jimrockford

I've been trying to order Downey HD coils for my '91 4Runner for a week. Downey told me they contract the manufacture of their coils out to another company and that they are behind schedule. They don't expect to have any available for about 2 more weeks.

Does anyone have any advice on alternatives that are more readily available? I'm looking for a good off-road coil that will give 1.5-2" of lift. Any thoughts on OME or Performance Products coils? Or any other ideas?

UPDATE (23 May): I decided to go with the Downey coils. See pictures below...

Corey

iTrader: (1)

There is a set in the classifieds section, but it is also the extra 1.5" spacer puck, and panhard drop bracket too.

Have you contacted Mike at Xtremeoff-road.com?
He carries Downey, and may have some in stock.

The OMEs give you more lift than the Downeys do.

The only experience I have is with the Downey HD coils, and I am very pleased with them.

Flygtenstein

Downey, OME, All-Pro, Eibach or custom.

Odd to hear Downey is behind. Figured that is the sort of thing they would always try to stay ahead of.

UKMyers

Cebby has the PP springs and has been happy with them as far as I know

4runner4ever

Buy a set of used Landcruiser Custom (FJ80 series) rear coils. Gives about 3 inches of lift, fit without modifications and cost me 50 bucks. Works great. So great that i've fitted the front coils on my solid front axle after removing the IFS.

Paul H.

I have OME standards on mine and love them. A much better ride than the originals and right now my rear is about 1.25 inches higher than the front.

P.S. They are $40 cheaper than the Downeys too

yotafool

hey 4runner4ever, do you know a good place where i can get the fj80 coils, also could you use coil spacers with it?

Cebby

No truer words have been spoken. I think I've started to get a little sagging in them (nothing noticable), but they ARE 6 years old and I've hauled all kinds of stuff including sheets of drywall. These PP springs are progressive. For the combo of highway/offroad I do, they have been great. Firm but not harsh. The Bils obviously contributed to this as well.

sschaefer3

Just wait the 2 weeks. I have waited 2.5 years for the 26 spline MC09.

jimrockford

I talked to Mike at Xtreme Off-Road last week. Nice guy. Called Downey to check on parts availability before taking my order. Unfortunately, they weren't available. - Price: $159.95.

I called Downey directly and was told that the coil manufacturer "forgot" to manufacture the HDs. He said that after some confusion and several phone calls, they finally straightened things out. They're in production now and will be shipped to Downey soon, but will need to be plated before they'll be ready. - Price: $170.

Central 4WD told me they can special order them but do not keep them in stock. They advised me to deal directly with Downey for a better price.

Downey, Xtreme Off-Road, and Central 4WD are the only three places I can find that sell them. Am I just Googley challenged? There's got to be someone out there with a massive stockpile of Downey HD coils, right? Anybody have a secret source they're willing to divulge?

Corey - That set in the classifieds looks too tempting. I don't know if I want 3" of lift, though. How would I handle the front end? I've got the stock hubs and want to keep costs low. Can I crank the T-bars up enough to level things out without tearing the CV joints up?

jimrockford

By the way...

If anyone's interested, I saw a set of Downey/Bilstein coilovers for a '96-'02 Tacoma on Ebay while looking for coils. The price is at $105 right now. Still got 5 days left on the auction but they look to be in good shape.

Downey/Bilstein Adjustable Coilovers

shamrockmac5

I believe northwestoffroad.com has them in stock (NWOR 1 1/2" progressive rate rear coils), Same price or just a very wee bit more expensive than Downey but they can ship by 12:00 pacific time usually if you call them in the morning. might be worth a phone call. I talked to Terry last time and he had great technical knowledge and customer service which is often lacking through Downey. I've talked to some younger guys at downey who A) gave me attitude, B) sounded generally ignorant , and C) sounded like they'd rather be doing something other than answering my questions. I hate Lame Customer Service! just my humble opinion. Am I the only one here who's gotten that kind of service from Downey?

jimrockford

Performance Products wants $208 ($199 + $9 shipping) for their coils.
4x4 Connection has OMEs for $162 ($130 + $32 shipping).

$162 sounds like a better deal to me. Are the Performance Products coils better than the OMEs, or do they just cost more?

jimrockford

shamrockmac5 - I don't know how I missed northwestoffroad.com. They're close to me too. I'll gladly pay a bit extra if they've got them. I'll have to call them in the AM to find out. Thanks for the tip!

sschaefer3

Do you realize that NWOR and Downey are bitter rivals. The NWOR springs ARE NOT the same as the Downey springs.

They might be great, they might suck, who knows. You'll be the only one with them.

Sit tight, what's the rush ???

Corey

iTrader: (1)

I personaly will not buy from NWOR.
I have in the past, and the last time I bought something I got the run around.

Here's some reading.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...&threadid=9002

jimrockford

Enlightening... Thanks for the heads up.

shamrockmac5

I guess when it comes to customer service it all depends on who you get on the phone. The thing I like about NWOR is that they actually engineer and manufacture much of what they sell whereas Downey doesn't(save for thier springs ....maybe). In all fairness there was one guy who was quite helpful .....once. When I needed to get a replacement K&N filter for my intake kit which I bought from my dealer back in Cali.( the old one was ruined by a German dealership). For me this was the exception not the rule. And he did throw in thier catalog for free, However I think thier website sucks big blue chunks. anyway the title of this thread was asking for alternatives to Downey so....there ya go. Furthermore if there is a bitter rivalry between them then they must be doing SOMETHING right and that would only be to our advantage yes? Corey what did you buy from NWOR in the past and were you pleased with the quality?what was it you were looking for when they gave you the runaround? just curious ....Thx OBTW I'm seeing a lot about ome in here, is this the same thing as oem ( original equipt. manufacturer)? and I just have it backwards or iS OME short for some other brand? ...... oops now I sound generally ignorant

Cebby

I think (correct me if I'm wrong everyone) that the PP springs are the only progressive rate springs available for the 2nd Gen Runner. Progressive springs are supposed to be more supple at slow speed and firmer for big bumps. You can ID these by the widely spaced coils at one end. Like this:



Sorry for the bad pic, that's the best one I had in my archive...

jimrockford

OME is short for Old Man Emu. They make shocks, steering stabilizers, coils, etc., and are manufactured by ARB.

Here's the steering stabilizer (stabiliser? I guess they're Australian) I ordered from them: