Everything Elka and How They Compare

I'm also going through an SPC warranty debacle. SPC is garbage now, KRave mentioned I wasn't the only one having serious problems with them. How long have you had yours?

 

An update on the Elka front coilover clunk:

Elka warrantied my

$977 2.0 IFP Fox 2.0 Performance Coil-Over Front Pair compatible with 2005-2016 Toyota Tacoma

2.0 IFP's. Running 2.5 IFP front coilovers now, 650 lb 14" spring. My SPC's are clunking so it is hard to tell if my front end problems are completely solved, but the 2.5 Elkas are not leaking and perform so much better.

I would have never thought 2.0 vs 2.5 coilovers would have been much different, but I really feel it. Firmer in the corners on both paved and gravel, truck feels more planted and stable up front on flexy stuff. We will see if I will need to replace my spericals in 6 months this time.

 

I had 23,000km on my SPC and Elkas when they failed. The SPC ball joint on my drivers side has a bunch of play and a knock. My Elkas had bad lower spherical bearings.


This is what Krave told me over email:

"Elka has a 12 month warranty on all of their products so unfortunately we are outside of that warranty period, I have seen the o-ring pop out from the top eyelet when the shocks are adjusted in the truck. Most of the time these can be reinstalled fairly easily, worst case I do have the replacement o-rings in stock.

SPC will have a 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty on their arms to the original date. If you had to replace the ball joints already I am not sure what the warranty is on the replacement parts but I can enquire on that. To process warranty I would need a few things from you to pass along to SPC, they normally want evidence of failure or play. "​

I got 4WA here in Edmonton to replace my SPC ball joints, so I don't really have any proof... not sure what to do.

 

Hi all!

I'm currently replacing my rear suspension (front's already done) with my new Elka 2.5's on my 2012 Tacoma and finding that the bottom mount isn't wide enough to seat the Elka's. I've done some bending of the mount already but a bit timid about bending it too much. Did anyone else encounter this and if so, how did you find the best way to widen the bottom seat?



Please be gentle it's my first time doing rear suspension, and I'm learning as I go!

 

I used a short piece of threaded rod inside the mount and spread with a couple of open end wrenches. Rod through the hole then add the hardware then spread with the wrenches.

 

This is a great idea, thank you so much for the fast response too! I'll head to the hardware store tomorrow and give this a shot. Did you do any heating of the metal ahead of time? (It's getting colder here in the great white north so I thought it might flex a bit better with some heat).

 

I didn’t use any heat, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Try it cold first.

 

What's everybody running for compression settings??

I've been playing around with mine for months and all I can say is that they don't behave like you would expect them too... Like sure, HSC for fast bumps LSC for slow bumps. But it's definitely not that simple. I've been talking to Krave and apparently the settings change how the whole shock performs, not just that one particular settings. For example, if you stiffen up the LSC which only effects the valving in the resi, it puts more of the force on the main piston valve stack and changes how that piston performs. So having the DSC settings wide open doesn't necessarily make for the smoothest/softest ride.

Krave had some recent training and testing with Elka and apparently Elka (or someone at Elka, not necessarily the company as a whole) recommends that you don't even have the DSC settings all the way open or all the way closed. I guess it doesn't allow the valving on the main piston to do it's job properly. They recommend a couple clicks in either way. And i guess after some playing around with Elka's help, some of the Krave guys found the most plush/smoothest ride to be with HSC about 5-6 clicks in from wide open and LSC more like 2 clicks in from open (there is small chance I have this reversed).

So far what I've personally found is this...
(Note, setting numbers are as Elka defines. "# of clicks from fully screwed in position". So wide open would be 10)

Wide open settings (10 on both):
Loose/softer feeling. More like a minivan where the wheels are allowed to move more but at the cost of some control. Some rebound bounce but settled after 1 cycle. Nose dives and rolls on corners a bit, but still feels planted. Cracks and broken pavement are softer but oddly small undulations in the road are felt more. It's the softest feeling but not the smoothest, if that makes sense.

Softest as recommend by Elka (8 on both):
Like wide open but less bouncy. Slightly less body roll and nose diving. It's not necessarily worse, just feels like the wheels aren't allowed to move as freely (which makes sense). Some bumps feels smother, some feel harsher.

Factory settings on the little inspection tag from Elka (Front 4 LSC, 5 HSC - Rear 4 LSC, 9 HSC):
Very planted and controlled. Less body roll and almost no rebound bounce. Cracks and broken pavement feels harsh but small undulations in the road are basically gone. It's like bumps are harsher, but the truck settles faster. So some smaller bumps/dips feel smoother, but larger cracks and shitty road patch jobs feel more harsh. Feels good for gravel/dirt roads at highway speed but not as plush as I prefer for daily driving.

I'm still trying to figure out what combo of settings gives the most "Cadillac" like ride, where you can hit a speed bump or rail crossing and barely feel it. I think it's going to be different for everyone depending on your mods/configuration, and of course leaf springs aren't the best for this. But I find it interesting how the different combination of settings can produce a much more different ride quality than you would expect. I would have thought wide open settings would be the softest but I find that I still wish it was a smoother ride. Factory settings feel smoother on some things but harsher on others. It's very confusing lol. I want to talk with Elka and Krave more about exactly how the shock functions with the different settings to see if I can figure out how best to tune it. But I'm curious what everyone else has found playing around with their settings.

 

Great feedback.

Most compression adjusters are simply controlling the amount oil flowing from the shock body into the reservoir. Harder it is to flow the oil, the more firm the shock feels. Less resistance there is, easier it is for the oil to flow. Thats a very basic way of putting it. Shocks are all about oil flow, so if you are restricting oil flow on one end of the shock it will definitely have a factor in oil flow through the main piston. Our custom valving is very different between a shock with compression adjusters than a shock without. A shock with compression adjusters (wide open) will still have less oil flow than a shock without compression adjusters. In our eyes, if you ever found yourself really needing the adjusters to be maxed out in one direction, the main piston valving needs to be revalved.

Ride quality and compression adjuster settings is a personal preference. There is no right or wrong answer, or perfect setting other than what you like. This will also be based on the vehicles weight etc. Adjusters can be great for fine tune adjustments, but will lack big performance gains which would be changed with main piston valving or spring rates.

It would be great to see internals of an Elka shock to see how their adjusters work.

 

There are few things that would make me happier than @AccuTune Offroad tuning Elka. I’d be first in line. Just saying…

 

Appreciate that! There is a lot that goes into tuning shocks other than just replacing shims, but I don't need to bore you with details.

 

We have basically the exact same truck and set-up, except I'm running RXT leafs on stg 2 with a Leer mid-height topper. I basically have the exact same experience as you: smooth on some stuff, well controlled, but surprisingly harsh on some of the most regularly encountered "obstacles" (cracks, broken pavement, potholes, small washouts, driveway entrances, etc). Common theme is small/medium abrupt bumps. Overall, I found the adjusters do very little. It would be interesting to get @AccuTune Offroad opinion on my following thoughts regarding valving. Since the shocks are speed sensitive it seems like a conundrum since the shock doesn't know if you're hitting a 12" deep hole on the trail that it needs to protect from causing bottom-out or a 1-2" vertical crack in the pavement on your drive home from work that it could just stay soft and relaxed for. I've always thought the truck needed something to make tuning both compression and rebound position sensitive as well. Rebound also feels off for my application as it often feels like the front of the trunk is getting pulled into holes, especially noticeable if there are multiple holes in a row on one side, as well as over the backside of speed-bumps causing a harsh change in direction feeling. I've also always thought, based on Accutune's recommendations, that Elka's coilover comes over sprung for my stock 2nd gen. Most common recommendation I've seen for easing the harshness on smaller bumps is running lower load range tires. Definitely interested in what you come up with speaking with Krave and Elka. One thing I try to keep in mind is comfort doesn't necessarily equal performance and while I can nit-pick the ride comfort, it does stick to the road over rough stretches where other trucks are skittering all over the place.

 

Oh do feel free to elaborate!

 

Can anyone confirm what type of valving is inside an Elka shock? Digressive or Linear?

 

well my last question would help narrow down some answers. Linear vs Digressive. Bilstein and Icon are digressive, which tend to ride a bit firm on small stuff.

 

The response I got was Progressive on the compression side and slightly digressive on the rebound side. I purchased when they were fairly new to market, so I'm not sure if things have changed since.

 

Has anyone seen any information on rebuilding these. I think mine are leaking. It seems my only option would be sending it to Roll Design or Impact Solutions. I would like to just do it myself, but I can’t find a lot of information online like I can for bigger brands. Thanks

 

I’m happy to say that I’m finally ditching elka. Let me explain…

I’ve had Elka 2.5 DSC on my Tacoma for a little over two years. I purchased them from headstrong off-road. Right after they were installed by a quality shop in Denver one of the rear shocks started leaking. It was very difficult to get Elka to replace it. Eventually Headstrong replaced it and Elka gave them another for their inventory.

Last summer my spherical bearings started squeaking. I purchased the replacement spherical bearings myself with their instructions and paid someone to swap out the 13” 700lb coils with 14” 700lb coils while I had them off. It’s really aggravating that they made me pay for the 14” coils because they should have shipped with them, like most other major brands. But I got over it, because the ride quality is good.

But recently, all four of my shocks started leaking. So I contacted them looking for options. Living in the Denver area where they are selling all of these Toytec shocks I figured that someone would be willing to work on them, or I could do it myself.

After contacting Elka they told me that I have three options; 1) Sending to Roll Design for rebuild. 2) Sending to Impact Solutions for rebuild 3) Sending them to Elka for rebuild. I think Roll Design quoted me $225 per shock with a one or two month turn around. Not really an option.

No problem, I thought. I really like the way they ride do I figured that I’d buy another cheap used set and rebuild them and swap them out. All I need is a parts list with prices and some instructions. Shouldn’t be a problem right? It’ll be a fun project since I already rebuild my mountain bike suspension.

This is where things get shady. After multiple weeks of emails and phone conversations they have not been able to provide me with the basic information to rebuild them as they promised. They finally got back to me today and said such documentation does not exist yet and they cannot tell me when it will. They finally gave me a diagram of a shock with parts and said that they’d provide pricing on whatever part I ask for. They haven’t even told me what F’n fluid their shocks use, after weeks of begging for information!!!

On a side note, I spoke to the guy at 303 shocks in Denver about rebuilding my shocks (he used to rebuild all brands and has replacement parts) but he said he won’t touch Elka because he’s reached out to them multiple times and can’t get information. WTF?! What are you hiding Elka?!

Realizing that I can’t keep going on like this, I finally gave @AccuTune Offroad a call. They literally texted me the information I needed for Fox shocks while I was still on the phone with them. So nice to have great customer service after getting the runaround for weeks.

Today I ordered 2.5 Fox factory race for the front and 12” 2.5 performance race for the back. I’m going to keep my front Elkas and rebuild them the best that I can and my replacement for times I’m rebuilding my Fox. I you know anyone that wants a set of 2.5 rear DSC shocks made by a company that doesn’t provide the basic information to rebuild them, mine are for sale.

 

It's really odd they are lacking the support needed for situations like this. I imagine you are not the only one out there encountering this.

@Skratch&sniff Curious to know what this meant: "It’s really aggravating that they made me pay for the 14” coils because they should have shipped with them, like most other major brands."

 

Man, I feel you on all this. I went through the exact same runaround TWICE, once with Bilstein and once with Fox. Except living in Canada I have the exact opposite problem haha. There isn't a single authorized Bilstein or Fox repair facility in Canada. And no one carries parts to rebuild yourself. So forget the warranty, it will cost you more in shipping (not to mention possible months without shocks) than the shocks are worth. So after having problems with both Billy and Fox, I went with Elka because they are made in Canada and there are several repair shops around the country. I am now in the process of rebuilding my Fox's myself to use as spares for when I inevitably send the Elka's in lol.

Really just speaks to the ease of rebuilding/retuning being the #1 factor people should consider when getting into top of the line suspension like this!

Maybe try calling Krave Automotive in Calgary when you go to rebuild your Elka's. They rebuild and revalve them every day and might be able to provide some help that Elka won't give.