fox coilovers

Anybody running the fox coilovers at 3"? I wanna know if the ride will be terrible if they are set at that?

 

Depends what spring size you got. Is it 13 or 14"?

 

Well don't have them yet. Need to trash my stock front end with spacer lift. Leaning towards fox coilovers the 2.5 IFP performance extended travel coilovers. I didn't see that there were two spring options available? I need a true 3" lift and don't want something I have to Max out spring tension wise to get that three inches and jarr myself around driving. Which of the two would be the better spring to go with for a plush ride, if there is such a thing?

 

There are a lot of factors when it comes to making the ride "plush." Things like valving, spring rate, preload and even spring size all matter. Ideally you want to avoid preloading too much to keep from adding unnecessary tension on the coil over top perch adjuster, and bottom perch as well. Coil bind is another thing you want to avoid by preloading. Fox is a progressive shock lucky for you so the ride will be softer unless you go out offroading and bomb the piss out of your setup then the shocks will get progressively stiffer and stiffer. You should really avoid going higher then 2.5" in the front to keep your CV boot angles in check. If you want to go 2.5" in front which is what I would highly recommend you should really consider a 14" spring to minimize preload. As for your valving, the factory stuff that they send it with should suffice, they typically send the coilovers preloaded to 2.5" straight from Fox to avoid you heartache of adjustment.

 

So guys that say they're running a three inch lift, do most of them actually run a 2.5" and call it a three? You mention CV boot angles would be bad if I went over 2.5", is this the case even if I'm running a diff drop(which I already am)? Another question if I run those fox coilovers at 2.5" am I still preloading them quite a bit or are they made for that without sacrificing ride quality?

 

If you are running a diff drop you could get away with running 3" of lift. You mention ride quality a lot. The Fox shocks come configured from the factory to ride a specific way preloaded to 2.5". You should be fairly pleased with the improvement in the front end period. I can't tell you about ride quality because my idea of a good ride is different then yours. I like a stiff ride, you know, how a truck is supposed to ride. Your idea might be a soft plushy ride. Either way, when you order the shocks let the company you are getting them from how much lift you want to achieve, let them know you want a 14" spring to achieve less preload but still be able to lift as high, and also let them know what kind of ride you like, whether soft, medium or stiff and they could alter the valving for you. Your CV angles will be fine with your diff drop. Unfortunately, us 2nd gens can't get away with that.

 

Hey thanks for your replys 12trdtacoma!! I'm worries about ride quality cause I wanna get away from my current spacer lift feel, I hate it!! So I wanna be sure that if I drop a bunch of coin for these coilovers that it will be a serious improvement! I've been looking at the ones all pro sells, could you offer up another place to consider looking at to purchase these things?

 

All-Pro is pretty good additionally you can find them at Offroad Warehouse, and Downsouth Motorsports. You could even try talking to Fox directly.

 

I wish is would have seen this awhile back. I have 4 full revolutions on collar to level truck. Just dont really like rake personally. Ride is good but i know it could be better a hair lower. Even asked someone at fox about running 14" spring with less preload and they said ride quality would be horrible. In there defense i might have accidentally said #650 spring though. @12TRDTacoma wouldnt the preload be the same though with the inch longer springs just less visible preload/ threads?

 

Ride quality is subject to the valving, not the springs, they control the "springyness" of the ride for lack of better terms. How much you bounce up and down.

What size spring are you running and what is the rate? What are your current hub to fender measurements at the front also?

Additionally as food for thought if you are still building the suspension on your truck, bear in mind that if you are keeping it mid travel, it is always best to stick to the original dimensions that stock had. Example: stock came with 14" long springs. You will want to keep it that to achieve better lift without having to crank down on the springs so much. In turn by doing so, you allow your spring to compress more before you reach what is called "coil bind." That is something you do not want happening if you intend to use all of your suspension system's travel.

The items you can play with are the width which is relative to the width of the shock or coilover (2.0, 2.5, 3.0) and the shock's fully extended and collapsed measurements.

 

Ok I assumed the more you cranked down the collar the stiffer the ride would become. I dont have much "bounce' they just seem a tad stiffer after tightening down collar the 4 rotations to level. They're the 13" #600 (eibachs I think) that came with fox 2.5 extrnded length coilovers. Hub to fender is 22 3/8''ish.
I actually took em off and sent them to fox because my measurements were so low. Everything checked out. @12TRDTacoma
Yes this will be a mid travel suspension. I think when i had brought up the 14" spring (no armor) I mistakenly said 650lb springs which they said wouldn't work. Which is why I just ran the 13" ones that came with them. Figured since fox had them geared towards tacoma they knew what was right

 

You want 14" regardless of if the will be 600# or 650# the more you crank them down the harder they become to compress down because they are already preloaded. Hence why you are experiencing a "stiff" ride.

Remember, you don't want to lift past 2.5" in the front or else your axle shaft boots will wear prematurely due to the increase in axle angle.

NO diff drops for 2nd gens!!!

 

Definitely just didn't think i needed so much preload for alittle over 2" of lift with that setup. 14" springs in the future and possibly a perfect time to experiment with something other than stock valving but possibly keep the stock. Thanks for your time @12TRDTacoma

 

I've read if you preload the coil overs too much you'll get coil bind? I had my Icon CO's preloaded over the recommended amount and the ride on pavement was crap but great off road. I know they're digressive not progressive. Anyways I lowered the preload and now on the pavement they ride so much better. You just have to find the sweet spot.

 

What type of driving do you like to do?

Here is an example for you. My coilovers require 1.25" to lift me 2.5" and my angles and boots are in great shape. Ride height is perfect for me. Slightly raked but not an extraordinary amount to trip VSC and the yaw program prematurely.

 

Agreed. There is a sweet spot. I'm prefectly happy with my lift running my 14" coils and get zero bind even at extreme compression. If I remember right I use anywhere from 5-5.5" of coilover travel on my truck.

 

So why can't 2nd gens do diff drops