1st gen SUA questions?

Hey everyone, My truck is currently long travel in the front. Im planning on going spring under this next fall and im slowly starting to collect parts and knowledge.

My plan is to run F67 or h70 leafs(not sure which), 12" TC Shackles, Tundra axle, small bed cage as well as boxed frame with supports and a full-size spare.

My truck currently weighs 3850lb with me inside of it(thinking it will be just around 4000-4100 when finished). I have kings in the front and would like to match them in the rear. I've been told the bypass tubes on a 2.5 PS 16" triple bypass are the smallest on the market, and the tube layout is not optimal for proper damping. The tube diameter is larger on the race series shocks, and I'm curious if they are worth the extra cash.(or any other shock recommendations) I would love to learn to tune the shocks myself, but I am looking for a good starting point. I live in Washington, where im not always smashing whoops and jumps. This is also my daily driver so looking for some comfort. i was thinking at starting out at around 12C/8-10R.

I would love any advice anyone has on general setup as well as shock tuning! Photo of my truck below. Thanks everyone

 

Here's a thread I made that may help you. @Dalandser helped a lot!

 

Thanks! man! read your thread, your truck is so clean man! i noticed that on the photo of your bypasses, someone had wrote 10/8. was that the valving in them? i know you didn’t end up going SUA but curious if that’s what the shop recommended for your setup.

 

I’m not sure about the valving, Solo Motorsports set up my kit. If you call KING, they can set you up since they have all the information. I’m currently gathering all the parts for an SUA kit and having it installed by the same guy who did my roll cage. His IG handle is erd_offroad, and he’s located in Gardena, CA.

 

You definitely want 8 rebound. Leaf springs don't rebound out like coil springs do. Basically the axle/tire weight is the only thing drooping the rear out.

 

ok. any advice on coilovers? this is what’s currently in my camburg spec coilovers. i feel like all my truck does is get bounced around.

 

What type of terrain and speeds are you using this in? What happens when you play with the adjuster? What do you have for a rear setup now?

 

it’s my daily, but a few small whoops, and lots of just rough fire road ripping. anywhere from 20-60mph. i’ve played with the adjusters but doesn’t really make it feel any better. just feels like it has more low-speed compression which doesn’t help. currently in the rear i’ve got deaver j59 and 12” fox smoothies. they are from accutune and just blow through the travel

 

That is a fairly aggressive stack for what you are doing. You might have to open them up a few times (or more) to get most of what you want. There are always compromises.

Without feeling the truck, I would probably move everything down 1 thickness on the compression stack excluding the flutter shim and the last shim or two from the clamp shim.
Next I would check and add 1 washer under the clamp shim if it doesn't have one.
3rd I would measure the bleed hole(s) size.

Do you have hydraulic bump stop or plans for front bypass? I suppose rear setup is priority.

You can revalve the rear shocks firmer too.

 

I would definitely like to get bypasses in the front eventually, but for now just the coilover and stock bumps. how do you think something like a 12 compression stack and 8 rebound stack would feel? also forgot to mention that only 1 of 3 bleed screws is open on the piston. Would changing the adjuster shims do much?

 

Bypass ftw but you can get far with just the C/O. Then you would be tuning 2 shocks, let's just focus on 1 for now.

12/8 on the coilover would feel better than what you have now, but 8 rebound is too light for coil springs and shocks mounted inboard with more motion ratio.

If you get a nitrogen rig and a few specific tools you can start brewing your own shock elixirs. You need to make 1 change at a time so you realize what each thing is actually doing. There's alot of tricks out there too.

You will want a flutter stack for sure in the compression stack, possibly in the rebound stack.

You are really asking alot from just the coilover. It can do alot but it can't do it all.

I would do what I recommended to start. Comfy lil 10s on the first two shims to let it move a little more on the chop, flutter (space for it to move) then 2 or 3 15s so the transition isn't so hard when you hit a lil bigger stuff. Last you want 1 or 2 20s to stop you from bottoming out. Next you want a washer under the clamp shim so the stack can move more without hitting the plate. Not just a random washer, a king specific washer. You might have extra on top of your compression stack.
That's where I would start.

 

Thanks so much dude! just found a pretty sick deal on some king performance series 2.5x16 3 tube bypasses for 1250 bucks. gonna get them and rebuild and valve them with 12/8. (unless you think something else would be better?) I really appreciate the help. i have access to nitrogen pretty easy so will probably pull apart the coilovers soon.

 

That's a good deal! Ya I would start there for valving on them.
Glad to help. You can get alum shock vise blocks from Kartek pretty cheap. The thing is you need nitrogen available while you are putting the shock together. You will need some fresh oil too (either to top off or change out depending on mileage/condition. Definitely wear gloves!

 

Here is a pretty good shock video.
https://youtu.be/WTrBEFSDwLQ?si=oNGw47ZVuitUFl-1

 

thanks for all the help man! might have a few more questions but really appreciate it

 

Figured I should throw this in here before you open up the shocks.
Moving the rebound down to a 10 stack is probably a good start too. I didn't want to recommend it earlier because it's hard to tell what made the vehicle ride better in what area after so many changes. But with a 12 stack I think it'll pack up on the chop too much.