I just bought and installed a pair of Donahoe coilovers and Camburg uniball upper arms for my 04 Toyota Tacoma Doublecab Prerunner 2wd v6. After driving it around I noticed that the truck rides very stiff in the front, almost too stiff. Every bump I go over hits really hard and it is very uncomfortable. Everyone I talked to on here said the Donahoe coilovers ride very nice and are way better than stock. Is something wrong with mine? I know that the coils are not cranked down to much because I did not change the settings from out of the box. There is about 2 inches of threads showing on top and the truck sits almost level with the back stock. I do not want to adjust the coils up in the front because I do not want to back to sit higher than the front. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get a better ride on the street???
Donahoe Coilovers Stiff???? Help!!
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
Joined
·
3,751 Posts
Did you pre measure to see how much lift you actually have?? Notice one little factoid... the Donahoes use a 650lb spring, your 2wd truck uses a 480lb spring. I see a chiropractor in your future.... The coilovers will maybe take a little getting used to. Now, go blast some desert road, and see how they work like they were made to. You might wind them down a bit, they come set to lift an ex cab4wd 2" SOLID. So, you may be up above that already, or, you may be able to drop some preload without sacrificing height. Or, maybe take a little nitrogen out of the charge. :xdevil:
I think mine have either broken in a bit and/or I've adapted. I do remember being a little surprised at how they reacted to certain sharp bumps I encounter on the street. But overall the ride is "better".
Riding "very nice" is really not a real good description for what Donahoe's do or feel like. And remember what they're built for; hitting bigger bumps and working hard off-road.
When I go over a signifigant bump off-road while turning, either slowly or quickly and the truck absorbs it and then calmly settles, the "ride" is better.
When I go around a corner and the truck doesn't lean as much as it used to, the ride is better.
The ride is better when I'm hitting gradual but BIG bumps with no drama.
When I'm rolling on the street at slower speeds (under 30) with street pressures in my tires and I'm hitting potholes and other sharp bumps, I'm reminded I've got 650# coils instead of what comes from the factory. Even with perfect valving it's tough to get around having stiffer springs.
I guess it's possible something is wrong, and someone more knowledgable will probably add their thoughts to this thread. I think your just feeling 650# coils though.
Overall I think it's an improved "street" ride and obviously they are a LOT better off-road then factory, but certain sharp bumps do seem to come through. Give it some time and even better take them off-road, and I think you'll love them.
Riding "very nice" is really not a real good description for what Donahoe's do or feel like. And remember what they're built for; hitting bigger bumps and working hard off-road.
When I go over a signifigant bump off-road while turning, either slowly or quickly and the truck absorbs it and then calmly settles, the "ride" is better.
When I go around a corner and the truck doesn't lean as much as it used to, the ride is better.
The ride is better when I'm hitting gradual but BIG bumps with no drama.
When I'm rolling on the street at slower speeds (under 30) with street pressures in my tires and I'm hitting potholes and other sharp bumps, I'm reminded I've got 650# coils instead of what comes from the factory. Even with perfect valving it's tough to get around having stiffer springs.
I guess it's possible something is wrong, and someone more knowledgable will probably add their thoughts to this thread. I think your just feeling 650# coils though.
Overall I think it's an improved "street" ride and obviously they are a LOT better off-road then factory, but certain sharp bumps do seem to come through. Give it some time and even better take them off-road, and I think you'll love them.
Joined
·
5,257 Posts
like stated, it's an off road coilover. it rides a little stiffer on road over the smaller bumps, but off road they're amazing. on and off road, the suspension will compress, rebound and settle...no bobbing up and down for 100ft like you see other cars/trucks doing. i dont have a problem with the street ride with donahoes, but if i did, i would still keep them for their amazing off road performance
Joined
·
652 Posts
rojodiablo said:
Whatever you do DO NOT release any of the nitrogen. It is unlikely that you have the older model of the Donahoes with the schrader valve, so you probobly can't even do it, but if you do leave it alone. (and people wonder why Donahoe put the charge port instead of the schrader!) The nitrogen is extremely important to the function of the shock.
Joined
·
6 Posts
I just put some Donahoes on this past weekend also and am pretty sure I know where you're coming from. Like you, read lots of posts with people talking about how much of an improvement the ride was both off & on road. I think I ended up getting the idea in my head that they would soak up every little bump & uneven joint in the road without even noticing it. After driving it just a bit, I realized that it isn't the case. After I thought about it some more, it made sense that the coil can't be that soft or the suspension would probalby bottom out during hard off-road use.
That being said, I agree 100% with what Pete posted above. To me, they still seem like at least a slight improvement over my stock TRD coils in this respect. Notice I have a ext. cab 4x4 vs. your pre-runner, don't know if that would make a difference or not. In return though, you get rid of all that damn body roll and nose diving that the stock coils had. To me, the trade off is worth it even just based on on-road driving. I haven't had a chance to stretch their legs off-road yet.
BTW: I also put Deaver 7-leaf packs in the back at the same time and they do feel more like what I was envisioning. They stop the back end from swinging up & down over bumps @ slower speed driving but don't feel harsh in any way, either. Perfect!
That being said, I agree 100% with what Pete posted above. To me, they still seem like at least a slight improvement over my stock TRD coils in this respect. Notice I have a ext. cab 4x4 vs. your pre-runner, don't know if that would make a difference or not. In return though, you get rid of all that damn body roll and nose diving that the stock coils had. To me, the trade off is worth it even just based on on-road driving. I haven't had a chance to stretch their legs off-road yet.
BTW: I also put Deaver 7-leaf packs in the back at the same time and they do feel more like what I was envisioning. They stop the back end from swinging up & down over bumps @ slower speed driving but don't feel harsh in any way, either. Perfect!
Joined
·
239 Posts
One thing many people overlook is tire pressure. It can transmit a lot of harshness! If you just got your tires mounted most shops leave them at 40-50 psi from setting the bead!!Krscott80 said:
Larger tires require less pressure. 32psi is way to much for a 33” tire on a Toyota
Also off road tires have stiffer side walls
I ran a set of BFG mud terrains that rode great and then switched to BFG Baja race tires and the ride was way harsher even with the pressure as low as 8psi in the rear and 13psi in front “on the street”!! but now i can bomb through sharp rocks at 50mph and not worry about it
Joined
·
248 Posts
I personally like to run w/o the front sway-bar attached 99% of the time. It takes a little getting used to when entering a corner at speed because the front dips a little but the bump abosrbtion is so much better w/o the swaybar that I have learned to compensate for not having it. I do attach the swaybar for long road trips though just incase...
Front Range Off-Road makes some really nice swaybar disconnects that are a snap to use, with those you can make the switch in a few seconds.
Front Range Off-Road makes some really nice swaybar disconnects that are a snap to use, with those you can make the switch in a few seconds.
Joined
·
2,798 Posts
I would check to make sure your tire presure is not too high. 28-32lbs is where I run. The coil might also feel kinda stiff if your old suspension was worn out and really soft?Krscott80 said:
You also might want to contact Donahoe and make sure you don't have a tundra coil over set.
I actully thought they were a little soft for both on and off-road the first time I put them on a customers truck but after a quick drive thru some local urban wheelin, I was conviced they are the best coil overs out there!
Good luck!
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
