Fox Life!!! Anything Related to Fox Suspension

I'm happy to get you in touch with our sales team to see what valving is in those shocks. Since they are 2 years old, I bet we have some better options for you. We are constantly improving our tuning and making them better, especially after releasing our own shock line. We are limited with Fox and King, but we can certainly look into options.

35s and extra weight will definitely play a factor in ride quality.

I will send over a message

 

What would be involved in replacing the OEM coils on Pro shocks? I picked up a set off an early Pro and had them rebuilt for my '22. Plans changed and I am going to my AC 2G. They will fit - but I am under the impression this will give me 3"+ more up front and that's more than I want (target 1.5-2" like the 3G OR setup gets). So in an effort to reel that in, I am assuming I need a lower spring rate and/or a shorter free length. Is this doable without a lot of hassle?

 

Today I pushed my all-four-corners FOX 2.5 PE DSC setup as far as I've ever pushed it - 60-70 miles of rough, dry, somewhat rocky dirt single-track mountain forest roads in norcal on a 90-95ºF day, loaded 800 lbs or so of cargo, averaging 30-35 mph, some stretches of half a mile or more hitting 50... 55... 60... briefly touched 70 mph on the speedo, along the flatter ridge-line sections with good visibilty of any possible oncoming traffic -- and the FOX suspension just absorbed it all with aplomb.

Shock bodies got hot to the touch -- could hold my hand on them for ~4-5 seconds, no more, so I figure that's maybe 140-145ºF -- but never faded or changed their ride characteristics. (Remote reservoirs never got hot, only warm.)

This is with Accutune's "adventure tune" valving, with DSCs set to about 4 low / 3 high on the dials.

Have to put in a good word for the mild-mannered Yokohama Geolandar GO15s in a stock size, P265/70 R16, filled to 35 PSI cold but running at 40PSI on a hot day. No problems, they soaked it all up.

I cannot emphasize this enough: whatever rear leaf springs happen to be on the truck, they MUST be loaded properly, i.e. carrying enough weight to get them into their flex range. I have Deaver U402 stage IIIs, so that's at least 700 lbs. With only 500 lbs in back the truck rides like a buckboard. MUST HAVE ENOUGH WEIGHT.

So this is what it feels like to drive a rally vehicle, sorta. Attention-grabbing, focus-inducing, a bit dangerous.

Major smiles per gallon.

Stay safe & sane folks!

 

Just got my Fox 2.5 PE series (883-06-178), coming from Bilstein 6112s set on max height I would like to retain my previous lift. I will be running a 14" #650 spring on these and as I understand it from a different TW thread Accutune advised there will be very little thread showing on the preload collar with a 14" spring but I just got off the phone with Lindsay from Fox and she said this shock ships with 14" springs already? So maybe Accutune was talking about the older Factory Race series version?



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fox-2-5-700lb-springs.659510/

Does anyone know how much thread I should have showing with a 14" spring to retain my previous 2" lift? Up front I have a 150 lb steel bumper with 75 lb Warn Zeon-S 10K winch, full steel skids (engine/trans/t case) as well as steel tube sliders. I am also running a Prinsu roof rack fully loaded with 2 awnings, 7 gal Yakima Roadshower water tank and a Pelican V800 case loaded with gear so just about as heavy as you can get up front.

With a cab full of gear and passenger I had a very bad rake on the #600 springs when I was running the 6112s after putting on the steel bumper and winch as the front was squatting a lot. This is with a iKamper SC 3.0 RTT and bed rack in the bed as well as a 35" spare, Hi-Lift jack and Rotopax mounted on both sides of bed rack along with 2-3 mountain bikes on the tail gate and steel gas tank skid. Leaf springs are ICON RXT set on max option #3. Planning on doing steel rear bumper next so that will probably add another 100 lbs in the rear, she's heavy! I will most likely be sending my shocks to @AccuTune Offroad for proper valving since I believe these are valved for stock vehicle from Fox however I would like to get my lift/preload collar dialed in before I go to the alignment shop. Thanks in advance!

 

Read all of your post -- brief remarks:

- It may not be possible to determine in advance where the preload collar should be set. When self-installing my FOX 2.5's up front (re-valved by Accutune,) I found it necessary to adjust preload to get the ride height I wanted. This is best done off-vehicle, quite a bit of extra work but worth it compared to risk of stripping preload collar threads etc. If you are DIYing preload adjustment (properly,) it requires a set of quality spring compressors such as the

$178 SPC 40260 Universal Spring Compressor

SPC 40260's, don't go el-cheapo on these. Also needs some cautious, careful technique to keep the spring compressors well-balanced both radially on either side of the spring, and in the amt of compression (vertical screw travel) applied to each spring compressor.

- Do you have the stock Tacoma tow hitch + bumper on your vehicle? If so, your replacement rear steel bumper may not add the +100 lbs you are thinking. I don't have exact numbers but I think the stock Taco tow hitch (which is a very beefy true Class IV hitch, at least it was on my 2nd gen 2014) + bumper was around 80 lbs, so my net gain with a replacement 120 lb steel plate bumper w/ integrated receiver hitch was only +40 lbs. )

(Of course, if you are adding a steel bumper w/ swingout, the empty swingout is typically another +35-40 lbs, and when fully loaded w/ a spare tire and 2 NATO jerry cans of gas or water, another +130 to 150 lbs beyond that.)

 

Using that diagram, I would shoot to have your shock lengths at 21" while the vehicle is at ride height, on flat ground with the suspension settled. That is our max lift height recommendation based on the shock lengths and spring travel. +/- side to side to compensate for the Tacoma lean

 

I have access to a wall mounted spring compressor so no issues there, I will just max them out at 21" ride height and go from there. I ordered Fox 803-00-732 preload spanner so I'm not messing up the collars however there is a 803-00-733 back up spanner which I don't think I need.

Stock tacoma hitch for sure, mostly going steel for strength and high clearance only. Bed is always mostly loaded so I have to account for that weight on top of the mounted accessories.

Got it, will stick to the 21" on both sides! Would you suggest avoid putting a 1/4" spacer to balance out the Tacoma lean?

 

100% that would not make any sense, since these shocks are adjustable. You will get a much more precise adjustment out of preload than you will with a spacer. Spacer will screw up other things, so avoid them.

Supporting articles for this topic:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/preload-adjustments-on-oem-fit-coilovers/
https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/spacer-lift-vs-preload-spacer-vs-coilover-preload/
https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/why-are-tacoma-spacer-lifts-so-bad/

 

These are the new brackets from Fox part # 883-06-178 Performance Elite series. They are angled vs the original version which mounts the reservoirs vertical however I asked Fox to send me the original version since I am not running a sway bar so there won't be any issues under full compression and these ones have terrible clearance issues as pictured in the last photo. I cannot line up the reservoirs with the brackets to get the clamps on and neither can the shop because for some stupid reason Fox made these ones sit about 1" higher than the old ones which causes the reservoir to hit the fender before even sitting on the correct angle or high enough to get the top clamp on. The old ones were already having clearance issues so I'm not sure why they would move it closer to the fender, I don't think they even tested these new brackets on an actual Tacoma because the fitment is not even close or these may be for another vehicle and they just sent me the wrong ones. Waiting to hear back from Fox but their customer service is painfully slow and it's been a painful week not being able to drive the truck with the reservoirs hanging loose. I think I may just zip tie the reservoirs for now until Fox can respond and actually resolve the issue. Has anyone received these shocks with the same angled brackets lately?

 

Hmm, not sure I see the issue w/ clearance.

Side-to-side, even if it's just a pinky's width (about 5/8" or so) between the body of the reservoir and the moving part of the UCA, that should do fine -- I think? The UCA is strictly constrained in its motion, it can only pivot up/down within the arc defined by its pivot bolt.

Or are you referring to some other clearance not shown, such as the hydraulic hose and/or hose fitting to the UCA or the shock?

 

I tried both ways. 1. Clamping the reservoir on to the bracket first and then install bracket however the fender clearance issues do not allow the 2 sway bar holes in the frame to line up with the bracket, since the bracket doesn’t sit at the right height or angle. 2. Bolting on the bracket to the frame first (this is how the instructions advise) and then clamping reservoir on to it. The reservoir is restricted by the fender because the new bracket sits higher than the old one.

If you look at my previous post in the 1st photo you can see the top clamping slot of the new bracket sits higher than the big UCA bolt whereas the old version did not, they’ve moved it by over an inch it seems. By moving the bracket higher you are pushing the reservoir clamp closer to the fender. The top clamp if seated in the top slot of the bracket on its own without reservoir will hit the fender before the bracket holes line up with the truck frame so physically there isn’t enough room to fit either the reservoir or have sufficient room for the clamp to even go in the reservoir slots, it’s difficult to see that from the photos. Forget mounting the reservoir if the clamps don’t clear since the clamps are wider than the reservoir body.

Really awful design I really wish they would’ve just copied King’s bracket design or mounted it horizontally towards the front bumper like the older Factory Race series. I may return these if Fox cannot resolve the issue as I can’t drive around with loose hanging reservoirs. The King 2.5 with adjusters are nearly the same price and in stock so I may go that route just to get my truck back on the road because Fox doesn’t seem to have a solution and my old 6112s are blown.

EDIT: Reason I think brands are avoiding mounting it towards bumper horizontally is due to interference with bumper frame reinforcements.

 

These are always an option... @AccuTune Offroad

https://accutuneoffroad.com/product...HJVKiefkxA4QYiK1jh-5zdajqUAOf9zhoC--0QAvD_BwE

 

I just ordered the same shocks and they came with the same "updated" brackets. I can confirm that there is no way to fit the resi between the bracket and the inner fender. The pic with the clamp below shows the scale of the problem...no amount of pounding on the inner fender is going to allow the resi to fit with the top clamp on. I have also tried lowering the bracket by using the spacers, but this didn't solve the issue...the hoses have to stretch a LONG way to get the bottem of the resi where it would need to be...this is a no-go...

 

You have to move the reservoir down on the mount in order to get it to fit. It will still rub on the fender even if you hammer the inside of the fender. The design is awful. I went through this on my 5th gen 4Runner as well. They’re mounted best as possible and I said fuck it.

 

Thanks, this gave me the confidence to start pounding. So...after about an how of beating on the inner fender and setting the clamps at the very top of the resis...they are on. I'll upload some pics tomorrow.

-Roger

 

Hope you don't mind the tag @AccuTune Offroad , I saw that nice chart you had on your site for lengths of shocks and suggested max shock length at ride height.

Would you happen to have the suggested Max shock length at ride height for the Fox

$1,991 880-06-418 Rear Coilover Shock Absorbers Fits Toyota Tacoma

880-06-418? Thanks!

edit: Just looking roughly at the numbers, does it try to target -30% of travel at static height ??

 

Our recommend length is about 21" shock length at ride height.
We try and get 3" of droop at the wheel from ride height. This is typically our sweet spot for ride quality.


880-02-418 and 880-06-418 are the same shock, the 06 just has DSC adjusters.

 

Perfect. I took 30% off the specs on your page and got 21.013" haha. Glad to see I was in the ballpark. Ty!

 

Perfect. I need to give you a call this upcoming week to ask about a rebuild kit and possibly some valving. Pulled the measurements and I've got 21 in from the top hat to center bolt. Have just under 2 inches of preload for 11 and 1/8 off the ground for the spring. Assuming this still applies for the mentioned shock above?

 

Yes, as long as you still have that 13" x 600Lb spring