Impressions of Cruiser coils, rancho 5009s and BFG muds.

[Robinhood4x4]

Somebody emailed me and wanted to know about my old coil spring setup and rancho shocks so I'm reposting my original post from May 2005.

I got my cruiser coils installed a week ago, cranked the tbars and installed some rancho 5009s and some 33x10.5 BFG MTs. So far I've got about 300 miles on them, including some crawling and snow wheeling.

Note the tires are aired down to 6psi in this pic.


Cranked Torsion Bars
Thanks to living in California, cranking the tbars was really easy. A little spritz of oil the night before and the bolts turned with only a slight groaning of resistance. I went from stock 14 inches to 15 inches from the top of the wheel to the fender lip. It took about 10 turns on the passenger side and 13 turns on the driver side.

I don’t know what everybody is talking about when they say the ride sucks after cranking the tbars. It seems fine to me, I haven’t notice any change in the ride (from the tbar crank). It makes me wonder if it’s just a placebo effect…people think they’re twisting the tbars more so their mind says the ride must be stiffer.

FZJ80 Cruiser Coils
I picked up some coils off of a 97 LX450. One of the coils was a good inch longer than the other and both were much longer than the Downey 1.5 HDs they were replacing. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in the amount of lift I got. I was expecting to be a couple inches higher than the front, even after cranking the tbars, but after everything was all said and done, I'm dead even with the front. However, there is a reason for this. When I was installing the coils I had removed my rear swing out tool box and hi-lift and also the spare tire. I figure that's probably a good 150-200 lbs of weight back there. With those removed, I had the expected amount of lift, probably 1-1.5 inches higher than the front after cranking the tbars. The cruiser coils are really soft. When my friend sat on the tailgate, the back end went down about 0.75". So, with my tool box, hilift and spare tire mounted, the rear ends up even with the front.

The install went smoothly enough. I didn't have any problems with the panhard bar or any of the links, like Bill did. Everything slipped right out. I didn't rent a spring compressor so my friend and I disconnected the sway bar, shocks, LSPV, the panhard and the drivers side upper link. Also, the little skid plates covering the bottom links at the frame were interfering with down travel so those were removed and clearanced.

With everything removed, the downey springs fell out and the cruiser coils fell in. One of the springs is 1” taller than the other and I put the taller one on the gas tank side. My reasoning was that if any side should be higher, it should be the gas tank side because it hangs down so low. It turns out, it’s even from side to side but I have no idea why.

How do they work on the trail? Very well indeed. They are very flexy, I can definitely feel the difference in capability. I’m not tippy anymore and I feel like I’m in more control.

Rancho 5009
These were almost as big of a pain in the butt to install as the coils themselves. Of course, I didn’t have the ideal tools either. The steel sleeve in the bottom of the shock needed to come out and all I had were hand tools, no pulley puller or vise. After much trial and tribulation I ended up threading a hacksaw blade into the sleeve and cutting it out. Then, I had to figure out a way to make the ¼” hole in the rubber into a ¾” hole. I finally had to borrow my friends big drill bits to do it.

The ride is definitely stiffer than the RS9000s I had set to the middle setting, but that is to be expected from a shock that was designed for a full size truck. I cranked up the front shocks to the 4/5 setting to match the rear; otherwise the front would bounce out of phase with the back.

Downey Panhard Drop Bracket
Not too much to write about, other than it sure looks shiny and purdy down there. The install was easy, although I had to widen a couple holes slightly with my new files from Costco. Like I said before, my panhard hardware wasn’t rusted so everything went smooth.

BFG MT, 33x10.5 and 33x9.5 AT (spare)
I didn’t want to mess with installing a body lift or the added expense so I just got the 10.5 inch wide tires. They do look a little out of proportion, that is, they look skinny, but they’re not too bad. I got to test them out on the club’s adopt-a-trail and then on a snow run on spicer rd near Slickrock trail in Norcal. There was about 3-6 feet of snow on the road and with my tcase cross member I was plowing the trail for everybody behind me. With the tires aired down to 6psi and mounted on my stock 7” wide wheels they did a fine job, never lost a bead, despite being thrown around by the ruts I was following. They are very smooth on the road and very quiet, although I hear that the noise goes up with age.

For better clearance under the bumper, I got a 33x9.5 spare tire. To fit it underneath, I had to let all the air out and bend the cradle slightly…but it does fit.

Tires aired down to 6psi.


Final Comments
The Cruiser coils are very soft and flexy. If you’re going to tow, I’d recommend something stiffer, like the downey HD coils. I towed a large Uhaul trailer recently with the downey coils and they hardly sagged at all. I’m pretty sure the cruiser coils would have sagged to the bumpstops. This does make me wonder if the lexus version is different from the Toyota version. I guess it’s time to search around at ih8mud.

The amount of space between the bumpstop and the axle is about the same amount as the remaining compression travel of the shocks. That means when I bottom out, I’ll hit the shocks at the same time as the bump stops. I assume this hasn’t been a problem for anybody since I haven’t heard anything about it and I’m pretty sure I bottomed out on the snow run numerous times.

If I can find some free spacers somewhere, I’d like to add about an inch to the rear. For now, I’ll live with it.

In preparation for these mods, I installed a marlin rear SS brake line.


Here's some flex pics:

[Chaplain]

I'm impressed by your ability to get a 33" to fit the factory spare location. Ever have problem with the exhaust heat wearing on it? I wish I could get my 265 spare to fit in the factory location.

[slosurfer]

I think the 2nd gens have more room in there. I've also got a 33x10.5 down there, at about 10psi it shoves in there pretty good. I haven't notice any wear from the exhaust heat, it really isn't that much closer to it than the stock 31x10.5 was.

[DHC6twinotter]

How close is the 33 to the panhard bar? My 31 is pretty close the way it is. I like the 33 under there.

[Robinhood4x4]

Chris will have to answer how close the panhard bar is, because I sure can't!

Never had problems with exhaust heat before the SAS and still don't even after cutting the exhaust short.

[YotaFun]

I'm impressed by your ability to get a 33" to fit the factory spare location. Ever have problem with the exhaust heat wearing on it? I wish I could get my 265 spare to fit in the factory location.

My 265 spare fit till I welded the Hitch to the frame.
I know a 285 would never fit though

[slosurfer]

How close is the 33 to the panhard bar? My 31 is pretty close the way it is. I like the 33 under there.

Hmmm... not sure, I'll check for you today.

[Chaplain]

I have let all the air out of my 285 and gone as far as ratchet strapping it flatter. Still no fit. Guess I need a bumper with tire carrier. augh

I have always loved the BFG 33"x10.5x15. Wish they would make it in a 17, but its really designed for the buggy dorks who run 15" wheels.

[CJM]

Q is if you cut or modify the brackets does it then fit?

[slosurfer]

Dan, it clears the panhard just fine.