Everything Elka and How They Compare

^^ Awaiting feedbacks after you get the lil b's and winch installed. I have a steel bumper, a winch and full skids on.

 

Remember, regardless of my opinion, if you take yours off you can always put them back on.

 

8 months, that’s a picture from 3 months ago though. I’ve been trying to get ahold of the warranty repair shop in California since. No emails, couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone, and their voicemail is full. Less then 20k miles. Lines are good I inspected them. Can’t tell if it’s from where the metal is crimped to the hose or the fitting connection . Fittings are tight I check every month or so.

 

I would call Elka directly or even Toytec. The Toytec shocks are built by Elka

 

Elka directs you to the warranty shops. I reach out to them first.

 

Ok, I have had the swaybar off and bumper on now for over a month and o love it. The only issue so far is that I get more rubbing now because of the extra movement. I’m just going to have to beat down my fender wells.

 

Which Bilstein's were you running before?

 

Factory stuff. It’s the Bilstein 4600. I had a 2” level on the front

 

Just ordered a front coilover kit to match the 2.5 DSC I put on the rear before winter. 8-10 week lead time from Elka right now.

 

I would recommend calling KRave or Overland Outfitters to see if they have stock. I bought my stuff from Overland Outfitters and arrived in 8 days

 

Krave is actually who I ordered through. Might be because I am having them put 600lb coils on (standard is 700lb), but they said 8-10 weeks to their shop.

 

Why would you switch to 600? Im running 700 with no problem…

 

2nd gens are lighter in the front and I'm not running any extra weight. I have 620lbs right now and wouldn't want any firmer. I like a plush ride and have shit roads where I live so I'd go 550 or even 500 if we had the space to fit such a coil in there with the right amount of preload.

Accutune has a great article on spring rates for the Tacoma. https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/coilover-spring-rates-for-toyota-tacoma-4runner/

 

Just put an order in with Krave this morning. Went with 2.0 extended with 14" 650 springs, luckily they were in stock. Just got the fronts for now. My 6112's have totally failed. One has separated at the top metal sealing cap and covered everything in oil. Lots of clunking noises going on. Also have a set of SPC control arms to install at the same time as the coilovers. Cant wait to see the difference this setup makes.

Going to stick with my 5160 rears until I have the funds to do the Hammer hangers at the same time as replacing the rear shocks. They are not leaking and seem to be working fine at the moment. I only have the icon AAL but I figure with the added droop of hammer hangers I should go with the extended travel rears as well.
Anybody have input on that rear setup? Am I headed in the right direction?

Also Ashton at Krave was super great to deal with. She was very knowledgeable and answered all of my questions quickly. I'm glad I found their shop recommended on this thread.

 

I found the stock leaf pack to be the limiting factor in ride quality. You can have the best shocks in the world but that won't help much with ride quality if your springs suck. AAL only helps with lift, they don't really help ride quality at all. I went with OME dakars (mainly for cost and availability) and found they made a significant difference. And those aren't even the best leafs out there. If you are going to fork out for hangers, I'd highly recommend you get a better leaf pack as well.

 

@Saskabush
Thanks. I’ll look into leaf’s, maybe do those before the hangers. The hangers are very expensive, especially in Canada. I was just going off of reviews I read where the hangers make a big difference regardless of springs used. And I’m satisfied with the height I have with the add a leaf and overload in place.

 

I did @ARCHIVE Hammer Hangers with stock leafs, but was in the process of ordering the Heavy Leaf pack from Dobinsons' through @Crikeymike. I can say the HH's (and added a cross bar) made a huge impact per the buttdyno, then I added the new leaf packs and it was another significant improvement, both in the rear end sag and ride feel.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...a-archive-garage.519625/page-98#post-23334405 -- Hammer Hanger review
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-archive-garage.519625/page-102#post-23439844 -- same thread as above post Dobinsons Leaf install

These were all done before my Elka's arrived.

 

Yeah I'm considering hammer hangers myself for the same reasons. But the $1000 price tag here makes me really want to make sure they are worth it first. Would love to hear from people who installed them separately from other components to see how much difference they actually make.

 

Well, that was fast! I was just saying I like to hear from someone who installed them separately from other components lol.

Did you notice an improvement on the double bounce over short fast bumps like cracks in the road? Even with everything I've done for suspension, the thing that drives me nuts is how the box seems to do a quick double bounce on short fast bumps. Kinda like the frame is reverberating after the shocks absorb most of the hit. I just figured it was my 10ply KO2s that are stiffer than I need...

 

Hammer Hangers are totally worth it...but knowing the price difference between covid, supply issues and currency conversion I can see the hesitation. Check out my links above your post, there are tons of other members feedback...plus the last I saw, the version 3 are even more low-profile/tucked up higher.

So there are some of those on my commute to work that are still kinda there, but I will say the looseness feeling in the end on cornering, carrying load, etc. is completely gone. Even running stock leaf and suspension with the HH's and cross bar added it was significant, especially since I had a 70 mile drive home from a members home who did the install work for me.