Dobinsons 5th Gen 4Runner Suspension options

Hey!

I’m measuring at about 3.5” to 4” of lift with the following components installed /

Front Lifted Coil Springs
C59-302 - Stock - 2.5" | with 110-150lbs - 2"

C59-327 Rear Coils
C59-327 - 2" with 200-400lbs weight

how much should I expect it to settle / in how long? I’m panicking a little lol.

thanks!

 

Bad pic. Might want to do a daylight shot.

 

What struts/shocks did you go with? I think the extended travel (i.e. - 574/575) add an additional 1" to the lift. I just had 302's and 505's installed for IMS and they came out perfect with the weight I have added. Although sagging originally with the weight, I came out 22.375" front (2.375" over "stock" 20") and 23.5" in the rear (1.5" over "stock" 22")

Edit - also, are you measuring center hub to fender or ground to fender? If you increased tire size and are measuring ground to fender, it will come out higher

 

lol yeah, we just finished the install and it’s dark out.

 

My struts are the regular travel IMS with the 302 coil which should give me 2.5” lift with stock weight in the front.

My rear coil is should be 2” of lift with 200-400 lbs. I have about 100 lbs of weight on the rear right now maybe a little more. Shouldn’t be up to 3.5” of lift unless this settles a wild amount.

 

Hard to tell from the dark pic but looks like you also added dobs UCAs and more agressive tires. Looks like you will need to do a fender liner mod (the ole nip/tuck) like I had to do to keep from rubbing

 

Yes I did upgrade my UCAs but had the 275/70/17 on with my stock suspension. Had to trim the fender liner and heat mold a bit to fit the wildpeaks.

 

Pretty sure the website says 1/4" drop for every 100# added weight. Doing backwards math, if 2" height with up to 400# you could potentially expect 3" with little to no weight. Still curious if you are measuring from the ground - increased tire size will cause it to seem bigger. Mine seems HUGE even at 2.375" front and 1.5" rear with the new tires. What are you center hub to fender measurements?

 

lift height was measured pre/post install with the same tires in the same spot.

yeah even the 1/4” per 100 lbs wouldn’t put it on track. To gain 1.5” of lift over what the coil says would mean 600# of added weight.

 

True. If you had added weight before lift then you can't measure pre/post - if so, I'd have an additional 5/8" or so from original sag. That's why I use 20" front and 22" rear "stock" measurements center hub to fender as the baseline per website. 1.5" extra height in the rear seems excessive and like there is a problem. If it were the fronts id suspect an issue with hat seating (i think thats the term). *full disclosure* - I am not an expert and had someone else install my lift. I was told the rear would settle more than the front but I don't expect more than 1/4"-1/2" of settling at most?

@Crikeymike have any ideas?

 

Some thoughs….

You mentioned it’s in the same spot where you installed it, and that you just finished it. Have you moved the vehicle yet, say driving it a few miles and over a few bumps, before taking your measurement?

Did you tighten and torque the lower control arms on the ground with full weight on the tires?

might also be worth double checking that the rear springs are seated correctly.

 

This.

You can't measure lift height immediately after installing it. Nothing has settled, no alignment has been done, and everything would still be a bit preloaded from being in the air. Tires grab the ground on IFS vehicles when you lower it down.

 

Drove around, measured, in getting an alignment now. Called Dobinsons after bringing it into my local shop and they said they see way more settling on their product in 4Runners than other suspensions. He said it’s totally normal for it to settle 1 to 1.5” over the first week or two. That’s reassuring. Maybe I’ll throw some sandbags in the back and take it out to Little Moab or west desert to play. =)

Here’s a better pic. Thanks everyone!

 

Hi @Crikeymike,

Yet another validation of choice post:

Wifey has a 2011 Limited daily driver w/120k that she loves but suspension feels terrible and I suspect XRES has leaked out. Truck is stock with 20" wheels and we intend to keep those and OEM tire size. Truck has leather and third row seating with constant load of crap for hauling around 4 kids. As it sits in the garage (sans kids but with what I'll call 'semi-permanent mom cargo'), stock lift measures 19 3/4" front and 21" rear so the back seems to sag a little compared to average. I want to upgrade the ride feel with particular attention to body roll and brake dive as possible (daily drive on curvy mountain roads) with as little effort as possible.

Currently looking at 238/700 front and 323/705 rear kit. Would you suggest moving up to 599 in the rear given the third row and load of kids/cargo?

 

Hey bud

Since it's all stock, I'd do the 238s and 323s as you listed with those struts and shocks. It's a really nice setup to replace the XREAS and freshen up the whole ride. I've had many people do this but no one write reviews that I can think of on the forums. It should come up to about 21" front and 22" rear approximately. Springs rates of those will greatly improve the handling too, especially for brake dive.

The 599s would be a little too much rear lift.

This page here has all those parts and options:
https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-1-to-3-5-build-a-kit-toyota-4runner-5th-gen/

Let me know if you have more questions!!

 

Hey @Crikeymike, pm sent.

 

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Just head to https://exitoffroad.com to check out all the options!!

 

Hi Mike

I have a new 2023 ORP with KDSS. Ride seems a little firm and bumpy over hard packed snow/ice and other bumps. Not sure if from KDSS. I recall test driving sr5 without KDSS and ride seemed softer.

I’m looking into getting shock upgrade to help make ride smoother over bumps/pot-holes, dirt roads etc.

Do you or anyone on this thread know how the ride feels after getting Dobinsons IMS soft tune compared to stock w/ KDSS? Does it soften up the bumps compared to stock or make them more firm?

I’ve looked at Ironman Foam Cell Pro as well but I think these make ride firmer.

right now with the KDSS it rides pretty tight around corners with minimal lean and breaking nose dive that I’ve noticed (although I’m in break in period and driving her gently).

 

Hey bud,

That's not a normal description that I hear about stock suspension. Usually it's pretty soft and I don't hear people describe it as firm, so it must be the KDSS that you're feeling. You can order an on/off switch from DRKDSS and try that first to see if that softens up the ride when you need it, then go from there.

The IMS definitely smooth out rough terrain much better than stock, but they're still going to be firmer in some situations since they're a high pressure monotube shock instead of a low pressure stock shock.

 

Hi Everyone, new to the forum. Planning a lift
I have a 2022 TRD Off-Road Premium with KDSS and 275/70R17 Tires
Will have these installed before the lift

• Winch - Smittybilt X2O GEN3 10K Winch with Synthetic Rope - 98810
• Front Bumper - Westin Pro-Series Front Bumper - #58-411155
• Victory 4x4 4Runner Hatch Ladder
• Rotopox - 2 Gallon - Red

This is the kit, I am looking into - Please confirm, if this is the right config - Appreciate your help.

Dobinsons 1" to 3.5" IMS Lift Kit Toyota 4Runner 2010-2022(KDSS)

• Front Springs: C59-302 - 2.5" Lift Stock Load, 2" w/150LBS Added
• Load Front Shocks: IMS59-50700 Internal Monotube IFP Shock suits 0-2" lift
• Rear Springs: C59-505 - Stock rear end, 2" lift
• Rear Shocks: IMS59-50701 Internal Monotube IFP Shock suits 0-3" lift
• Dobinsons Front Upper Control Arm Kit (UCA's) (UCAKIT-002K)
• KDSS Spacer Kit - Treaty Oak Offroad

 

That's a super common setup. It would set you up with about 2" of lift front and rear with the weight and once settled.

I sell all of those parts on this page here and it's also all in stock.
https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-ims-suspension-kit-toyota-4runner-5th-gen/

 

Had our shock/springs on now for almost a year and could not be happier. The 4Runner rides great on the street and handles off road awesome!

Had it aligned a couple times to get it just right, JBA specified 4.5 caster for their UCAs and it worked out perfect.

 

@Crikeymike

Im wondering about just leveling a stock SR5 Premium 4WD non KDSS runner. This is a daily driver 95% road, 5% fire road or jeep trail, with no modifications, other than I added the stock pro skid plate.

I was looking at:

C59-300
GS59-700
C59-323
GS59-701

Shocks in black with the red coils.

With settling would this level my ride or would I need to go with:

C59-296 instead?

I tried to search this tread for an answer, but its seven pages deep at this point... And it seems most people want 2" or so of lift.

 

Hey bud,

Yes, it would be level with no rake at all pretty much with that setup. Factory rake is usually right around 2", so lifting the front 2" and the rear none, it would level it out. As long as you don't load up the rear with gear or passengers too much, you could do that. Using the C59-296 for 1.5" front lift may be better to keep a little rake in place for loading, but that's up to you. You could always add some 15mm spacers to the rear if you feel it's not high enough as well.

 

Thank you good sir.

 

@Crikeymike

One last question, the stock coil-over top hats are compatible with gs59 series, correct?

 

Yes, they're compatible with all Dobinsons front strut options.

 

Hey @Crikeymike

I'm about a couple years since my IMS install with 314 springs in the front.

Since install my front passenger side has been sitting about 0.8" higher than my driver side. Finally I've decided to adjust the passenger side down. I noticed it said in the instructions that most vehicles double the adjustment height at the wheel compared to on the shock. Just wanted to double check, for 0.8in that means I should do 6ish turns downwards?

Thanks in advance!

 

Hey man. Whatever the lift height is that you want to reduce it, you cut it in half and that's how much you lower it. In your case, you'd lower the coil seat by 0.4" to reduce 0.8" of lift height on the high side.

 

Hey @Crikeymike, hope you're well!

I'm looking to upgrade to Dobinson's and wanted to double check my choices with ya before pulling the trigger.

I have KDSS, and I'm looking for about 2.5" lift in the front and want to keep about 2" (or slightly less) of rake.
I have stock front end weight and ~275lbs of constant rear weight. I also have a Sherpa Roof rack and C4 slides (which I know aren't really taken into account).
I was thinking:

C59-302
MRA59-A700
C59-327 OR C59-325(not sure if I can actually pull this one off)
MRA-59-A701

I already have the Dobi UCA's as well, and love em!
Thanks in advance and appreciate all the help you provide the community!