Spring impact on overall suspension performance Q

Hi all,

Was planning on upgrading the 2014 DCLB SR5 suspension to 6112F/5160 rears, but keeping the stock leaf pack since I'm only at 26k miles and the 6112s allow for future lifting if i go that route. Looking at #2 perch setting for 1.08" lift up front, which would put me at ~.5" rake thereabouts.

Question is...how big of an impact do springs play in the overall handling/comfort/ride of a taco? Are they primarily for handling load, and dont really come into play much in terms of cornering/stopping/handling bumps etc?

Its a bit of a technical question, wondering if any suspension guru's might have a good explanation.

 

Springs are the major player.

Shocks dampen/control the spring action.

Tires matter in terms of sidewall flex. Which relates to the amount of sidewall and PSI run. For ride. For grip, compound, tread pattern and age of the rubber matter.

Swaybars are a form of spring that can be used to 'tune' for handling.

The right setup reduces dive (under braking) squat (under acceleration) and keeps the tires in proper position in cornering (retain traction)

That's just a bit of primer. Keep in mind there is a mega difference in street handling vs off road handling, and how they are accomplished.

Braking is all about grip. Once the rotors/drums are locked, the available grip from the tires is what's left. And if the front tires are trying to steer, both braking and steering are reduced. Tire only has 100% of its available grip, so the steering and braking can't add up to more than 100%. It's one of the ideas behind antilock, the releasing pulses allowing you to steer more because you are braking less.

 

my focus is almost entirely street. I've kept my wheel/tire combo light with ray10's and 265/75/16 at3's

i'm trying to achieve a good handling pavement pounder but with gravel road capabilities (work); hence keeping the truck lower, lighter weight wheels/tires, and now the 6112/5160 (600 lb spring).

what i'm worried about is the stock springs. I'm noticing the tires are great in the corners, but the suspension cant handle bumps in the turns. It seems the suspension is too slow to keep up with changes in the road surface around a corner, and breaks the tires loose. I'm hoping the 6112/5160's fix most of that. Worried the springs will limit performance.

Have any advice? keep the stock spring? good replacement for stock spring that keeps stock ride height? i've searched quite a bit but most of the feedback on the forums is geared towards offroad/lifting and not street performance

 

Sorry I mean stock leaf pack

 

So I take it you're speaking of the rear end skipping around when you say

Did I get that area of concern correct?

I do think a higher damping rate shock is in order. I don't know enough about Tacoma shocks in general, but I'd 'assume' your new rear shocks are better than the OE shocks. And certainly will be if they have over 40-50k on them.

I'd try the new rear shocks and see what happens.

Unless maybe @Torspd has some thoughts he'd like to throw in here.

 

rears are stock now, 28k miles on the truck. Front has a spacer and thats it, and those will be going away with the 6112's

both the front and rear act the same. Feels like the tires arent coming back quick enough after a bump through the corners, front or rear. the rear has an additional sloppiness behind it which is hard to describe. Rough and clunky.

my concern is primarily making sure the rear leafs arent severely limiting the capability of the truck with new 6112/5160 setup. Because now would be the time to upgrade them. Although sounds like some trial and error might be the way to go.

 

Keep in mind that it is possible to overdrive a vehicles capability.

My lap times were always faster when I focused on being smooth rather than running on the ragged edge.

Not saying that's what's happening. But if you experiment with lower speed you might find a big change with little loss.

 

Street performance from a truck designed to flex is the paradox.

www.definedengineering.com makes a rear brace, which acts similar to the X-Runner x-brace. That will great add rigidity needed in the rear. Either.

The shocks are limited due to their intended design for valve control, the soft rubber bushings, and the rear frame being C-channel. Swap out to polyurethane bushings, on top of the brace. Add a rear sway bar.

www.sosperformance.com

Think about stiffer rear springs once those other components have been addressed.

Then if you really want to carve corners, we'll talk about methods to reduce lateral axle movement.

 

Just trying to get it "dialed in" to be able to carve some corners when needed. Nothing fancy. I do have some HPDE/racing experience; used to own a spec miata for 6 years. I keep things smooth, take the correct line, etc

Everything's a compromise, especially on a truck. Sounds like some incremental upgrades are in order. 6112/5160 should be a huge improvement regardless. I'll install those, see how they do, then come back to this thread.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

That's funny. I hope I didn't sound too 'preachy', but that was basically the spiel I'd give novice drivers who were struggling with vehicle control in autox that were sent to me for ride alongs. Not because I was extra fast, but because I was calm and had 'quiet hands'. Which still gave me consistent top 5 overall finishes over much more powerful and modified rides, with younger, faster reflexed drivers.

Yes, in a Miata too. 12 years. Not Spec grade. Still a street car but with some nice handling upgrades.

Glad @Torspd chimed in to verify an action path for you. My experiences with solid axle cars was all drag racing oriented. All my handling experience was related to IFS/IRS vehicles. The Miata and 3 variants of Z cars.

Interested to hear if shocks alone make a notable change.

 

@tacomavan too bad, you just missed a group buy on the largest set of sway bars available here: http://www.xr-underground.com/threads/official-sway-bar-group-buy.58605/page-3

You might be able to see if someone backed out of a set.

I am building my truck into a complete street-build so have considered the options you. Biggest difference is I only drive street and didn't want to lift; since every shock/leaf combo is geared towards that I have kept everything stock so far. I have an X brace from an XR as well just need to get it fabbed up and then these sways should be in soon with the SOS kit @Torspd linked ya to.

Keep us posted. I'm interested how those new shocks work out for you. Everyone I contacted said they wouldn't perform very well at stock height so I steered clear.