King Spring Predicament Part 2 (600/650/700)

Hello All

I know this topic has been covered many times but I see a lot of contradicting opinions and posts. I have spent the last two weeks reading and my head is starting to spin.

I also know every truck will have unique suspension requirements and that opinions are like that uncle that likes to tickle you way to much (every family has one and no one wants to talk about it).

I am trying to get a better understanding of what springs I should be running up front on my Taco.

Quick history. 2015 double cab with All Pro UCA's, Bilstein's all around, expedition new leaf pack, sliders, skids (front / transmission / diff / gas - all steel), fab 4 bull bar bumper up front with warn 9K winch - steel cable, preflybuild (no idea how to spell that) high clearance rear, full cap, tools & gear in back.

Best I can figure I have an additional 780 to 800 pounds on the vehicle for daily driving. 370 pounds over the front and 410 to 430 over the mid to rear.

My Bilstein's blew out so I installed king remotes on the rear.

I am about to install king extended remotes on the front. I know they come with 600 lb springs standard.

I was able to get my hands on a pair of king 14" 700 lb springs.

With the weight I have I am seeing everyone say I should go with the 700 lbs and leave them with as little pre load as possible. Others say 650 and adjust and crank down.

I am a plumber an occasional load 800 plus pound's in the bed. No idea if that has anything to do with the price of beans in Canada.

I know the lighter the spring the better but with 780 lbs added as a daily driver do I go with the 700 or leave the 600. Logically I think 650 but I am broke lol.

Help me Obi Wan you are my only hope.

 

Hmm you do have a good bit of weight in the front but I still think 700 lb springs ride super harsh. From my experience I have a front steel bumper, supercharger, aluminum skids and sliders which all added weight in the front and I run 600 lb springs. To get it to ride nice and smooth I actually removed the front sway bar which made the ride a lot better. If you plan on keeping your swaybar I personally wouldn’t go over a 650 lb spring.

 

I don’t think you are likely to get an authoritative answer on the forum. One thing that could help get a better answer is to get your truck weighed so you know the actual front a rear axle weights. Then maybe go to a place like headstrong or accutune and ask them their opinion.

This might be useful.

http://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/coilover-spring-rates-for-toyota-tacoma-4runner/

 

Thank you gents, I did speak to tech at Accutune. He mentioned the same thing about weighing the entire truck.

I hate to sound like a goober but how are you supposed to pull that off.

I know there is no rule of thumb to go by but just wondering is the 700 defiantly way to heavy or is it possibility.

 

I feel with a full plate front bumper, winch, steel line, and steel skids, the 700lb would be best for you.

i have a Pelfrey hybrid front bumper, 10k winch with synthetic line, and steel skids, and the 700s were too stiff for my liking. 650s were perfect, and what I have now.

 

I did review that article original and that’s what prompted me to think I needed the 700 lb springs as I have over 600 lbs overall weight added to my truck.

 

Did I mention I also only date sturdy thick women, it’s the best way to correct the taco lean lol

 

There are many weigh stations because there are state laws about max weight. Check at your closest truck stop.

 

Ahhhhhh, truck stop good idea.

thank you.

 

On my truck Im still running 13'' 600lb springs. Max preload before coil bind at full flex. Beefy 1/4'' skids, steel bumper, winch, etc. Rides like a dream but Im only sitting maybe 1.5-2'' over stock, which isnt as much as most people want. Personally i think 700lb springs shouldn't be on any Tacoma, as it takes a lot to get the front end to flex while wheeling and the rig becomes "unbalanced" and then the rear end does all the work, while the front rarely reaches full flex.

 

Still wrestling with this one.

For daily driving I have 760 pounds in the vehicle at all times between all the notifications and equipment.

In review of the articles from accutune off-road once your over 600 pounds additional GVW I should use 700 springs.

All of the posts on TW are so polarizing both directions for pros and cons.

Based on how soft the springs feel currently I know I have to upgrade to a higher rate. I have a lot of front to back rocking when stopping and accelerating. I don’t know what constitutes excessive body role but I know if I give a quick jerk to the wheel at moderate speeds when I’m driving I could see a good 2 inches of deflection on elevation across my hood from passenger to driver side.

I just wanna get this right the first time I can’t afford to put on springs and then have to rip it all apart to upgrade it if it’s not right lol.

I am up in the Northeast so most of my wheeling is low and slow through the swamps and bouncing off pine trees. I’m currently making a road through the forest on the property that I have so when I’m wheeling I’m more of over landing I have a lot of gear in the back with me as I’m out there for a few days. I’m not doing any rock crawling or high-speed sand dune racing.

Kills me, 650 is probably better but I have the 700 lb springs.

I wonder would the 700 lbs springs be ok if I lower the preload 1/4”.

last piece of the puzzle is I do work in construction and monthly load the bed with with 1/2 ton of cast iron.

good times.

 

I think the best way to an answer is to weigh your truck, gather info on spring rates, and min compressed length and extended length of each coil option and then do a small amount of math to calculate the ride height range of each coil over option. This is the type of thing engineers do all day long. I can help you with the math if you gather all the data.

That or just go by the rule of thumb in the accutune article I linked.

 

I have ran 600 and 700s on a FJ, Taco and a Tundra. Would buy kings with 600s and then later on when my rigs got fat I would swap to 700s. 700s are great with any over head load like a RTT or lumber on a lumber rack. Just like with the 600s, the 700s have a sweet spot. Adjust and drive it, and keep adjusting till you get what you are looking for. 700s cranked for a 3.5” lift will be more harsh, just like the 600s are when cranked up. Tires and tire pressures also will affect the ride. Lots of people go from P rated to a lift and LTs at the same time and then complain about the ride and then blame the COs.

I swapped to 700s on my tundra when panic stops with a big heavy camper scared the crap out of me. Now its nice and controlled. I only cranked them to 2.5” of lift and it rides better than the 600s I had on it for years. I have a big ass plate bumper/winch/full steel skids with both and the 700s definitely feel much more planted on/off road.

Its only a few hour to swap springs.

 

I have read in a few posts that with the higher spring rates people recommend to remove the sway bar.

I am in the school that the sway bar is a safety device just as important as the air bags but is there any documentation that stronger springs do not require the sway.

I know that question can lead down a rabbit hole just curious

 

Yes higher spring rate springs can reduce body roll but at the cost of ride quality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-roll_bar

 

A semi related video about anti-roll bars.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueshf401B0k

 

Thank you for the intel.

I am going to go with the 700 and reduce pre load to the minimum setting and see where we fall.

fingers crossed I can get the old warthog leveled without impacting ride quality.

 

I was VERY hesitant to remove the sway bar on my 3rd gen. It's a huge heavy piece of steel and I assumed it did a lot for cornering. My real fear was in the case of swerving to avoid something on the highway how truck would react?

It's been removed for two weeks now, the front suspension works much better on the slow speed stuff, and I really can't tell a difference cornering at all. Plus it probably took 30-40lbs off the front of my truck. One less thing to bend/break/fail down the road as well.

 

If you haven’t turned hard enough to cause tires to lose traction I suspect you haven’t done a good enough test. In particular, you won’t know how it affects understeer/oversteer.

 

I don't need to go that far, I'm not the NSHTA - I've had my truck 3 years. I've had to swerve one time on the highway (my fault) but not enough to make the tires yell nor understeer/oversteer. The truck behaves almost exactly the same without the sway bar in my driving. If I didn't know it wasn't there - I would never know.

The bigger concern is going on a wheeling trip, and breaking a sway bar endlink. Leaving you stranded or having to pull the sway bar off for the ride home. Depending on your setup, this could be a hassle.