While I’d generally agree that a lifted 100 series is not going to ride and handle like a stock 100 series, I don’t agree that it has to ride like crap to be a "real" off road vehicle.
I’ve got three 100 series in the driveway. At this point in time, I’ve been able to compare stock vs lifted, and lifted brand X vs brand Y, side by side in multiple variations.
The ~2014 vintage OME medium kit on my son’s 2000 LC reminds me of an overly harsh C4 Corvette that I used to have. It felt great and sporty on a perfectly smooth surface and acceptable on rougher surfaces, up until the point where I drove my roommate’s Porsche 928, which was more compliant/controlled/balanced in almost every circumstance. Neither was a luxury car ride, and admittedly the 928 was more of a GT than a sports car, but the engineers at Porsche obviously spent a whole lot more time on their suspension decisions than “let’s just make it stiff, because it will turn better”.
With the limited front suspension travel of the 100 series, I have no illusion of it being a rock crawler, nor a Baja racer.
I would like mine to be compliant/balanced enough to drive on the street, and firm/controlled enough to take off road. The stock Toyota shocks seem too light/soft to me. The OME Nitro Sport Shocks seem too harsh/firm. (Just call me Goldilocks.) The Tough Dog foam cell shocks have seemed to be a move in the right direction for me.
I’ve been somewhat reluctant to get into the rebuildable, racing style shocks, due to cost and maintenance, but since I’ve added an extra 100 series, maybe it’s time to get my feet wet. I’ve got a set of Dobinsons IMS/MRA shocks on the way, and I’ll see how those do. Maybe it would’ve been cheaper and easier to just throw one of the full blown Icon/Just Differentials/Slinky kits on all three of them at the start, and just be done with it.
