Thread: Hard Hilux suspension

Bit of a plug here to hopefully help out other owners.
I am no way affiliated with this company but am bloody impressed with their product.
So I own a 2018 Hilux that ride like a dog. Hard as and used to bounce all over the road. Rear end was particularly lively.
Went for a warrant to find the front shocks were on their way out also.
Realizing that if I replaced with Toyota I would still have a similar set up I looked at other options.
Went to iron man and decided on a full change over to their foam cell comfort shocks, coils and Leafs in the back.
It was also clear to see that the factory Toyota shocks are to soft and the banging I was feeling was actually the Leafs hitting the over rider.
Long story short they changed over in less then 1 day and it feels like a have a new vehicle. Ride is incredible without being to floaty.
Hopefully had added some value to my truck but also with the price rise in second hand low km Hiluxs I basically got it put in for free.
Hopefully this might help other's who hate their Hiluxs ride

have to admit iron man do some nice stuff, we just got monsoon shields fitted for 1/3rd the price of the ones as isuzu.
the "beat" from slightly open windows was awful till we fitted them

What did the suspension and fitting cost all up? I wouldn't mind doing that to mine.

@Remmodel7 what did it cost if you don't mind asking

Yeah standard suspension is usually pretty average. My Navara np300 has coil rear end and bottoms out over the slightest bump I'm going upgrade to some progressive dobi springs and shocks.

Being a 2018, how many kilometres did you have on the vehicle before you changed out the factory shocks & springs?

To be fair mate the test of a good suspension set up is when you have a good load on in the rough stuff. The factory Hilux is setup to carry a fixed load of at least 200kg++, i.e. a typical work ute, up to a max of GVM. That’s why it feels too hard and bouncy when the vehicle is unladen on typical New Zealand roads (which are pretty shit).

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve worked factory spec GUN26R Hilux very very hard, fresh out of the showroom, and not had a problem at all with the suspension setup. These vehicles mostly carried heavy constant loads of and towed heavily laden trailers most days in rough country, and some days did things that they probably shouldn’t be expected to do. The factory suspension coped just fine up to a point, but down the track depending how hard the vehicle has been worked, the suspension is going to need to be replaced because it is made of consumable items. On a three-year swap out basis the factory suspension was replaced about 1/3rd the way through, with significantly upgraded spring packs and KYB shocks, which did the job through to the end of the three years. Same deal with the replacement 2020 vehicles, they got new suspension at the end of last year after a very tough initial 60-70,000km.

Agree fully, when the new suspension turns up the vehicle feels like new! Unfortunately that feeling doesn’t last for long when its doing a job day in, day out.

Yep. Factory suspension is ok for the mall cruisers, but not what most people use the utes for.
ARB is the most common we fit but there are a number of different companies offering kits now.
Some struts are fully assembled to save trying to swap top hats over.
Can get slightly stiffer front springs to help with extra load from the likes of bullbars etc and softer rear leaves to help stop the typical bounce from a light and unloaded deck.
I went with Outback Armour suspension for my Hilux.
Interestingly that is a company made up of ex ARB designers and workers.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Being a 2018, how many kilometres did you have on the vehicle before you changed out the factory shocks & springs?

To be fair mate the test of a good suspension set up is when you have a good load on in the rough stuff. The factory Hilux is setup to carry a fixed load of at least 200kg++, i.e. a typical work ute, up to a max of GVM. That’s why it feels too hard and bouncy when the vehicle is unladen on typical New Zealand roads (which are pretty shit).

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve worked factory spec GUN26R Hilux very very hard, fresh out of the showroom, and not had a problem at all with the suspension setup. These vehicles mostly carried heavy constant loads of and towed heavily laden trailers most days in rough country, and some days did things that they probably shouldn’t be expected to do. The factory suspension coped just fine up to a point, but down the track depending how hard the vehicle has been worked, the suspension is going to need to be replaced because it is made of consumable items. On a three-year swap out basis the factory suspension was replaced about 1/3rd the way through, with significantly upgraded spring packs and KYB shocks, which did the job through to the end of the three years. Same deal with the replacement 2020 vehicles, they got new suspension at the end of last year after a very tough initial 60-70,000km.

Agree fully, when the new suspension turns up the vehicle feels like new! Unfortunately that feeling doesn’t last for long when its doing a job day in, day out.

Honestly the rear leafs are a poor design. They are actually too soft this why you hit the over rider leaf in any substantial bump.
The reason they ride better with load is that they are sitting on the override the whole time not banging into it again and again.
Vehicle had done 50k km when I changed it

Cost 3500 to change but was totally worth it.
Truck was worth more then when I purchased it even before I did the suspension. Hopefully that has added a bit more again. I know you won't get full value but hopefully some

Did you buy the vehicle new?

Shoks are disposable, every 100 kms if find I’m replacing them on my Prado.


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I agree with the OP about the rears, they're substandard and need attention. I have the same truck as Flyblown and found the suspension lacking for even normal road use, it only had 40k on the clock. With that in mind & wanting to do a lift, I did Dobinson coils for the front and Bilstein shocks all round. Rears, I had the leaves reworked and added to, to avoid that bottom out feeling as the OP mentioned. All the work was done by a mate who owns a spring manufacturing company, so I got a bloody good deal. I've done a few trips up the Canterbury rivers and long road trips and the ride is a vast improvement.
Worth spending the money on good gear.

Originally Posted by Mathias

I agree with the OP about the rears, they're substandard and need attention. I have the same truck as Flyblown and found the suspension lacking for even normal road use, it only had 40k on the clock. With that in mind & wanting to do a lift, I did Dobinson coils for the front and Bilstein shocks all round. Rears, I had the leaves reworked and added to, to avoid that bottom out feeling as the OP mentioned. All the work was done by a mate who owns a spring manufacturing company, so I got a bloody good deal. I've done a few trips up the Canterbury rivers and long road trips and the ride is a vast improvement.
Worth spending the money on good gear.

@Mathias, it’s an interesting one this because I’m struggling to reconcile your experience & the OP’s with mine. Are we comparing the same vehicles? GUN126R Hilux - i.e. current shape dual cab. The spec of the ones I’ve been using is the basic cab chassis.

I’m wondering if you and the OP both got secondhand vehicles with some wear on the suspension already? When you say yours had 40,000 km on it, were they all your kilometres?

[QUOTE=Flyblown;1272061]@Mathias, it’s an interesting one this because I’m struggling to reconcile your experience & the OP’s with mine. Are we comparing the same vehicles? GUN126R Hilux - i.e. current shape dual cab. The spec of the ones I’ve been using is the basic cab chassis.

I’m wondering if you and the OP both got secondhand vehicles with some wear on the suspension already? When you say yours had 40,000 km on it, were they all your kilometres?[/QUOTE @Flyblown, sorry mate misread your model number. I'm a KUN26R 2015 last of the 1KD engine.

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Yes mine was second hand gun126.
Must have had some wear but I also know if others who have had since new and hate the ride.
Still 40000km for buggered shocks is pretty average