Edmunds - Tacoma OEM Bilstein Failure

Was this article covered on TW?

https://www.yotatech.com/articles/edmunds-torture-test-toyota-tacoma-trd-off-road/

 

The fact that Edmunds goes off on a tangent about not airing down, and how “inconvenient” it is to put air back into the tires, is the kind of stuff that makes my eyes roll when I read off-road articles written by mainstream auto journalists.

His assumption that “most people” don’t air down is wrong as well. Granted, I don’t know any Honda Ridgeline “off roaders”, but I personally don’t know many off-roaders who go without airing down, period.

 

I agree if you're off roading but I sure as hell don't air down for a dirt road.

 

I’ve done Racetrack in Death Valley: it is not just your average “dirt road”; in addition to miles upon miles of washboard surfaces, it has of lots of big, jagged, loose rocks. Not airing down was just dumb.

None of which justifies Tacoma’s shocks failing. But still, one has to wonder the judgement of Edmunds and crew.

 

Great, now the sr5 guys are really gonna light up TW...

 

I've done it too, not aired down, didn't blow a shock.

 

All of the trucks in that video had to have new shocks installed. They even drove the Titan that was hauling 1,000 pounds of gear the same way as the other two trucks and acted surprised. All I can really say about the Edmunds crew is that they're an exceptional group of individuals. There are a few threads about it here on the forum...

 

They’re driving the truck as if it had a full King long travel kit... the stock Bilstein shocks are just as wide in diameter as an American quarter. Combine the abuse with the aired up tires, and you get that.

 

It's effing searing out, he didn't air down, from what I can tell he was going fast, and all on stock yellow Bilsteins that are already on the small side.

Forget the fact that I wouldn't subject anything less than the Raptor's Fox 3.0s to that kind of abuse; my ass bone would be screaming in pain 60 seconds into barreling down that washboard road at 60mph...

And they're Bilsteins, with valving that doubles the sensation of every small bump in the road. If you want a desert runner, Fox 2.5s are in your future. But hey, this is Edmunds. Probably couldn't even figure out what monotubes offer over generic twintubes before this debacle.

 

I think the unofficial Toyota rep comment does sum it up best.

It's dumb to engineer a truck for one scenario when they know their owners that will likely be in that scenario will have stripped off the factory shocks anyways.

It makes sense for Honda to engineer the Ridgeline to handle that road because Ridgeline owners are not going to be swapping suspension out for a unit of their choice, assuming they even have an option. Honda has to resolve it on a factory level while Toyota doesnt.

What surprised me was hearing that the Bilsteins on the OR were 36mm and not 46mm. I thought the OR had 4600's!

 

I can'y blow my shocks when picking up thots at forever21