new Dirt King suspension offering

Dat new new from @Dirt King Fab
Lots of chatter on social, but no thread(s) here yet. https://dirtking.com/collections/17-tacoma/products/2-5-coilovers-dca-remote-reservoir-dk-811989f

Definitely interested to see how, or if, these can standout from what's often considered the pinnacle of shock performance and tuning on TW (i.e. Fox via Accutune).



Specifically, I'd like to see how the shock specs stack up against similar, existing product offerings --
Product Extended Length:
Product Collapsed Length:
Product Travel:
Product Spring Rate:

 

Private labeled Elka's, IMO stay away and go with USA made products you can get support and parts for later when they need service.

 

Yeah these are the Elka 2.5 DSC in gold. I have the same ones in red lol. I wonder if there are any differences to the standard valving.

 

Hey guys! Thanks for the interest and start of the thread. To clear the air, these are not "rebranded Elkas", we have done 2+ years of design, R&D, tuning, and testing to provide the best damper on the market. This endeavor has not been a simple color/sticker change and release a shock line. We have spec'd custom lengths both extended and collapsed, valving, spring length and rate etc across all of our model offerings.

We have a surplus of service parts so rebuild kits and replacement parts will not be an issue, these shocks can be fully serviced at our facility in San Diego CA, and carry a 1 year warranty. Any questions feel free to post here or reach out to our sales team at sales@dirtking.com. We pride ourselves in industry leading customer support and product quality and these shocks reflect that.

 

Good to know! So since it's kinda the elephant in the room, why do they look basically identical to Elka then? Do they still make the parts just to your spec or something?

 

I’m super interested in these. I think they look great.

 

Correct, the shocks are engineered and tested here at Dirt King, and manufactured by Elka for us

 

So yes they are Elkas.

 

@Dirt King Fab - still hoping you can provide these specs for us. Some interested parties on TW, for sure, but would like to know the details.
Product Extended Length:
Product Collapsed Length:
Product Travel:
Product Spring Rate:

 

Also interested in this. I’ve been running Dirt King UCAs for many, many years now and love them. Been considering replacing my BP-51s and thought these may be a good fit for me.

 

@Dirt King Fab Are we able to purchase and pick-up onsite at your San Diego location instead of order online?

 

Dirt King DK-811989F 2.5 Coilover with DCA Adjuster

Product Extended Length: Mounting 22.51" Extended 21.92"
Product Collapsed Length: 17.44"
Product Travel: 5.07"
Product Spring Rate: 14" 700 LB

These shocks can be purchased and picked up at our San Diego CA facility, feel free to call our sales team at 619-944-8913 or checkout via the website and select local pickup

 

@Dirt King Fab
So looks like more travel and standard heavier spring rate than what's generally recognized as the gold standard Tacoma offerings from @AccuTune Offroad.

 

How do these compare to the EXT King Shocks for the Tacoma? Convince me please because i run Dirt King everything else, and love your components.

 

Hi TW, new member here.
Found this thread by searching for more tech details and tooling/spares for the shock.

This looks like a great shock, and no doubt it's been tuned to DK's preferences as they're closer to the Trophy truck world. They likely have different experiences, with tuning preferences, because of desert racing and working on these Tacoma/mid-large truck chassis. Elka however perform at the top of sxs atv stuff.

I own the Elka 2.5DCs on my Lexus GX470. It's a different truck, but the shock used will be close to identical minus the shim stack, as used on a Tacoma.

The only way to know if the claims are to be believed is to 1. Open them up and look at the internals, and 2. Thrash em hard. You'll know pretty quickly if they're life-changing and the marketing adds up. I know I had that moment with the Elka 2.5s the first time on some mountain fire roads.

Thought id share my learnings and images with what makes the Elka an elka based on its internals: (Hopefully someone will share images of the Dirt King Internals so we can compare)

• Rebuilt these 5 times because i'm a faffer.
• I rebuilt another for a split hose from rocks on the trailss. Who would have known? (The Replacement part from Elka for this was $200 for a hose! i've now covered the hose to protect.)
• Oil used:
  • Elka 2.5wt (CST ??) - Really good blend. out of the box they were outstanding. (30k miles: inc running 100miles of the Vegas to Reno + many socal desert and long overland trips. All hard miles)
  • Maxima Synthetic Racing Light 3wt (viscosity cst: 14.7) may have a slightly lighter feel than the Elka. I prefer the Elka blend.
  • Amsoil Light (viscosity cst: 15.9): Currently running, slightly thicker, feels firmer and more predictable. firmer than Elka oil have yet to run these hard off road but from local fire road trails testing im interested to see how they are when are running temp and how the feel will change.
• Elka was very helpful and resourceful in providing a warranty support within the 1 year period. No Warrenty issue with shock - I split my rear sway bar so it was only supporting one side in turns and not the other. Shock was good.
• I've struggled to get them to sell me any spare parts like tools or seals. They now send me to a suspension builder in SoCal to deal with their shocks. I've owned for 4 years. 50k miles.
• Dirt King came onto the scene with their 2.5s, and I emailed to ask if they had spare parts. They informed me that shockseals.com now has a kit for their shock available. Hence, they'll fit mine. Although I just changed seals on an Elka shock, and I have many seals left over. (I didn't remove reservoir cylinder valving as I couldn't find the tool so mayb the DKs have something else going on inside theirs.)
• DK customer service has been amazing, despite me having elkas. To the point i wish I were running DK 2.5s shocks rather than the Elkas.
• The Elka Reservoir IFP has a completely different fitting, so all current IFP tools in the market that fit King, Fox etc, don't fit the Elka. It requires a big 32mm diameter threaded rod to screw into the piston. (havent yet bought a 32mm plastic pipe to shove into the treads. Then i can better pump and bleed the oil of air. I've found workarounds, but not ideal. @DirtKing, do you have the same IFP design? and said tool?)
  
• Main Seal head body is a big 57mm spanner. not easy to find. Looks like DK have same main seal head fitting too, instead of needing a snap ring plier type tool on King and Fox. This seal head is nice to work on. But you NEED a Bullet Tool to get that seal head back on the shaft. It's super tight. I couldn't find the exact dimensions required for the shaft, so I had to drill out another tool. Does DK have the same shaft and shank size? Elka Shaft: 3/4" // 19mm, Shank: 1/2" almost // 12mm, Shank/shaft step: approx 17mm dia x 2mm lip. this must be cleared to create a direct seal with the shaft and bullet tool so the seals slide across without damage upon instal.

Ok, enough words for now. Here are the internals of the shock from separate rebuilds and occasions.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/media/albums/elka-2-5-dc-internals.79587/

There is a much more complicated Compression shim stack than i expected. looks like it's a progressive flutter with lots of thin shims. This is the front shock tuned for use with a 700lb coil. the Base valvue has 8 ports, which is the same as King. I think Fox has 6 ports, meaning less potential fluid flow and tuning of flow via shims. So, more valve holes mean more potential for wider tuning via shims. As Fox is a big OE supplier, maybe theres something in the production cost vs real-world use that theyve chosen to stick with simpler internals. The Elkas, and i assume the Dirt kings will have a higher degree of analysis, manufacturing and tuned for perfection in the desired use case.

sorry for the rambling. and potential for many errors in my tinkering.
Happy Faffing

 

Super good info here! You should post this in the Everything Elka thread. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/everything-elka-and-how-they-compare.592209/

 

Dirt King Vs. Others Part 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug9n5r6oIcE

Interesting how King and Fox came in last here and in the Wheel Every Weekend / Overland Outfitters YouTube Shock Value video series as well. Keep in mind, this is all "out of the box" and no compression adjusters were altered. No doubt if KING and FOX are tuned for the vehicle/weight/specs they perform incredibly well but out of the box (how most guys are running their setups), which one is "best"? Super subjective but again, it's interesting that this is the second blind shock test putting King and Fox at the bottom of the list.

Dirt King came back with a Vs. Bilstein Part in Part 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMdJQxZTNjs

What do you guys think?

 

I saw that comparison. It seems Fox gets a lot of guff despite having some impressive technology. I have fox elite 2.5's, stock valving. I'll send them out to Accutune eventually.

In no particular order I'd choose Fox Elite, King, or Bilstein 8100. The Bilstein's weren't available when I ordered the Fox's.

If I were to buy today I'd pick Bilstein 8100, 6112/5160 or King's for the blue color alone.

 

Yeah, I'm running the FOX race series with JD Fab LT on the 2.5 Gen Tacoma, and while it's decent out of the box, there's plenty of room for improvement front and rear. After seeing a few blind shock test videos where Fox and King mid-travel shocks rank at the bottom, it really makes you question the industry-wide perception of the "best shock on the market." King and Fox might have great potential after a tune and utilizing compression/rebound adjusters, but DK makes a strong case for "out of the box" performance. How many people install mid-travel shocks and immediately get them tuned? It’s been two years, and I still haven’t tuned my LT Fox coilovers or secondaries, even though you'd think LT setups warrant tuning more than anything else. Whether it’s laziness, cost, or just wanting to go wheel, tuning often takes a backseat, even after spending over $20K on LT parts. It’s refreshing to see DK working with a Toyota engineer to nail the tune out of the box, and it would be great to see them offer 8" stroke coilovers and secondaries with the same philosophy.

 

I have Elka 2.5 DSC and have run with both off-the-shelf tuning and custom tuning. The tuning is literally everything. Shocks are, for the most part, quite simple and similar on a fundamental level (until you get into bypass shocks, but we wont go there). It's a cylinder with a piston inside. There isn't much you can do from a design standpoint to make them that much different from anything else out there. It's the valving that really makes the difference and that's really all that is being tested in these blind comparisons. The 8112s are wild because of the multiple internal pistons, but still rely on piston valving as well.

I've had 3 completely different suspension setups on my truck (4 if you count revalving) and honestly between 5100's, Fox 2.0 and Elka 2.5 DSC (factory tune) there isn't a massive difference in ride quality. They all kinda have their pros and cons but none are just flat out better at everything. I think most of that has to do with none of them having ideal valving for my use, which is going to be the same for the vast majority of Tacoma owners. After working with Krave and Elka engineers to put together a better valve stack for my truck, it's crazy how much better they ride in just about every condition. But it's also kinda enlightening to see how much work and time it takes to figure out a more dialed in tuning, and that was only on the compression stack. The rebound stack and clicker tuning all make a difference as well and they didn't even touch those.

I wonder if companies like Fox and King just kinda phone it in for the off-the-shelf valving knowing that you will likely (or should at least) re-tune them before installing. It's basically impossible to design a valve-stack that works for all models and generations of Tacoma, so I could totally see them not putting too much effort into the 1 valving option they offer. Companies like Ride (Accutune) that specialize in only a handful of vehicles have multiple different valving options for their Tacoma specific shocks depending on which gen or how much extra weight you have. That just shows how much of a range there can be on the same vehicle. I can't even imagine the amount of work it would take to test and tune multiple shock options for each of the vehicles that companies like Fox and King make shocks for so it's easy to see why they don't have the best valving right off the shelf.