Dobinson IMS lift

Hi Everyone,
Well it’s been about a year and very low miles since I installed my Dobinson IMS lift. Before I go any further, just so you all know this ride is for my wife. It will probably see no off roading LOl. I like it, the rides is firmer than stock no nose dive during breaking. It rides well with the KDSS. I don’t know how one rides with out it. First time 4 runner owner.
One thing that I’m not happy with is the stance. Which I believe is fixable.
Right now I have a 1”-1 1/4” rake. I like it to be more level. My goal was to have no more than 1/2” rake.
According to Mike at Exit off-roads base line is 20” front 22” rear stock 5th gen. My stock measurements were 19 11/16” front 22 1/2” rear.
If I were at Dobinson base line I would have been level.
Here are few pics.
Before


After


It’s a little hard to see the difference while on the grass.
I’ll post more pictures with it on concrete and more pictures on the suspension.

 

You can see the rake now it’s parked on concrete.

 

I think it looks great. If you ever load up the back end such as for a road trip, that little bit of rake should level nicely and prevent negative rake aka Carolina squat.

 

You don't say what springs you're running. I installed C59-599 rear springs which according to Dobs should give a rear height of 23" (+1"). I ended up with 23.5" on drivers side and 24" on pass side. This was more rake than I wanted so I switched the springs for Eibach E30-82-071-01-02. The Eibachs reduced the rear to about 23"/23.5". Not a huge difference but just what I wanted. Also I think the lower spring rate on the Eibachs gives a better ride with my stock weight rear, although I had no problem with the original Dobs ride.

 

My setup
Front coils-C59-302
Front struts-S59-50574
Rear coils-C59-505
Rear shocks-IMS-50705
Dobinson UCA
KDSS spacer kit.
Diff drop kit.

The 505’s is what Mike spec out for my setup. My kit is 3.5” lift. That’s exactly what it gained up front when I lifted it. I still need to measure to see how much it settled.
My thinking was to swap out with the 599’s which should bring it down .5”. I was hoping I could go up more in front and leave the 505’s but I may be maxed out up front. I would need to check with Mike.

 

Yeah it does look good, but at times it just looks to much. 99% of the time it just the wife and my self. Yeah I don’t like the negative rake and that’s why I was hoping to have about 1/2 rake.

 

Here is stock compared to Dobinson.

 

What size tires?

 

275/55/20. Originally I was going with LT285/55/20 but wasn’t sure about clearance. I believe it will work now.

 

Looks good!

 

More Pics.

 

how do you find the ride quality over pot holes and speed bumps or dirt road?

I got my 4Runner this month and looking to add a suspension to make ride more soft over these things. Have been looking at Dobinsons IMS. Dobinsons supposed to be progressive and maybe more soft.

 

I can’t tell you much because I don’t have a lot of miles on it yet. But the ride is much improved. It feels a lot firmer in a good way.

 

This is a very subjective question, especially considering I couldn't imagine anything softer than stock suspension on an Off-Road. The stock suspension is very soft! I thought it was like riding on clouds lol. (But maybe you have KDSS? That could give it a firmer feeling than my non-kdss)

I also installed IMS shocks front and rear when I did my lift. I used dobinson springs as well. I find them to be firmer, but very comfortable and very well composed on the road.

To be clear, It most definitely is NOT as soft as stock! However, the quality of compression rebound damping results in a sublime ride on rough roads. IMO, comfort is not simply in how soft they are, I think it mostly results from how well the shocks control compression and rebound.

 

Any lean to the sides? some people complain about lean towards the driver side.

 

Haven’t noticed anything visually. But I believe there was some when I measured a while back. It changes with load anyway, so Im not gonna chase a half inch here or there.

 

No. Not really. It depends on the ground that you are measuring on.I’ve measured dead on on both side and at times it’s about 1/8” or so difference.

 

Seems high, I could be wrong, but I was thinking the 302s were around 2.5" lift and the 505s were for 1.5" in the back with no added weight. Looks good, but I agree it does look high.

I actually have an IMS set up w/ 302 & 505s sitting in my garage awaiting installation.

How you liking the ride now its been on for a couple weeks?

 

My runners base line wasn’t the same as Dobinson’s base line. If it were it would be right where I would liked it to be. My rear stock height was about 1/2” higher and the fronts were about 1/4” lower than Dobinson’s base line. I’m still thinking of swapping out with a shorter springs. I would love to go up in the front but I’m not sure if it’s possible with the KDSS.

The ride is firmer than stock in a good way and feels more stable. It’s been a year since I installed it.

 

This is very interesting. What were your pre-lift heights front and rear?

Mine is very similar. Pre-lift I had about 3 inches worth of rake. After I put my IMS in I still have 1 inch of rake after lifting the front end 3” and the rear 1.5 inches. I believe the front end was lower than most baseline numbers from the factory. Pre-lift I was at 19” in front and 22” in the rear. All measurements were from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender.

 

My pre lift heights 19 11/16 fronts and 22 7/16 rears center hub to bottom of fender.
I need to get some new readings. I don’t believe the rears has settled any. My fronts maybe. It should be all settled since its been a year.

 

Thanks for the info. I’m curious to know if you have any settling. I really wasn’t looking to go up 3” in the front but if my final height is the same as everyone else’s who went up 2” then I’m thinking I’m where I should be.

 

My front was 3.5” and rear 1.5”.
I believe maybe the front has settled,
I need to double check.

 

^^Have you made any changes to your setup? Can you post your current fender to centre hub measurements? I'm scheduled to get Elka's with the Dobinsons c59-505 rear coil springs which are posted by Exit as 1.5" to 1.75" lift in back. I have the third row seats but not carrying any additional weight.

 

I can in a few days. I’m away from my 4Runner. But my rears are a little higher than I want it to be. I would like to level it out more. Hope to lift the front up a bit more.

 

agreed. I love the stance of it!