Stock Taco has more articulation than stock FJ cruiser?

Can someone explain to me how a stock Tacoma has more articulation than a stock FJ cruiser?

I’ve been comparing notes from Tinkerers and he finally posted some numbers for a Tacoma.

I thought the majority of the suspension components on the Tacoma 2-3gen (I think 4th gen IFS) are relatively the same. Including some part number. (Not incl spring rate or shock valving).

It took me a minute to understand how he came with articulation math but essentially.

Measure Top of tire to fender. (At)
Full Compression - full Droop = Articulation number.

 

ha nice, was here looking for a post about Kais last video yesterday and here you are!
This is a link to the video and that is my tacoma

https://youtu.be/BKc6t28L-5M?si=GAgIKsRboM9MmJaC

 

Damn that one GX had less than an inch of down travel. Kai makes great content.

 

Doesn't he talk about this in another video? IIRC, the trucks have frame flex which give them more articulation.

 

That will pad ramp scores but his method measures each wheel individually which takes the frame flex out of the equation. I know several times, the vehicles didn't compress down to the bumpstop so it's probably spring weights and leverage from the longer frame.

 

Ahh ok. That makes sense.

Could also be the lack of rear sway bar in the Tacoma.

 

Also leafs. Totally different spring setup.

 

Im a bit confused as to how he got his articulation maths.

TLDR below

I’ve spent a good bit re watching for the 8th time various videos from him regarding articulation number.

Until I heard him mumble to himself while calculating full droop “divide by”
Divide by? Divide by what exactly?

Anyway. I did notice that most IFS with big lift struggle with articulation.

this got me thinking.
If we change the ride height further down the suspension travel. (Say 2in”)
This would make at full compression the control arm not touching the bump stop (as we see on various materials) Thus limiting compression, then weight transfer to the wheel at full droop.

but at factory height full compression it touches the bump stop.
This got me thinking.
If we lift / ride height change to 2in with a 650lbs spring rate coil, by preload. (IE fox 2.0 or something) We don’t touch the bump stop at full compression. Because it needs the full 650lbs to reach full compression.
but it can’t do that due to ride height change, and by the time it gets close to reaching the full spring rate, the opposite wheel is off the ground.
So We need less rating on the coil to reach the bump-stop?? Say a 550lbs spring rate?

Help me understand this.

TLDR

Essentially my question is.

What is his formula for measuring articulation?

When changing the ride height. To 2in (example) with a 650lbs coil we don’t touch the bump stop at full compression.
What do we need to change to touch the bump stop? To not compromise full available suspension travel. Spring rate?

 

A bit embarrassing that a stock vehicle has more articulation than a vehicle that has a whole lotta money sunk into it.

 

well there is a 2nd part of the video coming out, so stay tuned.
Also, I mean its all up to what the owner needs are, if they want maximum clearance and it works for them, why not? I would not call it embarrassing, Justino is a very good sport and we are all in this to learn what is the best for our own needs right? also his "embarrassment" helps others save a whole bunch of $

 

if you watched his video, for 3rd gen stock taco, it doesn't touch the front bump stop when at full compression.

 

Another excellent video from Kai and drills down on the tradeoff between lifting higher for more ground clearance and less lifting for more articulation for better traction.

My wife and I own a Taco and an FJ Cruiser. Both can clear Kai style 12.75" ramps at cross axle, based on the concepts demonstrated in this video. Both have full armor undersides to account for less ground clearance from less lift- 1" front and rear on Taco with 33" tires, 2" front and 2.5" rear on FJ with 35" tires.
Edit- Taco is 1.5" rear leaf spring lift, settled to 1.25", enabling longer length shocks.

 

Nice to hear Kai using our recommended 3" of down travel specs.

Lifting a vehicle can be done several ways. Some are performance based and others are for looks. This will affect your shock travel numbers and flex. Example: spacer lifts, preload spacers, aftermarket coilovers all do similar things, in a different way.

Proper suspension setup is something we preach daily. Suspension setup correctly will help keep tires from rubbing the fender, keep shocks from bottoming out before bump stops do, provide adequate up/down travel (with our 3" droop rule) and allow for suspension to cycle fully.

Flex/Articulation can be affected by several things including: spring rates, shock lengths, bump stop heights, sway bars, tire pressure and sometimes tire size.

There are trade offs. For example, soft springs and disconnected sway bar may help with flex, but ride terrible with any speed or cant hold up the weight of the vehicle.

The built vehicle in that video, may not be setup properly, especially with only having .5" of droop. If preload was backed off to get that 3" of droop, I'd be curious to see how it stacks up. There may be other issues preventing the suspension to flex, which would have me looking at the spring rates being used front & rear. Too heavy/stiff of a spring will not allow the suspension to cycle properly. Thats why its important to consult with your suspension experts before purchasing an entire suspension system

 

Almost every lifted IFS with larger than stock tires has less articulation than stock. The only way to add it is replace what hits and for most, that means longer control arms. A lift alone doesn't add articulation, it just moves the neutral point.

Just because they're not hitting the bumps on the ramp doesn't mean that's not part of the articulation. Come off something hard enough and you'll either be into the bumps or your tire will be into your fender.

 

Static vs dynamic

 

I need taller ramps. I removed my sway bar, I'm lifted very little. I tried to find the sweet spot of articulation and ground clearance.

 

@BluberryBCtaco, I also attained over 8" front articulation in my Taco without the swaybar, on Kai size ramps with Dobinsons stock height length coil springs over Bilstein 5100s, with only 1/2" up on the drivers side for lean, i.e. close to stock.

I can't speak to FJ stock components that resulted at the lesser front flex in Kai's testing because ours was already front modded with Icon adjustable coilovers when we bought it. All I did was add longer rear shocks and rear sway end links, so the old 3" rear lift coil springs could extend more. The additional rear traction then pushed it atop the ramps easily.