Firm ride vs soft ride

You are correct, that said my Tacoma in "Daily trim" is a little over 5k lbs, add on my "Expo trim" gear and she's approaching 6k. I think 700# coils are appropriate. I have my Fox's at max allowable preload with my 12" 600# coils per Fox and I'm not getting the lift I should have and the front is soft even with the DSC's maxed out firm.

Ideally you want as little preload as possible to give you the most lift as this will be the best ride, with 14" 700# coils I should be able to have very minimal pre-load and maximum liftage and weight capacity.

14" 650's are probably closer to what I need for the daily but I like a firmer ride and my truck ain't gonna get any lighter so I don't wanna do it twice.

 

That's just because your coils are so short. Even jumping to a 14"x600 would get you the lift you want, but I agree that it sounds like those are too light duty for you.

Preload has no impact on ride quality at all as mentioned in the article.

One thing you could consider. Playing with the nitrogen pressure in the shock also makes them firmer/softer, to some degree. One possibility is running 650 coils but bumping up the pressure a little bit, making an effective ~675 lb coil.




I previously had 14"x700 lb coils when my front end was heavier (135 lb bumper + 80 lb winch w/ steel line + 65 lb IFS) and that was still too much. It rode ok, but was a bit harsh (not firm) and the coilovers were constantly topping out over bumps from being over sprung.

There are a lot of factors that go into achieving the ride someone wants which is why I always recommend talking to someone like Accutune if they're particular and want something specific.



edit: Since you have the adjusters, it sounds like you could have your coilovers set up/tuned so it's the firmness you want for your daily weight with the adjusters wide open, then when you load up, just make them firmer. Then you get the best of both worlds and are taking advantage of the adjusters potential.

 

I would highly suggest not adjusting the nitrogen pressure in the shock to help with ride quality issues. If you want to change ride quality on a coilover, start with spring rate then go to valving.

 

Soft ride ftw, im all about bouncing down the road like a 70s caddy

 

Oh I believe it, and I think they’d be really worth it to me as well, just not as much as this!

I’ll definitely upgrade again in a couple years, but 6112/5160 is probably as far as I’ll ever go, at least on this particular truck at this point in my life. Still need a motorcycle for summers...

 

How long have you have this set up on your truck? Is this for a 2nd gen or 3rd gen? Do you offroad often? How is it holding up? I currently have the same set up on mine and is also set at second notch (0.65) on my dclb 3rd gen Tacoma. With added weight it's more firm but in a good way.

 

I like my ride medium and tuned.

I like to feel what my tires are doing but not be so stiff that I feel like I have no compression, especially in the 30-60 mph range. I like softer at lower (crawling) speeds, specifically off road.

 

2nd gen


I had 887 and 5100's for about 2.5 years, have had my Fox Extended coils and 700lb springs for about 1.5 years.

In the end my 887's were starting to sag and the 5100's just weren't enough damper to keep the weight controlled, I'm over 6k lbs when in full expo/trail trim but I was pretty satisfied with the 887/5100's until I really started packing on the trail armor weight big tires and gear.

I Off-Road whenever I can, but don't really hit proper trails but once every few months if I'm being honest.

 

Wow that really suck that even at second notch the 887 sag with more weight. I thought that by preloading the coil it will provide more support for the added weight. Did you have any issues with coil binding, topping out or have any clunking noise issues while off-roading? I probably be upgrading later down the road if mine sag more or probably end up just getting the 886 to support the weight on my truck. Thanks for the feedback.