Start off slow, or go all in on suspension?

Kings are cool and everything, but as has been mentioned, they are leaning towards a proper race product that come with their own maintainance requirements. So every time it needs a rebuild, you might find yourself considering another set to be free from it. They have their place, but hyper focused mods don’t sit well with high mileage drivers. Remember that the vehicle would need to be in “out of service” status (unless you install another set) while the kings get rebuilt.

I drive and wheel like you do, similar ratios and mileage anyway. I bought rebuildable Dobinsons IMS shocks and dob springs to shoot for a 2in/1.5in lift. Front springs are adjustable if necessary, but the valving is set at the factory and is not adjustable. I love them. They are probably on the firm side of the spectrum compared to other lifts, but very well damped. I love it off road, and love them even more on-road. It gives the 4runner the feel of an urban assault vehicle or back road bomber. Kind of like how a regular dirt bike compares to a super motard. Except you get to keep all terrain tires and full off-road utility. The shocks also considerably sharpen up throttle response and braking accuracy, because the float is gone, none of that energy is absorbed by the soft factory shocks before it reaches the chassis.

So far they have about 11,000 miles on them, holding up great. About $1800 for the 4 shocks and 4 Spring. So, when the time comes, if I decide it’s easier to replace instead of rebuild, it wont be as much of a hit. Im hoping for a lot of miles though…

edit: somebody asking about suspensions like you are should just skip over the spacer option. It’s not for you.

 

Good tires and a competent driver is the best combination.

 

I saw this pop up and had to put in my 2 cents...

I say go all in, but I also built a 4 link for my dodge diesel living in an apartment complex in the med center in Houston.

I have no idea how I didn't get evicted living there!


Hope to see you at hidden falls sometime, I absolutely love that place.

 

Man I know what you mean. I lived in the Domain in Austin before moving a bit outside of the city and working on my car was a nightmare. Was literally in the middle of the mix.

Shoot me a PM next time you plan on heading out to HF and I'd be glad to link up!

 

Yeah, that was my only thought I forgot to add in. I'm starting to lean more towards billsteins since they seem to go a lot longer without a rebuild. Don't wanna be without a vehicle for 3 weeks from sending them out. Right now this is the only vehicle my fiance and I share because we work from home so that simply just wouldn't be plausible

 

You might try contacting Mike of Exit Offroad. He carries all the Dobinson stuff. I just ordered a kit from him with the front coilover assembled just yesterday and he sent me a tracking number today. That was crazy fast.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/dobinsons-5th-gen-4runner-suspension-options.13289/

 

That’s a great write up. Thanks!

 

Im sitting here debating the same damn thing. I ran Bilstein 6112s/5160 on the Tacoma I just traded in on this 4Runner. They were pretty good for what I needed but considering going a little more high end this time.

 

My biggest thing is longevity. I don’t wanna be rebuilding every 30k on a daily.

 

Agreed, definitely a downside of a high performance coilover. Fortunately for me I have a company vehicle so my 4Runner sees limited miles and would a long time time before I need a rebuild.

 

I drive my rig daily and take it out on weekends as much as I possibly can. Best bang for your buck IMO is Bilstein 6112/5160.
Great on road and good off road. Those accompanied with some good UCA's and you're set to go

 

How do they handle added weight? I won't be adding the RTT for at least a year because it won't fit in my garage due to clearance issues but obviously wanna add stuff down the road. Kinda teetering back and forth between your setup and something a little more stout.

 

You won't have to rebuild Kings at 30k when 95% of the miles are pavement. If those miles were 95% off road, absolutely. You have to consider that most factory shocks on a 4Runner will last to around 60-75,000 miles if 95% of it is on road. All of the big name shocks are made better than OEM, IMO.

I have Kings on my '19 SR5 and love them - they ride far better than stock both on and off road. My only complaint is the 550lb springs they come with are not stiff enough and the stock valving is not stiff enough.

My advice - regardless if you go King, Fox, OME, Elka, Icon, etc. - get adjusters, especially on the front. I got talked out of getting them on my front and only on the rear and regretted it since. I would much rather have got the adjusters on the front rather than the rear if I had to pick one.

You can find Kings in stock...you just have to look, be patient and check daily/weekly. I recently had to piece together a King lift for my '22 ORP. I got the rears w/adjusters from Accutune and got the fronts w/adjusters from ToyTec. They both were in stock at the time. Now, I have to get some 600lb springs and swap them out for the 550s and I can put my lift on.

I can't speak to the other big shock names with reservoirs for a 4Runner. I've run most of them in one sort or another (ATVs, SXSs, non-reservoir, etc) and have nothing bad to say about any of them.

Regarding whether or not to just do a spacer, or go all in..I'd get the best that fits in your budget.

If you go the reservoir route, make sure you check the nitrogen levels in all of them. Of the 4 shocks I received (new) in the past few weeks, the levels were: 120psi, 140psi, 150psi and 210psi. I set them all to 150.

 

Good point. I feel like at this point I've read so many forums and articles on each that I just absorb myself with info and don't really take into account my exact use case.

As far as your kings go, how many miles have you put on them so far?

I agree to your point about having adjusters. You can't go wrong with the ability to tweak things around. Especially if you're adding/removing weight on a regular basis.

I'm still trying to learn and understand suspension dynamics as far as what each brand offers and the true pros/cons of each one.

If I go a bit cheaper, Billsteins look like my best bet. But if I throw some money into this, I'm kind of stuck between Kings and Dobinsons. I've heard good and bad about both but haven't gotten the chance to ride in a truck with either setup. I guess at this point, I need to quit being a puss and just pull the trigger on something.

 

hard to beat the 6112/5160 combo, considering what you said. hell, 5100s on all 4 corners is still an upgrade from the stock ORPs. if you want to spend a bit more i'd say dobinsons.

if you can afford kings, great. but the extra $ could be used elsewhere if you're mostly going to be on pavement. just my 2c.

 

Go big Bro....one expense and done. Don't go in little steps ..unless you enjoy the transformation little by little.

 

Yeah that’s looking like the move. I see you’re In Houston. You have any recs for sourcing parts?

 

That’s what I’m leaning towards. Are you running em?

 

not yet. my ORP is a company lease that i will be purchasing after the term, so im not in a rush to mod anytime soon. but 5100 all around is what im leaning towards at the moment. being honest to myself, i dont know if i'll even reap the benefits of the 6112/5160 combo over the 5100s.

 

Damn a lunar ORP with the TRD skid is rare in Texas. Props to your company lol.

As far as the 5100s go, I’d at least go with the 6112/5160s. Not sure if you’ve been to any parks around here, but Hidden Falls has some great trails that are quite demanding.

 

good point. i havent been to hidden fals yet, but bridgeport had some tough spots esp with the stock orp tires. yuck. tires will be the first thing i get when the lease is over.

even then, im not so sure if i'll see the benefit of the 6112/5160s. the good thing is 5100s are dirt cheap to where i wont feel bad about upgrading down the road lmao.

 

I opted for the medium duty rear coil springs set at 1.5"; they handle weight very well! I recently got back from a 3 day camping trip with a bunch of gear in the back and it didn't drop much at all

 

I've got around 35k on the Kings on my '19.

I think the Bilsteins are a great alternative. I have 5100s on the front of my Tundra w/stock springs and at the 2.5" lift mark. It made a major difference over stock, and lifted it to where I wanted it. I just have air bags in the rear with stock shocks, but I'll be putting Bilsteins on in the next month or so because I think the stock ones are starting to go (90k miles).

Another thing to consider is your upper control arms. It tacks on another 600 - 800 bucks to the bill.

Maybe others on here can chime in who have done this, but I would think if you went with 5100s up front on the middle lift setting (or maybe the 2.5" notch), you might not need new UCAs.

 

I have 2020 TRDORP with front kings 2.5" coilovers w SPC UCA and rear kings shocks paired with icon 2.0 3" lift rated for 600lbs of constant load. a little stiff to my taste. however handling is superb.

I was in the same boat as you when I purchased my 4r. I went straight to suspension because time, money, and just not being satisfied was going to haunt me until I lifted it the right way. I could have also went with a different suspension but the blue looks sooooo good.

 

What made you go kings paired with icon?

 

@kmeeg - where is that last photo? It looks familiar...

 

Do it once, cry once.

I went from OEM for FJ Pro (equivalent to TRD Pro) to Ironman4x4 CellPro suspension - If I would do it again, I will have gone straight to Ironman

 

Pennsylvania gulch off Switzerland trail.
You might have watch TFL Misadventure with Nissan Frontier.

 

Kings - I liked the kings because they had a lot of good reviews with longevity, reliability and you could get them repaired. ( thats why i havent sold my stock suspension). I could have went Icons but I also had a connect with someone who could get me a discount on kings. Wait time was the same. Delayed. Also did i tell you the blue looks so good?

Springs- it was a toss up between Dobinsons and Icon 2.0. I chose the same load 600lbs for both. I would have went Dobinsons because of the reputable reviews over this forum and on Youtube, however they were out of stock with no ETA. Icon 2.0 were available.