Hi there im a newbie to the yota tec and have had my Runner for about a year, question for all the veterans out there dose anybody know anything about Tokico shocks are there bushings a good application for Northern citys where it gets frickin freezing? Dose any body know of any good shocks with good bushings, i heard bushings are a huge factor for for cold climates that we get half of the year.

Much appreciated

 

Never really heard of ambient temps making a huge difference to shock performance... though I suppose the heavy use of salt/sand could possibly affect the bushings/shock body... but urethane is pretty much the same compound...

I have no experience with Tokicos at all... my wrench recommends Bilstein (but they are an arm and a leg), KYB (an an option but also pricey) and Rancho... myself I've used Rancho RS5000s and been happy with them... very solidly built shock, the ride in my 87 was very firm when empty but when I had a little load on they were the bee's knees I put about 400k kms on them over about 4yrs (severely overloaded in some cases) and they were as good as the day I put them on when I sold the truck ... going to be putting them on my 94 in the next few weeks (now that 345k kms have trashed the OEMs LOL)... they are very affordable too...
RS9000s are adjustable and supposedly are a very good value but they cost about the same as the adjustable KYBs.
Choosing shocks generally comes down to what kind of ride you are looking for, the warranty, and how much cash you have to spend... if you have a lift kit of some kind that factors in as well since not all mfgs. make shocks to fit all lifts and using non-spec brands may invalidate any warr. on the lift kit.
Hope this helped a bit

 

Agreed the kyb's and bilstiens are the best but ranchos although stiff are good as well. I opted for the bilstiens and will never go back they ride smooth in comparison to other shocks i've owned.

 

Definitely Bilsteins, they were one of the first things I bought for my truck when I got it. They were $300 shipped not too bad. I wouldn't waste money on Ranchos personally, I've had them before and the Bilsteins are well worth the money, at least I think so anyways.