TDiddy

I'm desperately trying to piece together my different options for a lift. I know there's tons of info out there, but I think I'm over-saturated! The only thing I am definite on right now is that sway-a-ways are unfortunately out of my price range.

Anyway, I've read that progressive rate springs will eventually begin to sag. What kind of time frame are we talking about? Anyone with a 3rd Gen and progressive rate springs, have you yet to notice any sag?

Gene

I had my PP spings on my 2000 and it took, oh, days before the top and bottom rungs were touching. Some say this is normal for progressive spings - but I don't think it could ever be a good thing. That's why I switched out to OME springs. They have me the same road ride, but were MUCH better off-road. They also cost less than PP springs!

I would recommend you stay away from progressives.

Did you see the Fabtech coil-overs for sale for $360? I run those on my Tacoma and they rock!

SLC Punk

I bought my pp springs from DOK4runner (who had them on his rig for a few weeks) about a year ago. No sag here...

TDiddy

Hey Gene,

Thanks, I did just check out those Fabtechs. There's one I haven't considered yet.

I was under the impression that OME coils were also progressive springs...did you switch out to go to a constant spring, or just b/c the PP springs sagged so fast?

Gene

I was out wheeling in a pit near a friends house and found that I was wobbling all over the place. I then let another friend drive my Runner and he had some comments that referenced an old station wagon! Heh-heh. The body roll was horrible, and the touching coils were alarming.

It's not so much the sag, because they really didn't sag. Like I said, almost from the begining, the coils were touching so I never lost height. But hitting hard bumps rattled my teeth and when off-road, I felt like I was wallowing around the trial.

The OME HD coils, combined with my HD Bilstiens was a pretty good match. Some would say that it would be too harsh, but I never thought so.

But now, I have the Fabtech's up front (cranked up 3") and they're fully charged to 200psi. Wow! What a ride. I absolutely love it! In the rear, I now have Rancho 9000 which added another Wow! I don't think I would recommend Bilstiens for a Tacoma. But the Fabtechs are a good product - they're not SAW's, but they're in a similar class.

lunatic14r

I had a set of p/r springs and hated the ride they are to hard on some trails or to soft on others. my opion is they were made for race trucks doing 100+ mph i sold them and got downey springs and they ride like stock but gave my the lift i wanted.

rchavis

I have the PP spring and no sag. I wonder if the springs made for the 3rd gens are different? I have seen write-up of people who say that their PP springs sag and notice that they were 3rd gens.


Can anyone comment on this?



Now delivering to Bagdad:tomcat:

ALBPM

PP springs and Bilsteins work just fine on my 3rd Gen.
I put mine on in October and still have the same 1.5"-1.75" of lift. I'd say that's pretty good for 1" lift springs. They are a bit stiff when my Runner is empty (Just me driving).
With four people and gear in the back it rides even better.

When I drove it to the dealers to look at 03's the salesmen that saw my Runner thought I had at least 3" lift.

No, they are not for the serious off-roader but for an everyday ride and about 10-20% off road they are just right. I don't slow down for speed bumps and as far as handling they are a tremendous improvement over the stock coils. Most prefer Bilstein shocks with the PP coils.


The coils touching on top is normal. These coils help control the rebound to minimize bouncing. I have no side to side rocking. My Runner feels nice and solid as it should.

Paul

Robinhood150

uh oh Tom, it sounds like the mods are coming. What does Sarah think about all this?

TDiddy

SHHHHH!! What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?

BTW, I thought I slipped the Magnaflow by her, but she finally asked if I did something...almost a week later! Its all good though, she likes it too

TStango

I also have the PP 1" coils and Bilstein shock combo. Had them since October I think.
No real complaints yet, although I don't have anything to compare them to, except the stock suspension. IMO the rear could use a pair of those 10mm OME spacers to bring it up slighlty higher than the front
As far as ride quality:
My first drive with the lift had me grinning ear to ear. I noticed a more "floaty" feeling but at the same time much firmer, if that makes any sense.

I feel much more confindent with the handling characteristics compared to stock.

-STANGO

SLC Punk

The rear of your rig is lower than the front?? The rear of mine is slightly higher than the front on mine.

The good thing about the pp springs is that it doesn't sag when I am pulling a trailer. Last week I was taking out all the walls, celings, etc in my parents basement, and had my grandpa's trailer. Don't laugh, but it is a bed of a 1980's 3/4 ton chevrolet truck converted to a trailer. I had so much crap in the trailer, those 3/4 ton springs were almost maxed out, but when I pulled it with my 4Runner the back end didn't sag. I know if I still had the stock springs, I would have been riding on the bump stops.

Dr. Zhivago

See them where???

Dr. Z

EDIT: Nevermind... I think those are the cheapos and not the nice ones. I wouldn't put those on my truck. The description for those reads "for MODERATE off-road use". No offense to anyone who owns these.

Gene

Where did you see that?!?! I know the setup on my truck are not cheapos.

loosehead

I thought Fabtech made two different coil-overs, a rebuildable one and one that wasn't, the non-rebuildable ones being "cheaper"? Can anyone clarify?

WATRD

Correct. They sell a rebuildable/rechargable version and a version that is just a threaded sleeve that goes onto a standard shock.

The rebuildable ones are quite worthy. I enjoyed mine and beat them well and Gene seems to be enjoying his. I have never trusted the cheap ones. The sleeves can move and they do not seem very durable.

Gene

I was hoping you would chime in (took you long enough! )! You're the only one I personally know that has run both the Fab's and the SAW's.

WATRD

And if all goes well, soon the extended Kings Hat Trick! heheheh

Life seems to be getting in the way of my web wheeling

Oh well... two runs this weekend, then two days of work and I am off for 12 days in sunny Arizona!!!!

WATRD

Huh? Where are you getting that information? That is called "Coil Bind" and is not "normal". It means that the springs are not appropriate for the application.

What is coil bind?
Coil bind occurs in a spring whenever one active coil contacts another active coil. The rate of the spring increases whenever its coils bind since the bound coils are no longer active. Handling is affected by coil bind. If the spring is compressed to solid height during suspension movement, the suspension will cease to work. Check for evidence of coil bind by examining the finish between the active coils. If any coil have bound, the finish between them will show contact marks that appear as though they were drawn with a lead pencil. Springs that are binding should be replaced with either a taller spring, or a spring of the same height that has more stroke available. The potential for coil bind is increased whenever short springs are used. Always us the right spring height.

When using soft springs, you need to make sure that the springs do not coil-bind. A spring will start to coil-bind when the spring reaches the last half inch of available spring travel. You can figure out the amount of spring travel you have by setting the chassis at ride height and adding up the spaces in the coils. Usually there is plenty of spring travel before the chassis will bottom out. If you find that the spring you are using will coil-bind, you need to get a longer spring so there are more spaces in-between the coils. If you get coil-bind the soft set-up will not work.

Here's a Google search for you that lists hundreds of pages where the concept of why it is not "normal" is discussed.

http://www.google.com/search?num=30&...%22+suspension

Dr. Zhivago

I was talking about the sleeved over the shock variety. I know that the re-buildable ones are nice. The cheapos sell for around $400 new.

Peace!
Dr. Z