Thinking of upgrading my suspension… what is the recommended mileage to replace the stock shocks? (1 Viewer)

[ben7]

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of upgrading my suspension… what is the recommended mileage to replace the stock shocks?

Hi everyone, I have a 2017 Lexus GX 460 Premium with almost 63k miles on the original stock suspension. I have been waiting for my all season tires to wear out so that I can replace my suspension with a 2.5” lift kit and bigger all terrain BFG K02 tires.

Also, since I do more on road driving/road trips than going on trails, I wanted to upgrade to a suspension where I wouldn’t need to rebuild it every so often.

A local shop recommended me to go the Dobinsons route, but I wanted to also ask what is a good suspension lift kit for the GX 460 that will allow for a 2.5” lift with all 33-34” all terrain tires but will still keep the ride soft on long road trips?

I understand that the ride will never be as comfortable as stock but I’m looking for a good lift kit that will give me a ride as close to stock as possible and allow me to go on trails at times but still comfortable on long distance road trips.

What is the recommended mileage to replace the stock shocks?

 

[rav8]

Probably not the answer you are looking for...but I replaced mine at 110K. It wasn't terrible yet but once done I realized how bad it was getting. Suspension bushings are next as they are getting squeaky on the trails.

I replaced the same on my previous 4Runner at about 120K and they were worn out very noticeably by then. Probably didn't help that I was hauling firewood or pulling a heavy tongue load several times a year.

I am a fan of the Bilstein 5100's. I used a Toytec kit with Eibach/SCC(?) springs on the 4R and just the 5100's with stock springs on the GX. This could allow 33-34" tires if offset/backspace allow but I think you'd have to stay pretty narrow.

I am realistically about 95-98% on-road driving though I hate to admit it. If I spend 6 hours on a 18 mile off-road trail 10-12 times a year it really doesn't amount to much overall.

Good luck with your build!

 

[MotoDave]

I am a fan of the Bilstein 5100's. I used a Toytec kit with Eibach/SCC(?) springs on the 4R and just the 5100's with stock springs on the GX. This could allow 33-34" tires if offset/backspace allow but I think you'd have to stay pretty narrow.

I am realistically about 95-98% on-road driving though I hate to admit it. If I spend 6 hours on a 18 mile off-road trail it 10-12 times a year it really doesn't amount to much overall.

Happy with the ride quality of the 5100's compared to stock?

 

[r2m]

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of upgrading my suspension… what is the recommended mileage to replace the stock shocks?

Hi everyone, I have a 2017 Lexus GX 460 Premium with almost 63k miles on the original stock suspension. I have been waiting for my all season tires to wear out so that I can replace my suspension with a 2.5” lift kit and bigger all terrain BFG K02 tires.

Also, since I do more on road driving/road trips than going on trails, I wanted to upgrade to a suspension where I wouldn’t need to rebuild it every so often.

A local shop recommended me to go the Dobinsons route, but I wanted to also ask what is a good suspension lift kit for the GX 460 that will allow for a 2.5” lift with all 33-34” all terrain tires but will still keep the ride soft on long road trips?

I understand that the ride will never be as comfortable as stock but I’m looking for a good lift kit that will give me a ride as close to stock as possible and allow me to go on trails at times but still comfortable on long distance road trips.

What is the recommended mileage to replace the stock shocks?

The very best time to upgrade your suspension is when you can afford it or have time to install!
From what I understand the foam shocks will last longer. I have Icon shocks and suspension and have had to rebuild my front shocks twice in 5 years. Albeit we do a considerable amount of off roading and washboard trails. If you go to the first page of my build thread you'll see what I've done: Builds - R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/r-m-2013-gx-460-overland-build.1104719/
It probably is not for you.

Regarding ride quality, after market suspension can be as comfortable or more so than stock, and I'm sure many on here will attest to that fact.
But it depends upon what suspension you decide upon with how much weight you'll add. My GX is fully outfitted for overlanding and I have a heavy duty 3" suspension lift. It rides awesome! Better than stock. Going coast to coast, my wife and I would do 1,000 miles of travel in a day! Couldn't do that if the ride was harsh.
Add a 3" heavy duty suspension with no armor or anything and it'll ride horrible!
Decide what your end game is for your GX and build it accordingly.

 

[rav8]

Happy with the ride quality of the 5100's compared to stock?

Very. My GX had the standard (non-airbag) suspension, so I can only speak to that.

 

[HVLA]

I love my Ironman Foamcell Pros. Put them on at 65k miles I think.

 

[Banandalorian]

My Dobinsons MRAs are more comfortable than the stock shocks. I have had them installed for for a year and ~10,000 miles with zero issues. I'm hoping to get like a 30,000 mile rebuild cycle out of them but time will tell. It does take a bit of trial and error to get everything adjusted for your preference, but it is nice to have the adjustment when needed. You won't mess with the adjusters all the time once set correctly, but it's nice to have. I usually stiffen the rear shocks a couple clicks for offroad and then keep it buttery soft on pavement. I also just added a winch, and think the fronts could use a slight adjustment since I have the ability to do so.

I replaced my OE shocks at ~65,000 miles. They were not leaking, but between the off road trips and extra weight they certainly weren't performing like they did when I bought the GX.

For a 2.5 inch lift, I would strongly suggest new front upper control arms, a panhard relocation kit (Eimkeith or Dr KDSS), rear KDSS spacers (Treaty Oak), and front sway bar relocation brackets (Dr KDSS). The control arms help with alignment. The panhard relocation corrects the rear axle location after the lift and eliminates some odd handling quirks from that. The KDSS spacers and brackets let the KDSS sway bars work better with the new suspension geometry after the lift. I think the panhard relocation is a must have, the UCAs are strongly recommended, and the sway bar bits are highly suggested but you could do without based on budget.

 

[Rednexus]

My stockers were smoked at 145K. I'd say standard life for a OEM shocks from most manufacturers is around 100K - they may not be blown at 100K but they aren't going to perform like a new shock either. I've had them dead at 50K on other vehicles.

There is, however, a market for used GX shocks that are in good condition (assuming yours are the adjustable shocks), so you can probably unload them on eBay. New OEM adjustable shocks are $700+ each.

Same thing goes for tires....when I bought my GX it had a nearly-new set of Toyo highway tires on it. I put on a set of Wildpeaks and sold the nearly-new Toyos for $200 to a local used tire dealer. This was technically a "loss" but I was happy to get some cash out of them and had no intention of running whimpy highway tires on my GX.

 

[Hehena]

For a maintenance free OEM style drop in lift I'd choose from Bilstein 5100, Ironman Foamcell, or Dobinsons as mentioned above. Icon, Fox, Elka, for example require more maintenance but offer more benefits depending on want/need. As they say, gotta pay to play.

My personal experience with Icon has been one front coilover leaked and required a rebuild, and both rear 2.0s went real soft after 30k miles but rather than rebuild them I just picked up linearly valved Fox 2.0s.

 

[Rednexus]

Regarding Ironman Foam Cell Pro, I've had a kit since 2021 on my rig. It rides great in just about every situation and also does great towing.

But...I've had to replace one set of front coilovers in a warranty claim (the coil springs bowed and were touching the shock body) and they recently recalled the UCAs for ball joint boot issues. For the latter they sent me a brand new set of UCAs for free....which I promptly sold on eBay and bought a set of 555 UBJs to replace the UBJs in my existing arms. They have a really good product but have had some major execution issues. I still love the kit, but am not sold on their ability to not rush a product to market. I originally bought them as you can DIY rebuild the shocks at home, which is pretty unique.

Dobinsons has great reviews and has been around a long time - if I were buying today I'd look at the Dobinsons a bit more than the FCPs.

 

[jdam]

I have a set of Dobinsons IMS with comfort springs up front (lower spring rate than OEM) and mediums out back. I changed my suspension out at 39,000 miles as I wanted better damping off-road.

If you're looking for longevity and on-road behavior, then there are really only so many options and you're going to want to focus on those that have rubber isolation. At the low/mid-tier, it's really only Dobinsons, Ironman FCP, OME and Bilstein in that space. The others are more race oriented, with spherical joints, and require more attention.

I may be down in LA later in February, so you want to take a ride in mine to see how it rides you are more than welcome to.

 

[suitcase]

I replaced mine at 35k with a Dobinsons IMS medium springs to get about a 2" lift. It's been 30K miles and they've been great. The OEM springs are very soft and wallowy compared to the Dobinsons. I really like how it firmed up the ride and handling. Here's a few of my thoughts:

I had the KDSS spacers installed with the lift to help reduce any leaning that seemed to sometimes happen when people lift. One problem I discovered was that the front KDSS spacer that's installed on the passenger side lowered the KDSS sway bar such that the KDSS ram was hitting the backside of my CBI front skid. I ended up pulling out the front KDSS spacer. I left the rear KDSS spacers in since they helped to push the rear sway bar away from the spare tire (265/70/17). In my case, I didn't observe any difference with the KDSS spacer helping or hurting the lean. My lean comes and goes. It's never been more than 2cm though. The place that did the alignment after the lift specializes in offroad. I asked them about needing a new panhard bar. They didn't think it was absolutely necessary considering the minimal lift. If I look closely at the rear I can see that the rear wheels are a little offset. Eventually I want to get a new panhard bar or the Dr. KDSS correction kit to fix, but haven't yet.

The lift puts the front KDSS sway bar bushings at a bad angle. I think it'll definitely accelerate wear. I've looked at the Dr. KDSS front sway bar adapters. The description mentions that they push the sway bar forward so one concern I have is how close it'll push the sway bar towards the back of the skid again. Looking at the thickness of the adapters and current clearance, it looks like there's sufficient room to have the adapters. But another thing is that the sway bar bushings aren't that expensive to replace. I think $20 when I last looked. The adapters are 10x.

 

[ericm979]

Unlike many other 4x4s, on Toyota IFS a lift won't change the size of tire you can run without modification. All the usual lifts have the same up travel as stock. Some have more down travel. The lift is just from a taller static ride height. Bottoming is controlled by the bump stop on the frame that the LCA hits.

You could run the lift and not do the clearance work to make the tires fit at full compression, and maybe that will work for street driving, but if you go off road and flex the suspension it could rub.

 

[jdam]

I replaced mine at 35k with a Dobinsons IMS medium springs to get about a 2" lift. It's been 30K miles and they've been great. The OEM springs are very soft and wallowy compared to the Dobinsons. I really like how it firmed up the ride and handling. Here's a few of my thoughts:

I had the KDSS spacers installed with the lift to help reduce any leaning that seemed to sometimes happen when people lift. One problem I discovered was that the front KDSS spacer that's installed on the passenger side lowered the KDSS sway bar such that the KDSS ram was hitting the backside of my CBI front skid. I ended up pulling out the front KDSS spacer. I left the rear KDSS spacers in since they helped to push the rear sway bar away from the spare tire (265/70/17). In my case, I didn't observe any difference with the KDSS spacer helping or hurting the lean. My lean comes and goes. It's never been more than 2cm though. The place that did the alignment after the lift specializes in offroad. I asked them about needing a new panhard bar. They didn't think it was absolutely necessary considering the minimal lift. If I look closely at the rear I can see that the rear wheels are a little offset. Eventually I want to get a new panhard bar or the Dr. KDSS correction kit to fix, but haven't yet.

The lift puts the front KDSS sway bar bushings at a bad angle. I think it'll definitely accelerate wear. I've looked at the Dr. KDSS front sway bar adapters. The description mentions that they push the sway bar forward so one concern I have is how close it'll push the sway bar towards the back of the skid again. Looking at the thickness of the adapters and current clearance, it looks like there's sufficient room to have the adapters. But another thing is that the sway bar bushings aren't that expensive to replace. I think $20 when I last looked. The adapters are 10x.

At 2 inches of lift, just get the slotted brackets. I didn't need the plates, the brackets are cheaper and they don't change where the sway bar sits. Made aligning the sway bar way better and easier to install. I may get the plates at some point as I can see some deflection still but it's not as bad as normal.

I also have the full suite of things installed out back, and have no lean at all. I have the retaining collars as well, but just haven't installed them.

 

[suitcase]

@jdam thanks for posting the pics. Those KDSS bushings with the brackets look a lot more relaxed than mine.

Was it difficult to install the trackbar correction kit?

 

[Banandalorian]

Was it difficult to install the trackbar correction kit?

It's pretty straightforward with the right tools. It took me less than 2 hours and that included having to cut/grind a section on one of the brackets so it would fit. Watch the DrKDSS videos to see if its an install you can handle.

 

[jefe]

Put me down as another one that replaced the stock suspension @ around 100k. I went with the Dobinsons IMS, it rides better but firmer than stock but I also went with the HD springs. The stock suspension wasn't bad, but definitely feeling some wear.