First Mod... Suspension

Cajun Transplant · 10-10-2006, 07:33 PM

So it all began innocently.... I went to a local shop to see about having an alarm installed. Seems there have been a lot of truck thefts in my area lately... so I figured why not invest a couple of hundred bucks in an alarm that "may" deter a would-be thief. To make a long story short I went to look at the alarm at a 4x4 shop b/c they seem to be one of the few shops in my area that sells Clifford Alarms.... which I have been very happy with in the past. Well... while roaming around the store amongst all the suspension sets, wheels, tires, armor, etc... I decide that it's time. I love my FJ... but I want it to be personalized. So here we go...

The first mod to the truck is going to be a lift. Now, I've done lots of reading and frankly, I think I may be more confused than when I first started. Spacers, springs, coilovers... oh my!! Right now, I just do a bit of light offroading. However, that may change in the future so I want to be ready for what is to come. I think I have decided to go with the coilover solution. Now that seems to be a whole new can of worms. There seem to be a slew of options in this category now. From what I have read, it sounds like the Donahoe Racing and Allpro get a lot of love.... they are also very expensive. It looks like Skyjacker has a kit that comes with front and rear shocks and springs for about the same price as just the front end from Donahoe or Allpro. I don't mind spending money to get really nice stuff, but I want to make sure that it is money going to good use... not being wasteful.

From Allpro, I see they have a couple of front setups available. There is a kit that comes with the UCA's as well as the shocks, springs, etc... Additionally, you have the choice between adjustable w/ reservoir or nonadjustable without. Now... even if I described that correctly, I'm really not sure what I would be looking for. Do I need to do the UCA's or would that be overkill? Right now I'm leaning towards just doing the shocks and springs... along with the matching rear setup. That means the only question left is adjustable vs. nonadjustable. Is the added expense worth it? Is it difficult to get under the rig to adjust the setup?

Finally, if I purchase one of these suspension kits, are there any other parts that I am going to have to buy to make this work on my FJ? Ok... that was a lot of rambling. If you can't tell, I really am a newbie when it comes to understanding this sort of stuff. Eventually, once all this is done, I'm going to have some tire questions for you guys. I've done a lot of reading on that too... and I may have even more questions there. Anyway, I'm sure I have rambled enough. Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, I will be searching and reading to try and gain atleast a little bit more understanding. Thanks in advance everyone.

urvi · 10-10-2006, 07:58 PM

Adjusting the dampening should only require the turn a little knob. No biggy. Althougth i think that it is nice to have the adjustablity. You can have the ride set to soft or hard to suit your drivivng style. I had adjustable coilovers on my last supra. I set the ride to soft for the street with stiffer at the track. On the stiffest setting the ride was unberable on the street.

Toadily Insane · 10-10-2006, 07:59 PM

OK . . . you are not alone on this subject. I will claim to be a "newbie" also and keep you company.

I've spent a lot of time looking up past posts and replies and there are a lot of opinions (this is good !). Have looked at the comparison post . . . helpful to see options but I still have questions as to personal use reviews and experiences.

I am leaning toward coil overs (Donahoe or Camburg) simply because of the feedback on after-lift ride quality and flexibility. I still feel, however, that I am missing part of the picture as to what other components (front and back) should really be considered or anticipated and why. I am also curious as to what to truly expect with regard to alignment problems and parts wear and tear experiences compared to not lifting.

So to all you "experts" out there, let the information flow. Us newbies appreciate it !!

Thanks to all !!

Sun Fusion Cruiser · 10-10-2006, 08:08 PM

The UCAs would be overkill for you if you are doing light off-roading. You could just get a kit that had springs and not shocks. The shocks you have will be fine unless you want better articulation. You could get a Toytec spring kit for real cheap and keep you stock shocks and struts and be fine with it. The best kit for the buck and the one I am planning on getting is the FJ3-FRCC kit. It comes with the custom Toytec "Stock Ride" rear springs. From what I've heard, these are the most comfortable rear springs for the money. But since you want coilovers, they sell the Donahoes too, just under a different name, Light Racing I believe. Coilovers have, form what I gather, a much better ride compared to stock. And if you want to be prepared for anything to come, these are the way to go. As far as tires go, you can run 285/70R17s with a lift and not have much rubbing at all. You might have to do some body mount trimming if you start to do serious wheeling, but that is no big deal and is fairy inexpensive. I'm sure this 4x4 shop of yours can trim them.

I know about as much as you do about this sort of stuff, but I have picked up on some stuff people have said around here. Hopefully most of my info is right and is helpful to you.

**stc_vmax** · 10-10-2006, 08:09 PM

I ordered my All pro lift and was told by their tech that the UCA was designed more for the Tundra or 4 runner and is not required for our FJ's so I substituted lower links in their place. I am waiting patiently for the parts but Walker-Evans are trying to catch up with demand.

bandi · 10-10-2006, 08:14 PM

I went with All-pro for one really good reason, You can get them in 12 position Adjustable shocks (from soft to hard)...
I started out with the All-Pro Adj Shocks in front and rear with the front Coil Overs... and Spacers in the rear...
Once the Springs were available, I added them to the rear...

Meaning, when I first put the lift on, I had set them towards the softer side, like 5 in the front and 4 in the rear, then
after driveing a week, i felt i would like it just a tad stiffer for cornering, so all I ahave to do is reach into the top of
each wheel well and turn the dial...

Now I am runing 9 in the front and 7 in the rear i believe, and it rides more like a sports car on the road.. and when I
go off-road, All I have to do is turn the dial and have them as soft as I want...

There is a big difference from setting 1 to 12... very noticale even at 1 to 2 clicks...

Now I know the Boards Choice Here will be different then mine, But just remember, if you don't like the ride the others
manufacturers have, you can not just adjust them to make it better...

My 2 cents... Good Luck Sir... Bandi Build Thread

Oh yeas...Very easy to adjust and WORTH IT !!! IMO... The UCA our an Extra, You do not need them with the FJC,
they are more for Taco's... All I had to Do with mine was set the toe and it has been fine... I will get it to the
alignment after I get some more goodies... (btw: the red dial on the reservoir are the adjustment dials)

Cajun Transplant · 10-10-2006, 09:04 PM

Thanks for the quick feedback guys. I'm still leaning toward the coil overs. From what I am reading... the adjustable system from All-pro sounds pretty sweet. I like the idea of being able to easily fine tune the firmness of the ride. If it were more difficult, I don't think I would enjoy it very much. Is this sort of installation typically a lot more difficult to perform? I actually found a Toyota mechanic that can do this work on the side for me. I'm just sort of curious on the amount of time it would take to install the adjustable shocks on all 4 corners. That should help me figure out whether or not I am getting ripped on the installation :-).

Bandi... your truck is an inspiration. BTW... do you drive it on the road with the LTB's? This is one of the tires that I really like (being from Louisiana, I'm sort of partial to Interco's). Ever drive with them in the snow or rain? They are probably a bit more aggressive than what I need... I just love the way they look though.

FJ #8 · 10-10-2006, 09:30 PM

you cant go wrong with donahoe.........

bandi · 10-10-2006, 09:32 PM

I Drive this everyday back and forth to work, and everywhere... The LTB's are a bias ply tire, not radials, and althought they ride good, I would not recomend them to anyone that has never ran them before... I did a write up on them, I'll look for it i a miniute... the tires took arounf 6oz weight on the inside and on the outside to ballance on the steel rims, thats 12ozs total per wheel, allot of weight... but I do run it up to 80mph to stay with traffic at times, its still not the perfect ride, but again, I have heard stories here on allot of tires haveing the same problem... anyway... Take a look at Micrad Rig and write up here, If I had to do it over again, I might go for his tires instead, TOYO M/T's, they are wider and it just looks awesome on his rig...

Quote:

bandi previously said:

TIRES TIRES TIRES... LOL...

Everyone has there own taste and performance wishes when it comes to their tires... I have never had a tire outperform my swampers... Yes, swamper take allot of weights to balance them, but they are also very thick and heavy, other than the old Ground Hawgs, you will not find a tire with deeper or larger lugs on it, and I did notice that Interco sells Ground Hawgs still...

There are some points needed to be know about the tires handling and setup...

They are noisy, but I like that roar sound myself... it gets people to take notice and not pull out in front of you...

They should not be run on rims where you can't have weights on the inside and outside, this way they CAN be balanced properly...

They also need to be driven about a mile to warm them up to soften the hard rubber so they will drive smooth... the hard rubber is needed for the very large lugs they have...

You front end alignment should be set as close to 0 degrees positive camber while still keeping some positive caster... This way the tire rides on the center zigzag lugs and not the ones on the side that will throw you around... Also of course, the toe should be set even, or just a hair in if you have warnout parts in the front of your rig...

The Air pressure should be set so that the outside lugs are just a hair off the road surface, again, so you ride on the center, not the outside lugs... I am running 45 PSI in Mine for on-road...

Anyway... I have ran Groung Hawg's, General MT's, Toyo's CUT, BFG MT's, TSL SX's, TSL LTB's... and the TSL's lasted the longest, in fact, I had 38's balanced on steels on my 81 F-150, and on my 87 F-250, and never had to buy another set for either of those vehicles... I also could run 80mph and still be smooth... I ran the Generals, Toyo's & the BFG,s on my 88 4Runner, they all wore real quick... My brother-in-law has had 35x15.5 TSL SX's on his F-150 for 6 years now, I would say he still has another year to go with them at least... what I am saying, is if the front is not set up right for the TSL's or any other tire, you will not get the performance you are looking for... TSL's take a little more work to have them set right, but their performance is Awsome...

OK... Now... I was not going to even type anything on this.. but, I just wanted people to know the truth behind the Interco TSL's and how to get good use from them and set things up properly from someone who has had them since the 80's, and not from someone's 2 mile drive on them...

Like I said above... there are things that you want to know about them before you buy and not be shocked afterwards...

Scotty · 10-13-2006, 09:41 AM

Keep in mind that our coilover FJ kit is adjustable depending on the weight of the vehicle. For instance, you may want to add front and rear bumpers eventually at some point, or just want to adjust the ride when you load it with camping gear. When you do, you will want the ability to adjust the ride to compensate for that added weight.