that if you get off the shelf valving and spring rates, you're gonna have a crappy ride that you don't like.
The ride isn't so much what you go with ie King vs BP51, but the custom tuning and valving you run for your exact setup and weight.
The ride isn't so much what you go with ie King vs BP51, but the custom tuning and valving you run for your exact setup and weight.
While I am admittedly a Ford guy I was underwhelmed by both my first and second gen Raptors. My father had a second gen Raptor as well and he felt blah about it too.
OEM is a good start in terms of overall ride comfort.
For the smoothest ride: Thicker sidewall tires help. Stiffer/ heavier tires don’t. So unless you need the durability of an LT tire, better stick with upsized P rated tires. Also avoid super stiff coils when lifting.
My LC200 is stock since it has AHC, but I did run Bilsteins then KINGs on my modded 4Runner.. both ride nice, but KINGs definitely on another level.
turbo8
Supporting Vendor
My friend's with Raptors are pretty envious with how my LX rides on and off-road.
I agree with @hickuptruck, getting the valving done properly for your weight and usage is important. Occasionally you'll see guys online complaining about any suspension setup because they just bought some reputable shocks - IVD, King, Fox - without tuning, and didn't like how it rides.
One of the best features of a higher end shock is the ability to make large adjustments via revalving (done at a shop or DIY if you want to) and then fine adjustments via DSC/shock dampers (done on the vehicle on the fly).
I would hit up a reputable company like Accutune Offroad - they're very well respected in the offroad industry and are dealers for Fox and King. I'm also thinking about picking up some ADS racing shocks for my Tacoma - I've heard great things about ADS as well.
Accutune has a lot of technical info here:
Lots to read up on. One of the bigger ones is the type of shock - Icons are digressive, so they feel stiffer at low speeds but soften up once you get fast or hit whoops. Fox and King are linear as far as I know so they are softer at first but stiffen up when you get into terrain at speed.
accutuneoffroad.com
As far as a Raptor, I believe they use 3" Fox coilovers. There's plenty of internet arguments out there on King vs. Fox but in my opinion they're both great brands. King is well known in the offroad world and some people like the blue look. Fox seems to have slightly higher quality materials (if you can believe what you read on the internet) but the customer service leaves a little to be desired as they're such a large OEM provider these days.
As far as BP51s, seems like the go-to for a lot of cruiser guys - I know for Tacomas they aren't true 2.5" coilovers - more like 2.1" - is that true for 200s as well?
Ride is pretty subjective. Like people will tell you, you can't get a better on-road ride than an LX570 with functioning AHC and some P tires. However, personally I don't mind the added stiffness and puncture resistance of some E rated tires with some good coilovers - you'll love it when you're blasting down some washboard at 50 mph.
One of the best features of a higher end shock is the ability to make large adjustments via revalving (done at a shop or DIY if you want to) and then fine adjustments via DSC/shock dampers (done on the vehicle on the fly).
I would hit up a reputable company like Accutune Offroad - they're very well respected in the offroad industry and are dealers for Fox and King. I'm also thinking about picking up some ADS racing shocks for my Tacoma - I've heard great things about ADS as well.
Accutune has a lot of technical info here:
Lots to read up on. One of the bigger ones is the type of shock - Icons are digressive, so they feel stiffer at low speeds but soften up once you get fast or hit whoops. Fox and King are linear as far as I know so they are softer at first but stiffen up when you get into terrain at speed.
Digressive vs Linear vs Progressive Pistons & Shock Valving - AccuTune Off-Road
Ryan Raker, the founder and author of this article, has been designing, tuning, and manufacturing shocks with digressive, linear, and progressive damping
As far as a Raptor, I believe they use 3" Fox coilovers. There's plenty of internet arguments out there on King vs. Fox but in my opinion they're both great brands. King is well known in the offroad world and some people like the blue look. Fox seems to have slightly higher quality materials (if you can believe what you read on the internet) but the customer service leaves a little to be desired as they're such a large OEM provider these days.
As far as BP51s, seems like the go-to for a lot of cruiser guys - I know for Tacomas they aren't true 2.5" coilovers - more like 2.1" - is that true for 200s as well?
Ride is pretty subjective. Like people will tell you, you can't get a better on-road ride than an LX570 with functioning AHC and some P tires. However, personally I don't mind the added stiffness and puncture resistance of some E rated tires with some good coilovers - you'll love it when you're blasting down some washboard at 50 mph.
FWIW... I have no personal experience running BP-51s, but for that setup, there's a video from Ed Martin Toyota that highlights the following front settings that will "mimic stock perfectly":
Preload: 5mm
Rebound: 2
Compression: 7
Lift: 1.5"
Preload: 5mm
Rebound: 2
Compression: 7
Lift: 1.5"
Just copy my build exactly. It's basically a 200-series Raptor:
forum.ih8mud.com
It's as confidence inspiring on-road as the stock Cruiser, and handles dirt just like the fast Ford.
OE Long Travel 200
My now-wife and I moved to Montana two years ago. I wanted to give her the ability to confidently enjoy everything the state has to offer, without relying on having me along. I explored the reasons why we ended up with a 200-series here: The Last of the V-8 Overlanders After the wedding trip to...
forum.ih8mud.com
It's as confidence inspiring on-road as the stock Cruiser, and handles dirt just like the fast Ford.
bloc
SILVER Star
IIRC the 51 in BP-51 is referring to the piston size. Any 2.5 or 3” piston will have better total ability to dampen things, especially at higher vehicle masses, but at some point it is definitely possible to move into overkill territory. I’ve read on here that king 3.0s basically have to be driven hard to get up to temp and perform correctly, though @turbo8 might have something to say about that.
I love my kings but have made the rears fade in the desert. Not sure if nitrogen pressure was high enough at the time. I can say this definitively: the stock dampers wouldn’t have been dampening anything about an hour before that happened, and I wouldn’t have been going as fast or having as much fun anyway.
I love my kings but have made the rears fade in the desert. Not sure if nitrogen pressure was high enough at the time. I can say this definitively: the stock dampers wouldn’t have been dampening anything about an hour before that happened, and I wouldn’t have been going as fast or having as much fun anyway.
Can confirm. x2 on this one.
Years ago before my days in Land Cruisers. Buddy had a new Raptor when they first came out in 09, and I had a 2 year old Ram on Bilstein 5100s and D-rated Yokohama ATS on 22 psi. Ride was garbage in his Raptor, and he blew out his Fox shocks running street 40psi when we were cruising around Ocotillo 35-50mph and I was behind him the entire time around the same speeds.
