6” Fox 2.5 performance elites?

@4x4junkie lots of great feedback here!

Adding or reducing preload (adjusting the preload collar up or down) does not change the spring rate, therefore it wont make the vehicle softer or stiffer. Common misconception. A lot of the time poor ride quality that comes from too much or not enough preload has to do with where the shock is at in its overall travel causing the shock to top out too quickly or bottom out too quickly:



In this scenario @that_06regularcab you have a pretty unique Tacoma. Nothing wrong with it, just not a common platform. Since we are now manufacturing shocks, we dove in REALLY deep into this exact scenario, specifically documenting sprung weight on 05-23 Tacomas. For us, every 50-100 LBs was important. For large companies making shocks, its very difficult to make shocks with the correct spring rate for every trim level and model. It's a lot easier to offer one coilover with one spring rate and valving. This spring and valving is not perfect for every application. Example: a 2wd single cab 4cyl truck weighs a lot less than a 4-door Tacoma that has a V6 and 4x4.

Anyway, my guess is the springs that come standard with those Fox coilovers for 6" lift will be over sprung for your truck. But who knows, maybe it will still ride way better than before and you will be happy with how it is.

Free revalve is typically for new shocks purchased directly from us, however thats very rare and we can usually accommodate a customers needs on a case by case basis.

 

Technically the term preload means squeezing the spring with 2 separate adjustment collars so it does in fact stiffen the spring before it is installed on the vehicle. One collar squeezes the spring to your liking (preload - before the weight of the vehicle is added), the other collar adjusts the length of the shock to your liking (ride height).
This is common in track race cars where they do corner balancing..

The coilover shocks we use on our trucks only have one adjustment collar and it is for ride height only.

We all know that raising or lowering the ride height doesn't affect the stiffness of the spring, it just moves the shock to a different place in its stroke which can make it the feel different.. but the actual spring rate stays the same

The term preload is used a lot around here, and while we all know what is being discussed (ride height), its technically not the correct term for what we're doing. We're just affecting the ride height, not changing the spring rate ..

 

Pic needed

 

There is the likelihood that they’re too firm or oversprung and I feel that they probly are too. However, one of your reps said that the 4400lbs (2600lbs of that in the front) that my truck weighed met a similar weight of that of a stock 3rd gen access cab though so rather than sending them directly to you guys, your guys rep said to maybe give them a try first to see how they feel. Im guessing he felt my truck was heavy enough to justify running them without modification first? Which makes sense to me. However I’d have been fine just shipping them straight to you guys if you felt that would be a more effective use of noney and time. It seems like the most feesible thing to do since I’m spending all the money and I’d like the shock to perform as best it can for my rig.

I know they’re 0.35” longer at full extension than my current struts so I was thinking I’d have to adjust preload a bit too.

That gif/diagram thing of the shock preload really puts things into better perspective too. I didn’t know adjusting preload meant moving both ends of the shock simultaneously. I thought it meant compressing one side of the spring down.

also, I saw the “Ride” shocks but I had no idea they were your guys shocks otherwise I would have considered them. Seemed like everyone was saying Fox and king were like the best ones tho so I just chose to go with the foxes because my trucks silver lol. Like that’s literally why I chose the fox’s over the kings lol. I have no idea wth im doing lol

 

Whew, I’m glad @AccuTune Offroad jumped in here before it turned into another knock-down drag-out “what does preload do” brawl.

@that_06regularcab You are on the right track. It does sound like your issue is the RC valving.

The Fox come with 600 lb. coils, which is probably fine, but you can also swap them for 550 lb. coils for ~$200, and someone will probably buy those 600 lb. coils off you. You might even be able to find someone with 550 lb coils who wants to trade you.

So you have a few options between dialing in spring rate or re-valve. Since it sounds like you know the exact weight of your truck, you can’t go wrong with a re-valve.

What are you going to do for your rear shocks?

 

Since additional preload holds the LCA further below the bump stop at ride height, it also lets the spring compress more, and absorb more energy, before you hit your bumps, so you hit your bumps with less force.

So even though increasing preload increases the harshness when the shock hits full extension harder and more frequently, it also makes your full compression hits softer.

So, if you were wanting to set your truck up to, say, not run whoops but simply huck it over a single large jump, you might do well to max out your preload, to more smoothly absorb the landing. Assuming you don’t have hydraulic bumps or something.

That’s hypothetical. I have never jumped an intersection so hard in a 2-door 1987 Nissan Pathfinder that I hit the bottoms of the traffic lights on the other side, and then went airborne again from bouncing after I landed. It didn’t happen.

(It’s hypothetical because the Pathfinder didn’t use coilovers.)

 

That might be cool if i was to run into someone that had 550lb springs fit for the 6" lift applications. I think the ones on the 6" fox 2.5 PE are 16" 600lb springs. But ya that'd be cool, and who knows maybe accutune will want to go that route. The shocks are on their way to Accutune right now Battleborn Offroad so im sure I'll be talking to them soon. Or perhaps the revalve will be all that's necessary.

As for the rears I just got the Fox 2.0 performance series ones for a 4" lift. I only did like 3 days of research on this stuff before I bought so idk, probly didn't have to buy the expensive stuff but the truck gets entered in shows sometimes so why not have something fancy i guess.

 

Oh, awesome. Yeah, don’t swap the springs after you get the shocks revalved. Are they doing the rears too?

 

Gotcha. I wouldn't know if they should or not, all i know for sure if that the RC ones were rough af. I also have some adjustable bilsteins that I put my OEM springs on and compressed those to get some lift and that rode like crap too (didn't have bumpers or winch yet at that time tho). So at this point I'm 0/2 on suspension choices lol. And the rear's I didn't know could be revalved as they dont have dampening. But i guess now that oyu mention it they probly could do them. I dont think im worried about the rears being revalved rn though. I have factory leafs that I want to upgrade from so maybe I will communicate with them about that and maybe game plan for a future rear shock revalve to what springs i upgraded too-- but for now I need to chill financially because I just restored my frame and had it powdercoated and did a whole bunch of other stuff. I have a thread going on here of all the stuff im doing to it. I ended up having to do it myself since there really werent any regular cab frames laying around anymore. I just got the frame back though and it looks awesome I need to post a picture of it actually.