Dirt King Mid Travel?

Hello,
New member and I know there is a ton of threads/post on lift kits so please don’t berate me lol I want a true 3” suspension lift with dirt king or JBA UCAs and I have pretty much narrowed it down to the Eibach stage 2/2R, Icon stage 1, or Dirt King mid travel. I prefer on road quality and durability/longevity. This is for a daily driver with no plans on rock crawling or anything serious. Occasional mud. I don’t want spacers or a super stiff ride which is why Bilstein is out. My question is: does anyone have experience with the dirt king lift? I can’t really find good info on it and I don’t really trust fully what the company rep says over their bias.

 

No experience with Dirt King but I have been watching them since I have Elka and the new Dirt King setup is made by Elka. This thread may help.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/fi...g-eibach-scs-wheels-falken.39252/#post-607486

 

Have DK LCAs. Love em so far! and extra plus having the LCA bushing sleeve and LBJ greasable

 

As Elkas are known for shaft breaking and lower heim bearing shattering into pieces, you'd do well to avoid the Dirt King package. Haven't heard anything bad about Dirt King UCAs (and LCAs).

 

Any links for Elka problems? I haven't seen problems reported. Other than cost all reviews I see people love them.

 

Dirt King makes quality products. I have their LT kit w Kings, and I've always had good customer service w quick responses as they are known for.
Elka, I have not had any experience with so I can't give any input on them.
It's highly possible maintenance/inspection is overlooked or improper install by some of the complainants.
Performance shocks are not a set it and forget it proposition. Nitrogen pressure should be checked regularly. If you haven't gotten a custom tune or learned how to make valving changes yourself, they may not perform up to expectations and could cause damage to the shock itself in certain terrain.

Companies like Filthy Motorsports or Accutune offroad are great to consult with and will get you headed in the right direction.
Also, you can buy used Kings and Foxes and rebuild them yourself to save a couple bucks.
If your in Florida, I can rebuild them.
These are some Tacoma spec Kings that I changed to a clevis style rod end, took out the top out spacer for more travel, and then revalved for my 4th gen V8.
https://youtube.com/shorts/VBocDYGKE3Q?si=Y_y0QHyE2GefMTKx​

 

I think your best bet is buying fox or kings from acctune, they can adjust them for a soft ride. You can still use jba uca.

 

Also, if you live in the rust belt, Fox seems to have better materials to combat corrosion.

https://accutuneoffroad.com/article...YPaY1TVa4JWBe7zrXDQwGEu9GrlTA1Ryby5kHOVSdghdE

 

If you want a good ride, I’d double check the “3 inch lift” bit. With that much lift you won’t have enough down travel and the ride will be rough.

The issue is well demonstrated by Kai here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tTelhdEiM&pp=ygUFI2lmczI=

 

Elka makes Toytec shocks:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/toytec-boss-aluma-coilover-failure.41912/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/busted-toytec-struts-need-replacement-recommendations.844362/

Lower bearing likes shatter, requiring yearly replacement if you go off-road
https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/26372399
https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/26362989
https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/27702378

 

Seems there have been a couple of design changes over the years. Long thread that confirmed everyone that runs these loves how they ride.

Thanks for the heads up on something to watch out for. Performance shocks are one of those you have to pay to play. Not a set it and forget it like already mentioned.

I don't see how you can go wrong with any of the premium shocks....Kings, Fox, Elka.

Dobinson IMS I think is one of the most cost effective bang for your buck setups.

 

Dirt King is local to me and makes great stuff. I run their UCAs with Kings, but I'm also in the dirt and rocks a lot. That being said, the Dirt King shocks are brand new and are still going through testing/refinement despite being recently released to the market. Nick (owner of Dirt King) literally just posted a blind, objective test of the new DK shocks against other big names. Honestly, I'd let DK shake out their shocks a bit more knowing that they will only get better and better. It's how Nick is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug9n5r6oIcE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMdJQxZTNjs

 

These look cool - but I think if I'm spending the coin, I'm going Icon.