Lowering kit or air ride?

Discussion in 'Suspension/Chassis' started by shawnz82, Aug 5, 2022.

  1. Pearce

    Pearce Toyotaholic

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    I haven't experienced it but from photos I've seen it collapses onto the fender. I guess it depends on your situation and driver if anything severe happens. It's mostly lower but sometimes the upper goes. It's a problem with 1st gen is300's and the gs300/400s from the same period if you want to look for photos of wrecks.
     
  2. Erwin Merida

    Erwin Merida Toyotaholic

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    Hahaha that's what I say, drive it till the wheels fall off!! Literally.
     
  3. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    Ah, you did your research! Most just do what is fast and easy.
     
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  4. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    I've been driving "lowered shit" for quite a few more years than that. I've learned what it takes to glue my vehicle to the road. Just tired of watching people modding their vehicle and then destroying it because it wasn't done properly. Last time I came across one of those it was a kid in an FRS that thought he was hot shit. First drive in after all that work and he took out the corner of my Tundra and totally destroyed his car and broke his foot.

    I'm not saying to keep your ride stock, not at all, do the mods right and keep it safe. It's the morons that do it wrong that hurt the entire community.

    Live a little? Do it right and you can live a lot!
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2022
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  5. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    I hate it when people make me do the fuddy duddy bit.
     
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  6. MrDinkleman

    MrDinkleman Addict

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    Ugh. Well, this is something I didn't want to hear, since I have a 2004 IS300.

    I have always wondered why manufacturers have almost always designed double wishbone suspensions with springs loading the lower arms (other than convenient packaging). I can only think of early Mustangs and Toyota IFS 4x4 where the springs load the upper arms. Seems to me to make more sense to load ball joints in compression than tension...
     
  7. MrDinkleman

    MrDinkleman Addict

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    LOL
     
  8. Pearce

    Pearce Toyotaholic

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    Oh nice! Yeah if you don't know when the last time it was done you should really plan on doing them. If you haven't done your brakes yet plan to do them at the same time. You can find some upgrade options on figs if you want to go that route. Serial 9 has a few good options to.

    Hopefully op dosnt get mad the thread was hijacked. Lol
     
  9. MrDinkleman

    MrDinkleman Addict

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    LOL

    You're right about hijacking this thread. So I'll just this and go back on the topic; I bought my IS new in 2004 (Silver, M/T, LSD) and it only has 55k miles on it, so far. I'll look into when I should pre-emptively change the ball joints. Thanks...

    Back on topic, as I said in my first reply, I think OP needs to figure out where he wants to go and what he is willing to sacrifice. I think the cheapest, easiest way would be turning down torsion bars , 2" or 3" blocks, big anti-sway bars, and softer shocks will get him closest, but not exactly, to what he wants as described in his original post...
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2022
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  10. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    Softer shocks? On a lowered mini. On a lowered anything? Sorry, I disagree. Less suspension travel needs MORE damping/control. I like oil shocks to keep better control and comfort for a lowered vehicle. At least more damping on the rebound to keep the weight on the road.
    Bigger sway bars will help minimize body roll but also sync up the right and left springs making the ride seem stiffer. Best to control roll with the springs and dampers and keep the sway bars as soft as possible, for handling any way. Big azz sway bars seem to improve the handling, but are a band-aide. Overdone sway bars make the handling unpredictable.

    I will say for starting out lowering his truck the best would be incremental moves toward the height goal. Try stock rear height with a little more rake by taking a little out of the torsion bar, say an inch. Try that for a few miles and then get some block to drop the back, 1" to keep stock rake or 2" to level. Then try 2" in the front and 2" or 3" in the rear. The explore shock options. Look for shocks designed for lowered trucks. There are a few out there.

    On the subject of ball joints.
    Check your ball joints on a regular basis. Most ball joint failures are from moron drivers, you know, the ones that don't try to avoid the pot holes or drive erratically ALL THE FRIKKEN TIME. Can't drive a street car like a race car for 100k miles and expect it to last. Race cars are rebuilt often, usually every few hundred miles if not every event. Next time you see a car with a ball joint failure check the wheel/rim for disfigurement and check the hub for runout. 99 times out of a hundred you'll find damage other than the ball joint.

    And there it is, me getting long winded.
     
  11. MrDinkleman

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    Yeah, my bad. "Softer shocks" was a bad choice of words. It's hard to describe an entire integrated suspension plan in sound bites.

    I agree with everything you wrote. Problem is finding shocks with stiffer rebound. Most shock companies are going with high pressure gas shocks which makes jounce AND rebound stiff. Konis used to have very little jounce damping but even their new low pressure gas sports shocks are stiffer in jounce. I dunno if you can find vintage Koni reds or non-gas Koni yellows for these trucks...

    As for the sway bars, I know there are basically two schools of thought: Relatively soft springs but thick bars to control lean (Herb Adams) or, stiff springs for all-around handling and thinner bars just for tuning over-/under-steer (TRD). I, like you, believe in the stiff springs/light bars school of thought. But OP says he wants a smooth car-like ride which will never happen with stiff springs but will be smooth with the softer springs except if you hit a bump on one side. And there is no way to get a smoother-than-stock ride regardless (without big $$$) with these trucks unless the OP has a one-ton model.

    But it's like I've been saying,. It is very hard to give good advice until the OP sets a clear goal with an understanding of what he is willing to give up to get there.
     
  12. Pearce

    Pearce Toyotaholic

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    Just one last thing. Not noting much about it the car my first thought is if you ever sold it would be one of the higher selling ones in recent times. Miles are low enough to attract real collectors. Don't see many original owners. Tons of hype but no cars worth it on the market.
     
  13. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    Really ain't anything "worth it" out there any more, just inflated egos charging inflated prices. It's out of control.

    With the way the world is going I'm thinking of slapping a Ferrarri badge on my MR2 and selling it for a quarter Mil.
     
  14. Pearce

    Pearce Toyotaholic

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    A lot of young guys my age are trying to take control of the market with some of these cars. They are trying to sell cars that should go to the average guy for a daily as a collector worthy car. Makes the ones that could be in a collection priceless pretty much.
     
  15. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    I could sell my MR2 for $10k at least. And my '77 Corolla probably as much.
     
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  16. shawnz82

    shawnz82 Newbie

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    yeah i guess air ride is probably my best bet. im willing to spend money on it, so not a broke young kid here. just want something different and i like the truck look, otherwise i would have just gotten a sports car and been done with it.
     
  17. sirdeuce

    sirdeuce Veteran

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    When ya get er done let us know how you like it.
     
  18. shawnz82

    shawnz82 Newbie

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    yeah i originally wanted coilovers because of less maintenance but i do want a ride height that is adjustable. i also want it to be smooth and realized that nothing is really available to bolt on and so if its already getting messy, i might as well go air and let it be convoluted i guess. had a friend put bags on his chevy s10 and said he never had issues with it. you guys that run them like any specific brand? and yup ill definitely let everyone know how it comes out.
     
  19. TRUCK ACTION

    TRUCK ACTION Grand Toyotaholic

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    Like I stated earlier in this post, I have had air ride now since 2005, I drive my truck a lot, to shows all over , & to WA,OR,NV, SO CAL, & all over the central valley! No problems!
    If you do your research & do it all once & do it right all will be good.
    Things can break or wear out,just like any truck or car .
    You stay on top of it, inspect all a few times a year, repair when needed.
    And use only the best parts,you will be fine!!
    TO DATE IN THIS YEAR i HAVE DRIVEN TO 10 SHOWS ,& HAVE 4 OR 5 MORE FOR THIS YEAR
     
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  20. shawnz82

    shawnz82 Newbie

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    when are you coming through socal again?
     

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