Fox Life!!! Anything Related to Fox Suspension

Let's nerd out for a minute and look at triangles. The relationship between the shock adjustment to actual lift is pretty close to this powerpoint masterpiece. The distance from the lower control arm pivot point to the lower eyebolt (A) divided by the distance from the pivot point of the lower control arm to the tire center (B) is the same ratio as the change in shock height (X) divided by the change in lift (Y). It's not exact but it's definitely not 1:1. Adjusting your shock 0.5" won't get you 0.5" of lift. I rudely measured my truck and it seems the distance A is about half of distance B.

I'd go for 0.25" of shock height will get you 0.5" of lift as a guess. But forget all this, it's mostly trial and error.

 

It’s generally accepted that it’s a 2:1 ratio like you nerded out on. Kudos. And thank you.

 

Nice math..

 

No. Preload is a reference to the weight of the vehicle forcing the spring down. Different vehicles weigh different amounts, so preload is unique to everyone’s specific truck, although there are a few common setups that will be similar to yours. So you’ll have to install and adjust, using the 2:1 ratio as a guide, not as a precision predictor.

 

Do you happen to have a pic of how you used the straps?

 

I didn't take a pic on the truck but I snapped a few pics using my old 5100s/oem coil. I didn't use the hooks but I looped the long strap through where the short strap is connected to the ratchet and tied a figure 8 knot (top pic). I fed the free end of the long strap 4 passes around the outermost coils (second pic), in through the top, and out through the bottom. Then I fed that free end into the ratchet, put some foam behind it to protect the shiny fox coils. I tried to make it so my figure 8 knot was was inside the spring, about halfway between the top and bottom coils to avoid any hang-ups on the knot. I made sure the straps were all free of any twists as well. You want the straps to smoothly slide as if the coils were acting like pulleys (Pullies?). This might not work so well if the fox springs weren't smooth AF. As you tighten it, you should see all of the straps moving together. I only tightened mine enough to remove any slack. I slowly raised the truck and could see the spring stayed compressed and had about a 0.5" gap to the top hat. I wanted to adjust more than that so I lowered it back down and gave the ratchet a few cranks and lifted back and it had more gap. I could just grab the collar and spin it by hand after loosening the pinch bolt. I used a tool anyway and made sure to keep my fingers clear of the spring in case the strap failed. Did I mention it was sketchy?

On the second side of the truck, i didn't have good strap spacing so the spring did a slight banana thing. Watch out for that. Make sure the spring is seated properly before bringing the truck back down. Or, in the amount of time it takes you to read this, you could go buy/rent some legit spring compressors. I tried that at first but the ones from autozone are too fat to fit between the coils.

 

Thanks, its always good to have a plan B.

 

@Tacompa the specialty products compressors 40260 are great. I’ve used them on my truck, 3 other tacos, and an f-150. Def worth the investment. They allow you to adjust on the truck or to completely remove the spring to change springs or rebuild shocks. If you you have buddies in town, you can split with them. That’s what we did. Highly recommend.

@RedHeadedStepside i suggest these for you too!

see products listed below...

 

I’ve been reading this entire thread for a while now...doing my suspension on my 2015 DCLB now for the second time and am almost done assembling parts...

Accutune 2.5 Fox/resis F/R ext travel. SPC UCA, Deaver u402/2, archive garage HH/u bolt flip with bumps.

All I have left to order are my front coils, and I wanted to see if anyone had a similar weight setup and see what Spring rate and length most would use for my weight needs.

My current load is #150 bumper, #50 skid, #150 sliders, #220 shell, and a few more pounds of tools, full size spare etc.

Can’t wait to finish this step, and am really looking forward to the ride quality from everything I’ve heard.

 

I’m Very close in weight to you. I’m running 14” 650# spring in front. Accutune will set you up. Make sure to Tell them what you’re up to and get your shocks tuned for you

 

For shure, I’ve read all of their info on spring rates and have talked to them briefly about the fronts when I ordered my rears. Just getting second opinions on everything...I like to be well informed and get first hand experience from individual users as well. I’m kinda between their weight guidelines but wouldn’t mind having a little wiggle room to grow weight wise.

 

I've had my fox 2.5 dsc's for 2 weeks now. I ordered through a bro/employee deal directly from fox so I had to take the 13" 600lb/in that came standard. I have the slimline SSO bumper and winch, lightweight TRD aluminum skid. Im only at 170lbs total up front. To get the 2.25" of lift that I want, I have the preload cranked down pretty far (2" Thread) which made the ride stiffer than I hoped. I'm going to give it some time, but 14" 600# is what I'm thinking since my gear is on the lighter side. But what am I actually changing if I stay at 600#? I think the ride will feel the same, I will just get back 1" of downtravel. Or will less preload give me a softer ride?
I think your setup would be good with a 14x650 or 700.

 

I know the guys at accutune will get me fixed up just right...thanks for your first hand experience.

 

New stickers, matches my bike now. Kartek sells these bad boys. Kind of sad the knobs don't match though.

 

For those of you that have the 14" 650lb springs on your Fox 2.5's, do you know the proper measurement from the top hat to the lower shock mounting bolt? I know Accutune like 21" with the 'stock' 13" 600lb springs, but I haven't seen anything if you have the 14/650s.

Any idea?

Thanks!

 

The 21" measurement has nothing to do with the spring rate or length.

 

Well, that makes it easy. Thank you!

 

Heh heh hehe eeehhh hheeeehheee........



























Heh heh, you said knobs. Heh heh.

 

I came back just to like that.

 

I read all 136 pages of this thread over the last few days, so much good information. This is an awesome community and I appreciate all the members and vendors who genuinely try to help their Tacomies! I sould have read through this entire thread before buying my kit.

I was going for a 3/2 lift and foolishly thought I could get this ride height and the best performance out of my kit. My truck is completely stock at the moment, but I do plan to add a bumper and winch in the future. If I could do it all over again, I'd go with the 14" 600# spring vs the 14" 650# spring. The 650# spring is little to stiff for my current needs. I also went with with the ICON RXT leaf pack in option #2 and its a little to high and stiff. I WFH and the truck sits in the garage most of time, so nothing has really had a chance to settle. I swear the height went up in the rear just by sitting in the garage. Could it be the gas tank 3/4 to 1/4?

Front EXT FOX 2.5 w/ DSC 650# spring
Rear Tundra shock 2.5 w/ DSC
ICON Leaf Pack Option 2

Hub to Fender measurements:
Driver Front: 23.5"
Passenger Front: 23.75"
Driver Rear: 25"
Passenger Rear: 25.125"

Here is where my head is at the moment. I am for sure going to reduce the height in the front <= 23" (21" eye to top hat of C/O) I think the front height may also be adding to the rear height. However, I'm thinking about also switching back to option 1 on the ICON RXT leaf pack to soften it up. In the near future I'm definitely going to swap out the springs 14" 650 => 600.


The stiffness is not horrible nor is the ride. I just want to see how it would feel with the 600# spring and option 1 on the leaf pack. I really don't know what my taste is on this type of thing. I'm new to wheeling.

Any and all advice, feedback and input is appreciated.