[daveman1230]

could someone explain to me why, if i get a pair of dr coilovers, i shouldn't put spacers on too, i just want to be able to have additional lift and not have to install a bl by myself since ive never done anything like that before. i was looking at some pics where one dude put massive spacers on his dr coilovers that were lowered down to the minimum height, so i just wanted a clear answer on whether i could do this or not

 

[YoTRacer158]

coilovers and spacers both change the angle of the cv's. you can only lift your truck 2.5-3" (with coilovers/spacers) without doing damage to the cv's. if you stack the spacer and coilover, you'll trash your cv's in no time. if you want more than 3" without a body lift, your only choice is a drop bracket lift (fabtech 6", trailmaster 6" or tuff country 5")

 

[Tufemup]

What about if you already have a 4" drop bracket lift (Pro Comp in my case) and want the dr coilovers for the nicer ride? Does Donahoe make extended coilovers or would I need a 4" spacer? In that case, the CV's would still be straight like they are now unless the coilovers were cranked up. I'd also like to be able to get another inch or two with the coilovers. Rather not have the spacer but haven't seen anything about extended length coilovers for trucks that already have lift.

 

[hytenor]

What about if you already have a 4" drop bracket lift (Pro Comp in my case) and want the dr coilovers for the nicer ride? Does Donahoe make extended coilovers or would I need a 4" spacer? In that case, the CV's would still be straight like they are now unless the coilovers were cranked up. I'd also like to be able to get another inch or two with the coilovers. Rather not have the spacer but haven't seen anything about extended length coilovers for trucks that already have lift.

Hoes don't work well with the PC lift...long thread on the old board about that. You can run SAWs or Kings, however and can crank them to 2-2.5" of lift giving you 6+".

A simple suspension lift like using coils spacer or aftermarket coils/coilovers can only get you so much. The Taco's suspension geometry limits this. The CVs will handle 3.5" of lift but the the boots won't. Upper ball joints can't handle more than 3.5" either. On average, the CV boots will start to wear themselves out with much more than 2". Going to a high-angle boot will take care of that to an extent...if you wheel a lot they will still wear out. The Taco's IFS only has 8" of wheel travel, 4 up and 4 down. So, when you add a 3.5" lift you are left with only 1/2" of down-travel and a really crappy ride. Even coilover systems like Donahoes will ride rough when cranked too high.
Donahoe does make an extended coilover that adds 1" of down travel. OME shocks are just under 1/2" longer than OE so do the same. A top-load spacer like Revtec's will also do this.

the options are:
simple suspension lift -- 2-3.5" depending on manual hubs or ADD
drop-bracket -- 4-6" (there are other kits out there that offer more but they are not posted about here.)
Body lift --up to 3"

 

[synovus]

What about if you already have a 4" drop bracket lift (Pro Comp in my case) and want the dr coilovers for the nicer ride? Does Donahoe make extended coilovers or would I need a 4" spacer? In that case, the CV's would still be straight like they are now unless the coilovers were cranked up. I'd also like to be able to get another inch or two with the coilovers. Rather not have the spacer but haven't seen anything about extended length coilovers for trucks that already have lift.

The long thread hytenor mentioned (I think): http://forums.delphiforums.com/CaliforniaOffRd/messages?msg=1678

Another similar thread from the old board: http://forums.delphiforums.com/tacomaterritory/messages?msg=106945

 

[Packoo]

what about prerunners?

 

[Tufemup]

The long thread hytenor mentioned (I think): http://forums.delphiforums.com/CaliforniaOffRd/messages?msg=1678

Another similar thread from the old board: http://forums.delphiforums.com/tacomaterritory/messages?msg=106945

Good link - thanks. Long thread with lots of banter though. For anyone else reading it, start around post 150 for the info I was looking for. Sounds like Kings have a taller and higher mounted cone at the bottom of their coilover that work with the PC lift and also sell an extended coilover where Donahoes have a wider lower mounted cone that interfere with the CV on drop bracket lifted trucks. (As they say, Donahoes are designed for stock tacomas and are for performance not lift). Also Donahoes do not sell extended length coilovers so a spacer would be necessary in order to keep the CV's straight. One last piece of info I got from the thread above (so that everyone doesn't need to read through it all) is that the PC lift does not drop the diff a full 4" (more like 3") which is why the CV's are not completely straight like stock and like they advertise hence the interference with the Donahoe coilover. Until I read that, I just could not understand why it wouldn't work since the "steering geometry is retained". but it's not apparently.

 

[hytenor]

Good link - thanks. Long thread with lots of banter though. For anyone else reading it, start around post 150 for the info I was looking for. Sounds like Kings have a taller and higher mounted cone at the bottom of their coilover that work with the PC lift and also sell an extended coilover where Donahoes have a wider lower mounted cone that interfere with the CV on drop bracket lifted trucks. (As they say, Donahoes are designed for stock tacomas and are for performance not lift). Also Donahoes do not sell extended length coilovers so a spacer would be necessary in order to keep the CV's straight. One last piece of info I got from the thread above (so that everyone doesn't need to read through it all) is that the PC lift does not drop the diff a full 4" (more like 3") which is why the CV's are not completely straight like stock and like they advertise hence the interference with the Donahoe coilover. Until I read that, I just could not understand why it wouldn't work since the "steering geometry is retained". but it's not apparently.

Donahoe makes extended coilovers

 

[Tufemup]

Donahoe makes extended coilovers

They do? I haven't heard or seen anything to indicate that they do. Even Donahoe said that they are designed for stock trucks not to be used with other lift kits. If you can't crank the CV's over 3 or 3.5" which the coilovers will give you, why would they sell an extended coilover? King does but then I don't think they claim not to be used with other kits.

 

[synovus]

They do? I haven't heard or seen anything to indicate that they do. Even Donahoe said that they are designed for stock trucks not to be used with other lift kits. If you can't crank the CV's over 3 or 3.5" which the coilovers will give you, why would they sell an extended coilover? King does but then I don't think they claim not to be used with other kits.

I think there's some confusion here as to what "extended" means. Donahoe offers "extended length" coilovers for use with uniball upper arms, which allow an extra inch of downtravel compared to their standard length Tacoma coilovers. The coilover itself is not extended, or longer. It's "extended" by allowing an extra half-inch or so of stroke. (somebody correct me if I'm wrong there)

King offers longer coilovers, but not in the same manner as the Donahoe extended length ones. The "extended" King coilovers are not Tacoma-specific and are longer by several inches. They're being referred to in this thread as "extended length" because the entire coilover is longer. For the PC 4" lift, many people run Kings that are 4" longer than King's Tacoma-specific coilovers, so that they don't have to use a spacer like on the TM and Fabtech kits (although 6" longer Kings might be able to be used with the Fabtech kit; I'm just not all that familiar with their kit). As far as I know, Donahoe does not offer coilovers in those longer lengths, just the "extended length" version I mentioned earlier.

 

[hytenor]

I think there's some confusion here as to what "extended" means. Donahoe offers "extended length" coilovers for use with uniball upper arms, which allow an extra inch of downtravel compared to their standard length Tacoma coilovers. The coilover itself is not extended, or longer. It's "extended" by allowing an extra half-inch or so of stroke. (somebody correct me if I'm wrong there)

King offers longer coilovers, but not in the same manner as the Donahoe extended length ones. The "extended" King coilovers are not Tacoma-specific and are longer by several inches. They're being referred to in this thread as "extended length" because the entire coilover is longer. For the PC 4" lift, many people run Kings that are 4" longer than King's Tacoma-specific coilovers, so that they don't have to use a spacer like on the TM and Fabtech kits (although 6" longer Kings might be able to be used with the Fabtech kit; I'm just not all that familiar with their kit). As far as I know, Donahoe does not offer coilovers in those longer lengths, just the "extended length" version I mentioned earlier.

very good grasshopper
the "extended" Hoes have a longer shock body for an additional inch of down-travel. You can use them with stock uppers but won't get the benefit due to the limitation of the OE upper ball joints.

 

[synovus]

If you can't crank the CV's over 3 or 3.5" which the coilovers will give you, why would they sell an extended coilover? King does but then I don't think they claim not to be used with other kits.

I also meant to respond to your question about the 3"-3.5" max lift with coilovers. The Donahoe extended-length coilovers are not extended in length for additional lift. They're intended for additional droop, or down-travel, which can be attained by using them in conjunction with uniball upper arms. That's why they sell them. The King extended coilovers are not specifically designed for Tacomas. They're designed for custom applications (largely racing applications), rather than a specific vehicle. Yes, King offers vehicle specific coilovers, but the longer versions people are using in combination with a drop-bracket lift are custom-length. With the drop-bracket kits, the suspension geometry is usually very near stock. The CV angles, balljoint angles, etc. will be very similar in geometry to a stock Tacoma. In light of that, you can still add a couple inches of lift to the drop-bracket kit via adjustable coilovers, non-adjustable coilovers (such as OME's), or spacers.

It seems as though most of the drop-bracket lifts maintain close to stock suspension geometry, but tend to exhibit suspension angles similar to people running about a 1" lift. Because of that, there's less additional lift possible when trying to add to the drop-bracket lift with a coilover or spacer lift. So you most likely would not be able to get a full additional 3"-3.5" with those, because the suspension was already exhibiting some lift.

Just to clarify, you're not "cranking" the CV's when lifting with coilovers. You're "cranking" the adjustment collar on the coilovers, which adjusts the preload on the coils, which provides lift. As a result, the CV angles are increased, but that's not the primary concern. The primary concern is the increased wear on the CV boots when "cranking" the coilovers for lift. The CV's can usually handle the higher angles that result from lifting, but the boots tend to wear out quicker.

 

[hytenor]

I also meant to respond to your question about the 3"-3.5" max lift with coilovers. The Donahoe extended-length coilovers are not extended in length for additional lift. They're intended for additional droop, or down-travel, which can be attained by using them in conjunction with uniball upper arms. That's why they sell them. The King extended coilovers are not specifically designed for Tacomas. They're designed for custom applications (largely racing applications), rather than a specific vehicle. Yes, King offers vehicle specific coilovers, but the longer versions people are using in combination with a drop-bracket lift are custom-length. With the drop-bracket kits, the suspension geometry is usually very near stock. The CV angles, balljoint angles, etc. will be very similar in geometry to a stock Tacoma. In light of that, you can still add a couple inches of lift to the drop-bracket kit via adjustable coilovers, non-adjustable coilovers (such as OME's), or spacers.

It seems as though most of the drop-bracket lifts maintain close to stock suspension geometry, but tend to exhibit suspension angles similar to people running about a 1" lift. Because of that, there's less additional lift possible when trying to add to the drop-bracket lift with a coilover or spacer lift. So you most likely would not be able to get a full additional 3"-3.5" with those, because the suspension was already exhibiting some lift.

Just to clarify, you're not "cranking" the CV's when lifting with coilovers. You're "cranking" the adjustment collar on the coilovers, which adjusts the preload on the coils, which provides lift. As a result, the CV angles are increased, but that's not the primary concern. The primary concern is the increased wear on the CV boots when "cranking" the coilovers for lift. The CV's can usually handle the higher angles that result from lifting, but the boots tend to wear out quicker.

damn, you're good, LOL

 

[Tufemup]

I think there's some confusion here as to what "extended" means. Donahoe offers "extended length" coilovers for use with uniball upper arms, which allow an extra inch of downtravel compared to their standard length Tacoma coilovers. The coilover itself is not extended, or longer. It's "extended" by allowing an extra half-inch or so of stroke. (somebody correct me if I'm wrong there)

King offers longer coilovers, but not in the same manner as the Donahoe extended length ones. The "extended" King coilovers are not Tacoma-specific and are longer by several inches. They're being referred to in this thread as "extended length" because the entire coilover is longer. For the PC 4" lift, many people run Kings that are 4" longer than King's Tacoma-specific coilovers, so that they don't have to use a spacer like on the TM and Fabtech kits (although 6" longer Kings might be able to be used with the Fabtech kit; I'm just not all that familiar with their kit). As far as I know, Donahoe does not offer coilovers in those longer lengths, just the "extended length" version I mentioned earlier.

OK, good. The only thing I didn't understand then was the definition of "extended". Two different companies - two different definitions. Anyway, I don't think I'd ever go higher than I am now cause I'm mostly a daily driver street truck but since I have settled from 4" of lift down to near 3.25-3.5", I wanted to get that half inch back in front and provide a better ride. Also, because of the settling, I've lost some clearance in front and center. I'm at about 10" clearance with 33" tires. Thought stock tacomas were near 12" even on 31" tires. Coilovers from my understanding don't feel all that great when up at 3". Best around 0-2" for ride quality, or so I'm told. No experience there. Anyway, I may not do anything now. The winters here in the North east are a bitch and can't see spending $600 - $1000 on something that will corode and look like sh*t after one winter. Since Donahoes aren't going to work for me, I guess I'm SOL.

 

[synovus]

Best around 0-2" for ride quality, or so I'm told. No experience there. Anyway, I may not do anything now. The winters here in the North east are a bitch and can't see spending $600 - $1000 on something that will corode and look like sh*t after one winter. Since Donahoes aren't going to work for me, I guess I'm SOL.

Yeah, 0-2" will give a much better ride than 3"+. As a general rule, the higher you crank them from 0", the stiffer/harsher the ride becomes.

Here's something you may want to consider, if you'd like to recoup your lost lift in the future:

EXTREME WEATHER PLATING. On our next run of Coil-Overs (February release) we will offer an Extreme weather shock. Being from So-cal my whole life we have never really thought about salt on the road and snow. It just doesn’t happen here. So we started talks with an aerospace plating company that produces a non-corrosive plating that lasts at the bottom of the ocean for years. This shock plating will be an option on any coil-over shock we make and will be backed with a lifetime guarantee against rusting or binding the coil adjuster due to exposure. So if you live in a mild climate you can stick with the cad plating for more extreme weather go with the new stuff. The cost for the extreme weather shocks will run about 50.00 more due to the high tech plating process.

 

[Tufemup]

Yeah, 0-2" will give a much better ride than 3"+. As a general rule, the higher you crank them from 0", the stiffer/harsher the ride becomes.

Here's something you may want to consider, if you'd like to recoup your lost lift in the future:

Synovus - Did I miss something here? The extreme weather coilover from Donahoe is what I was just talking about and decided against because of the interference with PC lift. The others may work but don't offer the plating. What?

 

[synovus]

Synovus - Did I miss something here? The extreme weather coilover from Donahoe is what I was just talking about and decided against because of the interference with PC lift. The others may work but don't offer the plating. What?

No, I'm just airheaded. LOL

 

[Tufemup]

No, I'm just airheaded. LOL

OK - good. Whew! I thought it was me.

 

[Donahoe]

I have a crazy Idea...WHy dont you call us and we will answer all your questions. You guys are ganna get carpul tunnal syndrom typing so much.

714-632-3033

 

[daveman1230]

yea i think i'll do that