aturk's mid-travel, double-locked, pavement princess

I've actually had a set of Stoptech's on a past car and they were good so I'm not biased.

We have a few local places that sell Powerbrake kits, so there are a LOT of local trucks running them, all with the same feedback - glowingly positive. They also only make them for the off road market, and if you call up their local US Rep (Delon) he's amazingly knowledgeable about all things brakes, but since their application scope is so narrow they can give you precise feedback. The calipers are really a piece of art. Nicest parts on my truck for sure.

Downsides - Powerbrake kits ship with the PB01 compound pads. They dust a lot. But every stop is exactly like the one before. I didn't love all the brake dust, I switched to the PB05 compound pads. They are their "overland" aka heavier duty pads aka upgrade. Somehow they dust much less and pedal feel is almost as good. The first stop of the day - they need to get a little heat in them and wake up. One of the best things I've done to the truck for sure.

I got my kit through @memario1214 on here.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I've read their impressive Dakar Rally history and it definitely seems like a great kit, got some decisions to make in the future lol.

Keep on the clean moddin'

 

Which off-road class did you take? Want to make sure I don't take that one lol.

 

Just curious, why did you switch from Eibach to the Fox? Thanks.

 

I had issues with the Eibach topping out excessively. While it rode great, anytime I went over a small speed bump it would top out and make awful noises. There's a thread of other owners experiencing the same thing. I think Eibach is fixing them on a case by case basis but I have not kept up.

The Fox's ride a little better than the Eibach, but for 4-5x the cost I'm still disappointed. They still top out, they still are rough when they top out, and the high speed damping is way too stiff. If you are driving them in an area with rolling bumps, such as under 30mph on the beach - they are great.

 

Wow that's terrible about the Fox. Maybe Icon or King's are better? I wonder what TacomaBeast prefers, brand-wise. Thanks for the response.

 

TacomaBeast is junk, stay away.

It's not a problem with Fox specifically, it's a problem with all aftermarket suspension on our trucks. We are at the mercy of geometry. I think the only way to really get the truck to ride better is to go long travel. Or add limit straps to the mid travel setups. Stock LCA's make it a little complicated though.

Don't get me wrong, my Fox stuff drives great on the road until I hit a nasty bump. I was expecting them to be super plush and while they are in some situations, it's not worth the $5k or whatever I have tied up into them.

 

Right. After researching for the past few days, I'm currently thinking avoiding a lift at all costs. My thing is, I just installed SCS Ray10's, 16" -12 ET on 265/75 Toyo AT3's and I have very minor rubbing in the front wheel well, rear fender liner only when turning up a driveway and with a little load. I've heat gun some of it out of the way and it mostly doesn't rub anymore, except the rare occasions. As I off-road occasionally, I hate the idea of the tire being so close to the plastic at full lock, which led me down the path of going up like an inch or 1.5". However, I think I'll stick to more heat gun and possibly try to fix with alignment; ultimately living with the occasional rub.

I'm considering doing the KXMAXX tune, however, to get my MPGs back up. I'm close to pulling the trigger, just a little hesitant to mess with stock programming.

 

I'm not a professional but I wonder if you are topping out because the coilovers are lifted too much (I don't know how much you are lifted. It's just a common symptom).

 

So that's my big gripe with the Toyota world. Everyone wants and then companies advertise 3" lift kits. If you really ran your coilovers at 3" of lift the truck would ride SO BAD. And the shocks would top over everything.

My Eibach's were originally at 2" of lift, I dropped to 1.75" nearly right out of the box. They topped out everywhere, but I learned to drive around it on the road. Off road it was horrible. I added a bumper and winch (150lbs total), and it lowered the truck a half inch in the front, it made it better, but still left a lot to be desired.

I don't know what I'm lifted at now, but I'm pretty low. I'd say 1.5" to 1.75". I have almost an inch of rake and like the stance of the truck.

The Fox's just don't like the high speed jarring bumps. Rides good otherwise. Top out off road. If I drive slower off road it's manageable. But a clapped out Jeep should not be able to go down washboard roads faster than me, and that's my issue with it.

 

Totally get that, especially in the smaller text the 3" is usually for 2005-2015 models. 2016+ Tacoma's sit an inch higher.

A little disheartening to read as I've been shopping around for Fox's myself. Out of curiosity, have you spoken to AccuTune regarding off-road ride quality?

 

Yeah, I'm wondering what Accutune did with the valving? I've got box stock fox elite's waiting to be installed.

 

Ride quality is extremely subjective, that's the main issue.

But it's not just Fox's, King's suffer as well. Although I hear King's are a little better on the high speed bumps and Fox's a little better on the slow speed stuff. A local with a set of tuned Fox's had the same complaints as me.

Everyone wants to be happy with their $5-$10k suspension, and many are - simply because they think they spent $10k and it "Rid3s s0 mUcH beTTeR"

You rarely hear the negatives, but if you message people directly you will find out.

 

Well thanks for sharing your honest opinion, that's what I am looking for. Been shopping around for months trying to figure out which suspension lift to go with. Been eyeballing Bilstein 6112/5160 and Fox PES. Significant price jump between the two.

 

Updates:

These build threads are hard to keep updating when you work on your truck often. I’m down to the last few things on the truck. Will update the mod list in the next few weeks. Until then here are some teasers:

 

These mods aren't the most fun, as you don't gain much except some piece of mind on the trail. Plus they are a ton of work.

But this round of mods I added the following:

DRT Spindle Gussets
Marlin Crawler LCA Braces/Cam Tabs

 

Also -

While I love my SSO Bumper, I never liked the mounting style. It uses the factory frame horn bolts, but their plates are a bit thicker than everyone else's so you only get a few turns of the factory nuts. Add to the fact that the adjustment holes on the bumper plates are nearly the same size as the factory nuts, it made me a little nervous if I would ever need to be pulled hard.

Cut off the factory frame bolts, replaced with a Grade 8 3/8 by 2" bolt, with lock nuts.

Added a frame brace that tied around the front frame horn bolts, and tied in further back on the frame. Used a leaf spring hanger bolt and some giant washers that were lying around. Not going anywhere now, LOL.

 

My front lower bearings on the Fox's were starting to squeak terribly. Got a replacement kit and better lower shock bolts from 303 Shock Services. Added some grease between the spacers to make sure it stays quiet for a little longer. Pic below shows the rust and some wear.

Added a strap across my bedrail mounted spare tire, just a little more reassurance.

 

This is awesome

 

Yup, what’s most impressive is that rear frame bracket bolt goes through my shock reservoir brackets (which are steel).

The resi brackets are bolted to the bottom of the frame with two big 1/2” bolts.

Sooo just the sheer strength of the three 1/2” bolts is a giant number. I’m pleased.