I bought Downey HD coils and a Bilstein combo for my Runner a while back and have since decided to go with the Downey 1.5" spacer kit. My question is when I replaced the stockers with the bils I never thought to compare length. Does anyone else with this combo think the bils were a tad longer. Ultimately I would like to keep the shocks I have with the Downey Coils and spacer kit but thinking they'll be too short. Does Bilstein make an application for like 1" longer than stock? I know NCSU on here went with Doetsch Tech in the rear.

 

http://www.hunt4steve.com/Rejected.htm

What everyone should know about Doetsch Tech.

 

Regarding shock legnth, I can't help. I have just begun tinkering with my rear suspension and this is one thing i'd like to find out more about as well. All I know is that I want something cheap that won't rob me of any flex.

 

Matt I remember the ordeal about them coilovers. I did some research and Bilstein has an application for lifted Toyotas. Just gotta find which length and model I need. They were only $119 a set of two on the site I was looking at.

 

I baught some moog coils for my 2nd gen to get rid of the sag and I think they were shorter than my factory coils but they lifted the back close to 2". So its not the length that matters its the design and thickness of the coil. Just somthin to think about

If thats what you were lookin for

 

$119 for two shocks? That seems fair.

The ones I run in the rear now were like $19 each, or was it $19 for the pair? I'll be looking for something in that price range. I just want measurements eye to eye at full extension and full stuff.

I suppose if I get really ambitious I could remove the shocks and go take some measurements while using a Mustang at the mall as an RTI ramp.

 

Dude Yota Runner my dad lives in Clarkston!! I'll be there Sept 7th when I leave the UK here. Small world. You've got a PM. Oh ya and I already have coils but I want the spacers so I'll be around 3" taller in the rear.

 

If you only add 1" to your springs, you'll probably not need new shocks. But here's what I recommend if you want to.

Go to your local 4wd store, find the stock shock for your rig. Ask them for one that's 1" longer... not to tuff.

Before you get new shocks, get the rig jackup up by the bumper or frame till your tire comes off. Remove the shocks and see if your suspension drops any further. If it doesn't then longer shocks will be irrelevant...

 

Gibby thanks. I was wondering if the swaybars and axle would limit the travel more than the shock being too short. I'll probably just run it with stock shocks till I find something different. I can't think of many cases where 1" of wheel droop would have gotten me out of a situation when wheeling for the kind of stuff that I do.

 

maybe the coil-overs had problems but ive been nothing but happy with my regular rear shocks so far, granted its only been 4 months. if you know anything about industrial engineering ( which im currently taking a minor in ) you should know that the quality control personel for any company are fully aware that there will be a certain quantity of products that go off the assembly line which will not live up to the standards they set out, thats just the chance you take by buying less expensive parts. if youve got all the money in the world such things wouldnt be a problem.

in my experience if you leave the sway bars on you'd have to get some heavy duty articulation to reach the full extension of your shocks.

 

I have Rancho 5009's with around 3.5 or 4" of rear lift and had them with the Downey kit as well. They work great and allow complete and occassionally too much travel..

Don't just add 1" because you have an extra inch of lift. It is not a completely linear correlation.

Flex out the truck stuffed to extended and take measurements. Bilstein seems to be pretty tight lipped about actual specs of length and stuff and does not throw it around as Rancho does.

Ideally, off the top of my head, you should be near 26 or so extended and 15 compressed. At least my truck was.

 

If you still want to know about the shcoks lengths, here you go:
http://fastq.com/~sschaefer/rear_shocks.html

Chris

 

I have a similar question, I have OME coils and Rancho 5000 shocks. With the vehicle on the ground and the shock off the lower mount, it will only extend 1 additional inch. Will this cause me problems if I go off-road? What would be the fix if it does?

 

Do you mean that with the coils, you are only getting 1" of preload with all the vehicles weight on there? That sounds really weird!

Chris

 

I beg to differ on that. It doesn't take much to max out an IFS 2nd gen 4runner. Here's a shot of a buddy with a 4" suspension lift doing a wheelie. I don't think anyone would call this heavy duty articulation. This of course is why he's dropped a Dana 44 in my backyard so that we can do an SAS on his rig.


Don't think that swaybars make a whole bunch of difference, but if he had his front and rear off, I think he might have kept all four tires on the ground. I've driven a 2nd gen with IFS lift. The only way I got it to flex even half decently was to remove the upper bump stop extensions from the IFS lift and move the diff up 2" so that it wouldn't pull the tulip joints apart at full stuff. We did this on Scott's rig and got some pretty good articulation from and IFS lift.

 

Here's the facts on 3rd gens comparing stock swaybars to addcos to no swaybars at all. I've ran mine every way, and the best way all around for my liking is totally remove the front swaybar, and leave the stock rear swaybar installed. But, go to: http://www.top4runners.com/ja/, click on handling, then click addco anti-sway bar writeup. At the bottom it details out how much travel is acheived with each setup. It's an amazing and very functional difference.

Chris

 

Thats correct, does anyone else have this with OME or Downeys.

 

I have a similar question, I have OME coils and Rancho 5000 shocks. With the vehicle on the ground and the shock off the lower mount, it will only extend 1 additional inch. Will this cause me problems if I go off-road? What would be the fix if it does?

If you wheel it, you will likely be in a situation in which the rear starts to flex out. Since the shocks are the limiter, then your shock and upper mount will take extra an uneeded stress.

The solution is a shock that is the correct length.

This has nothing to do with preload. You seem to only be discussing shock length.

 

Yep, you probably should change to the OME N86 firms for the front and rear to extend the amount of droop you have.

Chris

 

Not sure how relevant it is, but that dude has a 2nd Gen based on the picture and that PN sounds like a 3rd Gen runner.

Here is what the right shock length, a custom gas tank skid plate and a skinnier driveshat will do for rear flex.

Picture is courtesy of loosehead, expert photographer and co-pilot.