Dobinsons Long travel front struts and rear shocks - 5th Gen T4R and FJC

Hey Guys, Mike Tomczyk here from Dobinsons.

We have been working on a new set of struts and shocks for the 5th Gen 4Runner, that will also work on the FJ Cruiser too. We wanted a longer travel front strut to get the most out of the front with having a diff drop kit and UCA's installed, and be the correct length for a true 3" lift. 575mm is the maximum we can go, and we were able to get that out of our twin tube design. The compressed length is 435mm. Twin tubes have been great long lasting shocks for several decades, and we wanted to make sure people can afford them too. These were made with the same valving as our 2" struts, which are considered a comfort ride, front and rear. We also raised the seat height on the front (it's a fixed seat, not adjustable) from the standard 213mm to 226mm. That extra 13mm will give about 1" extra lift height, so this means that by running a 2" coil on these struts, you will reach 3" of lift. Although we'd love you to, you don't have to use our coils.

The rear twin tubes are 432mm compressed and 730mm extended. For these, you will need some longer coils (we're making variable rate progressive 3" coils, due here in late January) so that they don't fall out (2" coils won't work), as well as 3" bump stop extensions (we're running Metal Tech), and a longer rear brake line.

Our 4Runner (as shown in my build thread) has been running these longer lengths for 6+ months and the flex has been awesome. Have to point out here that these wouldn't work with a KDSS vehicle, since the rear sway bar would inhibit the flex so much.

We're also working on our own UCA's, but R&D is painstakingly slow, so we're still a few months away from getting those complete.

Once again, here is the summary and comparison.

Dobinsons
GS59-574 - for 3" lift - extended length front struts - 435/575mm
GS59-575 - for 3" lift - extended length rear shocks - 432/730mm

GS59-700 regular 2" lift front struts - 432/541mm
GS59-701 regular 2" lift rear shocks - 362/583mm

Old Man Emu (OME)
90010 regular 2" lift front struts - 413/543mm
60080 regular 2" lift rear shocks - 368/603mm

I've been searching for a while for some good references to other brands and their length specs, but haven't found solid info. If anyone has it, please share and I will add it in.

 

Wow, that is a great price for RR rear shocks. Your specs are almost identical to the MT spec'd Icons, 17/28.5 if IIRC.

 

Yeah, we had a customer use our 6" rear 80 series Land Cruiser shocks because he was trying to max out the flex, and when we checked it out for ourselves, we found that the length was awesome. So that's where we got our length from. MT has been around 80's forever too, so maybe that's how they figured it out too. They were too firm though, so we played around with the valving to soften it up to give a comfort ride.

 

@Crikeymike

I need some help with picking the right suspension options for my 4Runner. It’s a 2020 SR5, no kdss.

I’m looking for 2.5, but maybe I’ll want more in the future. This is what I have picked out so far:

Front springs: C59-302
Front struts: IMS59-50574 Extended Travel

Rear Springs: C59-327
Rear Shocks:IMS59-50575 Long Travel

I don’t want it to ride like a dump truck. I plan to have rock sliders and maybe a low profile front bumper in the future. Also, I don’t plan on doing the full long travel rear, but plans change so I’d like to leave that option open. Hence why I have the long travel rear shocks, but it’s not clear to me if this set up is possible.

Thanks for your help.

 

Hey bud

The front will work well for you.

The rear long travel shocks can only be run with long travel coils. The C59-327 coils would fall out at full droop, so you'd have to run the IMS59-50705 or 50701 shocks with those coils. The shortest height rear long travel coil is the C59-675V at 3" of lift with stock weight.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the input. Any current deals or codes happening?