ADS Off-Road Racing Shocks - Information, Pictures, & BS Thread

Edited

 

Customer is being taken care of by DSM and ADS.

 

I just want to make it clear DSM has been absolutely fantastic to me. I was planning on calling them this morning, the only reason I didn't call them earlier was because it was a Sunday. Micah I'll call you in a little bit here.

 

Sorry for the drama guys. Just wanted to help someone out. I'll leave this up to downsouth to work out.

 

well hope connor gets something in return for these multiple mess ups. regardless of fault, companies should take care of their customers.

 

Just letting them handle their business and I'll stick to mine.

 

Not all of ADS products are 100% bolt on. Some, like these require a little extra attention, and thats where usually the dealer discusses this with the customer to inform them. I have alot of experience with the ADS products. Its not uncommon for a stock width truck to have issues clearing the resi when mounted on that spot on the frame. Even the 2nd gens have similar issues with certain wheel combos and offsets.

ADS did make an error on the original build, but they took care of it. No company is perfect and mistakes happen, but how they fix the issue is what is important.

I guess thats where the difference of being a shock company and a fabricator who occasionally sells shocks comes in.

 

My guess would be something like under compression and with the wheels somewhere near full lock.

Also, isn't competition a good thing for consumers? just kidding! Haha

 

well he wasnt able to compress them yet so im assuming that at ride height and if he turns he hits his resis.

 

Well shit. The 255/85s are pretty skinny too right?

 

In most cases. A wheel spacer will correct the issue.

 

When a shock is listed in a manufactures catalog as being a direct fit OEM application, one would assume that, that means it fits stock OEM vehicles that use the stock mounts and are stock width.. Oh and that they are a direct bolt on with out any modifications.


These were originally built with the incorrect top caps. ADS replaced the tops caps to the correct ones, unfortunately it seems as they were not tested for this application and are now having an issue with the reservoir placement.
I spoke to Brian and he and Connor are going to do the install/fitment check/R&D and replace the damaged reservoir at ADS.

ADS makes a very clean and very quality machined part, and they are bound to have a hiccup every no and again, believe it or not even the big 4 have their issues. DSM will continue to stand behind Brian and ADS as a top contender in the shock business.

Thank you Matt for pretending to keep your nose where it belongs, I as well as everyone else appreciates your input and the fitment testing you have done with ADS. Please stop taking subtle pokes and go on about your day.

Don't let these issues detour you from your interests in ADS shocks. If you are interested in ADS shocks, please shoot me a PM and I will verify fitment with the manufacture, check stock and get you a cost.

Thanks
Micah

 

I tested them on a dirt road for a little. I catch the resi with my tire when turning and under compression. Imagine you are on a dirt road pointing straight down it, you stick it in first gear, dump the clutch, and cut the wheel hard to the left to make a U-turn. The outside tire, passenger tire, gets compressed slightly from the weight of the car wanting to roll to the outside as you spin around the turn. Boom your tire catches the resi on the passenger side, breaks both the hose clamps and rips it off the mount, bending the mount and scarring the reservoir in the process.

The resi won't move any where else with the current length of hose. Trust me, I've tried haha. There just really isn't a good place to put it. If the hose was shorter you could mount it where you would normally mount an air bump, and it would clear, but then where would I mount an air bump down the line?

The reservoir does clear at ride height. So I'm good to drive around until I get this all sorted out.


Currently working with ADS to R&D some a new bracket so no other 1st gen Tacoma or 3rd gen 4Runner runs into this issue.

 

This was my thought as well

Well said

 

These look badass! What type of finish is that? Anodizing and powder coat? What color or finish would one ask for if that's what they were looking for? Can't tell but is that a textured coating or just a flat finish? Thanks.

Nate

 

Its a black ceramic coat. All ADS come with a clear ceramic top coat. There is an additional fee for the black.

 

That is a sweet finish

 

Sweet. Thanks!

 

Alright. My situation is all sorted out finally. So here is my experience with ADS in one post.

So my initial purchase was through Downsouth Motorsports. Bought ADS front 2.5 Coilovers with Reservoirs. Let me just say, they were excellent to deal with and I will be purchasing through Micah for as long as I am in the off road game.

Couple days later received my coilovers, attempted to install them, they didn't fit. Quick call to ADS and we realized that they accidentally sent me a 2nd gen Tacoma shock body. Mistakes happen, whatever. Quick drive down to Tucson and they quickly fixed the mistake and sent me on my way.

Tried to install the second time and everything went smoothly. No issues to be had. Did a quick drive over to my buddies shop to weld the resi mounts on and I could already tell how much I was going to like these coilovers. After that happened, we went on a quick test run on a dirt road. We quickly found out that my tire hits the resi when turned and under compression.

Called ADS again and we came to the conclusion that it was due to my wheels backspacing. Well I thought that was kind of dumb, I'm running stock wheels. Especially since I planned on running 35's in the next couple weeks. So we began to cook up a date that I could come to Tucson and we could figure out a new mount so that no one runs into this issue again.

So without further ado, here is the new mounting location for all coilover reservoirs for 1st gen Tacoma's and 3rd gen 4runner's.

Special thanks to Micah at DownSouth, if you ever need anything shock related, he's the man to talk to. Special thanks to Brian and the rest of the ADS crew for making me feel at home while hanging out and working with them today. I had a fantastic time.

IMG_4794 by 4Running Daily, on Flickr
IMG_4793 by 4Running Daily, on Flickr