Recommend me a SOFT 4" lift spring for LS swapped FZJ80! (2 Viewers)

[Highlex]

As the title states, I am looking for a soft riding 4" lift spring for my all aluminum LS swapped (6L80) FZJ80. Ditching the 1fz made my cruiser much lighter.

My rig is very light, the all aluminum motor and transmission took a lot of weight out of the truck, I also run no spare tire at all, and just a stock rear bumper. I have a bumper and winch but its synthetic rope and not that heavy.

Right now I have slee 6" medium load springs and the ride is EXTREMELY stiff, the suspension almost does nothing. I am guessing I am about 1000 pounds under weight for these spring.




I am leaning towards the 4" dobinson flexi coils but am open to other suggestions. I would really like some suspension travel out of this thing when I hit a speed bump lol. I like a softer ride.

 

[CrabCake]

Beautiful rig and I'm Jelly about your LS!
Suspension wise, I just converted to the Dobinsons Variable Rate C97-146VT (front) and C97-147VT (rear) and 4-5" IMS shocks. Granted, these are for a 2.5" lift height, but I'm really happy with how the spring and shock combo is...much more comfortable than the OME setup that was on there, plus longer travel which was great off road.

I reached out to @crikeymike from Exit Offroad and he made the suggestion that I'm really happy with...lots of springs in the Dobinsons lineup now, so maybe a good option for you too.

 

[crikeymike]

As the title states, I am looking for a soft riding 4" lift spring for my all aluminum LS swapped (6L80) FZJ80. Ditching the 1fz made my cruiser much lighter.

My rig is very light, the all aluminum motor and transmission took a lot of weight out of the truck, I also run no spare tire at all, and just a stock rear bumper. I have a bumper and winch but its synthetic rope and not that heavy.

Right now I have slee 6" medium load springs and the ride is EXTREMELY stiff, the suspension almost does nothing. I am guessing I am about 1000 pounds under weight for these spring.




I am leaning towards the 4" dobinson flexi coils but am open to other suggestions. I would really like some suspension travel out of this thing when I hit a speed bump lol. I like a softer ride.

View attachment 3475486

You may need the 3" flexi coils to get 4" of lift with a much lighter engine in there. Then 4" in the back so it would level out. I helped a guy a few years back with a similar type setup but I don't remember his name now.

 

[Feldrian]

Icons are really soft.

Echoing above - Dobbies will likely net too much lift. My 3.5 VVTs net ~5" with a lighter aluminum LT1 up front.

 

[Highlex]

Figuring this coil spring stuff out is complicated. Too many options. This truck is mostly a pavement princess but it still needs enough lift to clear the 38x14.50s. I have a custom y link front suspension up front so I can dial in pinion angle / castor as needed. My front axle is pushed forward a good inch too so that helps a bit.

With my slee 6" medium coils now I bet I am around 7" of lift then. Its hard to say.

Someone is trying to sell me a pair of OME 850J springs for up front, new in the box, how are these for lift height and spring rate stiffness?

 

[Broski]

Someone is trying to sell me a pair of OME 850J springs for up front, new in the box, how are these for lift height and spring rate stiffness?

The newer dual rate springs are far superior in ride quality over the OME.

 

[crikeymike]

You can measure from the center of the hub up to the edge of the fender flare, and that will give us an idea of what lift height you've got. OE was normally around 20" front and 21" rear

 

[Highlex]

I'm right around 27" from center of hub to the edge of the flares. For both front and rear. That would explain my driveline vibrations lol. Getting that down 2 or 3 inches would sure benefit me i'm sure.

When people say dual rate, are they talking about the VT spring like dobinsons sells? I assume so.

I did actually talk to you over email mike (i'm Tyler Funk), and you had suggested that the VT coils would be too stiff for a lighter right like mine. Im running no spare tire (deleted) and no third row seats. Even if I add a steel bumper in the future I don't think I would do a full size spare back there.

 

[ZackR]

If it were me I'd stop by the scales and see what weight you have on each axle. Then reach out to vendors and see what spring they recommend for that weight.

 

[Highlex]

2510 total, 1310 front 1200 back. (KG)

That’s with super heavy 38x14.50 Toyo MTS and steel 16x10 wheels. 3/4 tank of fuel and me in it.

 

[Pascoscout]

Icons are really soft, that's what I would go with. I had the 3" lift kit all the way around and ended up swapping the rears to Dobinsons VVT's to get the ride height back after I added my drawer set. I still run the Icons up front but they are probably a little too soft for my application.

As stated before the Dobinsons are going to net you more lift than they say. The 2.5" springs I put in the rear netted about 4 inches of lift, and that's on a relatively heavy rig.

 

[aviator31]

What about Slinky springs?

 

[Broski]

Dobinson's C97 -146VT front 21/2" lift springs with the GS45-912 4' lift shocks, netted just over 3" of lift setting on 39s

This is the forth spring set up I have had on my 80 that included OMEs & Slinky's.
For me it's by far the best ride on and off road !

 

[Highlex]

Icons are really soft, that's what I would go with. I had the 3" lift kit all the way around and ended up swapping the rears to Dobinsons VVT's to get the ride height back after I added my drawer set. I still run the Icons up front but they are probably a little too soft for my application.

As stated before the Dobinsons are going to net you more lift than they say. The 2.5" springs I put in the rear netted about 4 inches of lift, and that's on a relatively heavy rig.

Icons might work for me, I wonder if I would net closer to 4 inches of lift with their 3" springs since I am on the lighter side.

Dobinson's C97 -146VT front 21/2" lift springs with the GS45-912 4' lift shocks, netted just over 3" of lift setting on 39s

This is the forth spring set up I have had on my 80 that included OMEs & Slinky's.
For me it's by far the best ride on and off road !

These dobinsons are tempting too. But quite a big increase in price over the 3" icons from what I can tell. I really think I need around 4" of net lift to make my 38s work. However I can always add spacers, so the ride characteristics of the coil springs will be more important than their net lift in my application.

 

[Broski]

Icons might work for me, I wonder if I would net closer to 4 inches of lift with their 3" springs since I am on the lighter side.

These dobinsons are tempting too. But quite a big increase in price over the 3" icons from what I can tell. I really think I need around 4" of net lift to make my 38s work. However I can always add spacers, so the ride characteristics of the coil springs will be more important than their net lift in my application.

I'm not seeing the big increase in price

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They Have taller lifts and my 39s work with the 2.5" lift and some massage

 

[Feldrian]

I agree with Broski - I'd run 2.5" Dobbie VVTs in your situation.

Icons are pretty close to true for lift height. I had around 3" with mine with a much lighter aluminum v8 up front.

 

[Highlex]

I agree with Broski - I'd run 2.5" Dobbie VVTs in your situation.

Icons are pretty close to true for lift height. I had around 3" with mine with a much lighter aluminum v8 up front.

It seems like everyone running the 2.5" VVTs with no extra weight in the back are getting around 5.5 inches of lift in the rear and around 4 in the front. Thats just wild! If the ICON 3" are closer to 3 or 4 total lift on a lighter rig than im almost leaning that way.

 

[Nay]

I’ve run both the Dobinson’s 4” flexi setup and the 3.5” 144/145 VT and they are both excellent. I agree with most of what people have said above about the VT coils without a lot of weight because dual rate coils are designed so they ride in the transition zone between the dead coils and base spring rate.

In your case, I’d listen to @crikeymike about the Flexi going 3” up front and 4” in the rear. I can’t say I noticed a ton of difference between Flexi/VT on the front end and I have no extra weight up there, but the VT coil controlling the big ass rear is better. The primary point is that given the weight distribution has changed with the engine swap and that should be the focus, not “soft” because, again, dual rate coils take care of this complaint at the design level unless you put so much weight on them that they are just riding full time on the base rate. You can look at the dead wind coils on mine and see that I’m not compressing heavily through the transition rate.

I carry a 38” spare, tools, spare axles/high lift in my cargo area, just a rear tube bumper and welded flipped hitch tucked up in the frame rails. So not light but none of the usual heavy bumper/carrier stuff. I got 4.5” out of the 4” Flexi, 5.5” out of the 145 VT coils. The front tends to be just a bit higher on both setups since I just have a tube stinger up there.

Here’s the best comparison shots I have between the two. First set is the 3.5” VT and the second is the 4” Flexi. That’s a 5.5” vs. 4.5” lift on 38’s. If you have kept the rear very light, that 4” Flexi coil will be excellent back there and it’s longer than the VT, which is a consideration if you are planning long travel back there as in my setup I am just unseating the coil at full droop and that’s with a rear shock just under 12” of travel.

 

[Nay]

And some flexy (flexi?) bits.

 

[Highlex]

I’ve run both the Dobinson’s 4” flexi setup and the 3.5” 144/145 VT and they are both excellent. I agree with most of what people have said above about the VT coils without a lot of weight because dual rate coils are designed so they ride in the transition zone between the dead coils and base spring rate.

In your case, I’d listen to @crikeymike about the Flexi going 3” up front and 4” in the rear. I can’t say I noticed a ton of difference between Flexi/VT on the front end and I have no extra weight up there, but the VT coil controlling the big ass rear is better. The primary point is that given the weight distribution has changed with the engine swap and that should be the focus, not “soft” because, again, dual rate coils take care of this complaint at the design level unless you put so much weight on them that they are just riding full time on the base rate. You can look at the dead wind coils on mine and see that I’m not compressing heavily through the transition rate.



I carry a 38” spare, tools, spare axles/high lift in my cargo area, just a rear tube bumper and welded flipped hitch tucked up in the frame rails. So not light but none of the usual heavy bumper/carrier stuff. I got 4.5” out of the 4” Flexi, 5.5” out of the 145 VT coils. The front tends to be just a bit higher on both setups since I just have a tube stinger up there.

Here’s the best comparison shots I have between the two. First set is the 3.5” VT and the second is the 4” Flexi. That’s a 5.5” vs. 4.5” lift on 38’s. If you have kept the rear very light, that 4” Flexi coil will be excellent back there and it’s longer than the VT, which is a consideration if you are planning long travel back there as in my setup I am just unseating the coil at full droop and that’s with a rear shock just under 12” of travel.

Thank you for taking the time to type that all out! You made me decide to go ahead with the 4" flexi coils from dobinson. I really liked your photos. I just placed an order and I should have them in a week or two! I hope they ride a little better than my 6" Slee medium duties and lower my ride height 2 inches or so. Thanks again!