Eibachs Ride Bouncy

Hi everyone, I recently just installed The Eibach Pro-truck 2R kit, with 285/75/r16 KO2s. I know that the Eibachs are a softer shock, which aids in performance off road by letting the axle oscillate and ride through bumps and dips. It's just that I've noticed that my daily driving has gotten a bit "worse". I notice little imperfections in the road more. Is this because of how soft the shock is? Do I have the coilover set too high (2.5")? I would also like to add that my tires are from 2018, so they are old and I need to get new ones soon.

 

What’s the alignment look like?

 

I replace tires every 6yrs max regardless of mileage.

 

Just got it aligned on Friday.

I'm replacing them in a couple weeks. They're just temporary so I could see if I like the size

 

Alignment spec sheet?

 

I have installed a few of these in Tacoma's.

The Eibach's don't perform well at the 2.5" mark. They leave hardly any down-travel left in the shock which will cause that rough effect. Measure center of hub to fender and then lift it from the frame and measure again. I would be willing to bet that you only have 1-1.5"ish of down travel left at that height. You want to have a min of 2" of down-travel and 3" is even more ideal.

You could add a small spacer on each side (1/4") to save a little more down travel (1/2") as a solution and then lower the collar a little.

 

Okay, I already had the rear done which means that if I lower the front, I’ll be at about a 1” rake. It’s weird that 2.5 is too high for the Eibachs, when they advertise that you can go that high. On top of that, I’m not even at the top of the threads in terms of how far the collar can actually go. Maybe I should wait until I get some newer tires before I jump on anything?

 

Tire pressure and tire load plays a big role too. C-load will ride significantly better than E-load. Measure like I said and I think you will have your answer.

 

I spoke with the guy that helped me out with these, and he says the height should not be an issue. I think for now I’ll let them settle, get new tires and see how it all goes.

 

The eibach's don't like to be more than 1.5" of lift honestly. They can and will go higher, but you'll be trading off ride quality for looks.

No shocks on a stock travel Tacoma like to support 3" of lift. What do I mean by that? 3" of lift and you'll only left with about an inch maybe 2 inches of down travel. When the shock rebounds over a speed bump, pot hole, crown in the road, it's going to max that out and clunk and/or be super jarring.

They are all advertised as 3" of lift as that's what everyone wants and technically they can do it. But will ride like shit.

After having numerous lifts and suspension setups on my truck, 1.5" of lift is the sweet spot for most everything.

 

Okay, but if I lower the front (I would have to lower it an inch to hit 1.5”) I will have an insane amount of stinkbug. Not to mention I will probably need to start cutting to fit my 285/75/r16s. What’s my best course of action? I didn’t want to deal with the rear so I took it to a shop. They removed some overload and put in my icon AAL

 

This. AF.

In your avatar pic it looks like the front is WAY too high. Bring it back down and it will ride significantly better. Judge the look after you see it finished and then choose what to do in the rear. Getting the front setup perfect being IFS is more important than the rear height. I have ADS 2.5's and they also sucked with too much lift/preload. Turned them down to about a 1.65" lift and it rides much better.

I have installed the Eibach 2R's for people before and they really ride best at their preset height out of the box.

 

1. A lift does nothing to help fit tires. You're just moving where the tire sits at ride height. What a lift does do, is provide some ground clearance. Larger tires also provide additional clearance. By combining a lift and bigger tires, you can gain a lot in ground clearance.

2. To address your cutting concerns, you will probably need to trim a bit no matter what. Most 33's don't really fit on a Tacoma without some form of cutting. They might be OK on the street (because of your lift), but once you get it offroad it will rub. Most guys on 33's will go with a cab mount chop (CMC), some pinchweld work, and some fender liner trimming.

3. As @drizzoh said, get the front riding right and where you want it, then figure out the rear.

4. Also, lifting a truck too high (on an IFS truck) just totally butchers the geometry of the front suspension as well. The truck gets harder and harder to align, you get some funky bumpsteer issues, etc.

 

What’s the preset out of the box?

 

1. How does a lift not help to fit tires? It adds clearance between the fender and the tire, no?
3. How would I “figure out the rear”. What way can I get it to come down without taking out my AAL and putting something else in? Plus I don’t want to have to pay another labor cost just because I don’t like the product.

 

1. A lift just moves the tire downward in the wheel well at ride height. Effectively increasing your trucks distance from the ground. A lift kit doesn't increase the physical size limitations inside the wheel well for your tire to move around in. These trucks rub (mostly) in the rear of the wheel well (towards the firewall). Lifting a truck upward does not magically increase this space, you can increase this space with correct alignment and cutting. No way around it unfortunately.

2. I'm guessing your truck is leveled right now and you like the way it looks. But you're complaining about the way it rides. And I get you don't want to pay labor twice on work to the rear end. But to me, ride quality is paramount. These trucks look great with about an inch of rake front to back. My truck is 1.25" lower in the front than the rear so I can load up the rear for trips. It does not look ridiculous at all. I'd much rather the front be lower than the rear all the time, versus the rear riding 2" lower than the front when you decide to load the truck out for a trip.

3. Once you get the fronts lowered an inch, I'm sure the ride will be more to your liking. It will ride softer. Then, throw 200-300lbs of sandbags in the rear of the truck. That will lower it to match.

4. For reference, the rear of these trucks is usually an inch taller than the front from the dealership. So your add a leaf should have raised the rear 1.5". You only needed to raise the front 1.5" to keep the same rake as factory. Your 2.5" of lift leveled it.

 

This a coilover kit, right?

Your front coils are too stiff for your weight probably.

 

I think your answers have been sufficiently answered; just came to say these guys are right. If you don't believe them, take some measurements (so you can return to your current specs if desired) of your coil overs, then lower the collar to see how much it affects your ride. Even though these guys are right, it might not make "that much" of a difference (ride comfort is subjective). The truth is, the spring rate of coils may be more stiff than you're comfortable with no matter what height you set the collar at. Just the joys of trying to make your ride better off road (makes it worse on road).

 

A suspension lift only helps you clear a bigger tire while driving on a flat surface with the steering wheel centered . As soon as you turn your steering wheel you will still rub on things inside the wheel well and as soon as you hit a bump and your suspension compresses you've just lost your " lift". A good example of this is when people put a lift on and expect not to rub but then back out of their driveway and when you hit that bump at the end of the driveway with your wheel turned...ruuuuub. When you install a lift you only change the static height of the truck, your suspension still cycles the same distance.

I think someone else already covered it but if you bought E rated tires I guarantee that is 90% of any harsh feeling you are getting

 

its also kinda unclear; did you install new (old?) tires at the same time as the lift? Do you have your original wheels/tires or can you borrow a set from another Toyota friend for literally a 10 minute drive to test if your discomfort is wheel/tire related or purely lift? Might be beneficial to do before you make any more difficult/expensive changes.