ADS Off-Road Racing Shocks - Information, Pictures, & BS Thread

That can't be right, I bought 13" smoothies with remote resis and clickers and they were $900 each.

Edit: If I remember right the 13" is based on the 12". They have the same compressed length but they do something internal to get that extra inch of travel. So I would expect the two to be similar in price.

 

Here you go https://adsshocks.com/product/smoot...=2-125tubedi&attribute_pa_strokein=12instroke

 

No need to quote me. I already have mine.

 

Those are not adjustable according to the description. Also, they are the smaller, 2.1" diameter shocks.

I'm guessing that those that paid more are running the 2.5" diameter version and really do have clickers.

 

Correct, I'm running 2.5 with remote resis and clickers

 

Awesome service from these guys! I dropped off my coilovers for a rebuild/re-valve on Friday and got them back today! They took the time to talk me through the process and why they might want to replace any of the significant components. I’m really impressed.

 

Been a while since I last contributed to this thread but I have some miles with the second re-valve now so chiming in again.

Got my suspension back from ADS at the beginning of July with the new tuning changes I requested that resulted in "the lightest Tacoma shocks we have ever done" regarding stiffness. For the first time the shocks finally feel like they are setup properly for me. It is a completely different truck compared to before the revalve. One size fits all does not pertain to damping, and I appreciate ADS working with me to get the truck riding the way I've been wanting it to since I first installed the suspension in November.

The goal with the whole setup was to increase the ride height while keeping the ride quality close to the stock Off-Road feel, but improved. I still wanted the suppleness associated with those shocks but without the vagueness; and with increased high speed stability, greater roll, much better fade resistance, and progressive valving qualities. I also wanted the ability to tune the compression externally to balance for whatever I had in the bed or for the terrain.

I first had them reduce the compression in December which was a big improvement to overall harshness. The truck has evolved since then and required some significant hardware changes in order to ride and perform how I wanted. These changes included a softer leaf pack (from Icon RXT to Deaver J66), BAMF greaseable shackles and reduced preload up front (from exposed 21 threads to 13) to find the sweet spot for down travel vs. lift. With the correct suspension geometry and spring rates, the tire pressure was retuned as well. With the tires and springs balanced for my weight, the shocks stood out as the oddball and the necessary changes in the latest revalve were as follows:

• Soften front high speed compression to make it happier over potholes, drops, speed bumps, etc.
• Slightly increase front high speed rebound damping (slower) to reduce harshness
• Significantly increase rear high speed rebound damping (slower) to reduce bucking (more than fronts)
• Soften rear low speed compression to get more weight transfer and body roll
• Soften rear high speed compression to make it a little softer than the front

These changes have resulted in a truck that is now very comfortable on the road (that can now go over potholes and speedbumps without giving you an additional asshole) while still providing increased feedback in the steering and tires and you can still feel the road without additional harshness. It's still stiffer than stock, but it's the good kind of stiff. The weight transfer properties are much improved now with the rear actually having some body roll when cornering which makes it feel balanced to the front with the removed sway bar. These changes have also reduced the braking nosedive (unexpected, but not unwelcomed) and increased slow and high speed stability. The truck is much nicer to be in and it does not feel like any performance has been lost. I'll be the first to admit I was nervous to test drive again after getting them back this time, but this has been a huge win and my proposed tuning changes were spot on.

You could feel that these were performance shocks since the initial install, but they always felt like they were tuned for a much higher weight class and with an emphasis on performance vs. comfort. The truck could almost hold a candle thru the high speed corners to my street-tuned coupe which was absolutely not necessary for an offroad vehicle IMO. Stiffness is good, but excessive stiffness is not anyone's friend. Everything about the truck is better with these feeling like they are finally correctly balanced for the truck and the entire suspension setup feels in sync now. It's also nice to not have the interior rattling over every bump and crack in the road. To be honest, with all of the raving reviews on these, how they are riding now is how I was expecting them to ride out of the box.

Glad I stuck with ADS because they really do make an amazing suspension when it's tuned right. So nice to finally enjoy driving this thing.

I need to go get this dirty, but for now, here's a shot of a very happy truck

 

i would love to have the notes you sent them when I eventually send mine in. I can let them know my setup, but looking for something similar. Great to hear they worked with you. Setup sounds fun!

 

I'm glad I'm either blissfully ignorant to that level of nuance in suspension, or that my setup, weight, and butt preference matches the ADS valving well! Either way, glad you got yours sorted and also glad to hear that ADS was so willing to work with you on that. That's pretty amazing!

I'm curious how much lift you're running? It looks really tall which is somewhat surprising to me given that you even reduced the amount of preload you have on it.

 

Tyler should know me by now (read: probably sick of me) if you wanted ask him about the newest setup for Andrew from Arizona. Not sure if he has the shim stack info handy or if he just winged the rebuild, but he's been great to work with. He also suggested the J66 to me over the RXT due to my weight. If your truck is pretty much factory weight and you're looking for a ride quality more similar to factory but more controlled this valving might be a good option. My coworker has my take-off Off-Road setup on her 21 SR5 so I get to compare changes I make frequently.

Unfortunately I do not know the specifics of what was actually changed or the final values of the shim stacks since ADS performed the work, but the truck is comfortable to be in without feeling squishy and certainly isn't overly stiff anymore. There's still very good feedback.

I truly wish I was less aware of every aspect of a vehicle and just be able to drive and enjoy it how it is, but that isn't me at all lol. The pic makes the lift look higher than it really is, and I don't know exact numbers, but is set to sit just higher up front than the factory rake with the J66 in the rear. The pack adds about 1.5" to the rear so the front should be ~1.75 lifted. The inner CV boot fins just barely touch at this height. 1 thread lower on the collars and they did not touch at all.

ADS is awesome to work with and I love that they're local. I wish I liked it more out of the box, but had my truck been beefier to really need a 2.5" setup I'm sure I would have been happier to begin with. I just only wanted to buy it once and I wanted damping adjustability - which for whatever reason doesn't exist unless you buy a really high end shock.

 

to be honest, I was just going to change my 14” 700# coil for a 14” 650lb…

 

Might make all the difference. ADS already took the time to benchmark their valving for the tacoma, not saying it's perfect for everyone but it's a good place to start. In my experience with running 700lb springs on my mid-travel setup, they get too harsh when preloaded. Pretty sure the return force with a 700lb coil was overriding the rebound valving I had. I got 500lb springs on the LT setup and so far it's been perfect but that's apples to oranges.

 

I’m leaning towards it. Next rebuild.
plus you have a 2nd gen right?

 

Pending***

 

Anyone running these without the clickers? How is the valving?

 

I was. They’re great off-road. Valves a little soft on the street, but I was also over sprung for my setup (stock weight on 650# springs).

 

Also running no clickers and 650 springs. Modest 1.5” lift. Great, controlled ride off-road. Firm on the street, IMO.

Be sure to grease the lower bushings at install.

 

I am coming from Icons so the firm ride I am used to! May opt for the clickers though. Also people dealing with corrosion should try the neoprene coilovers covers. I've ran the icon ones in addition to fluid film for the last 3 Wisconsin winters and have no corrosion, on the aluminum bodies or the coils.

 

No corrosion, but I did install them dry and got some binding at the lower bushing. Pulled the lower mounting bolts, greased up the bushings, problem solved.

PS. I love the fact that they get zero attention. Some folks might not like that, though.

 

What type of grease did you use? Going to install mine soon.