i installed a downey lift kit with doestch tech shocks ( on an 85 truck) about 2000 miles ago (front& back springs and shocks) and the ride seems to be "too" stiff. ive been "breaking it in" on the trails and i still havent seen anychange since the day i installed it. i mean it almost seems as if i was just running on blocks . has anyone else had this result or is it just the way the suspension is? is there any remedy for this? i checked around i didnt find much......

thanks,
ryan

 

Ryan, I put them on my 4Runner and found my ride to be a little bouncier than before, not really hard. Of course the Runner is heavier in the rear . . .
I'm thinking it's the shocks. When I have some extra $$$ I'm getting Bilsteins.

 

Those doetsch shocks shouldn't be too sitff. Are they nitro charged? I noticed my nitro charged bilsteins were pretty stiff. So, if the doetsch's aren;t switching to bilsteins will just make it stiffer. Try driving without the shocks and see how it feels.

 

I had Downey Rear springs on a 1994 DX 4x4 w/ Doetsch shocks and never felt they were rough. I however had a rear shock relocation set up from downey for better flex and that worked great!

Have you tried to load the springs down and drive for a day or so?

John

 

ok thanks guys, yeah the back end is pretty light (no bumper, just plain bed)compared to my 1994, and i havent tried putting a bed load on them to see if there's a change but i think ill try. and ill try it shockless to isolate the springs and see whats making the ride stiff. thanks all for the help, much appreciated

 

Check the spring shackle angles, make sure they are not bottoming out on the frame. Also, does everything move freely; shackles greased, shocks not bottoming or topping out, etc. See how much travel you have to the bumpstops. Set up a pair of ramps and see if you can find out how things are working underneath:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Ramp.shtml

 

i put rear downey springs in mine and it doesnt seem too stiff, but like others have said the 4Runner is heavier in the rear. The ride is much better in the rear after i took off my old springs since they would always bottom out over any little bump.

 

I have the downey 2" lift in the rear and fronts and feel it is a bit soft. I have put about 9k miles on them already.

I know I was on them for a while and they didn't get comfortable until I was an oil change in. So maybe 3k miles they will feel a bit better?

I actually want more of a lift in the back as they have settled a little low. I also installed a hidden hitch but I don't think that made the rear drop much............