Kings w/ 550 lb springs?

Hi all,

I have a 2002 v6 double cab pre runner automatic and currently have kings with the standard 600 lb springs. I dont run the sway bar.

I have a completely stock weight truck, and as we all know these are very small compact light trucks. Im thinking about swapping my 600 lb springs to 550 lb king springs because of this.

What do you all think? Does anybody have 550 lb springs on their coilovers with no sway bar and think it's perfect? Or do you think it will feel too squishy and soft?

 

I have SAW 2.0 Extended Cab 4 cyl with 550lb springs. Sometimes I feel like it was a little too light, but I went from 650lb springs before. I think they would be too light for your setup. I read somewhere that the stock TRD springs are somewhere around 575lbs, so 550 is lighter than stock.

 

YMMV since we have different shocks so things will feel different but I have OME 880 spring which I believe are 500lb springs on my 4x4 dcab and I have no complaints. I like a softer ride on my trucks so I don't rattle my fillings out on fire roads. I am running the stock swaybar.

 

Sway bar ain't making a difference

Just lessen the preload to see if you like how it feels before you go taking apart your Kings

 

I ran 550 Eibachs on SAW's when they were first released, they came with 650's. Winch, bumper and armor had yet to come. The ride was just a tad firmer than the factory "progressive rate" TRD coils. I'm sure the valving and "newness" played some part.
Just to be argumentative, the best guess for stock spring rate from some vendor way back when was 470lb, but see below. The TRD coils had two rates. The upper 4 or 5 coils were a lighter rate than the lowers, hence "progressive rate".
The TRD coils were a joke, they would sag in a year to the point that alignment had to be reset to save tires. Adding preload would just compress the lower rate portion (top) with reduced effect on ride height.
To further complicate things Toyota made at least a dozen different coil springs for 4wd 1st gen Tacomas.

 

Spring rate is only part of the equation. Shock tune/valving can be just as important. If you put lightweight springs on a shock tuned for heavy springs (or vise versa), you'll get a lousy ride no matter the weight of the truck.

From some professionals: https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/coilover-spring-rates-for-toyota-tacoma-4runner/

Their recommendation is, essentially, to run the lightest spring rate that will support the weight of your truck and then tune the shock's valving to match.

 

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions.

Im leaning towards the 550 lb springs because of what Accutune suggests as to running the lightest spring possible to hold the weight. Plus this is my daily driver and 90% on road driving with the occasional fire road. I tend to prefer the softer ride and can handle a little bit of body roll since I dont hot rod around.

New 4runners run 550lb springs from King and those are WAY heavier than our little trucks on the front axle. Also, Ive read that the weight difference between the 4 cyl and 6 cyl isn't as great as the weight difference between 4wd and prerunner. So I think the pre runners are significantly lighter than 4wd and our generation 4wd trucks are already super light relative to all the newer trucks and suvs running the same 600 lb springs. At least thats my amateur logic.

@Nessal and @Dirty Pool , do you know how much lift you got out of your 550lb springs before (or if they ever) started sagging? Any brake dive with those springs?

@Kwikvette would you mind helping me understand why you dont think the sway bar is going to make a difference? I get some body roll now without it on my 600 lb springs but nothing that ever makes me alarmed. Do you think it would be a negligible difference even if I had 550s is that why?

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

 

I got maybe 1.5" lift which is fine by me. I don't want to go through CV boots. These trucks at stock height even is more capable that the majority of owners anyways, including myself.

 

If you want an informed opinion, still just an opinion, I would just keep the 600s, with no SB.
The bit about springs "just carrying the weight" is a generalization. All suspension systems are a compromise to achieve some degree of an overall desired result.

The 550s were on adjustable (threaded body) shocks so I could set them (preload) for various ride heights.

The maximum practical ride height for a 1st gen is 2" over stock. That being said few folks today have any idea what "stock" was when new.
Two methods work fairly well to determine a 2" front lift.
First, the fins or pleats of an unmodified OE inner CV boot are not touching, very very close but not actually touching at rest. Like you can "just" see a sliver of light between the closest pleats.
Second, the front top edge of a stock upper control arm will be dead on level/horizontal.

Also, as ride height increases a "stiffer" feel will result. This is a mathematical fact due to the lower control arm having lesser leverage over the spring as it's angle gets more acute. This effect will vary somewhat with the method of lift. Meaning, simple increased preload vs higher rate and various combinations of the two.