Dobinsons Suspension Review

Yep I'm sitting right at 3" of lift with the 2.25 coils on the second setting. Wishing I had them on bottom clip, gonna see if they settle at all and see if they drop when the winch and bumper go on. If I'm at 2.25-2.5 after the bumper, winch, and second battery go in I'm golden. If the thing is still at 3" of lift with all that weight.......then I will be pulling them and adjusting.

 

how is the ride with 610 springs and nothing up front? I know it’s “designed” for a bumper and winch but being shorter has a perk.

 

Ride is great on road, haven't taken it off pavement yet been too busy. Before with the TRD OR suspension it felt like I was driving a boat, lots of body roll on turns, corners, etc. It handles better, more connected to the road, bumps don't feel any more harsh but it's certainly not a 'softer' ride. The few speed bumps I've hit at speed have been handled easily lol.

If I can get out this weekend in to something fun I'll put up more info but I don't have any off road plans til late May.

I'm glad I don't have 5" of lift, I feel like at 3" it's the upper end of what my stock UCA and cv's can handle, which is why I wanted to stick to 2.25" coils in the first place.

The shocks are beefy, probably way overkill for what I need TBH. But so far just driving around town I'm liking em a lot

 

Ended up getting them a lot closer off Facebook. Also a better deal, though they aren’t cosmetically perfect.

 

I have the IMS kit being shipped in as we speak. After reading this thread, looking at the Dobinson Direct website and the install instructions, I think. Maybe just maybe I had been looking how to achieve the lift heights a little backwards. I'm coming from Bilstein 6112's, which to achieve the ride height desired we move the perch up to the setting we want. Now with the Dobinson's, while you do have that capability, you are picking the actual coilspring for the desired lift. From 2.0 to 3.0 inches. Theses are based on having them set on the bottom perch. Where I deduced this from was here, this sentence in the installation guide "The lowest groove on the bottom puts the spring seat at the standard spring seat height position. This is used for standard height coils and for Dobinsons coils to achieve the lift heights listed in the 4x4 suspension catalogue" My thinking is if I had a Bilstein coil on a Dobinson IMS to get 3 inches of lift I'd set at the top perch. Instead, from Dobinson I ordered the spring with the spring height I wanted. I will test my hypothesis once I have my kit installed. I got the 780 3" front springs with standard 2" rear leafs to compliment. I'm going have them installed on the lowest perch. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just shelled out too much money to be disappointed by the wrong interpretation on how this kit actually works. Wish me luck.

 

Don't set the IMS shocks at anything higher than the bottom clip setting or you will get much more lift than you were looking for. All of the lift is built into the Dobinsons coil.

 

Should've gotten the shorter coils then adjust right height from the perch settings. The coils give way more than advertised, I think due to them being for trucks with arb type bumpers when they were designed...imo

 

I would exchange those 780 springs for the 778. The 778, which I have, claim 2.5" of lift, but yield closer to 3" in the real world.

 

Are you running them on the first perch? Trying to get and idea of how far these are off.
Thanks

 

I had the 778 coils on the first perch and they gave me about 3" of lift when it was supposed to be 2"

 

I’ve got the 2.25 heavy duty coils on the second setting and they are right at 3 inches. Ordered them and had them assembled when the documentation said the second setting was stock.

Should have waited but this is what I get for being an early adopter on these I guess.

Waiting for the bumper to go on to see if it drops at all but I have a feeling I’m gonna have to pull these and change the spring perch to get them under 2.5in lift.

 

This is what I'm sorting through. Like you and TundraLaw the measurements are way off, others off some, but not to the point of scrapping the set.

 

Still per the install instructions that should have given you a half inch bump not 3/4". The instructions are clear, bottom setting to run the springs at the height bought. Ugh, I don't have them on and I am frustrated.

 

Yes the ride heights are different then stated from my experience. Other than that I really had no major complaints with the shocks. I just really wanted a 2" lift and didn't get that.

 

To be fair I don’t have my bumper on yet. It may very well be 2.25 with bottom setting. But right now with stock weight the spring is pretty stiff

 

better than the bilstein 5100's? I have a set but haven't decided on my application yet.

 

Sorry I should have clarified, I have the twin tubes. I didn't have a need, or want really, for the IMS; so I didn't have to deal with the perch debacle. However, the spring lift heights are almost all not 100% accurate. Except maybe the heavy load 2.25" lift (I can't remember the spring code for that one). I think @Skey44 has those and has been EXTREMELY happy with them and they provided the advertised lift as well (again, with the twin tubes).

 

looks great!! did you paint the center caps?

 

Same!

 

I had 5100s and a .25" shame to get 3 inches , yes the dobinsons are better IF you want a stiffer ride and a Coil lift. I have an rtt and bed rack plus all the gear I use for camping. The stiffer springs and shocks help when I'm loaded but pretty stiff when I'm empty. Overall I'm happy. I'm on the 778 and twin tubes

 

it's significant imo no more nose dives when I break and it feels more stable when turning, it doesnt feel like im driving a bus anymore. shocks absorbs high speed bumps much better and stiffer. i feel the slow bumps more but i like it because i can actually feel it and know how it will react something that with the oem i felt like it was way to soft imo.

 

(classic forum guy reply here)

That airplane looks sick, what wheels are those? And what lift did you put on it? I've been thinking about modding my plane lately too but can't decide what to do to it first.

 

the standard nothing crazy just used STA super traxion 7.5 in the front and 9.5 in the rear. just normal 3" lift with dirt king control arms

 

I finally was able to get the IMS kit installed. This what I went with: C59-780 (3") front springs, L59-120-R rear leaf pack.
I have to say I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. The best got even better. Installed height on bottom perch both sides with driver side correction shim was right at 25 inches from middle of the hub. Truck is sitting almost level, if I get about a 1/2 inch of settling in the front that will be about an inch of rake.

I was changing out a set of 6112's front on the top perch with CB shim and 5100's rear with 3+ CB shackle rear. The Bilsteins did me well up to 150,000 miles before one of the 6112's started to leak. Dobinson's against the old and busted Bilstein’s, it was certainly night and day. But against the ToyTec Aluma Series Boss suspension with Icon RXT leaf pack, this was another story.

While I waited for my truck to get finished the owner of the shop loaned me his 2018 Tundra CM so I could get to work and back, with above noted suspension installed. The comparison was markedly different in some aspects and pretty similar in others. At lower driving speeds (think around town) the Aluma Series have a very comfortable cushy ride. The Dobinson’s on the other hand are firmer, not harsh in any way, just a bit more planted feeling. On the freeway and secondary roads with speeds above 55, the Aluma’s hunker down. You can take curves with confidence, and the off camber curves with frost heaves don’t unsettle the truck. It was great. The Dobinson’s were no slouch, they have very similar feel in the the same situations. I was very impressed. For now, I cannot speak to the off road characteristics of either set up yet, but I’ll updated as I do. I know the Aluma’s are well known here and are an awesome setup. What I paid for the whole IMS kit, shocks, front springs, rear leaf pack. This was not a crazy amount of money and I feel it was monies well spent.

 

How much do those fender flares hang down from the original fender line? I'm only asking because the angle of your CVs and coilovers look like much more lift than measured.

This was my IMS at full droop for reference

 

They wrap about 1/4 around the fender edge, old ebay cheapies. So they are not substantial at all. Hoping with with some settling they will get better. This is day one and only a few miles. Damn and this setup was feeling pretty good.

 

Looks good man!! Thanks for the review and also the comparison to the Bilsteins and the Aluma series too, that's really good info.

Do you mind if I save the photos? People ask me all the time for photo samples of what the lift heights look like and your truck looks great!!

 

Absolutely. It is humbling to here that about my truck, since there are so many really great looking/setup trucks out there.

 

I really like the look with the color-matched canopy on the back