Kings are stiff...?

It took a couple thousand miles for mine to soften up. How many miles you have on them now?

 

Hey, @Rick6, I'm just learning myself, but got King shocks on my long travel first gen and, damn, it's rough on pavement or at low speeds. But I knew this going in-- that they're designed to handle big hits at speed. Took it to T2S (long, rough freeway drive there and back) and it does what I was promised: makes off-roading at speed really fun and fairly comfortable. But it's rough in other conditions, rides like an old truck.

I think the guy farther up the thread that posted he wanted plush and switched back to Bilstein, might have it right. Nothing I've read makes me think you'll ever get what you're looking for on pavement, with King shocks-- juts not what they're designed to do.

 

I take it back. If Colorado TJ says they can ride like clouds, it must be true!

 

Usually they are slightly stiffer than stock? Am I missing something. Try a 700lb spring then let us know how plush those 600s felt

 

Showoff!









(I am impressed. )

 

let them break in. My radflo's were stiff at first, then totally softened up with about 2-3K miles

 

@Rick6 600lbs shouldn't be too bad for most driving but little stuff like speed bumps might feel exaggerated, especially at lower speeds.

If you have shims take those things out. I don't know why some people run them with adjustable collars, everyone says spacers are bad but if you call it a shim its okay.

 

Mine are out of the box settings from king no shims except the p-side is adjusted for the lean. The ride is plush for me, rides smooth when I go fast in the desert and I love them. Maybe you need to add more nitrogen, I’ve heard of some being shipped out with not enough.

 

OP was wondering if something is wrong with his setup since so many people here with Kings go on and on about how plush the ride is, which is what the OP was looking for.

Maybe those comments are made too early on, when they're excited they just spent $2000 on shiny blue suspension. Similar to when someone installs a new air intake or exhaust and they feel like they just gained 45hp.

It's a valid question by the OP.

 

I think we're all past ^ this, everybody trying to help OP figure out what he might do to dial it in. All good.

 

It's possible I just misunderstood what to expect before I got them. When I read "plush" all over the place, to me, that makes me think everything is just going to get soaked up. I'm sure you can see why I'm confused. Even in this thread you get one guy saying it's like riding on pillows and another that says they're rough on pavement.

I'm going to:

1. Not do anything right away. I only have ~500 miles on them, so I will give it at least 2-3k to see if they soften up.
2. Have my local shop check the nitrogen. I know I can do it myself with a lossless pressure gauge, but in the same trip I'll have them drive it to get their opinion.
3. If it turns out this was simply a case of wrong expectations, I'll investigate revalving. I just bought this Tundra a few months ago and plan to keep it for a very long time, so if there's improvement to be had, it would be worth the investment.

Thank you everyone for the comments. I have this thread bookmarked and will follow up with whatever happens!

 

Thanks - I will definitely read up on this. I could have sworn I read in several places they don't affect ride quality because they don't add preload. I thought the biggest downside was you had a slightly higher risk of damage from big hits.

 

Yup. And almost for sure, break your shocks on big hits... even ones you don't plan, that you might encounter on a bad road, or as part of a collision.

Anyway, maybe we should ask, what are you wanting from those shims? Asking because it's a cheap thing you added that's negating the positives you just doesn't $4k to buy....

 

It was really just to make space for 35x12.5 without stuffing the wheel wells too much. Even after BMC I had to trim the skid plate some more. Since then, the fronts have settled and now has a slight rake. I'm a little concerned about a big rake if I remove the shims - but I guess I could remove the Toytec 1" shackle in the back as well. Just might be pretty low for such giant tires...

Attached pic of how it looked right after installation, before front settled.

 

You can turn up your coilovers a little. It will be the exact same stance as now

 

So this begs a question I was afraid to ask - which would result in "smoother/softer" ride quality?

1. Current setup (stock King threads + shims)
2. Remove shims, add 1" of ride height by adding preload

I ask because usually adding pre-load is a giant "no-no" when asking how to improve ride quality.

 

I vote #2. Because #1 is doing nothing for you except height, probably hurting ride quality, and risking everything in certain circumstances. But it's about trouble shooting; take out the shim, extend the shock height, see how it rides. Because the alternative, leaving the shim, whether or not you adjust ride height, won't let you figure out what that shim is costing you.

 

The ride also stiffens up from the increased angle on the a arms. The tire must move outward in order to move upwards. This is hard for it to do when rolling slower. The shims are putting your arms at the exact same angle as if you crank the coilovers up a little.

Shims are just not needed no matter what. These are adjustable

 

P.S. I'm 'the guy that said my Kings are rough on pavement'; I'm pretty sure that's because they're tuned that way. I chose to prioritize how it drives fast on whoops in the desert (really engages for big hits), over how it drives on smooth stuff (suspension barely moves, very little dampening, so I feel all the little stuff). You'd want to do the opposite.

 

And... if I continue to prompt you about priorities, there's this: it may be the "choice" here is not "shims" or "preload" but "35's" or "really plush". Maybe nothing you do to increase height to accomodate those 35's will afford you the ride quality you want.

 

Good point. I really didn't think this was the cheesy way to go, I just gathered what I thought was a consensus that you could add small shims for a little extra lift, without sacrificing much ride quality, specifically to avoid preload on the Kings which are notorious for a horrible quality with too much preload.

I'm going to strongly consider removing them. Thank you..

It's not just you, there's a lot of people who say that. Then there's a lot of people who talk about riding over speedbumps like they aren't even there. You're correct - I'm more concerned with slow-speed stuff. I do go way the hell out in the desert, but usually carrying a lot of gear and don't need to bomb through it fast. (I'm not there specifically to off-road, I go to camp or shoot.)

Now that is interesting. I had no idea at all 35's could decrease ride quality. I thought the more rubber I had, the softer the hits would be.

EDIT: I misread this. You meant that I will have to do "something" to increase ride height to fit 35's, and that "something" will decrease the ride quality. You didn't mean the 35's itself would decrease quality.

 

Very good point, it's easy to forget the arm angle and tire scrub.

 

What was your last set of tires? Stock? Is this your first set of LT rated tires?

LT rated tires are far stiffer than P rated

 

Dealership had these installed:

$298 Fury Off-Road 285/55R20 Tire, Country Hunter R/T - RT2855520

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/fury-...untry-hunter-r-t-rt2855520/_/R-HJFV-RT2855520

Country Hunter R/T in 285/55/20. I did get the Kings installed at the same time as the wheels/tires.

 

Ah so thats def not it

 

#2

you can add pre-load to correct for the lean and that is fine.It is what they are for.
I think I have 9 threads passenger side (KING oem setting) and 14 driver side after final adjustment. No issues to report.