Need advise with rear suspension

Disclaimer: I know, it's called the search button. So feel free to berate and ridicule if you need to. I can take it and actually enjoy that aspect of TW.

2016 DCSB TRD Offroad

I got a little anxious with my suspension upgrade and nailed it in the front with Icon coilovers and camburg upper control arms. The rear was a big fail.

Rear is set up with Deaver J66 springs and Bilstein 5100s. Way too soft and bottoms out both on road and off. Was hoping I could correct with better shocks but the experts are telling me I have to start over.

So help me out TW. This is my daily driver but also my weekend desert offroad toy which is more important to me than the street ride. Not looking to do any serious rock crawling but some easy stuff. Mostly just hauling ass through the desert without having to worry about that nasty dip around the next corner.

Max weight in the bed will be my camping gear (approx. 400 lbs max) but I drive very conservatively with a full load. I want this to perform at it's best with maybe 50 lbs in the bed.

So I think I need both new springs and shocks for the rear. What would you do?

PS Deaver J66 springs and Bilstein 5100 shocks (approx 5000 miles) for sale cheap in Phoenix AZ.

 

Why'd you go icon front and trash in the back?

Icon out the rear and get Dakar leafs

 

I "assumed" this would be awesome as that is what I have on my 2004 DCSB TRD Offroad and that thing rocks in the desert. I wouldn't consider a full Deaver leaf pack at $700 trash but in this case it is. I F'd up and don't want to make the same mistake again. That's why I'm here.

Which Icons would you suggest for the rear and do I take a leaf out of the Dakars or leave them stock. I'm only looking for 1.5 to 2 inches of lift in the rear.

 

On my 2016 Limited I went with the Icon Stage one setup. I do only street driving and this setup firmed up the ride . Not spongy at all. The OEM setup rode like a Corolla !

 

Depending on what you want to do with it, but why dont you look into a mid travel SUA since you like doing high speed dez stuff? If you go with a dakar you will get more height, but lose out on the down travel. I guess it really depends on whether you just do mild off road or want to start hitting washboards and small hoops at speed. My rear has deavers and I love them, plush and eat everything up, but Im also SUA.

Coot

 

Same boat as you. Front seems easy bolt on but the rear on my 17' is giving me a headache. Yes, buying a "stage x" kit is set it and forget it but if you piece together the rear you can get optimal performance for the money you spend.
Shackle flips, ubolt flip, extended brake lines, shock mount relocation, bump stops etc etc.

See what lift your leaf pack gives you and buy the appropriate rear shock. Down south motorsports has been helpful to many.

 

@HeadStrong Off-Road

 

I'm intrigued with the SUA setup but know very little about it. If I go this route do I need to change the front as well?

 

Allpro leafs, u bolt flip kit, bumpstops, extended lines, and some kushy shocks

 

I am posting because this interests me as well.

I personally want to change to fox/king/icon coilovers in the front with a slightly heavier spring rate to compensate for a hybrid bumper and winch. The front is easy to solve.

My research over the last couple days indicates a shackle flip will increase flex in the rear, but give up some feeling of stability on road.

A SUA setup seems to be the best bet, but what springs? Deaver J66 work well for earlier gens, but have not on gen 3 from several reviews. SUA reduces the settling the Deavers are prone to, but does anyone have recommendations for which pack, or custom?

Basically I am in the same boat as the OP. I want a plush ride with little to no lift in the rear, and the universally recommended Dakars seems both too stiff and too tall to work out.

 

Nope, the front can be the same. I currently have Kings on my front end at about 2 inches in height. The SUA is about 2 inches in height over stock for the rear. Total chaos sells their mid travel kit, you can just get the SUA installed for now and keep your shock in the stock location. If you decide you want more travel TC makes a hoops to relocate your rear shocks so you can have longer shocks which would be 10 inch ones in this case. I went with the BAMF shock relocation so I can get 12 inches out of mine, but the fab work and calculation was much more involved as the BAMF brackets dont have much info on how to locate them without just cycling the rear a few times to figure it out. The TC ones are pretty straight forward from what I can tell and TC is very good about documenting installs. Just having a SUA rear though, you would probably notice an immediate on road difference.

http://www.chaosfab.com/individual-accessories.php?id=86450-HD

Coot

 

Where do I go to learn about SUA settups. With the SUA I will lose lift. How do I get it back?

 

Thank You!!

 

I think you should leave your new rear suspension alone and investigate by adding rear shocks with less compression and more rebound control. let the springs easily compress but not hop back up. Then if you still need stiffer rear suspension add a leaf from your old stock spring pack to your new spring pack.

 

If your truck currently has more than 2 inches over stock then you will lose some height. It depends on the kit, but when you go SUA it works in the opposite fashion of a traditional lift. Like dakars for instance you just get a shackle flip to extend, but if you are spring under then you would need smaller shackles to get height. What you can do though since the TC SUA can be ordered with deaver springs is you can tell deaver to make custom height springs for the TC SUA so that you can get your height to however you want. At that point though, I would be nervous to do more than 3 inches with your icons.

Coot

 

Seems like the general consensus of people who have problems with the Deaver J66 leaf pack are ones who have Double Cab Tacomas and have the same Bilstein 5100 shocks. After doing some research, Deaver can add-a-leaf or two depending on your needs and it stiffens up the leaf pack. The guys who done this seemed like it took care of the problem of bottoming out easily.

Before dropping any more money, try contacting Deaver and discuss your problem with them. They should be able to send you some extra leafs to add to your existing pack.

 

This is a good point and recommendation about deaver springs. Only issue with this is the AAL is typically made for guys who normally have excess weight in the rear. Given that some of you are blowing through your rear though this could be what you need. Could be worth a shot if someone wants to take the hit at trying it out. Hopefully the AAL wont alter your progression in the leaf pack too much. Also, this will likely give you another inch in height.

Coot

 

F the search button!!!

 

Hell yea @TacoMan2017 you are getting it this morning!

Coot