Want to get rid of Kings for a softer/smoother ride

So I'm thinking about getting rid of my Kings w/ remote resis and adjusters for a smoother riding setup. The fronts are fine for me, but the rears are a little rough. I gave a buddy of mine, years ago, the full suspension for his older Tundra since his was worn out so I no longer have the front coils or hats. On other trucks I've run Kings, Radflo, Fox, Bilstein and Icons. To me the Radflos rode the best (most comfortable) but had a clatter when hitting bumps (Nissan Titan). The Kings rode REALLY nice on the Titan, but not as much on the Tundra. The Icons rode well, but they were on a Cummins powered Titan XD.

What is the consensus on a softer riding setup that still offers the 2.5" lift in the front that I have with the Kings? I'm not against going with another coilover, but just wondering what people's thoughts are. I love the Tundra, but have had two people complain about how jarring the rear seats can be. I have bags, but they are empty and don't have a lift in a rear, just the Kings.

Truck is a 2018 Limited w/ 33K miles. I doubt it can be anything other than the Kings. Maybe I'll pull the shocks (when it warms up here in NC) and ride without them just to test and make sure, but I'm pretty sure that's what is going on. Or maybe add some Deaver F85 springs?

Thanks in advance.

 

You mean the rear leafs? That's what I might try first. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

No I’m pretty sure he’s talking the front coilovers.

I’m not 100% but I’m pretty sure you need to run a minimum of like 5 PSI in your rear bags. I could be wrong though but I thought it was hard on them to have no air at all inside.

As for your rear ride quality, I wonder if the King shocks you have installed were designed to operate with zero lift?

I’d find some stock 4600 Bilsteins somewhere and install them and drive and see what you think.

 

The front is perfectly fine as far as ride quality, it's the rear that sucks.

The air bags are supposed to have air in them, but running them with zero shows that it's not them that's causing the issue.

The Kings were purchased as a set from a reputable vendor and the rears are for either 0-2" or 0-1".

I'm not against buying an all new setup. I know that what's harsh to me, might not be too the next person. Just wanted to see what folks think it's the smoothest setup

A quick Google search shows there have been plenty of folks that have issues with the harshness in the rear, or maybe they're just all old, like me.

Thanks for the reply.

 

My friend has a 6112 Bilstein front and the Icon 2.0 IFP rear shocks with Toytec shackles. He whines that the rear on his setup is too plushy. When I ride with him I don’t notice it.

Like you said, different strokes for different folks.

 

What is your wheel/tire specs?

 

You might have figured what I've been reading about, lol. Load range E Cooper tires.

 

I thought I've read several threads on here about rough rides when unloaded and better, smooth ride with a couple hundred pounds in the back... no?

 

What pressure do you have them at? I'm new to Tundras and learning but I have load range E Cooper tires as well, originally the tires had 35psi but after reading people say you should run at 50psi to avoid damage (seems to be a point of debate on minimum pressure) I upped the pressure and that really changed the ride to be stiffer in the rear. I'm running stock TRD Sport suspension right now.

 

I run them at 38 PSI. When loaded or towing (which I don't really do anymore) I have a dual head ARB compressor onboard to fill up the bags and tires.

 

I have a 2020 Limited with the TRD Off Road package, all stock except black SumoSprings added in back and with the original Michelin AT tires. I didn't really think the Sumos made the ride much worse, although I have never road in the back, but my wife did one time and reported a rough ride.

This is of interest to me because last fall while driving into my brothers north woods hideout, I bottomed out my front end and bashed up my bash plate. This incident has me thinking about raising my front end +2" maximum, I want a smooth ride so my thoughts are either Fox TRD Pro fronts, or Kings with the more on road valving option. Then if that happens would probably add CB +1 shackles, that may also improve the ride by keeping the rear off the Sumos most of the time when not loaded.

Sorry, didn't mean to highjack this thread.

 

No worries at all. Hopefully someone else doesn't think that buying Kings will fix this issue. It's also nice to see that you have similar issues, but in the stock setup.

I might try the Deevers in the rear since I already have airbags. I'm not against getting ADS coilovers, or another brand, but don't want to be at the same place I already am. I think those Deevers might fix my issue, but I still want to do as much research as I can before buying them.

 

It might be a viable option, but that would put my truck down. I'll probably try the AAL overload replacement springs first. If that doesn't fix it, then I'll look into other options.

I can say that at speed, the Kings are super smooth. I'm as impressed with these as I was the original Kings that I had on my Nissan Titan. The Titan rode best with Radflo, but the clatter of the valving was just a pain in the butt. The wife asked me if something was wrong with the truck, and I got rid of them for Foxes right after. Finally settled on the Kings.

 

I’d give the rough country vertex adjustable rears a try. They have multiple settings for softer or tighter ride based on what you’re tackling that day. They also come with a 3 year warranty. If I upgrade my suspension that is the route I would go.

 

This is the first time I've heard of anyone suggesting using rough country to make the ride better, lol. How do these differ from my adjustable King rears? Looks like you can adjust the same way.

 

How would I know what valving I have? Just stock, lol? I bought them from SDHQ, as the last set they had in stock, so no waiting. I'm going to guess I'd need to get a nitrogen bottle as well. I have Argon for my tig setup, but not sure if that would work or not.

Looking at your pictures, I'm sure you use your setup much more as designed as I ever will. Hell, even my diesel CJ is a mall queen, lol.

 

Find a cheap set of shocks to replace the kings while they get tuned. I would look into adding a flutter stack on the compression side and maybe add a thinner head shim on the compression side depending on what is in there right now.

 

Or call king and see what they put in the tundra rear shocks. I doubt sdhq changes them in house.

 

Or maybe @AccuTune Offroad can lend a helping hand.

 

What airbag set up do you have?

I installed an Airlift helper bag for a buddy in his tundra, and I’m about 99% sure they have some sort of internal bump stop or similar inside the bag. The Airlift system required removing the factory bump stop. It rides pretty harsh even with minimum air pressure.

 

Thanks for the tag.

Yes we can definitely help. Standard off the shelf King 2.5 shocks have digressive pistons in them, which make them run a little on the firm side. We typically swap these out for a linear piston and get better valving. We can definitely make the ride smoother. I would strongly suggest getting those shocks tuned before you look at replacing them completely. We will go through your entire setup before hand and make sure everything is fine. Leaf packs and tire rating also can play a factor in ride quality. Let us know if we can help!

 

Thank you for the offer and response. My plan now is to try and swap out the overload for the Deaver F85 springs. If this doesn't change it, then I'll be reaching out. More than likely I'll just order another setup from you guys/gals, and offload these Kings.

Thanks everyone else for the replies and suggestions. I appreciate it, tremendously!

 

Sounds good. If they are still in good shape, you may be able to sell them for a good amount still. If you are looking for an upgrade, we do have some Fox options to choose from.

 

So if I'm honest, I'm 99.999% on-road. Do you recommend the Foxes over the Kings in that situation?

I have about 17K on them, and the only off-road I've seen has been side roads. It's kinda sad when you think how much these things were, lol.

 

Thought we were leaning toward the wheel set up being the issue. Also what size tires/wheels? I went from 33s on 20s to 35s on 18. Made a huge difference. Just throwing that out there.