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Dobinson's "Review"

Discussion in 'Suspension' started by Wixo, Feb 12, 2020.

  1. Feb 12, 2020 at 3:20 PM
    #1
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Hank
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    Tint, LED interior
    I purchased the following Items:

    Front shocks: GS59-220

    Coils: C59-314

    Strut top plates: SC59-001

    Rear Shocks: GS59-940

    UCAs: UCA59-003K

    Ball Joints: BJ59-003

    I did not purchase the leaf springs.

    First off, let me state that I never understood the whole “beefy” shocks ordeal until I opened these up. The best way to define these is that holding the shocks and other hardware they feel manly. The pieces look and feel much more rugged than stock.

    During my first 200ish miles of ownership I noticed I heard a “clunk” when hitting bumps. It seemed to be directly caused by the new shocks. Someone with another brand of similarly structured shocks said they heard the exact same noise when they first got theirs. Coincidence? I think so. The clunk went away after a week or so. Nothing was damaged. I guess they were truly just breaking in.

    Quick comparison; I have to say that these ride taller than the Bilstein 5100/OME 888 combo. The 5100s were on the second notch, but they simply couldn’t hold the weight of the truck very well. That old combination rode very soft, but the nosedive during any bump or brake was very exaggerated. This Dobinson’s set up keeps the truck in a more stable, but not stiff composition.

    This Dobi lift is actually very high quality, very well tuned. It maintains the height I wanted, helps the truck handle better, and make for an overall smoother ride.

    After the installation the truck was not jacked up sky high, but significantly higher. It was like night and day between the rigid and virile look of my truck with dobies vs the slouched defeated look of a poorly combined Bilstein/ome mix. The difference was not only noticeable when parked, but when driving on the asphalt and when braking. Typically when braking, with the other combination of shocks and springs, the truck would nosedive too much. It was almost as if it were cowering in front of the other trucks. Now, the truck feels as if it were Jim Brown slowing down after crossing the finish line. Sure, there is a little bit of a nose dive, but its barely noticeable.

    Off-road is where the Dobinson’s demonstrate that they can really do what they were truly made for. This suspension lives up to the standards they were sold by. With the aforementioned Bilstein-OME combo any bump, dip, or rut I rode through the truck seemed to dive and then slowly come back up. With the Dobinson’s the truck seems to maintain control of the terrain and its own composure. Instead of being pushed around by the uneven terrain, the suspension does a fantastic job of not letting raised parts of the ground shove the tire up and therefore the whole truck rattles. The suspension is tuned so well that when the tire is pushed up by a rut the shocks seem to know how much resistance to give and maintain constant with the ground without jerking the tires down after the bump. This was very well-maintained last month on our trip to East Cut, SPI, Tx. We drove through some pretty freshly piled on sand and instead of the truck feeling like it was rocking side to side at times, it maintained a more composed and steadier trot through the beach. My shocks never felt like they “hydro locked” as others in the crew reported. If you work for my vehicle insurance agency or the Toyota dealership I got my truck from, the review ends here. If you don’t then keep reading. The crazy part is when no tires were on the ground. Out towards the northern part of SPI, nearing East Cut, there are some mounds of compacted sand…In the shape of ramps…that you can ride over…pretty quickly…and well I did. A 3rd gen 4R and I both went over these and caught some air. A couple inches really, nothing too crazy, but we jumped nonetheless. Once I landed from my .001 seconds of air, the suspension kept going without a single bit of hesitation. This was a <1hr drive through the sand, but apparently not all shocks can keep up.

    My gripes with this suspension so far has been that damn clunk I mentioned in the beginning. Was it just breaking in on the inside, or was something bumping into something else? Did my ball joints snap crackle and pop a little? No-one has been able to properly address it, but whatever. The other, more imminent one is the rust spots. Now Idk how these happened, but there are spots in different parts of these components that have been developing rust. While I can’t immediately blame Dobinson’s, because I didn’t inspect everything upon arrival, I can’t really believe they were scratched or scraped at the shop. The places where the rust is developing is in areas where there are welds or unions. These places are easy to be improperly PC’d or painted properly so its understandable, but QC should still have caught that.

    I will upload pictures of everything at a later time.

    If theres one thing that Dobinson’s USA does better than shocks its their customer service. I want to give a shout out to the man that put up with my constant nagging during the whole process @Crikeymike 7/7 for customer service my man. I do recommend you reach out to him if you are ever considering any suspension components for your vehicle.

    If anybody has any questions that they want to ask Id be glad to answer them.
     
  2. Feb 12, 2020 at 3:21 PM
    #2
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Here are some pics. They're not the best, but I did want to rush and take some now before I forget again.

    IMG_1765.HEIC.jpg IMG_1764.HEIC.jpg IMG_1762.HEIC.jpg IMG_1763.HEIC.jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2020
    My3rdTacoma and indoomitable like this.
  3. Feb 12, 2020 at 3:21 PM
    #3
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    2. Reserved for my responses to questions
     
  4. Mar 24, 2020 at 8:11 AM
    #4
    boston23

    boston23 Well-Known Member

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    Nice review, post some pics man. I’m considering dobinsons kit over ome. What spring rate did you go with? Your ride sounds a bit stiff, not too siff?
     
    BizzyB726 and Wixo[OP] like this.
  5. Mar 24, 2020 at 8:14 AM
    #5
    Crikeymike

    Crikeymike ExitOffroad.com Vendor

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    Those front C59-314 coils are 586LB rate, not hard at all
     
    Wixo[OP] and boston23[QUOTED] like this.
  6. Mar 24, 2020 at 11:57 AM
    #6
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Not stiff at all! It rides so dang nice! Its very comfortable, its doesnt sag nor bounce everywhere like crazy. I definitely recommend you send @Crikeymike a message! Ive been sooo dang busy, but Ill get to it asap.
     
    Crikeymike and boston23[QUOTED] like this.
  7. Mar 24, 2020 at 12:02 PM
    #7
    boston23

    boston23 Well-Known Member

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    I feel ya @Wixo. Do you have any added weight on the truck?
     
    Wixo[OP] likes this.
  8. Mar 24, 2020 at 3:06 PM
    #8
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Yeah, streamline bumper, winch, arb rear bumper, Smitty bilt tent.
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2020
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  9. Mar 27, 2020 at 3:15 PM
    #9
    mhshark

    mhshark Well-Known Member

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    I wish I went with the 354s as I went 1 spring up from you (352s) and am at around 1.5” over stock. Not mikes fault as I think I told him 2” was what I wanted but loved the 2.5” I got before they settled. I have a full plate front bumper and sliders, that’s pretty much it for front weight
     
    Wixo[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  10. Mar 27, 2020 at 10:47 PM
    #10
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    The 3” lift is addicting
     
  11. Mar 28, 2020 at 12:00 AM
    #11
    mhshark

    mhshark Well-Known Member

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    I want to stay under 3” so I don’t limit travel but yeah, I want more lift haha
     
    Wixo[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  12. Mar 28, 2020 at 7:52 PM
    #12
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Hey well you do you. Im sure @Crikeymike can set you up exactly how you want to be.
     
  13. May 12, 2020 at 4:32 PM
    #13
    ardrummer292

    ardrummer292 500k or bust

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    Sub'd. I'm considering the Dobinsons myself, just waiting for Miguel to get back to me with a recommended setup.
     
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  14. May 12, 2020 at 7:23 PM
    #14
    MT Hunting/Fishing Tacoma

    MT Hunting/Fishing Tacoma Well-Known Member

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    OP how did the UCAs work out caster/camber? Didn’t see tire size. Thanks!
     
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  15. May 25, 2020 at 12:50 PM
    #15
    camillethetoy

    camillethetoy Just a Minor Threat

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    Your shocks are the twin tubes? If so, you like better than your 5100s??
     
  16. Nov 7, 2020 at 5:34 PM
    #16
    TacoTaco-BurittoTaco

    TacoTaco-BurittoTaco Well-Known Member

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    Sub'd, wanting to see the pics and more info.
     
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  17. Nov 9, 2020 at 2:01 PM
    #17
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Sorry guys, I keep forgetting! One of these days Ill post pics lol.
     
  18. Dec 23, 2020 at 7:47 PM
    #18
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    I havent had any problems with alignment at all...only after jumping sand dunes at the beach with @ALI3N_123
     
    Crikeymike and ALI3N_123 like this.
  19. Dec 23, 2020 at 7:47 PM
    #19
    Wixo

    Wixo [OP] Platinum+ Member

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    Some pics uploaded.
     
  20. Dec 23, 2020 at 7:52 PM
    #20
    ALI3N_123

    ALI3N_123 ( -_・)ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘

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