Fox 2.5 Performance Elite vs Ironman FoamCell Pro vs Dobinsons MMR's

Hey all,

So I am in the process of shopping for new suspension for my 2016 Double Cab and am somewhat stuck on what the right direction is. I've been shopping around and have narrowed the options down to either the Fox Performance Elite 2.5's or the Ironman Foam Cell Pro or the Dobinsons MMR's. Either way it will be a stage 2 or stage 3 kit with leaf springs getting changed out too. Hoping to get a lil insight. I don't do any jumping or super high speed stuff so its more a set up for general to hard off-roading and overlanding. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Honestly, unless you are doing competitive racing or something where the small differences are noticeable it doesn't really matter. Pick your favorite color lol. This is coming from someone who's had Bilstein, Fox, and Elka on his truck.

Getting the shocks tuned for your specific application is WAY more important than which brand you go with. In which case, the brand will come down what the shop carries where you are getting your custom tuning from. That being said, you can't really go wrong with any of the shocks you mentioned.

I will say that having adjustable compression is by far the best. Yes you pay more but it gives you way more control over how the truck handles in different situations and with different loads. Without going internal bypass (which requires custom tuning and $$$) there really isn't going to be 1 shock that perfectly handles everything you do. That's why having adjustability is nice. The alternative is to learn the difference between digressive and progressive valving and chose which one you think you'll like more.

If you really care about ride quality in the rear, look into Archive Garage Hammer Hangers. It doesn't really matter what leafs you get, the rear shackle mounts are the weak point. They flex and act like a second spring which causes extra bounciness. I don't really have a recommendation for rear leafs though. I went with Dakars (don't recommend) and haven't tried others. So anything I say would just be repeating what I've heard here.

 

That is excellent advice. Kinda what I was thinking while doing research.
How did you like the Elka's?

 

If you're looking for a complete kit, we can help you out with a custom tuned Fox setup. Tuning is included FREE with the shocks in our kits and ride quality is our #1 goal with all the shocks we ship out. Lots of Tacoma shocks in stock too. Shoot us a DM if you have questions or can take a look at our options here: https://accutuneoffroad.com/product...-tacoma-2020-2005/mid-travel-suspension-kits/

 

Love the Elka's! Though I honestly didn't have many complaints about the ride on the Fox or Bilstein, all things considered. The reason I switched to Elka was because I get -40 winters where I live and kept blowing shock seals. Unfortunately in Canada we don't have any authorized Bilstein or Fox repair facilities to send the shocks in for warranty or servicing. And Fox basically stopped sending parts up here too. So since Elka is made in Canada with repair shops around the country, and because 2.5 shocks have less pressure than smaller bodied shocks (less force on the seals), and because adjustable compression is key in -40 winters when your shock oil turns to molasses, I ended up with Elka 2.5 DSC all around lol.

With the custom tuning and coils, some creative weight distribution in the box (Dakars need constant weight), and the right compression settings, I've got things dialed in perfectly right now and my truck rides as good if not better than a 4Runner. Which is saying a lot if you know much about Tacoma suspension.

 

Makes total sense to me. I would've switched too. How often are you finding you have to rebuild shocks just out of curiosity?

Ya dang thats impressive!!

 

So far I haven't had to rebuild any yet. I've only had the Elka on for about a year now. Before that I was forced to just replace any shocks that blew lol.

But I only got about 2.5 years out of the Fox 2.0 Resi on the rear before those seals gave up. I still have them. My plan is to rebuild them myself and keep them as spares for when I have to send my Elka in for servicing. I'm a 6 hour drive away from the nearest repair shop unfortunately so I need to take the shocks off and send them in. But I daily drive my Taco so I can't afford to have no shocks for a week or so while they are gone. The joys of living in the middle of nowhere Canada lol

 

Are these 2.0 shocks IFP or remote reservoir?

Fox new Performance Elite Series have aluminum shock bodies, which is similar to Elka and will hold up better to corrosion.

 

Remote Resi. 985-24-118. I believe they are also aluminum body?

 

Yes, you are correct. Just curious if it was remote reservoir or not.

 

I have Elka 2.5s and although I do love the ride quality, at 25K I’ve already had to replace the spherical bearings and now all the seals are leaking. Not the end of the world, but let me continue…

According to Elka, there are only two places in the US that are authorized to rebuild Elkas, Roll Design and Impact Solutions. Roll design wants $225 or so to rebuild one shock. The guy that runs Roll is difficult to deal with. The guy I talked to at impact solutions was incredibly nice, but his quote was even more expensive.

So at this point I decided that I was going to rebuild them myself, but there’s no information about the rebuilds. Elka said they have zero documentation because they don’t expect folks to rebuild at home. The don’t have a price list for parts; nothing. After calling and having a difficult conversation with them, they told me that they would provide the information. That was two weeks ago. I still haven’t heard anything.

Last week I called @AccuTune Offroad and while I was in the phone with them they texted me an exploded diagram of all the rebuild parts. It’s refreshing after dealing with Elka.

Tomorrow I’m calling Accutune and ordering my Fox suspension. It’s painful, but I’m excited to finally ditch this Elka BS.

I’m going to try to rebuild my Elkas as backup, regardless if they provide documentation up front. I’ll try to document what I can, but otherwise I guess it’s a loss because there’s no way I’m going to sell this clapper out suspension to someone else, especially if there’s zero documentation of rebuilds or parts lists.

One think that I have learned in this process, you’re going to need to rebuild your suspension often. As someone mentioned before, it’s important to have it valved for your uses, but it’s also extremely important to have a rebuild plan. Is the rebuild info easily available? Do the rebuild centers act like they are curing cancer and unwilling to share basic information without being condescending? Can they provide a sheet of all rebuild parts with pricing? If not, run away!

Some day I’m going to have to rebuild the Fox suspension that @AccuTune Offroad will be there to help me with whatever I need when I do.

 

I have the Fox PES. So far I’ve been impressed but only have about 2.5k miles on them. Probably going to pull the rears out and sell them and do a shock relocation in the next month.

 

Does Fox make a PES in 12 - 14" that's needed for shock relocation or would you go with something else?

 

The Fox PES line of shocks is for OEM bolt in shocks only. You would need a "universal fit" shock for the shock relocation. https://accutuneoffroad.com/product/05-tacoma-mid-travel-suspension-kit-stage-5a-fox/