Soft/Supple Suspension Advice

Hey guys. I had a 2018 Tacoma SR that rode really soft on the road and over washboard fire roads with the stock Hitachi shocks. I now have a 2022 SR with Hitachi shocks that rides very jittery and firm all the time on the road. You can feel every imperfection in the road so the truck basically vibrates/shakes all the time very slightly. Tires are good and balanced, no vibes there. Deeper into it's travel on big bumps, it's not as harsh so I think it's due to stiff initial dampening in the shocks. I'd like to keep the truck stock height or at most, level it off with 1" up front and zero in back. I won't be adding any heavy weight to the truck with steel bumpers, racks or anything. No real heavy off-roading, just on road and some occasional washboard fire roads.

Some people say the stock OR shocks are soft riding. Cheap and easy to find used. Some say they're stiff and harsh though. I'm willing to go as far as a full adjustable height and dampening coilover but need to know it will truly soften up the ride, or have the ability to with the compression adjusters. Also if I go Fox or King, looking for spring rate advice, knowing a soft ride is what I'm after. I located a set of OE Fox Pros but not really liking that they lack adjustability. On an old Acura I had, I ran a set of compression adjustable KYB shocks that were great. The range of adjustment really worked, from super soft to really stiff. Something like that would be awesome as well. Just not finding anything designed around OE springs.

 

Sounds like you’d benefit from Fox DSC Adjustable coil overs. They allow you to change low and high speed compressions. As far as spring rate, if you truly don’t plan on adding any weight, I’d go to say you would be good with 550lb springs.

What load rating are your tires?

 

For direct oem fit. The 4600 is a bigger version of the TRD offroad shock, and handles washboard slightly better.

The KYB Gas-a-just is another OEM direct fit, no lift, that handles washboard better than any of the stock shocks (except pro)

The 5100's will give you 1" but they tend to ride more firm, and firm does not equate a good ride for everyone.

I run wash board every other day and the 4600's weren't a god send, but improved over the KYB's I had.

Running a Fox 2.0 or Bilstien 6112/5160 at low lift will yield the best results, leaving lots of up and down travel, with less shock overheating.

 

this is a good start. and if no weight then i agree with 550lb springs... i run them on my Kings. your load rating and tire pressures are a big factor.

if you dislike the harshness and want 'supple', then you won't want to stop there. your next huge upgrade for your ride quality is found on this site, and if you're serious about that ride, buy once cry once and all that... and then thank me later, say goodbye to the Tacoma jitters..
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hammer-hangers-by-archive-garage.519625/

ride quality has been one of my main missions with this truck. years of work and tweaks to get it right. good luck to you.

 

I’m skeptical you can make any significant difference in your daily driving experience by only changing the shock absorbers. Shock absorbers are a rather simple device that convert kinetic energy into heat. If you really want to make your truck drive like a car, you need to be considering things like replacing the solid axle leaf spring suspension with a independent suspension, but I don’t recommend this route.

In any case, here is a good video on the pros and cons of different shock absorber designs. Note that he says that inexpensive OEM shocks are probably the only thing you need for a daily driver.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fSMWw6PQVRM

 

Can you soften the ride with coil overs that have adjusters? Yes.

Should you drop $$$$$ on that type of suspension upgrade if you don’t off-road it? I’d say no, waste of money unless you are mega OCD about ride quality. Diminishing returns at best.

I just installed a full Fox 2.5 suspension which replaced Bilstein 6112/5160 combo. Opposite ends of the spectrum for sure. In your situation I’d have no hesitation telling you to get the 6112/5160 instead which ride great for stock height. Save your money for other mods.

One thing nobody mentioned yet and often overlooks is tire pressure. If you have the same Hitachi OE shocks as before maybe your tires are overinflated or something. Fixing that is free 99 if you can operate an air gauge.

 

I just has 6112/5160's installed on Friday (replaced OEM shocks). Had it lifted an inch just for shits & giggles (4/3 settings in front and a 1 inch block in back to keep the rake). Mine is a daily driver, mostly highway miles with the occasional weekend trail roads for hunting/fishing, etc. No extra weight to speak of. The on-road handling is NOTICEABLY better now. No more bouncing over bumps and ANY road imperfections. no more body roll through turns, no more nose dive when braking. It's so much more of a 'plush' ride...Hardly feel any of the normal road bumps anymore. Just a much more 'planted' feeling with a MUCH smoother ride. Wish I would have done this a year ago! Couple this suspension with the 'tune' I did last year and this thing is actually fun to drive now!!

I was about $1700.00 all in for parts, install w/ initial align and a f/u align in another 1K miles...

 

Yeah OP, this is a much more wallet friendly alternative that gives good results. At the end of the day, depending on your budget and driving styles, then I’d say 6112/5160s or OEM Fox/Kings.

Again look into your load rating on your tires and what pressure they’re at as previously mentioned do play a big role in ride quality.

 

Fox DSC was one I've been looking at. Just not sure how firm their valving is or how well that range of adjustment works. If the adjustment range really works well from super soft to firm and I can choose my spring rate, I should be able to get exactly the ride I'm after.

Tires are 265/70r17 Wildpeaks SL load rated, currently at 34 psi. I'm going to try lowering the pressure a bit this week. I ran these same exact tires on my 2018 SR, which rode very soft compared to me 2022.

 

If you buy them from Accutune they will custom tune them to whatever you want for no extra charge. I personally don’t have Fox DSC on mine but have read they’re perfect for if you do load up your truck you can crank up the compression, and then click them down for daily driving on the street.

Also to me your tires sound just fine, maybe you could drop the psi a little? That’s all personal preference. It’s easy to play around with different psi levels.

 

A smoother ride is for sure possible with just shocks. I had the same exact truck I have now but a 2018 and it rode way smoother. Same tires, pressures, etc. From my experience racing autocross in cars with adjustable dampening shocks, riding motos and mtbs with fully adjustable suspension, having high and low speed compression adjustment ability can make a massive difference in the ride.

I could tell from my first test drive that Toyota changed the tune in the Hitachi shocks from my old truck. At the time, I knew I was going to swap out the suspension so didn't worry about it.

 

Good reminder on the tire pressure. I run two high end gages, one digital and one liquid filled race quality gauge from Quickcar. I also compared pressures with both gauges and they match. Same tires and load rating as my 2018 SR and same pressure at 34 currently, but will try it lower this week.

 

Accutune did message my on another thread and I plan on giving them a call to get their thoughts. I'll try the tires at 32 tomorrow, adjusted when cold of course! I'm pretty particular with all of this.

 

I don’t doubt shocks might be noticeably under racing conditions. I used to ride dirt bikes as well. I just don’t think, based on theory and my personal experience, that they make much difference for daily driving; certainly not for how much some of them cost.

Off road shocks have increase capacity to dampen oscillations, dissipate heat, maintain consistency under load, be tuned, be adjusted, and be rebuildable. They are not some magic device that makes daily driving more plush or “planted”; whatever that means.

I’m extra skeptical about the frequent claims of shocks reducing “body roll” and “brake dive” as that is not the function of shock absorbers. That is the function anti-roll bars, springs, and suspension geometry.

 

Thanks for the great suggestions and offering up the various ride qualities of different shocks at stock or lifted 1"F/0"R height as many do. That's exactly the info I'm looking for. Thanks guys!

 

Do you guys know what spring rate the 6112s are? It appears they come with springs and are not designed to be used with OEM spring right? I wish I knew what rate my OEM SR springs are!

 

Which Fox 2.5s? They list some with adjustable dampening and/or remote reservoir and some without. Also, how would you compare the on road ride quality over rough pavement of your Fox vs your old Bilstein setup?

 

I went with the newer Performance Elite Series which have remote reservoirs. Since they are adjustable I can tune them depending on what I'm doing on the road. If I want it soft, I turn it softer. Fancy pants stuff but by no means necessary. I only bought them because in the long-term they are rebuildable, I plan to keep my Tacoma for a long time, and I plan to offroad more in the future.

Really can't say enough about how good the 6112/5160 combo was, for the money I'm not sure you can do better (thought finding them in stock nowadays is the hard part). They definitely found a sweet spot with performance and price point in that package, and they are perfect for 0-1" lift.

Frankly if you are just doing onroad stuff spending $5k on a fancy Fox/King/ADS/etc. suspension is a waste of money. Dobinsons is a good option that will lower the cost and still give great performance as well if you absolutely have to have fine adjustments.

 

Gotcha. If going Fox, I'm curious how the 2.0 would ride compared to the 6112/5160. It'd be nice to have the finite ride height adjustment vs the snap ring type. For the Fox 2.5 with DSC, it was looking like they're around $2,199+tax for just the front pair. I'd install myself and wouldn't need control arms at a 1" lift. I didn't think as far as rear shocks to pair with those yet.

So the 6112/5160, you had the stock springs they come with? I'm curious if I could run those with softer springs, say 550 lb.

Hate to derail this too much but, where do the FOX TRD Pros fit into these options? I'd assume they ride awesome, yield a 1" front lift but have no adjustability? I do like the idea of some trick OEM stuff like that though.

 

I could be wrong but I don’t think the TRD Pro Fox’s have compression adjusters. But they’re specifically tuned for our trucks so they’re pretty solid right off the bat.