3rd Gen Owners with King Coilovers

So... my kst25001-119 and kst25001-121 are being installed on Tuesday with the standard 600lb spring. I’ll be installing a CBI aluminum bumper and steel sliders as soon as they’re ready in 15 weeks or however long. No winch (yet). I’m looking for any advice on how thread I should keep showing to maintain that 2-2.5in of lift and any wisdom y’all might be able to drop on me. Much appreciated.

edit: just read back a few pages and saw answers to similar questions so disregard that I suppose. Just nervous about leaving the correct amount of thread to give as much lift as possible but maintain a decent ride.

noob problems

 

this is with 3/4” of thread showing (about 7 threads), about 23.5” center hub to fender with steel skid plate

 

That looks just about perfect. Are you running 33s too? Do you know about how much lift you got in the front compared to stock?

 

They are 33s. I did not measure prior, but the general consensus is stock hub to fender is 21”, however most guys have stock fender flares that hang down a bit. You really don’t want to go past 23” with out UCAs as you’ll run out of alignment adjustment. Beyond 23” your CV angles will not be good either. Mine are angry right now. We’ll see how long before I have to put better boots in. Something noteworthy is my tires still rubbed at 24”, I got a cab mount chop and was able to back the collars down a few turns. At this current setting I do not top out the shocks, plenty of droop and the ride quality is great.

If you can get 650lb springs you’ll have to preload less for the same amount of lift.

 

Great info, thank you dude. I didn’t go for UCAs yet because King told me these work well without but they didn’t say how much lift on these would require new ones. I see people on here doing anything from 0-12 threads showing to achieve the full 2.5”. Are they just pushing things past what is safe? I’m planning on the chop same day as everything else. And just like every new guy on the forum I want as much lift as possible haha. Very tempted to push it to 11 drivers side and 9-10 on passenger.

I do like the idea of same lift with less preload. Going to at least mount the bumper in a few months to see how much it drops on the 600lb springs but it does seem like 650 is eminent.

 

The 2.5” thing is where this gets tricky. 11 threads will get you around 24”. A 2nd gen taco has our same suspension, same geometry but due to lower spring rates and different fender wells, the measurements are all thrown off. A 2nd gen starts around 20”, so 24” would be 4” of lift!!! That’s bad mmmkay... so the argument for 23” assumes our geometry is at 3” of lift and that’s right about max for CV axles and ball joints. At 24” my TC UCA uniball angles weren’t good and the ride was shit. Try 7 threads or about 3/4” showing, chop the cab mount and go from there.

 

If I can get 23” from 7 threads that’s awesome. Measured for the first time today and both fronts were only around 21.25 which is strange considering it had the OEM Fox suspension on it. Maybe I was on uneven ground but 1.75 of lift over factory plus the inch(ish) of additional clearance from the 285s is awesome. Swear I’m not going to be able to sleep until this gets done on Tuesday.
So not to beat a dead horse after I’ve already been told what’s right but... about 7 threads passenger and 8 on driver to keep it even or just don’t worry about the dreaded lean?

Btw I really appreciate all this help. Really nice to have a place where I can admit I’m clueless about this stuff and get some direction.

edit: my shop is overnighting the 650lb springs, looks like Tuesday is still the day

 

If you have a minute, take a look at this article. It's important to not have the coilover shock lifted too tall, otherwise you may encounter harsh ride quality.
https://accutuneoffroad.com/oem-front-coilover-shock-setup/

 

Do you own a TRD Pro? I would think long and hard before lifting that truck. It seems like a huge waste of money to buy a pro then rip out the Fox suspension, because that suspension is really all you paid for.

For the lean, adjust the passenger side 1/8” lower. Make sure to DRIVE the truck and stop firmly multiple times to settle the springs before measuring the lift.

 

Yes sir, I do. This was the plan all along since I wanted all the interior upgrades and didn’t want to order one and wait 6 months. Would have saved maybe $2k doing it that way which isn’t much broken down into monthly. The Pro suspension would probably be fine to handle anywhere I’ll drive it but it’s not hefty enough to handle the weight I’ll be throwing at it in the future.

ok that makes sense. Glad I won’t be needing as much preload due to the heavier springs now too.

Apparently the rears won’t be here for another couple weeks so I’ll be on kings of front and Fox + AAL for a little while. I thought gun part lead times were crazy nowadays until I started ordering parts for the truck haha.

 

Fronts done! Still waiting for the OME Medium leaf packs and kings for the rear. Going to install the leaf packs with stock Fox shocks in 2 weeks and then add the new shocks when they get here in 8 years

Stock measurements hub to fender:
Left front 21.5” Right front 21.5

measure measurements after King kst25001-119 with 650lb springs:
Left front 24” Right front 24”

only driven about 15 miles and sat overnight so thinking they’ll settle at least half an inch and more once the cbi bumper and sliders arrive .





edit: spoke with 2 people at King yesterday and today who told me anything up to 11 threads is acceptable and should function well on and off road. Recommended I don’t do a diff drop and that I do UCAs in the future.

 

Had 650# pound springs stock with a sso bumper but just upgraded to a relentless fab hybrid 115pounds with a 99 pound winch should I go up to a 700# pound spring have about 9 threads driver and around 7 passenger would like my front back up but don’t want a stiff ride and crazy preload stock skids and no sliders @AccuTune Offroad

 

The deed is finally done!

Front:
King kst25001-119
Hub to fender 24” both sides

Rear:
King kst25001-121
OME El111r Dakar mediums with additional leaf which makes it a heavy pack(? Someone please confirm)
Hub to fender 24.75 both sides

Immediately threw the tent on there, took the steps off and preparing for future mods .

 

This may have already been mentioned, but how are you all adjusting these on the truck? My resi hose is getting in the way of me making a full turn. Is the T handle adjuster from king the solution?

 

t-handle and with the truck (both front wheels) off the ground.

 

gotcha, tried to adjust with both off the ground and the 5/16th punch from king but could only go so far. Ill try the T handle

 

that punch tool has been pretty useless for me. I bought the T-handle and have used it multiple times.

 

Could someone be so kind and tell me The Size of lower heim (misalignment) spacers in front shocks. Figured someone must have replaced those already, no? I had bearings replaced a while ago, have to look into it again, and figured that maybe it would be a good idea to have new ones in case sh*t happens.

 

I have them in stock and you can buy just the spacer sets or with new bearings.

https://www.303shockservices.com/shop