Measuring Lift Height After Dobinson Lift Kit

Hello all -

New to the 4runner world, just installed a Dobinson lift kit, and now have questions on the lift height. I requested 2.5" F and 1.5" R w/ UAC from Dobinson but after measuring the wheel center to fender - these are my values..

Stock Grandtrek AT20 265/70/17 with Dobinson Lift
F Pass 23.5"
F Driver 23.5"

R Driver 24.75"
R Pass 24.5"

I am going to assume my 4R stock height is ~20" F and 22" R based on stock height thread. I understand the stock height may vary from 4R to 4R however, I can't imagine this range to be greater than 1".

Any other 4R owners with same lift height seeing this center wheel to fender height after installation?
I've been seeing threads where lifts above 3" may impact ride quality, control, and suspension over time?
Is this true and if I have a 3.5" lift in the front, should I be concerned?
Does the coil "settle" after installation? Is that why I'm seeing a more than expected after initial measurements?

Thanks

 

Sorry for the chicken scratch, but in black marker are my pre and post measurements for my Dobs IMS with a 2.5/1.5 in lift. The front took about 8-10k miles to settle down to 2.5in

The rear is high, but it’s unladen, so I didnt mind snce I have at least 100lbs in the back all the time, and more when camping/trails.

 

I have a Dobinsons lift on my 2021 OR and got pretty close to the lift height change that was shown on the Exit Offroad site. Following is what I installed and the lift height delta from OEM to what I have now....

I installed the following:
Front - C59-302 which are advertised to give 2.5" with stock weight and 2" with 110-150 lbs. I also added a SSO bumper, Warn 10k winch, full set of RCI aluminum skids (including gas tank) and CalRaised steel sliders since taking the OEM measurements
Rear - C59-599 which are advertised to give 1" with stock weight.
UCA - JBA
Bilstein 5100 on OEM circlip setting

Here are the measurements. FDriver; FPass; RDriver; RPass
OEM (without added weight) 19 7/8; 19 7/8; 21 3/4; 22
After Dobinsons, UCA, Bilstein,
and other heavy accys.......... 21 1/2; 21 3/4; 23 1/4; 23 1/2

So, I netted just under 2" in the front and 1 1/2" in the rear with the new springs, shocks, UCA and some added weight from accessories. There has been about 1/2" of settling all around since install about 2,500 miles ago. I'm happy with the front but got a little more lift in the rear than I was looking for.

What Dobinsons springs did you install?


Cheers,
Bob

 

I just installed the C59-296/C59-599 combination which is supposed to give +1.5" front and +1" rear from a baseline of 20" front & 22" rear.

I got about +2.1" front. In the rear I got +1.5" RDriver and +2" RPass. I'm hoping it settles all around. Sounds like fronts usually settle as the rubber compresses, but not so much in the rear.

Seems like everyone gets at least +1.5" rear from the C59-599's. They really should change what they advertise on those ones...

 

Lift coils never net what the are supposed to, its hit or miss, now dobinson springs do settle but it take a little while,

 

C59 -599 are more like 1.5" +
Thats why I went with eibach 1", but I still got 1.25"

 

Thanks for sharing all - always nice to reference other 4Rs

@BobbyB this is what I ordered from Dobinsons along with the UACs



I just got a response from them about the lift height - I requested a 2.5" front lift with a comment to ensure the 574 strut is lowered to provide no additional lift. Their service department assumed I was ordering the adjustable IMS shock and not the non-adjustable GS59-774. Long story short - I have 3.5" front lift from the shock (1") + coil (2.5").

Again, newbie here - what is the impact of lifting above the widely mentioned, golden "3" that people preach?

 

By that part number you ordered the extended travel struts.. is that what you wanted? Or did you want to standard gs strut p/n gs59-700

 

Extreme cv angles, decreased travel, rougher ride, etc etc...

 

No not necessarily - it was based on their recommendation if using the (302) 2.5" coil

"You can run 302 with 700, just you will be a little limited on down travel, we prefer the extended travel strut like the 574 so you can have more droop.

Now if we assemble it we can do 302 coils thay give you 2.5" of lift and pair with 574 but set the strut seat height to 213mm which will add no more lift."

The misunderstanding was the 574 - the GS574 I ordered is not adjustable to 213mm, the IMS574 apparently is

 

Yeah the ims are adjustable but twice the price.

 

I'll add my measurements after a recent dobinsons lift. I had the MRA shocks installed.

I asked my installed to provide me a 2/1 lift. They went with the C59-300 springs in the front, and suprisingly the C59-323 stock height springs in the rear.

My measurements from center of hub to fender:

Before:
Front 20"
Rear 22"

After:
Front 22"
Rear 23"


The front they dialed in the ride height with the MRA shocks since they're adjustable so it's probably not representative of any advertised spring height. The rears of course are not ride height adjustable, but I gained 1" despite being "stock height" springs. My local installer does a lot of Dobinsons installs so I suppose they knew this would happen. But it does go to show that Dobinsons may give you more height than advertised. I'm about 2,000 miles in and not noticable settling by the way.

 

No, probably not.

Would you return a Quarter Pounder from McDonalds if it was 9oz's instead of 8? Too many variables to say it is guaranteed to be X height:

Time to settle into position
Year and miles on the drivetrain
How full was your tank before and after install
Did your rig have a 4Runner lean before install
2 row vs 3rd row
Roof rack, molle panels, gear
Amount of crap in the back
Miles on the rest of the rest of the suspension
Were measurements taken on level ground both times

 

Did you read the post immediately prior to yours?

 

It probably posted after I started typing mine.

But it doesn't change the fact that what I posted is true. Go home, park your rig on level ground and measure it from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender front and rear. Now jack the whole rig off the ground and let it sit there for a few hours (typical amount of time to install a complete lift), remeasure. Guaranteed it will be taller after, temporarily as it takes time to settle back into place.

 

@r12s thanks for sharing - sort of confirms my suspicions. Currently measuring a 2.5" total rear lift from a 1.5" Coil(C59-505). Have about 1,000 miles on it with no settling

 

Curious if there has been any settling for you? Curious what your current numbers are as this is the set ups I am looking at. Or, possibly the 238's for the front. Thanks!

 

this Tikka masala I ate today isnt settling well, im doing the Toyota lean at work im passing so much gas

 

I'm out of town for a while so I can't give you exact numbers right now. But I am over 500 miles now and the fronts are around 1.75" and the rears have settled maybe 1/8" from my original numbers. If I was doing it again I would either use the stock height rear coils (can't remember the number on those) or use the Eibach 1"coils in the rear. Also, I would have had the front height set to be about 1/4" higher on the driver's side to account for the lean.
And just to be clear, the ride is excellent and I am very happy with the suspension in all other respects!

 

That would be great! Would love to see how/if they change. And, if anyone else has input if there's has settled that would be appreciated too! Thanks!

 

My setup was said to be a 2.5/1.5 inch lift. After putting it on, I achieved about 2.0/1.5 inches which is about right given the weight of the winch bumper I have on mine. I find it to be perfect and it looks fantastic.