ADS Off-Road Racing Shocks - Information, Pictures, & BS Thread

Buy once cry once. I didn't want to cheap out and then have doubts about performance or how much better it could have been. I'm also carrying a lot of weight and will be putting it through its paces two to three trips a month.

 

Happened to me too. They business they use/used for plating the shocks was very backed up so that held up all their orders. I was pretty impatient about it, never bothered them, but the funny part is that when they finally arrived it took me almost 2mos to install them!! Definitively worth it in the end though....very happy with them.

 

I would echo PNW answer. Buy once, cry once and I didnt want to have doubts about what could've been. I was already spending a lot so why not get the best available. I will also be using it offroad on extended trips with everything from gravel and washboard roads to rock crawlings and off camber trails.

 

After struggling to find any tire or automotive shop in general with the software update for 2018 Tacoma's I finally got my truck aligned after suspension install. I wasn't worried about the delayed alignment because I have been out of town and thus put very little mileage on it. This was the only shop that said they could do 2018's and guess what I found after the alignment.....they didn't have the software package for 2018's. Besides the fact that they were unable to set some configurations that are required for the new Toyota Safety Sense package (based on discussions with other tire shops), everything looks pretty good.

This is my first time really paying attention to alignment details (first real truck build too), does anyone see anything wrong?

 

Thanks for the help. Luckily for me I had the Total Chaos spec sheet that recommended 3.5 to 6.0 caster specs to aim for. I also did a little prep work and loaded my truck bed with 350ish pounds to simulate my future typical weight with GFC/cargo and put some ballast right behind the driver seat.

 

^^ This

When I first got my setup, I didn't think i'd ever want/need clickers. After 50k miles, I want them. I'm going to have my shocks rebuilt and ordered the parts from @M C M to have the fronts upgraded with clickers. Unfortunately the rears are piggy back shocks so no clickers there. Eventually I'll swap those out but that will be after regear and air lockers.

If you think theres a chance you'd want to adjust your suspension, any chance, just order it now. save the hassle.

 

I forgot to add that as well. My weight changes drastically when going from DD to Offroad mode and vice versa. The clickers are very nice for that added adjustability in on road comfort and offroad performance.

 

I was going to say the same thing. My caster is at 3.3 degrees, surprised he got that much as well

 

Wow doing it yourself. That’s impressive

 

Im headed back to the alignment shop tomorrow after getting TC LCA cam tab gussets installed this weekend. Last time, they got me 5.1* of caster which helped with clearance for the 285/75/17 tires. Hoping to get the same again this time.

 

To expand on the changes in weight. My setup with 700 lb coils and OME HD rides very stiff without any weight. After taking the 350 ish pounds of ballast that I used for alignment out of my truck bed it is back to being a little on the stiff side. Once I add the GFC and everyday cargo (this weekend) I'm sure it will be perfect, but for now it is stiff. I wasn't sure if 700 lb coils up front were going to be enough for the 150+ lb bumper and now I am positive that adding a winch and bigger battery won't be too much weight.

 

Ohhh 315’s! Man that’s a wide heavy tire

 

I’m wondering how much caster I will need for 255/75/17? Maybe I’ll be fine as is

 

Sounds like I’m cherry for now. Yup 32” tire will be +1.25” from where I am now and judging by the visual gap I see about 1” on each side of the tire at full turn.

Thanks

 

Not at all. Especially cush after everything settles

 

I am still having pulling to the right issues after my install and the alignment place I went to spent +4hrs trying to get it to stop pulling right. They refunded me because they couldn't figure it out, they set my caster to 3 or so he said and since he forget to print off the sheet i am not sure but my SPC control arms were moved around so i have no clue. I have no clue what would still be causing the pull right so I am going to try and take it to a local 4x4 shop but they have a 2 week wait time for alignments.

I parked my truck in my warehouse on concrete so I could get good measurements so see if it was sitting weird or if one side was higher than the other and here are my measurements from ground to fender centered on the hub.
Passenger Rear: 40.25
Driver Rear: 39.75
Passenger Front: 38.00
Driver Front: 37.50

So i have no idea if maybe there measurements tell a story or help make sense of what may be causing it. All of these are measured with no weight in the truck and the only thing that looks way off to me is the rear measurements and I don't know why those are so far off. This has been the only frustrating things about this otherwise I love them and going over speed bumps at speed is amazingly smooth, my rear bounces around roughly because I have no weight at the moment but the fronts set at 0 are like butter.

 

You will find better help in this thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...driving-report-with-light-racing-ucas.158795/ Alignment is less about the shocks and mostly about the UCAs, that thread has 50+ pages of help on getting SPC arms to do what you want.

 

Mine did this initially after I first put the shocks on. It settled and then i got another alignment (from a 4x4 shop) and it seems to drive straight now with a straight steering wheel

 

Shout out to @Plastics Guy! Got my bump stops lightning quick! They’re going to pair great with my ADS

 

I have used some of the LT shocks with TC set up in the past. I don't have any experience with their newer race style +2 kit, I would assume it uses a shorter rod end. Would just need some simple specs and should be able to get a shock set up for it.