Elka 2.5 vs stock TRD Pro Fox 2.5 vs ???

Looking for:
On-road: a smooth soft Cadillac ride

Off-road (at speed 25-40mph): 1-2 hour drives over washboards, whoops, fire roads etc (think Death Valley ), would like a soft non jarring ride.

No rock crawling anticipated.

will need 2.5 shocks with reservoirs. From what I can gather from reading through posts is that Fox 2.5 and Elka tend to run on the softer side. Is Toyotec same as Elka?

Debating getting a TRD OR and putting Elka’s or Fox 2.5’s on it with a a 1-1.5” lift and 275/70/17 tires. Probably cost me with parts and labor around $7-8k(close to TRD Pro cost now)

Or

TRD Pro and it might be good enough

Or

TRD Pro and rip the shocks off and put either the Elka or Fox shocks on.


wondering if anyone has experience between these shocks and which is the better softer smoother ride for said situations.

 

Stock pro suspension is a solid set up and super smooth. I just wanted more travel so upgraded to 2.5

elka is a great set up, as well. Not as commonly used

 

TRD Pro fox shocks are pathetic compared to ELKA2.5DC. Also TRD Pro shocks not meant to have good flex when lifted. Buy longer shocks if you want flex after lift.

275 tires don't have good options. I would vote for 285s and do minor trimming.

Nowadays ELKA are very expensive. For the same amount of money I would even look at Accutune offroad tuned Fox2.5DCs.

 

I wish I could find a set of shocks that gives me 25-40 MPG at speed or even going slow.

 

Ha. Good catch

 

Elka builds toytec suspensions. So they are virtually the same except no DC and they’re red. If you don’t need the dual adjusters go for toytec. I’d even consider looking into dobinson.

 

Bilstein 8112/8110 will give you more control over the way your shocks ride when compared to Elka, Fox, King, or any other high end options on the market. Might want to look into those if you're looking to dial in the ride quality to your specs.

 

Hmmm, I’ve heard of those Bilstein 8112/8110’s but haven’t really looked them up. Is Bilstein known for better reliability compared to say Fox? I guess the Pro used to use Bilstein shocks so they must have liked their reliability

 

Bilstein makes high quality products.

The thing that the 8112/8100's offer that the other shocks don't are an adjustable internal bypass system which allow you to adjust the rebound and compression so it rides like you want.

 

Elka 2.5 or King 2.5 with E load tires at about 35 psi up front and 30 psi in rear(always follow the psi ratings from tire manufacturer for safety and legal reasons.) With that length of time on wash boards you need remote resi's to keep from cooking the fluid. If you don't go with a remote resi stay away from anything with a steel body if going on wash board roads that long. PRO's are mostly a status or for people who want to leave suspension/tire size as is, no way I'd buy a PRO and remove the only thing of additional value(fox shocks) over an OR / ORP. So if you want a better riding 4runner, get an OR / ORP and invest in high quality suspension with the money you saved and throw some PRO badges on it.