Elka setup- too much preload?

So after coming across this thread, I decided to do some research about the options to get the right amount of lift in the front. Eventually came across front Coilover Shims.
There’s an option to install a 1/4” inch shim and achieve 1/2” inch of lift. At first I was skeptic about this because I’m worried about CV binding. But then I saw some reviews and people are saying since it’s not much too much of a lift there’s no bind whatsoever.
As I mentioned before, I currently have 1.47” inch of thread showing for preload (about 2.75” inch of front lift). After some rough calculations I’m thinking to drop the preload to about 1.35” inch of thread showing (which is about the same as the Elkas come from factory)
And slap those 1/4” inch shims on top.
That way I can possibly get an exact 3” inch maybe a tad bit more of front lift.
The other option is to leave the preload where its at and get 3.25” inch of lift.
It’s not my long term solution, I am running 315/70-17 and have some rubbing issues here and there and hopefully this will reduce the rub a bit.
Any opinions?

 

I’m very happy with the longer King Springs instead of going with the spacer option. I still have some rubbing against the cab mount with 33’s. I purchased DRT cab mount relocation to just get what needs to be done over with.

 

I’m sure that getting new coils is the best options… reading the thread you had a whole lot to add with the preload.
For me I honestly just want to get that extra 1/2” inch to kinda level it out a bit more and clear a bit better the tires. I mean that 1/4” inch shim cant be that bad? Right? Many tacoma owners use it to correct the so called “taco lean” and say its fine

 

I would highly suggest you avoid spacers, especially if you already have adjustable coilovers that are designed to be adjusted to your desired ride height. On the flip side, the lift height you are trying to achieve may not be possible (without giving up ride quality or other potential issues). These shock manufactures are limiting their lift heights for a few reasons. Adding more lift will not magically allow those bigger tires to not rub anymore. Fitting larger tires will require a good UCA and trimming.

If Elka has shock lengths publicly available, I could probably help point you towards an ideal max lift height with the coilovers so you can avoid spacers.

 

I actually have SPC UCA and JD Fab lower pivot Kit done, I am planning to do some more trimming once the weather gets a bit warm.
I just feel like the front is sagging a bit lower compared to other builds I saw…

My other option that I was looking into is to just buy a set of new Dobinsons springs maybe you can help me with that? I know Dobinsons have more info on their stuff available publicly so might be easier to point out which springs to get

I’m running a c4 steel hybrid bumper with a smittybilt 12k winch synthetic line
So about 200-250 pounds extra I believe according to what the internet say

Thanks for the help

 

This is where things can spiral. Every vehicle is different and will require its own unique amount of preload to get your desired ride height. There are limitations though, but I wont be much help with that unless we have shock lengths from the manufacturer. What I mean by this is, for Fox and King, we know their compressed and extended lengths and motion ratio of the vehicle. We recommend specific settings based on those numbers for best overall ride quality. Too tall or not tall enough will sacrifice that. Various spring rates are available if needed, but that is not a fix for more lift. Spring rate holds the weight of the vehicle, then adjust preload to ride height. I would stick to a standard spring rate manufacturer like Eibach.

 

I like that you are asking all the right questions, and surprisingly the group of flaming a-holes on here who think they know everything aren't trashing your post. Accutune provided me with a lot of good advice when I was considering the exact same thing you are discussing. I did a decent amount of trimming in the fender wells, but ultimately if I want to have truly free off road travel, the body mount relocation is going to have to happen...especially if I decide to switch over to 35's at some point. For now, 33's are just fine. I have 35's on my Rover and would prefer to keep at least one vehicle semi road worthy without going overboard. The Elka/King coil 14" setup is working out great. I have JBA UCA's and they are working out very well.

 

I placed an order for Eibach 14x700 coils about a week ago, will be doing my first Elka service/rebuild tomorrow, the coils are a bit delayed so hopefully by next week I can post my opinion on how it goes. Stay Tuned!

 

I put on King 14's, and pretty much fixed my issues. Not a lot of thread left up top for adjustability, but it's plenty, and the front end is both smooth, and stable

 

You are rebuilding them yourself? Please post pics!

 

No I am taking it to a shop, I think I’m pretty knowledgeable in mechanic work but rebuilding shocks is something I definitely don’t wanna risk messing up

 

Fair enough. Honestly it's pretty easy to do, rebuilding that is. After getting the coils off it's just taking things apart in the right order and replacing o-rings and oil. Problem is Elka has exactly 0 info on how to do it and so far no pics from anyone diy-ing. I'm hoping someone does it a posts pics here so I can see what the process looks like lol.

 

You can contact Elka they can send you instructions, this one sales rep sent my instructions on how to change the spherical bearing on them step by step, I’m sure you can ask them for other instructions

 

Ok, so I finally got the truck back after almost 3 weeks of it sitting in the shop, had some complications & accidentally ordered the wrong Inner Diameter coil… so had to re order another one.

I had the truck for about 2 hours today mostly highway and some street, my first impressions are not so good to be very honest. I think I should’ve went with a 650lbs 14 inch instead of the 700lbs 14 inch coil, the car feels stiff and has less roll, I can probably say it feels stiffer than the original elka coils.
I have set the damping to the softest setting like it was before didn’t really even make a difference.
I am currently sitting at 3/4 of thread showing and the truck is perfectly levelled.
My Ella coils were at about 1 1/2 inch of threads showing.
The shop couldn’t do the alignment so it drives like crap now. Tomorrow I will get it properly aligned and hopefully it doesn’t feel like a shopping cart and handles better.
For now I’m not really impressed with how the suspension feel changed.
by the way I went with Eibach 700lbs 14inch coils. Here’s how it looks.

The coilovers have been rebuilt and have all new seals, oil and cooling gas, I am wondering if I need to kinda give them some time to “break in” the new hardware I guess?




BTW I dig the new color look though stands out a bit more now

 

I have the 2.5 non resis on my 2nd gen with the 650lb 14in coils for maybe 2.5 yrs now. They've definitely sagged a bit, especially with almost no preload on them. I'm only running a front aluminum skid, front recovery bar from mobtown, and steel sliders so nothing too heavy to need the heavier coils.

But, I'm wanting to add some preload to these. Elka just mentions spinning the preload collar to gain lift, but can that be done on the truck? I've read different opinions on this across different coil over brands, but with them being aluminum bodied I'm wondering if that makes them more prone to having an issue adjusting them under weight. And then also when I do add preload, should I give the threads a few shots of oil to help ease the process along? I'm really only wanting to add about 1/4in of preload. I added a shell last weekend and thought that would sit the rear a little lower to level the truck out, but the RXTs didn't budge.

 

We would suggest not making adjustments with the shocks on the vehicle. This article may shed some light on the entire subject:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/preload-adjustments-on-oem-fit-coilovers/

 

It’s really hard to do the adjustment on the truck, and not recommended. I have tried many times. Trust me it’s easier to jack it up, take them off and do it all on a bench…

 

Reviving an old forum to share my experience with swapping coil springs in hopes that this will help someone else in the future.

I have a 2020 off-road short bed and at the time I had a 2.75” lift with full RCI steel skids and All Pro Apex steel sliders. I am running Elka 2.5 resi non-adjustable suspension. With the original Elka C12.5x330 (Elka claims they are rated at 700 lbs) coils I had the coilovers set with 1.75” preload on drivers side and 1.25” preload on pass side. I then installed a Warn steel bumper and Warn 10K winch. With the added weight my front end sagged significantly giving me less then 1.5” of lift. When I would brake my front end would do an extreme nose dive and the overall ride quality was terrible. It was a very jarring, harsh ride when sitting so low into the suspension travel.

I contemplated about adding more preload but didn’t want the coil to bind and didn’t want to make the ride quality even worse! That’s when I got in contact with @Keysmart.info and he helped me out. I decided to go with Eibach 14” 700 lbs coils. Part number is 1400.300.0700S. I installed them myself in a few hours and went for an alignment the next day. With the stiffer and longer coils I was able to improve ride quality, reduce preload, and gained height back to give me a full 3” lift. My preload now sits as 1.25” driver side and 0.75” pass side. I couldn’t be happier with the way my truck drives and looks!!!

I have more pictures and information of my truck build on my instagram @ TacoPandaTRD


Elka 12.5” vs Eibach 14”



Truck sits almost level. 1” difference between the front and back.