how do I soften up the road ride in a FJ40?

[BIG ZOOK]

i am getting over the rough road ride in my 40. will new leaf springs and shocks make a difference or is it just a waste of money? i dont need a lift or anything

anyone had new stock springs fitted?

[richardsc]

cough cough coils

[MrGrim]

one of the best mods that can be done ..is do a shackle reversal in the front

ive done this to myn and wow what a diffrence to braking, suspention, and also not having the axle push down stoping you from climbing obsticles, in the front due to the axle pushing back and down,
with brakes it makes it stop a lot better less bound sliding on slippery surfaces due to the body can now move in one direction and not fight with both axles going in oposite directions
and the best bonus of all is 95% of the shortys pig rooting suspention woos are all gone ...ie you can never forgat what a shorty is like over railway crossings ..( my spine now likes me again lol)

[BIG ZOOK]

yeah coils are the way to go but in keeping it as stock as possible for restoration i was wondering if it would be worth the money to get new leaf springs or if they are all hard as sh%t.

or can you take a single leaf out to soften the ride? anyone done this?

[RAY185]

Rear shackle angle is the killer. If you're vertical it will be a shit ride. 2 leaves out of the front, a leaf or 2 out of the rear and relocate the rear spring hanger to correct angle and you should be set.

[micka1]

Like ray185 said , remove a leaf or two . Maybe even look at greasable shackles / extended shackles may make a difference .

[BIG ZOOK]

yeah that sounds like the right option. reversal may be a rego/engineering hassle but relocating them on an angle and taking a leaf or 2 out sounds like the first step.

cheers

i also need to keep the handling as it will have over 500hp. I am putting the engine together now. a Toyota 4 litter quad cam injected V8 with an Eaton M112 supercharger and intercooler bolted on top. sitting in front of a Toyota 4 speed auto.

i'll put a pic of the 14 inch high charger on the wild 40s post in the next day or 2

[RAY185]

One thing to consider with softening up the suspension and having that sort of power is axle wrap.....

[lay80n]

Nice engine combo. We have a very simillar setup going together now.

Layto....

[DIRTY ROCK STAR]

athol and your worried about engineering with the front spring reversal??
im sure they wont notice the 400% increase in grunt from a 2F!

[shorty_f0rty]

maybe a shackle reversal would be investigating if you're going to be using all those HP. I remember litty rusty's 40 was an ex rally support car which had been converted to shackle reversal for the high speed work.

as Ray mentioned.. shackle angle is where its at.. softer spring packs as well as potentially moving the rear diff back.. as you sit practically on top of the rear diff with a stock setup, this is where most of the harshness comes from..

you can investigate things to put in between leaves to help them move..

[fumduk3]

pro comp es9000 shocks help smooth a leaf sprung 4x4 out a bit

[BIG ZOOK]

great thanks guys. i was hoping there might be a simpler answer to get around it but by the sounds of things to improve the ride in an old truck you got to do a few mods front and back and bring it up to 21st century engineering

[RAY185]

Shocks will do nothing with stiff leaf springs, you could probably pull them out all together and not really feel a difference. Get your springs working, then the shocks will work. Change them then if needed.

You got a pic of your rear shackle angle?

[BIG ZOOK]

Shocks will do nothing with stiff leaf springs, you could probably pull them out all together and not really feel a difference. Get your springs working, then the shocks will work. Change them then if needed.

You got a pic of your rear shackle angle?

yeah checked them last night. stock and vertical. the front have a tiny 5 degree angle but pretty much vert. will fix that for sure

[flyology]

What about getting a set of springs made up for it at a decent spring works, tell them what you want and also tell them you want the main leaf XX longer to get the shackle angle better....

I would go with greasable shackles also, I have them on my 60 (with aftermarket springs and rancho rs9000 adjustable shocks) and the ride is great, better than some coil cars I have been in. The springs were on the car when I bought it, they have a yellow plastic isolator/anti rattle jobbie between most of the leaves, not sure what brand they are.... Need to be replaced though as the rear is sagged on one side

[fumduk3]

Shocks will do nothing with stiff leaf springs, you could probably pull them out all together and not really feel a difference. Get your springs working, then the shocks will work. Change them then if needed.

You got a pic of your rear shackle angle?

yep it was my imagination when the ride was a shitload smoother after putting softer pro comps on 45 series and 75 series tojos, i thought i was dreaming. you could probably pull them out and notice how much smoother it is with no shocks (H/D ones and testing only not on road) both of these were utes with H/D springs in rear. get your springs working and then your shocks will work magically better on thier own but change them if needed cos sometimes the MAGIC doesnt always work.I put 75 series front leafs in the front of my 45 as they are longer and make the shackle sit on a nice angle instead of vertical.

[TWISTY]

Have ran a few different setups in mine, and have finished up with a really good ride, but the bodyroll took a bit of getting used to.

First setup was 4" dobinsons leafs, 2" etxended shackles (ok shackle angle, but not ideal), and skyjacker shocks. This rode better then when i first got it, but still not awesome.

I then fitted bilstein 5125 shocks (from www.locktup4x4.com.au ) which improved the ride a quite a lot.

Next i wanted extra wheelbase, so sold off the current leaves and ordered some new custom leafs through Dobinsons again, still at the 4" lift, but 4.5" longer spring in the front, with the front diff foward about 1.5", and almost 8" longer springs in the rear with the rear diff moved back 5". Had to relocate the shackle mount in the rear to the rear bumper, and the fixed hanger in the front back also.

With the extra wheelbase, longer leafs, and the bilstein 5125s mine almost rides like a coily, I love it! Flex's great too. But the bodyroll is a lot worse, but once you get used to it, still very driveable.

Going to look into anti-rock style sway bars for it some day.

Plenty of pics and info in my build thread....link below.

[BIG ZOOK]

Have ran a few different setups in mine, and have finished up with a really good ride, but the bodyroll took a bit of getting used to.

First setup was 4" dobinsons leafs, 2" etxended shackles (ok shackle angle, but not ideal), and skyjacker shocks. This rode better then when i first got it, but still not awesome.

I then fitted bilstein 5125 shocks (from www.locktup4x4.com.au ) which improved the ride a quite a lot.

Next i wanted extra wheelbase, so sold off the current leaves and ordered some new custom leafs through Dobinsons again, still at the 4" lift, but 4.5" longer spring in the front, with the front diff foward about 1.5", and almost 8" longer springs in the rear with the rear diff moved back 5". Had to relocate the shackle mount in the rear to the rear bumper, and the fixed hanger in the front back also.

With the extra wheelbase, longer leafs, and the bilstein 5125s mine almost rides like a coily, I love it! Flex's great too. But the bodyroll is a lot worse, but once you get used to it, still very driveable.

Going to look into anti-rock style sway bars for it some day.

Plenty of pics and info in my build thread....link below.

yes its good build thread i have seen all the pics and the multiple tyre, suspension combos and changes! my 40 that i almost have all the parts for now will be worked on through April and be a hardtop just like yours. although i am trying to keep it as original as possible and more 'restored ' with its charm. it is for on road use only as i have an off road beasty hopped up 40 already

i want to soften the ride up but at the same time body roll and lotsa power will clash. so if twin shocks were fitted to the set up you have do you think that would help with corners and body roll or are sway bars the way to go?

also how much did the custom springs cost?

[TWISTY]

yes its good build thread i have seen all the pics and the multiple tyre, suspension combos and changes! my 40 that i almost have all the parts for now will be worked on through April and be a hardtop just like yours. although i am trying to keep it as original as possible and more 'restored ' with its charm. it is for on road use only as i have an off road beasty hopped up 40 already

i want to soften the ride up but at the same time body roll and lotsa power will clash. so if twin shocks were fitted to the set up you have do you think that would help with corners and body roll or are sway bars the way to go?

also how much did the custom springs cost?

Cheers......I know the look your going for (got some pics of yankee ones) will look sweet! Would like to do a similar build someday (kepping current one for offroad obvisouly).

I think twin shocks will only make the ride worse....I wouldnt go that way.

Swaybars would be the go, probably easiest just to retro fit some 60/70 series ones if handling is more important then heaps of flex.

Springs were $1200 at the time as there were a full custom pack. I think modified 2" packs (longer mains added) can be a little cheaper.

[BIG ZOOK]

sweet thanks yes it is going to be a low, fat, high powered, all Toyota retro style cruiser mondernised with Air/con, injected v8, factory power steer, auto, power windows ect ect ect. cant wait!

[MrGrim]

Shocks will do nothing with stiff leaf springs, you could probably pull them out all together and not really feel a difference. Get your springs working, then the shocks will work. Change them then if needed.

You got a pic of your rear shackle angle?

yeah checked them last night. stock and vertical. the front have a tiny 5 degree angle but pretty much vert. will fix that for sure

just a tip shackle angle is judged not by the angle to the ground
it is by a line from the front eyepin center to the bolt center at the botom of the shackle this is the plane you look at it from ...

[RAY185]

yep it was my imagination when the ride was a shitload smoother after putting softer pro comps on 45 series and 75 series tojos, i thought i was dreaming. you could probably pull them out and notice how much smoother it is with no shocks (H/D ones and testing only not on road) both of these were utes with H/D springs in rear. get your springs working and then your shocks will work magically better on thier own but change them if needed cos sometimes the MAGIC doesnt always work.I put 75 series front leafs in the front of my 45 as they are longer and make the shackle sit on a nice angle instead of vertical.

You've clearly missed the point I was making. Hopefully the OP got it.

[little rusty]

maybe a shackle reversal would be investigating if you're going to be using all those HP. I remember litty rusty's 40 was an ex rally support car which had been converted to shackle reversal for the high speed work.

hey guys - its been a while, this is my second post in over 18 months

like shorty forty said, shackle reversal in my old car is an awesome set up. As I now have a stock BJ42 I can attest that a SR on the front is a great mod and worth it... it can be engineered too in qld as far as I know.

its something I am going to consider in the future on my new one but mainly for steering.

out with the old


in with the new

[Frankenyota]

Do you need to go spring over with the shackle reversal?

Matt

[MrGrim]

Do you need to go spring over with the shackle reversal?

Matt

no no real change to your setup
its basicaly swaping the springs and shackels around in the front

ive done it yrs ago best ever mod my 2 other 40's will be getting it done to

[Frankenyota]

Do you mount the shackle through the frame or under?
Is it a kit or do you use the original mounts?
I'm buying a 60 series for parts for a shorty build up, so may use the 60 spring hanger mounts and diffs etc, and swap them to the 40.

Matt

[MrGrim]

i went under the rail with myn and the parts are all new some custom and also ive used 60 springs and shackles
you can get kits or use the original parts this is up to you ...but i think moving up to the 60 wider& longer springs ect is a better move