Dobinsons long travel front struts installed

This is sort of a review, and picture tomorrow. I decided to do this just before dark for some reason...

I just finished installing Dobinsons GS59-574 struts (what they call long travel). First off, changing these on a 4runner was pretty darn simple, so that was a nice treat.

These came with new bushings, but after mulling it over, and since my truck is brand new, I opted to use the factory bushings instead. I also went with this setup because I wanted about 1 inch of lift, and to achive that, I used my original equipped springs. Currently, after a 10 mile rough road ride, I'm at 1 3/8 inchs equally up on both sides. I'm ok with that, looks good.

As for the ride , most importantly. It's slightly more firm and it feels more planted. Less nose dive, but it does NOT feel more harsh, so thats great. Mission accomplished.

One more thing. I didn't think to measure, but something I notice immediately, was when I put my tire back on, was the fact it was lower to the ground, so the 'droop' is there, and thats a great thing on my setup.

 

This is an interesting option I hadn't heard of before.

So you're saying that the stock coils paired with Dobinson long travel shocks gave you almost 1.5" of lift in the front?

 

Thats right ,1 3/8". After some more driving I suspect it'll be more like 1.25".

 

Great job, looks good. Looking forward to the after pics.

 

Just a straight up gloomy day. But this is how it sits.

 

Looks nice! Well done!

 

Hey @HondaKen , did you by chance notice if the UCA was touching the spring under full droop?

Thanks for the pics.. looks like a great upgrade!

 

They are not. After I finishing installing a heater in my garage I will lift it up and let it hang. I’ll snap a pic. It’s my day off and it only takes a minute, but most likely this evening.

 

That would be killer, thanks a ton! If you could also get a photo of the CV angle (at full droop) that would be sweet. Trying to decide on these bad boys... kinda seems like.. why wouldn't you use these over standard length shocks??

 

The main reason is if you're lifting 2.5-3" and have KDSS, possibly even 1" with KDSS. The extra down travel COULD cause concerns with the KDSS piston being over-extended, creating issues with the entire system. For a non-KDSS truck, I agree, seems silly to not get the extended travel shocks.

 

^ Other than CV angle I can't think of any.

But I'm a noob with this stuff so please correct me if I'm wrong lol.

Cheers

 

Ive kind of went down the rabbit hole with wiring and lighting after I got the heater installed...so I'll get the pics in the morning. I gotta finish some stuff up and need some relax time.

 

True! I do believe Dobinson's (at least Exit Off-road) recommends a diff drop with those struts when lifted, not sure with OEM coils, as the droop / CV angles can get rather extreme.

 

Sound just like me lmao. I can't ever get a chore done because I find 3 other things that "need to be done first" lol.

 

So.. again.. I'm still learning about lifts and am constantly trying to visualize things..

From what I've come up with in my mind, lol.. the lift shouldn't affect dynamic, or amount of full, droop, right? Regardless of springs, the max droop will be the same. The only difference the springs make is how much "droop" you're driving around with constantly, for lack of better terms. But either way, at full extension, I think the springs wont matter.. except that if the springs are "lift" springs, they will be more pre-loaded and will then "push" the strut down with more force than the stock springs would when lifting a wheel completely off the ground. I still don't think that's really an issue as long as the strut is decently designed to be used while lifted.

Obviously if you were driving around at full droop always, via an extremely high lift, that would be way worse on the CV's than if you only hit full droop very rarely (on the trails). My only question is.. well it's hard to answer lol.. how much is too much and at what angle etc. etc. Obviously there are a lot of variables but I'm starting to think that longer travel suspension is definitely the easiest way to blow CV's if you aren't careful (not aimed at OP, I imagine he knows what he's doing).

So I'm over here trying to decide if the longer travel is good for me since I go wheeling a fair bit, and don't want to install a diff. drop. It's like.. hmm.. is it better to put a little more wear on the CV's during the time when the extra droop would be used?.. or is it better to limit the droop with a shorter shock and risk having the truck.. I dunno.. tip over (worst-case-scenario which I highly doubt would happen)? Obviously traction for moving is also a key advantage of more droop, maybe the biggest advantage, but I'm not so concerned about that.. yet.. as I'm not quite building a full-purpose overlanding rig but rather a weekend warrior. I'd probably rather nanny my CV's, and take the chance of needing to be pulled out more often.

All that said, I am still very curious about the UCA's because it seems like a mystery out there whether or not OE UCA's will contact springs, and at what point.. Mike at ExitOR said that my OE UCA's will be an issue (touch) even with their normal travel struts. I think he's wrong and it's annoying that I keep getting different info from different "experts."

 

Heres some pictures full droop. I can not push it down at all, so this is maximum. Pictures are a little scrambled in the order, but I'm sure you guys can figure it out. I have a picture showing the wheel off the ground, and one with a piece of white cardboard to show that there is no contact (I tried focusing light but couldn't get it right). I can see how some could I guess, depending on coil rotation from brands. These are stock coils. Also, CV angle certainly doesn't seem scary to me. And, winter road slop glamour shots..............

 

Thank you so much, I really appreciate you grabbing those for us!

Cheers

 

@HondaKen still enjoying the extended 574’s? I’m thinking of doing the same thing but have been concerned with cv bind since Dobinson claims you need a diff drop which I would rather not do. With the front lifted of the ground does the tire/cv turn freely?

 

I can't give a long term review on them, but I can tell you with stock spring, there was no bind at all. The ride was good. I ended up selling it and going back to a 21 Tundra.