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I think I got fooled...

15K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  knifelight 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! A bit of a backstory hence the title.

I recently got my FJ, and my brother has a friend who owns a shop which sell 4x4 accessories. I've always wanted an ARB front bumper to be installed, so I decided to go have it installed there. I know that the suspension needs to be changed since the bumper is heavy. I prefer a comfortable one, so I told the shop owner on having Bilstein Shocks installed. However, he insisted that Dobinsons would be a better choice, and that the comfort wouldn't be far from the stock ones. Since he owns a shop, I suppose he knows more than I do.

Come four days later after installation, I had a road trip of 120km to see how the suspension holds up. (I'm situated here in the Philippines, so the roads here are rough, full of potholes and the road surface isn't good). This was the worst road trip ever... The stock suspension did well on the roads here, but the Dobinsons just don't cut it.

To describe the ride, it was really bumpy. I could feel everything that is wrong with the road. It was like I wasn't riding an FJ at all.

So here are the questions which I have in my mind:
1) Are Dobinsons really known for being comfortable? Am I correct that Bilsteins are the better option?
2) Is it because they're brand new? So they need to be settled first?
3) Is there any way to make it on the softer side? Change coil springs? Install something else?
4) What could you guys have recommended it I were to ask for a 2 inch lift kit that would be same as stock?

And that's all, hope the community could help! :smile
 

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#2 · (Edited)
I have never heard of Dobinsons and chances are the shop had more margin (profit) on the line of shock hence their suggestion. They're installed, you paid for them and it's going to be expensive to switch.

I have Bilsteins, my ride feels very stock to me however when the FJ became lifted it did feel like it became more wavy/loose on the road (prob should change upper control arms but the alignment was within +/-1% of oem range), but I can't say the pot holes felt harder.

Not sure my friend, good luck on this one.
 
#3 ·
Knew it... It really is disappointing that I let it happen. Based on what you said, seems to me that Bilsteins are the way to go, even though they're 700 USD more than the Dobinsons. The shop owner even said that the Dobinsons are the "real deal" since it's the only "legit" 2 inch lift. He claimed that other 2 inch lift kits only go up to 1.5 inches.

Thanks for the reply friend! Hopefully other people will not commit the same mistake as I did....

Here are some pictures of the product that was installed
 

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#6 ·
I think they lived up to their advertising on the box at least. "You'll notice the difference." I've been on several forums looking, reading, researching, etc. over the years and have never heard of that brand either. Good luck getting things set up the way you want and yes, your FJ looks good.
 
#7 ·
It really bothers me how well known shops here can say that Dobinsons are a reputable brand, and yet hasn't been heard in larger 4x4 markets. Senior members such as yourself and INDYFJCRUISERS both have the same sentiments with regards to the brand.

I hope people who search for this lift kit could see this thread so they could at least review their judgements on the brand.

Furthermore, since I noticed that there are really no reviews available for this lift kit, and sadly, I already have them installed, I'll make a review on it when I already have used it at an extent.

Thank you very much! :smile
 
#8 ·
I've not been to the Philippines yet but I've spent quite awhile living in Indonesia. In addition to there possibly being more margin in the Dobinsons for the shop, it may also be one of the few suspensions that are readily available to them. Living in paradise (especially island chains) can severely limit your shopping choices unless you are willing to spend some serious cash on shipping and have incredible patience to wait for your purchase.

Not defending the bait and switch by the shop if that's what happened but I've definitely run into limitations when trying to find specific, foreign products when living overseas. Since it's your brothers friend, any chance they'd help you re-sell them and get the Bilstein's you wanted? Just a thought.

I agree with the others, truck looks great.
 
#9 ·
My initial plan was to have Bilstein 5100 in the front to at least support the bumper, then get Bilsteins for the rear once I have saved enough cash. However he really kept on insisting to get Dobinsons for the front and rear at the same time. He said it would be better to change front and rear at once, so I trusted him that it would be the best choice.

I'm actually not sure if I could blame him for suggesting me the brand though, because loads of shops here support the same brand as well. It seems to be sort of a mid-tier level in between the low-end Opposite Lock Suspensions and the high-end Bilsteins. But then, being a shop owner, I'm sure he would have some feedback from his previous clients on how it is in terms of comfort -- and the fact that he's the only one who's allowed to drive the cars of his clients at his shop, he surely would've felt how horrible the ride quality is.

Will try contacting him next week to see if he could address this issue, but I really wouldn't expect much from a conversation with him. Still being positive here that these Dobinsons will get comfier once they have settled.

Thanks for the thought by the way! :)
 
#10 ·
Drop your tire pressure to 35 psi. That should help.
 
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#12 · (Edited)
mgs2,
You may want to go to FJ Cruiser (06 on) | Dobinsons Spring & Suspension ? Official Site and verify that the shop put the correct parts on your FJ. The coils may be heavier than you require. That would make the ride real stiff. Also check to see if the shocks are the correct length for your amount of lift. They need to be long enough to provide adequate stroke for compression and rebound. Don't beat yourself up over this.... I'll bet that most of us have asked ourselves "what the hell" did I do at one time or another.... Especially when we were new at modding our vehicles... This is just a bump in the road in your journey... You can also go to the "Contact us" link on their web-site and ask for help. I'll bet our Australian friends here on this forum will have good knowledge of Dobinson springs and be helpful to you.
Good Luck!
 
#13 ·
OP,
You may want to go to FJ Cruiser (06 on) | Dobinsons Spring & Suspension ? Official Site and verify that the shop put the correct parts on your FJ. The coils may be heavier than you require. That would make the ride real stiff. Also check to see if the shocks are the correct length for your amount of lift. They need to be long enough to provide adequate stroke for compression and rebound. Don't beat yourself up over this.... I'll bet that most of us have asked ourselves "what the hell" did I do at one time or another.... Especially when we were new at modding our vehicles... This is just a bump in the road in your journey... You can also go to the "Contact us" link on their web-site and ask for help. I'll bet our Australian friends here on this forum will have good knowledge of Dobinson springs and be helpful to you.
Good Luck!
That I never quite have thought of... Hmm... Will check the next morning to see if the parts installed and what is recommended on the website is consistent. Will also try to contact Dobinsons about this. I'm quite curious actually what our Australian friends here have to say as well, I'm sure that they would have very good inputs with regards to the brand.

Thank you very much for the kind words! :smile The FJ's odometer just reached around 1200 km when I got home after the trip, and it really is a bummer having to go through this situation this early. But seeing how responsive this community is, I feel hopeful on it! :grin
 
#14 ·
There are a few of the Aussies on this forum, but they have their own FJ forum at FJ Cruiser Club of Australia - no harm in asking there as well - there are some existing threads there, but after a quick scan found nothing bad...

As for the tires - the biggest that will go on without drama is 285/70R17. Any bigger, and you'll have rubbing issues on your UCA & Body mount. The UCA rub can be fixed with 1.25" spacers, but that will make a Body mount chop (BMC) pretty much essential. Spacers put more stress on your bearings, so an aftermarket UCA might be a better choice -- or stick with 285s.
 
#20 ·
As for the tires - the biggest that will go on without drama is 285/70R17. Any bigger, and you'll have rubbing issues on your UCA & Body mount... stick with 285s.
Thank you very much for the heads up! I was told that since I have a 2 inch lift, BMC would only happen if I would switch to 305s... So 295s were recommended to me -- but will stick with 285s as suggested! Thank you very much sir! :)

sweet Radiant Red truck ... I sympathize with you ... I have OME heavies on my fj40 and it rides like a tractor, but decision was made, I live with it ... If the ride is too hard for you and its your daily driver, only option is to bite the bullet and replace, then sell what you have ... someone will live with a stiffer ride ... PLENTY of suspension threads on this Forum to help your remedy your issue ...
Actually, it's a bit funny how I ****ed up that bad :lol: Really should've asked well before installing the suspension. I'll read up to more threads here, and maybe other threads as well. Still have plenty of ideas for the FJ, luckily this forum is a good resource. Thank you very much for the sympathies! :)

Dobinsons an Australian company, but probably made in India or China, they don't even show prices on their web site or have a good means to purchase. No engineering or design information plus no pricing means no consideration from me. If you have a good warranty, maybe you can complain enough to get them replaced? GL
Having just installed 5100s all around, they provide a very good ride. As others have noted, never heard of that brand-perhaps they are not offered in the U.S. I would chock it up as a lesson learned, go back to the shop, express your unhappiness with the ride quality and see if they are willing to help at all in purchasing/installing the 5100s you really wanted. Best of luck with it and great looking FJ!
Once I have saved enough money, I will really be considering going full Bisteins. I'm happy to see that Bilstein seems to be the brand to go and that many people vouch for it! I'm not sure if the warranty could do the trick, but I will be trying once the shop is open. It is a Sunday here today, so the shop's still closed. Thank you very much for the recommendations! :)

The quality is good but I would say, in line with some other comments that the springs are too stiff.... It might not be too expensive to swap the springs over, maybe you can trade yours or sell them on.... But don't leave them on and spoil your enjoyment of your FJ, you'll end up swapping them down the line so do it now and get your FJ smile back.
G'day, Down Under in Australia, they are well known brand, in the lower to midrange market. I have never used them, so hard to compare. But as others have said already, its the coils that are wrong, not the shock. The shop has probably installed the wrong coil making the ride harsh and uncomfortable .... replace the coils and the ride will improve. Good luck, Cheers
Baz
I suppose my next move would be changing the coil springs! They were always the main suspect when I drive the FJ around. It feels as if they don't absorb any kind of hit the car takes. I can feel this especially on speed bumps. On stock suspension, the FJ would just bounce a bit as it absorbs some of the impact. On the Dobinsons, the FJ would literally point up and follow the curvature of the bump! I'll be checking what springs would be a good combo for my shocks right now. Thank you very much Zero and Baz!! :)

Thanks for the response everyone! Will update if anything happens :)
 
#15 ·
I know of Dobinsons and they are available in Europe, The quality is good but I would say, in line with some other comments that the springs are too stiff. I had a set of given to me years back, pretty sure they were Dobinsons, for my 70Series Cruiser and the ride was just as you describe, I switched to OME and it transformed. Maybe the fitters just over compensated for the weight of your bumper. I have similar feelings about OME stuff for my FJ despite having run OME on my Land Cruiser for 15 years, I shyed away from it as was afraid the ride would be too stiff.

It might not be too expensive to swap the springs over, maybe you can trade yours or sell them on. Chat with the shop and get them to drive it, if you know them they should understand.

But don't leave them on and spoil your enjoyment of your FJ, you'll end up swapping them down the line so do it now and get your FJ smile back.
 
#16 ·
Dobinsons an Australian company, but probably made in India or China, they don't even show prices on their web site or have a good means to purchase. No engineering or design information plus no pricing means no consideration from me. If you have a good warranty, maybe you can complain enough to get them replaced? GL
 
#17 ·
sweet Radiant Red truck ...

I sympathize with you ... I have OME heavies on my fj40 and it rides like a tractor, but decision was made, I live with it ...

If the ride is too hard for you and its your daily driver, only option is to bite the bullet and replace, then sell what you have ... someone will live with a stiffer ride ...

PLENTY of suspension threads on this Forum to help your remedy your issue ...
:cheers:
 
#18 ·
Having just installed 5100s all around, they provide a very good ride. As others have noted, never heard of that brand-perhaps they are not offered in the U.S. I would chock it up as a lesson learned, go back to the shop, express your unhappiness with the ride quality and see if they are willing to help at all in purchasing/installing the 5100s you really wanted. Best of luck with it and great looking FJ!
 
#19 ·
G'day,
Down Under in Australia, they are well known brand, in the lower to midrange market.
I have never used them, so hard to compare. But as others have said already, its the coils that are wrong, not the shock.
The shop has probably installed the wrong coil making the ride harsh and uncomfortable .... replace the coils and the ride will improve.
Good luck,
Cheers
Baz
:blueblob:
 
#22 ·
If you are going to add winch, you need to factor in that weight and weight of line before deciding anything? FYI, synthetic is much safer and about 75 lbs lighter than steel cable line. Don't know about "specs" in your market: but that red was only available in US as a 2012
Trail Team and for only that year. Someone correct me if I'm wrong: but US spec came with 5100 Bilsteins: but don't know about your market I have an 11 TT with ARB bumper and Warn 10k winch with synthetic line and went with ToyTec Boss coilovers with adjustable lift. and spring capacity is 650 lbs to handle weight of bumper, winch and synthetic line. If yours is a TT, as it appears to be, it might have come with 5100's? If so, hope shop installer gave you back your original (5100?) back, mine did? If they didn't I'd ask for them to be reinstalled, using whatever leverage your brother might have with shop owner! You need to seriously consider winch/line issue regarding weight to front end. I tend to agree with Baz (I think?) that different weight springs are really the issue, especially if 5100's were already
installed?

Good Luck and remember, research, research before making expensive purchase decisions! "Buying cheap" seldom ever works out to be that way; and usually more expensive in the end, considering the cost or original unsatisfactory equipment, the cost of subsequent correct
equipment; plus BOTH installs!
 
#24 ·
mgs2,

My name is Bob. Retired US military and also living in the Philippines. Olongapo area. I feel your pain. I spent months searching every 4x4 shop in this country researching what was available for the FJ. Mostly inferior products, many of which are manufactured in Thailand. I recently completed my build with a combination of parts purchased locally and parts shipped from the states. There are however a few quality suspension options available locally, stock height up to 2.5 inches in lift. Premium prices though.

We should hook up. I can share my knowledge of what's available here and also how to inexpensively order and ship items from the states.

I'll send you a PM with my email address.
 

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