Dobinsons 2016-2023 Taco Suspension Options

This is awesome and very useful!

 

You'd have to check those brands and see what their specs say. The factory issued struts are about 1" or more less travel than the IMS.

The IMS can be used at different coil seat heights, it depends what coils you're running with them and what lift you want. 213mm is the standard coil seat height, and 226mm is the recommended maximum height to add 1" lift to whatever coils are used, but again, it depends on what coils are used. If the IMS were used with stock coils, you could raise it up a little more to gain more lift via preload.

 

Thanks!!

 

Im really looking to do a 3inch lift/level on my 2020 TRD OR. Dobinsons is taking the lead in suspension. Now im torn between getting the cheaper twin tubes or the IMS kit. For weekend highway driving and the occasional dirt road (once or twice a month in upstate NY), is the IMS worth it? I would love to get into some mild off-roading, not hitting washboards at high speed, but where I live in NJ its not easily accessible for me to go off road.

Also my bed stays empty 90% of the time. I am looking to put a cap on it, maybe in about 6 months for camping trips. Are leaf springs worth it or should I save some money and use their blocks?

Im ready to pull the trigger on dobinsons suspension I just need some convincing

 

Buy once, cry once or you’ll end up swapping it out for the IMS later. Get the IMS.

 

That's what I've been telling myself, but I'm not ready to cry haha
I'm guessing the correct answer is leaf springs > blocks too then haha

 

Absolutely

 

A progressive aal would solve your issue of having an empty bed 90% of the the time.

 

Let's say my budget of ~1500 allowed me to get the twin tube shocks and a leaf pack or IMS shocks and rear blocks... what is a more reasonable decision?

I'm leaning towards twin tube and leafs. I dont NEED the IMS as im not offroading a lot

 

No blocks.

 

Since you're trying to keep costs down, you'll just need to be aware of a couple of things.

At 3" of front lift, and a lot of road driving, you'll really want to add new UCA's. Your stock UCA's will be at a pretty steep angle and your alignment will be really low in caster, so the steering can wonder on the road, finding all the grooves and humps.

Twin tubes front and rear, progressive AAL rear set, and a set of UCA's would be the lowest cost setup but would also perform well.

IMS really are a great option and everyone loves the ride in comparison to the TT's, but also people love the ride of the TT's too. Either way, it will still ride very well, and since you're not offroading that much, you can save. Or you could buy the IMS fronts, which are $280 more than the TT's.

https://exitoffroad.com/product/dobinsons-lift-kit-toyota-tacoma-2016-2020-with-quick-ride-rear/

$1080 before you add UCA's. 314 coils, GS59-220 struts, GS59-940 shocks, 1.5" progressive AAL set.

Full leaf packs are the best way to lift and support more weight, but it's the leaf pack, bushings and u-bolts, so the price does jump up a lot with that. You can always change those out later.

 

Thanks for the reply. That quick ride rear link you posted is what I have been looking at. What's your opinion if I did that kit with IMS front and back and the progressive AAL, Do they pair well with an AAL? Even though I don't need them i'm trying to convince myself to buy the IMS shocks.
Without UCA's its $1620 which is in budget. (I said $1500 as a baseline, I don't mind 100-200 over)

 

I'll be honest, I don't recall anyone running that AAL set specifically with the IMS. I sell a lot of shocks where people buy them and pair them up with something else, so someone has probably done it, but I don't have feedback to give you. It shouldn't be any problem though. I've had people run IMS front and rear with stock coils and stock leaf springs and give positive ride quality reviews with that upgrade.

Not that it's the greatest way to do it, but you "could" use IMS up front with stock coils and add preload to bring the height up. It's another way to save money, but replacement taller coils is the better way to get the lift and ride quality out of it.

 

Interesting, thank you for the information! You may be getting a PM or phone call in the near future with more questions. Definitely wanna buy from exit but now I have to do research and obsess over UCA's for a week haha

 

After doing some research I personally went with the IMS and couldn't be happier. Like you I run empty in the rear and even loaded up for camping/offroad I am not near GVWR. For that reason I didn't want an add a leaf and went with the Dobinson light rear leafs.

Yes, it was more money than I really wanted to spend but I think worth it as I won't need to upgrade later plus the IMS shocks are rebuildable.

 

Good to know and just the thing I wanted to hear haha. Did you do UCA's too?

Also how was the ride with the IMS vs Stock Sport suspension? I want to stiffen up my suspension a bit and get rid of some of the bounce and body roll on my OR and get some better on road handling performance. Im curious where the IMS sits

 

I didn't do UCA's initially as most of what I had read said they were needed for tire clearance. Truthfully they are needed to get enough caster angle to make the truck livable at highway speeds.

As for the ride it is very similar to the stock sport suspension which I really like. Currently I am a touch over sprung until I get a front bumper on. That should smooth out the ride a bit more.

No brake dive or excessive lean in corners on road. I haven't taken the truck off road just yet but it seems to handle bigger bumps much smoother than the stock sport suspension.

 

Thats incredible and sounds perfect!
Did you get the bigger springs with the intention of getting a bumper or is the bumper because the springs are too heavy?

 

I went with the 352 springs up front because I knew I was adding the bumper, skid plates, and sliders.

 

Awesome! I hope you enjoy all the armor. Thanks for all the info!