King Shocks and other coilover options? ARB? Fox?

[Sparky]

Are there any coilover lift kits available to purchase yet?

I see Stickerfab has some King shocks w/ front coilovers available for pre-order and Westcott has videos showing proper suspension lifts, but all I'm seeing to purchase are spring preload and coilover spacers.

I was hoping ARB would have an Old Man Emu kit similar to the Taco & 4Runner Trailhunter setup or that Fox would have something like what they're supplying for the TRD Pro trim.

I don't really care about fitting 35s or 37s. A kit that adds an extra inch or 2 between the skidplate and the rocks would be nice, but what I really want is some increased travel and smoother washboard roads.

 

[b407driver]

Are there any coilover lift kits available to purchase yet?

I see Stickerfab has some King shocks w/ front coilovers available for pre-order and Westcott has videos showing proper suspension lifts, but all I'm seeing to purchase are spring preload and coilover spacers.

I was hoping ARB would have an Old Man Emu kit similar to the Taco & 4Runner Trailhunter setup or that Fox would have something like what they're supplying for the TRD Pro trim.

I don't really care about fitting 35s or 37s. A kit that adds an extra inch or 2 between the skidplate and the rocks would be nice, but what I really want is some increased travel and smoother washboard roads.

A lift kit won't 'add another inch or two between the skid plate and the rocks', only larger tires will do that.

 

[EOD Guy]

A lift kit won't 'add another inch or two between the skid plate and the rocks', only larger tires will do that.

It won't add ground clearance to the bottom of the diffs, but will add to the skid plate clearance.

 

[Sparky]

A lift kit won't 'add another inch or two between the skid plate and the rocks', only larger tires will do that.

On an IFS front suspension, it absolutely does increase the distance between the frame (along with everything bolted to it) and the ground.
Sure, for every inch of tire size increase, you do get a 1/2" of extra clearance and it's the only way to increase the distance between the rear diff and the ground. Bigger tires also add a lot of unsprung weight, rotational mass, and reduce your effective gearing.

 

[b407driver]

It won't add ground clearance to the bottom of the diffs, but will add to the skid plate clearance.

On an IFS front suspension, it absolutely does increase the distance between the frame (along with everything bolted to it) and the ground.
Sure, for every inch of tire size increase, you do get a 1/2" of extra clearance and it's the only way to increase the distance between the rear diff and the ground. Bigger tires also add a lot of unsprung weight, rotational mass, and reduce your effective gearing.

And adding 1/2" of true ground clearance via suspension is either very expensive to do right, or results in marginal offroad performance. 95% of the lifts we see on the road are the latter category.

Worded poorly, admittedly.

 

[EOD Guy]

And adding 1/2" of true ground clearance via suspension is either very expensive to do right, or results in marginal offroad performance. 95% of the lifts we see on the road are the latter category.

I would say it depends on what you use for the lift. While my LC will remain stock, I installed a Bilstein 2.5 lift along with 1" puck lift (front), 3.5 leaf spring lift (rear) on my Taco, it wasn't too expensive and it preforms great off road.

 

[b407driver]

I would say it depends on what you use for the lift. While my LC will remain stock, I installed a Bilstein 2.5 lift along with 1" puck lift (front), 3.5 leaf spring lift (rear) on my Taco, it wasn't too expensive and it preforms great off road.

It certainly does depend. Did you measure the articulation of the IFS (i.e. front) before/after?

 

[EOD Guy]

It certainly does depend. Did you measure the articulation of the IFS (i.e. front) before/after?

No, but with my tape measure the top of the fender opening gained 3.5 inches in height. My rudimentary math indicates that if the top of the fender increased in height by 3.5", so did the bottom. Full droop and full stuff would still be limited by the "A" arms, CV joints and bump stops. It is a stiffer ride and I was concerned about the axle angle relative to the CV joints, which is why I lowered the strut spring perch by 1" and added the 1" pucks, which resulted in a softer ride and decreased the axle angle. I could have gone with a long arm travel kit which would have increased the height and travel of the suspension (but I didn't know if I'd like the tires sitting that far out of the wheel wells), I did the cheaper route 1st, I liked what I had for the wheeling the Taco does and decided I didn't need the long arm kit.

 

[LCOceans]

So after doing so much research on this topic I admit I still feel clueless. Many terms I do not fully comprehend but I am trying.

With this small bit of intelligence gained on the subject, I have come to conclusion my best option is to pay for a Dobinsons 2" lift with their MRR 3 way lift kit due early 2025 (no more than 2") and basically stay with my Nitto OEM tire size for time being and eventually increase to 33" -275/70/18. I say Dobinsons because they seem to be very respected in the industry. Also staying max of 2" should alleviate the need to change up any other suspension parts and keep the ride quality on and off pavement, as well as keep the MPG's decent. But I think this will add about 2" of clearance even before changing tire sizes. Am I wrong on this?

 

[LcAz]

Lifts explained by an engineer who loves Toyotas

 

[SignatureJames]

So after doing so much research on this topic I admit I still feel clueless. Many terms I do not fully comprehend but I am trying.

With this small bit of intelligence gained on the subject, I have come to conclusion my best option is to pay for a Dobinsons 2" lift with their MRR 3 way lift kit due early 2025 (no more than 2") and basically stay with my Nitto OEM tire size for time being and eventually increase to 33" -275/70/18. I say Dobinsons because they seem to be very respected in the industry. Also staying max of 2" should alleviate the need to change up any other suspension parts and keep the ride quality on and off pavement, as well as keep the MPG's decent. But I think this will add about 2" of clearance even before changing tire sizes. Am I wrong on this?

I went with the same Dobinson kit for the 2" MRR kit for stock weight. Early 2025 can't come any sooner!