Dobinsons 2016-2023 Taco Suspension Options

Front IMS struts came back into stock today. All backorders will be shipped out next week.

 

Looks great, did u have to extend the brake lines?

 

Thanks Man
Have to, no not really a spacer and longer bolt would've worked post shock install, but they they were provided when I purchased my shocks and coilovers (front were stock+1inch, rears were 24inches)

 

@Crikeymike I ended up going a different route but just wanted to say thanks for the insight and really do appreciate the great customer service you give

 

Hey guys, need a sanity check to make sure I order the right combo of parts. I don't want/need much lift. DCLB, topper, sliders, skids, and racks, haul probably around 100 lbs of tools/gear around daily. I think with the weight I'll come in around 1.5 to 2 inches of lift, and stay within the "safety" zone of not needing UCA's for alignment issues.

Front: 314 Coils, 221 Front Struts
Rear: 111R Leafs

 

I have almost the same setup. DCSB. The suspension settled to just over 2 1/4”, rides great. I meant to do a write up but haven’t got around to it. The biggest thing I can mention at the moment is don’t mess with leaf spring lower shackles. Keep the originals. I was unsuccessful at removing the presses in metal sleeves and the provided bushings won’t fit.

 

These photos are pre and post lift, but prealignment and settling.

 

Yes, that setup would work well. Will be about 2" front and rear

 

They do fit when the shackles are cleared of the original bushings completely. But you're right, on a newer truck there's no need to go thru that trouble, just keep that bushing in place.

Here are the bushing instructions: https://exitoffroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ExitOffroad.com-Tacoma-Bushing-Install.pdf

 

Thanks for the input and confirmation

 

Can you tell me which leaf springs you added and are you still happy with them? Thanks

 

Installed the GS59-220 shocks and C59-352 coils today. I got a perfect amount of lift out of them and the ride quality is great!

Here are some pics:

 

Solid setup right there. Looks real good too

 

Front coils arrived yesterday!

 

Finished installing the following kit today:

C59-314 - 2" coils
GS59-221 - struts
L59-110-R - 2" leaf springs

$315 GS59-940 Dobinsons Pair of Rear Shocks Compatible with Toyota Tacoma 4x4 2005-2018 - GS59-940

GS59-940 - shocks
PS59-4030 - 1/4" spacer

Definitely way taller than I expected but praying to baby jesus it settles significantly over the next few days. No idea if I actually needed the 1/4" spacer or not but I installed it anyway. Front end was pretty level but rear passenger was higher than rear driver so figured maybe the spacer would help with that.

Swapping out front strut assemblies was super easy. Second side only took me about 20 minutes once I was confident with what I was doing.

Swapping leaf springs solo was a bitch and a half but it ultimately worked out; my body is wrecked though.

What has everyone done with the emergency brake cable? Just not worry about it? Seems like you could cause some pretty gnarly damage to it at full droop.

No pictures yet as I haven't had a good opportunity since I did the work in my apartment parking garage and I want to wait for it to settle fully before making any final judgement. Drove it around the neighborhood a bit and I definitely enjoy the ride quality. Still need to go back around and torque everything to spec and get an alignment scheduled but don't want to do it too quickly.

 

Check out what @cubie did. I did this and it works fine.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dobinsons-16-taco-suspension.474308/page-24#post-22792279

 

Alright, I went through and torqued all the nuts and bolts to spec, put on my leftover Spidertrax 1.25in wheel spacers, and emptied the bed. I'll get some better photos another day since weather is kind of crappy but these will at least give an idea of what it looks like. Overall, I'm really happy with it. I won't be bummed if it settles a bit more, but if not, I'm cool with it as well.

With the 4Runner wheels + wheel spacers, the stance is awesome. I was super paranoid about rubbing, but I've got a ton of room between the body mount and the fender liner at full lock on either side. Enough that I would doubt it'd even rub under articulation. They're 265/70/17 SL-rated Falken Wildpeak AT3W's for anyone that's wondering. Hopefully I still have that much room after alignment as well. We shall see!

As others say: ride is "stiffer" but nice. Very "sporty" feeling like a pre-2016 Mustang when they still ran solid rear axles. Luckily I'm a lifelong Mustang fan so I can appreciate that kind of ride.

I'm going to hold off on taking measurements for a week or so so the data is as accurate as possible but I'll post the results when I do. Unfortunately my stock height measurements were from the ground instead of the hub, so it may not be as accurate as others'.

Everything is dead quiet so far which is great. No squeaks or rattles or extra noise post-install. I only installed greasable bolts at the front leaf spring mount. I think others have pointed it out, but there might not be enough room with the zerk fitting on the bolt head for the rear shackles.

Also, since my truck is a 2020, I just left the stock rubber in the truck-side of the rear shackle. I didn't want to fuck with replacing all of that since it's basically a brand new truck.

Emergency brake cable: I did as @tacoma04 suggested and it is a really easy solution, so thanks for pointing that idea out. Only issue is I think I overtorqued the bolt on that bracket on one side since I didn't realize how easily the sleeve compresses. Oops. If it causes any issues in the future it'll be easy to fix so I'm not going to worry about it for now.

Anyway, I'll get my real camera out in a few days and get some nice shots of the truck. For now, this is the best I can do:

 

It works out perfectly in that location too! You may have to bend the bracket a bit to get the e-brake cable to lay straight inside of it.

 

Alright, slightly better pics after a few days. Still hard to tell if the front is settling at all since the pictures make the truck look level when it should be almost factory rake. Who knows.

Anyway, alignment is scheduled December 1st, then I can clean everything up and go take some glamour shots for the 'gram.