King suspension for the FJ Cruiser

[TCao]

bulldog previously said:

$150 for the pair which is very pricey to be honest, but I don't feel like messing around and having some fabbed. They don't really sell them seperate, so I guess they charged me extra for a special order.

They will look cool though

Ouch! Mike told me that's the only thing they don't make in-house. The mounts are plated and has held up well to road grimes. I received the first production set and needed to bend the mounts out just slightly to clear the body so they won't rub. Hopefully, yours will fit better on your 4runner.

[bulldog]

TCao previously said:

Ouch! Mike told me that's the only thing they don't make in-house. The mounts are plated and has held up well to road grimes. I received the first production set and needed to bend the mounts out just slightly to clear the body so they won't rub. Hopefully, yours will fit better on your 4runner.

I have a body lift so I don't foresee too many issues. I might have been tempted to get King rear shocks if they made them in the right length for my specific needs. Got 2.0 Foxes in the back, where the valving is close but still need some tweaking for my setup.

[TCao]

One year update

It has been a year since I have the King suspension on my FJC with a little over 27,000 miles so it's time for a quick update. Since I had Jason DeMello added the King air bumps and the FJ was on jackstands, I took the opportunity and had all four shocks rebuild by King in Garden Grove although it was not really necessary yet. I needed to lengthen the rear reservoir hoses and replace the rear shafts anyways so it was pretty much the same effort to rebuild them.

The rebuild shocks. All the seals were still good although the rear shock shafts were lightly pitted from gravels when I travelled on the Dempster and Dalton Highway.



Updated front suspension (shown at full droop). I had added the Total Chaos UCAs earlier and then finally replaced the factory rubber bump stops with the King 2.0" DIA hydraulic bumpstops (aka air bumps). The air bumps are secondary shocks and are used to dampen the last few inches of shock travel in full bump.



Updated rear suspension. Same King air bumps with 2.0" stroke for the rear axle. Since the air bumps use the same location as the stock rubber bumpstops, Jason relocated the reservoirs and welded mounting tabs to the frame (we cannot reuse the King rear reservoir mounts).



I'm still extremely happy with my choice and my FJ handles very well on or off road. I also had a chance to cycle the front and rear suspension and here are the measurements:

Front Wheel Travel: 9.0" (7.88" stock)
Rear Wheel Travel: 13.25" (9.06" stock)

These measurements were obtained with 285/70R17 BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A tires on factory steel wheels (17" x 7.5" with 4.5" BS).

A few more fender shots. Front suspension with coilover removed to install the air bump. Checking nitrogen pressure for rear reservoir.

[oscarr]

congrats n' great write up.i like how the resevoir shocks have a bracket to hold them rather than drilling holes inside the fender well.You have pics of the Fj with the tires on???

[TCao]

Thanks. A couple of recent pics. The rear is ~1" higher and the front is ~2" higher, depending how much stuff I'm carrying.

oscarr previously said:

congrats n' great write up.i like how the resevoir shocks have a bracket to hold them rather than drilling holes inside the fender well.You have pics of the Fj with the tires on???

[fj4M&E]

TCao previously said:

I went with CSS and talked to Kevin with my rear coil specs (I'm planning to add DeMello rear bumper so I need to upgrade the rear springs). Kevin quoted a price of ~$187 plus shipping and 20-25 days turn-around after receipt of order. The King rear shocks will accommodate rear springs with up to 2 inches of lift. I'll post update when I received these. BTW, I found your post on toyota120.com about Deaver and CSS and actually contacted Deaver first but never heard back from them.

thanks for the info. I have had the kings on for almost 2 years, and it is still a great ride. I leave for Iraq pretty soon and when I return I am going to give it a small lift. I am going to move up to 285's I think.

I have very few pictures on the net and really need to post more. When I return and can get out more and have more time.

[DocME]

FJ Rob previously said:

Has anybody used the rear king shocks with longer rear springs like the donahoes. Were there any problems and what is the ride like because the kings are designed for stock springs.

I've been running the Donahoe rear springs with my King set up. Overall it worked well in the desert, but I don't carry enough of a load to benefit from the stiffer springs. I noticed a slightly stiffer ride when unloaded. Also the Kings don't lift the front of the vehicle as much as other after market setups out of the box so I noticed a bit of a rake to the front (with DR rear springs, It sits level with stock rears). I think the King kit is best suited with a custom coil spring for the rear, with a stiffer unit on the driver's side to compensate for the lean.



see this thread: New rear coils to compliment King Suspension??

[UAE_FJ_1]

First , Congratulation for the New King suspension. Second Thanks for the instruction.
I have some questions:

1 : Is it increase the stability for the car [ When we push brakes and turning ]?
2: Is it comfortable in the desert?

Regards

[fj4M&E]

TCao previously said:

For now, I'm keeping the stock rear springs but may go with custom springs later (10% stiffer but same height) since I don't want to change the FJ's CG too much.



Thanks Mike. Hope you're enjoying the change in scenery in CO. Post more photos when you have a chance.

Hey
Tcao, I sorry for the long delay, I spent a year in Co and made it to the firt FJ Summit which was great. I met up with the trial team in Glenwood Springs and really enjoyed that.
I completely missed out on this years wheeling, I deployed to Iraq and should be home soon. I hope to get out and about a whole lot this next summer.
I look forward to being back, wheeling and getting better at posting pics of places I have been.

Mike

[TCao]

UAE_FJ_1 previously said:

First , Congratulation for the New King suspension. Second Thanks for the instruction.
I have some questions:

1 : Is it increase the stability for the car [ When we push brakes and turning ]?
2: Is it comfortable in the desert?

Regards

Sorry I didn't see your questions earlier. The King suspension has better damping than the factory suspension so the handling (stability) is better IMHO. Since I chose to use fairly soft springs (front & rear) the ride is quite comfortable in the desert (sandy conditions).

fj4M&E previously said:

Hey
Tcao, I sorry for the long delay, I spent a year in Co and made it to the firt FJ Summit which was great. I met up with the trial team in Glenwood Springs and really enjoyed that.
I completely missed out on this years wheeling, I deployed to Iraq and should be home soon. I hope to get out and about a whole lot this next summer.
I look forward to being back, wheeling and getting better at posting pics of places I have been.

Mike

Hi Mike. Glad to hear that your tour is almost over. Stay safe and look forward to pics of your adventures.