Dobinsons Suspension Review

Why'd you decide to ditch the 6112/5160 combo?
I swapped out the stock Bilstein 4600s in the rear for some Fox 2.0 over a year ago. The rear rides so much better than stock. I got busy and hadn't got around to replacing the fronts. I thought I was all decided on getting Fox 2.5 for the front, then started reading good things about Dobinsons and their IMS line. I like the clip options better than threaded bodies, especially in CO and the price is pretty decent for the IMS. Really looking forward to how BroTun13's install goes and impressions on how it rides as I was considering the 778 coils too.

 

Wanted something new. Yup, let's see how the 778's go. The main difference between Fox/King/Icon and the Aussie brands is that the US ones have years upon years of testing and fine tuning over their counterparts, and higher quality components, but it comes at a price for sure.

 

Drove as crazy as I possibly could yesterday and today. I maybe lost 1/16 of an inch at most. Dobinsons is trying to replicate the issue with another customer tundra this upcoming week, so I'm stuck driving nose high at basically 5 inches lol. Really considering selling it all and going Ironman, where I know I'll get 3.5 inches of front lift.

 

Wow. Yeah that's not ideal. It just sucks that Ironman's prices have absolutely skyrocketed recently.

 

They're still within reason if you use the discount code GOODBUDDY10, and free shipping.

I am running the Ironman shackles right now with my Dobs leaf springs, and their quality is seriously legitimate. I was very impressed.

 

That's ridiculous. The angle on your cv's must be brutal

 

Take a look for yourself.

 

I think their response is unreasonable. I wouldn't drive around with 5" of lift, certainly not for 2 weeks

 

I'd take it easy. The Patriot 1776 did the same thing hoping to accelerate the break in period and said it destroyed the rack and pinion because of the extreme angles they're at.

Maybe Crikeymike can send you the red springs you ordered. Sucks that you have to take it apart again, but I wouldn't drive around with it like that for 2 weeks either.

 

I actually ordered the teal springs. I would never have allowed red springs to go on my truck lol.

It is scary. I do get a strange clunk noise around corners. Dobinsons said it would be fine to drive with CV angles like that, so it's on them.

My thinking at this point is to just order the Ironman and have them give me a full refund.

 

I ordered red springs lol. I figured I would rather have the red to match my sway bar, than have teal which just didn't match anything.

 

ahaha you have MGM. its acceptable. I just can't mix red and black. Personal preference.

What really blows is I was supposed to take my truck camping this weekend since the weather is finally nice. Per the recc of others on here I'll hold off. Thanks Dobinsons lol.

 

Haha I understand, black and red is very, very common. My GTO is black with red seats and suspension parts lol

But that does suck about your camping trip. You could probably be okay, but might need to play it a little safe with those CVs. But really that would only matter under heavy throttle or tight binding turns. I used to wheel my first gen a lot and never busted a CV, just had to wheel smart.

 

Also I got my SPC coil spring compressors today, $60 Amazon warehouse deal instead of the $140.

These things are beefy, definitely a different breed than the typical rental compressors we have all used. Hopefully they do the trick.

 

Oh right! So many colors, haha Well you didn't get what you ordered which makes me think the model of springs may not be correct. Accidents happen, but I think it's on you to pull one and break it down so you can check tag to see if you received the right model of spring. Do you still have your original shocks and springs? Curious if you could put the IMS clip at the highest setting and run OEM springs until it gets sorted out. Save wear and tear due to the crazy geometry.

 

Dobinson’s confirmed they are the 780 coils. I also have their packing slip where someone checked off the 780 coils.

They’re all messed up. I do not have any left over springs or shocks.

I’m giving them a few more days, and then going elsewhere.

 

I agree

I’m sure that whatever damage you do
to your truck at 5” of lift, while waiting for correct springs, WON’T be covered by Dobinsons. If they won’t send you the correct gear, what makes you think they’ll pay big repair bills?

 

Totally agree. But I will be getting a full refund without any restocking fee bs. And I will not be paying shipping to send the product back.

 

Good luck man. Hope you get your truck squared away. I was considering the falcon shocks kit that reuse the oem front springs, but i think I’m going to do the eibach 2.0 coilovers and shocks for about $1k and retain stock UCAs. I might add the coach builder shackles to the mix as well.

 

If you’re talking the Pro Truck series, I’ve had these for almost a year and have been happy with them.

 

Awesome. I’m in my last year of school, so majority of my driving is on the street and pretty low mileage at that. I think the 2” eibachs will work well. I’d like bigger, better...but I don’t need it.

 

Not a bad idea. It's always tempting to go crazy with a build, but just get what you need. Sure I could have spent 4k on King shocks, but I mostly use my truck to tow, go to Home Depot, and some mild off-roading around a farm.

90% of the guys on here that buy King, Fox etc., never fully utilize the capability of those shocks. It's just a flex.

So don't worry, just get whatever you need that will work well

 

Yeah, I hear you. I could have spent more, but my wife and I negotiated a budget of $1000 for suspension. I did the Eibachs and Icon expansion pack for about $900 total and I did the install. A buddy of mine has a TRD Off Road, and he commented on how much better mine rode than his. I do a lot of driving on pretty shitty forest service roads, and it's worked well for that.

 

So, did you get the pro truck setup with the circlips, which would give you either 2.5” or 3” depending on which setting you used, or did you do the 2.0 coilovers that have the threaded body? Also, how’s the icon expansion pack treating you? Lastly, got any good pictures of how it looks all together?

 

The clips. I have them on position 2 I think? It was the highest setting using the Eibach springs. It’s all working well. I’ve never used fancier, so I can’t compare up, but relative to stock it’s a great upgrade.



The stock running boards came off after this trip.

 

Nice. Did you need new UCAs for alignment?

 

No, but I'm very close. I have a really good alignment shop. I might do some SPCs here soon.

 

That's good to hear. Sounds like they need to get some things squared away with the products they sell for our trucks. You're not the first to have this experience with their coilover package.

 

I have not gotten that from Dobinson’s to be clear, but I will be asking for it.

the axle bind is getting pretty bad at 5 inches. Drives like I’m in 4WD at all times on dry roads lol.

Starting to get worried about driving this high, and all dobinson’s said was “we’re installing a tundra IMS next week and we’ll let you know about the numbers.” It’s almost as if they don’t believe it, even though I’ve sent them pictures with a tape measure, etc.

 

Gotcha. I think that's the minimum that they should offer. Keep us posted