Coil-Over Comparisons

[flyingwil]

Ok there are 6 major brand name coil over company's for the Taco. I know each has it pros and cons, and I thought I would start a thread to discuss the options.


Donahoe
Camburg
King
Sway-A-Way (RaceRunner)
Fabtech
ALL-PRO

[Ric]

Im really not sure about any of them, as Im still running a spacer kit (not for long) but alot of the guys on yotatech are running the Sway a ways, and they seem to like them, but I think they are made more for dessert racing, and I do alot of crawling.
Do a search over there, lots of reading, lol

[Willman]

Bump for Donahoes!!!! Great alround coil-overs!!!!

:smiley_drive:

[flyingwil]

Ok here are my thoughts on the hoe's:

Donahoe Racing spent several months developing valving and spring rates this CO shock. This front suspension system features:

Billet Aluminum Upper mount
Adjustable ride Height from 0" to 3"
2.5" Diameter w/ 200 PSI Nitrogen-charged Internal Reservoir
High Flow Piston (Eliminates Cavitation and combines linear and digressive characteristics with flutter stack compression valving)
7wt Oil
Pre Stressed and shot peened High tensile chrome silicon spring (30% increase on a Tacoma)
All components CNC from Aircraft grade Aluminum


This system was bolted onto Donahoe's Tacoma Race Truck and won the 2004 SCORE Tecate Baja 1000.

Well as in the other CO's it is rebuild-able and has a hefty price tag Aprox: $995/pair

http://content.performanceproducts.com/main/110487/donahoefront.jpg
I am at a loss for Con's.

[TACODOC]

I like my 'Hoes :ylsmoke:

[Willman]

Well as in the other CO's it is rebuild-able and has a hefty price tag Aprox: $995/pair

Keep your eye on Ebay or TTORA for a nice set of used ones.....I got mine off Ebay brand-new for $700 shipped.....

:ylsmoke:

[flyingwil]

The Camburgs are also up there and very similar to the Hoe's.

internal reservoir that is nitrogen charged
also rebuildable
Camburg's are 2.5"
The Camburg 2.5" Coilover system utilizes the same shocks used on 4 time CORR Champion Jeff Kincaid's Toyota Tacoma.
coils are wound with a special technique to insure the maximum wheel travel and not fatigue under extreme conditions
13"x650 lb springs
nickel plated cylinders
free-float spring washers
internal reservoir
DIRTBAGZ protectors


http://www.camburg.com/images/tacoma/CRS-internals.jpg
http://www.camburg.com/images/tacoma/CRS-Dirtbags.jpg

Well they are manufactured in the USA by Sway-A-Way (The Sway-A-Way's are 2.0" and the Camburg's are 2.5") Jeff Kincaid used Sway-A-Way shocks to help earn him 4 world championships in CORR.

Price ~$850.00 = $100 Cheaper than the Hoe's

[flyingwil]

Not too many people running them...


Internal reservoir
Billet three piece spring retainer allows for easy height adjustment
Large 7/8” diameter shaft-hard chrome plated for strength
Honed and polished bores
Heat treated stainless steel valving for extreme temperatures
6061 T-6 aluminum top plate mounts shock to the stock location with no cutting or welding
Lower shock mounts with a large spherical bearing for strength and durability
Allows the use of the stock mounting location and hardware
Teflon lined bearing for long lasting performance
Billet lower spring mounting plate for spring alignment


Price ~$ $849.00

http://www.kingshocks.com/images/perfkits_tundrashock.gif

[flyingwil]

Redesigned in 2005, Sway-A-Way introduced their newly re-designed RaceRunner bolt in performance coil-overs that feature both 2.0” & 2.5” diameter CO's.

0-3” of adjustable lift
a “True” hydraulic full extension damper
big 7/8” hard-chromed shaft
electroless nickel finish
5/8” teflon lined steel spherical bearing


Seems to have an upside down shock compared to the others above...

Pretty cheap price: $689.00 in comparison the to top Dog!

They are smaller and might produce cycling problems in comparison to the 2.5" models.

The 2.5" is the same as the Camburgs, but minus the Dirtbagz as stated from Camburgs website.

[flyingwil]

Ummm Yeah, hard to find info on this one...

Rumor, has that it is not the best, but still better than stock.

Dirt Logic 2.5" System

2.50” OD take apart shock
0"-3.5" height adjustability coming from the threaded body
performance coil spring

Price= ~$1,030 (I'd rather fork out the dough for the Hoe's)

http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/images/toyota/24wd00-05tundrasequoia_03.gif

Performance System

2.0” OD take apart race shock
0"-3.5" height adjustability coming from the threaded body

Price = ~$980 (AGAIN I'd rather fork out the dough for the Hoe's)

http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/images/toyota/24wd00-05tundrasequoia_06.gif

Basic System
Couldn't find any info...

0"-3.5" height adjustability coming from the threaded body
Looks very basic

Seems like a waste of $600 IMO.

http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/images/toyota/24wd00-05tundrasequoia_08.gif

[flyingwil]

AllPro's Tacoma coil-overs feature

Bilstein shocks
550-lb coils
adjustable, from 0-3" of lift
custom valved
factory type rubber shock bushings with steel inserts
Includes spanner wrenches.

Price = ~$700
http://www.allprooffroad.com/images/stories/coil-overs.jpg

[erin]

Wil, I went through the same thing when I was searching for a solution. I spent about 2-3 months just reading the forums and seeing witch brands seemed to have the most problems. With the Donahoes, I never read anything but good reviews, all the others seemed to have thier problems, some more then others. It seemed to me that the Sway a ways and Fabtechs had the most people complaining about them compared to the others. Granted this was about 2 yrs ago, so things could have and hopefully did change for the better.

[xcmountain80]

Im running Tundra TRD coils / Tacoma 4wd Struts, for overland travel I think they are good. Last month we spent a week in the 4Runner road/expedtion trip. Laden with gear and the ultra slick Hannibal roof top tent it did very well, especially in the mountains with the crazy twists and turns.

Aaron

[Scott Brady]

I went with the Donahoes because of the build quality and service. They are great people to work with.

[Ursidae69]

Great thread. This is a mod I keep forgetting about, I'm just running spacers in the front.

[seth_js]

I think the best quality coilover is probably the Donahoe. But the coilover with the best bang for the buck is by far the Sway-A-Away. My next set will definitely be SAW's.

[mountainpete]

Rumor has it that All-Pro will be letting customers select from a range of lb ratings on their coils to accomidate for heavier front ends... Not sure where I heard that but it may have been in 4WD Toyota Owner mag.

[Bergger]

Rumor has it that All-Pro will be letting customers select from a range of lb ratings on their coils to accomidate for heavier front ends... Not sure where I heard that but it may have been in 4WD Toyota Owner mag.

I ended up buying some SAWs (2.0) about 1 1/2 ago and prior to that had talked to All-Pro about thier coils. At that time they told me you could get it with a variety of spring rates so I imagine you still can. While I love my SAWs, they are a bit stiff on the slow rocky trails that I normally do and when driving around town at lower speeds, 675lbs springs. Since I don't do a lot of high speed stuff I'd like to get something closer to 600lbs. Heck I may even give up my coils and try an OME set up. I hear they do much better in slow applications. Downside is they do worse when blowing down those wash board roads. It's always a tough decision.

[asteffes]

Rumor has it that All-Pro will be letting customers select from a range of lb ratings on their coils to accomidate for heavier front ends... Not sure where I heard that but it may have been in 4WD Toyota Owner mag.

If these companies would standardize on a spring diameter, we could swap in whatever spring-rate Eibach or H&R springs we wanted. Then we could send them in for revalving, if necessary, the way the race shock guys do. :)

[devinsixtyseven]

interesting to see this thread here.

there are several very good threads, all on other forums unfortunately, where donahoe and swayaway actually have a long, drawn out discussion on the pros and cons of their coilover designs.

the basic bottom line is as seth_js already put it...the d/r coilover is probably the best quality, but the saw is the best deal for your $$$.

also, when you get in to rebuildable, adjustable coilovers, they are all very similar inside...whether it's bilstein, king, donahoe, swayaway, fox, kuster, or someone building a coilover to fabtech, allpro, camburg, etc's specifications which is then badged by that reseller with credit given to the manufacturer, except possibly in the case of the fabtech dirt logic c/o which i think is made by fox but not labeled/advertised as such.

it's actually pretty interesting how related all those designs are, because the designers and machinists all worked for one or the other company at one time or another, and switched companies, started their own brand, split, merged, etc...

so really what you're getting now is customer service and minor design changes. saw and donahoe both have excellent customer service and are very, very involved in the forums frequented by the average joe...not necessarily so the other brands. any of the manufacturers could easily, accidentally or intentionally, duplicate the internal functionality of another's coilover, so what you're really discussing is the factory spring rating and valving on the most common offering. offhand i'd say it would be better to get a set of c/o from a reputable reseller who's chosen near-ideal valving than buy a standard c/o off the shelf, for instance the "standard" saw coilover vs the camburg spec. theyre both saw, but one is more closely spec'd to your vehicle. donahoe is the same way, and either manufacturer can build you whatever you need...bypasses, remote reservoirs, longer or shorter shafts, etc...

i have heard of good and bad customer service on king, never heard anything about bilstein's c/s, heard mixed stories about fabtech's quality, and only heard/experienced good customer service and quality with saw and donahoe.

-sean

[asteffes]

Once again, you get what you pay for (most of the time.)

[Ric]

heres another option http://www.toyteclifts.com/spacersoffroad.htm

[asteffes]

heres another option http://www.toyteclifts.com/spacersoffroad.htm

Their "Light Racing" coilovers look *exactly* like Donahoes, down to the swaybar spacer.

[Kermit]

I have been running my Camburgs for 2 years now, without any problems. I thought the install was a snap too. :sombrero: The faster you go the better they are.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2560567870093498191AmFsze

The Taco now has Goodyear MTRs now on it too...soo much better than my old BFGs, smoother ride, less noise, way better traction! Night and day difference.

[flyingwil]

heres another option http://www.toyteclifts.com/spacersoffroad.htm


Interesting....

[TACODOC]

Their "Light Racing" coilovers look *exactly* like Donahoes, down to the swaybar spacer.

They sure do! Hmmmm...

[Ric]

Im hoping to have a set from Toytec very soon, so we will see how they work.

[viter]

light racing coilovers are built by donahoe racing, while the donahoe racing bump stops that are about to come out are built by light racing (who introduced these bump stops to the market). the donahoe bump stops will be physically just like jounce light racing bump stops, but valved specifically for donahoe coilovers. this info from is posted on TTORA by donahoe racing themselves.

[asteffes]

Bump stops are valved? Wha?

[devinsixtyseven]

poly bump stops are just chunks of bouncy stuff :D.

these bump stops are air bumps, sort of a second shock absorber set up to stop travel where you need to, but with a rising rate (air) spring so you dont get the harsh stop at full compression as you do with a rubber or poly bump stop. i could get close to 12" of ifs travel if i added an air bump instead of the low-profile poly bump stops i'm using now, and the full compression hit would be much, much softer.

-sean

[flyingwil]

light racing coilovers are built by donahoe racing, while the donahoe racing bump stops that are about to come out are built by light racing (who introduced these bump stops to the market). the donahoe bump stops will be physically just like jounce light racing bump stops, but valved specifically for donahoe coilovers. this info from is posted on TTORA by donahoe racing themselves.


Pricing seems about equal.... Do you have the link to the thread on TTORA?

[jeffryscott]

Wil, any progress on making a decision?

[flyingwil]

Wil, any progress on making a decision?

:smilies27 Nope not yet... Have you decided?

[crawler#976]

Wil, maybe this will help narrow your choices...

Sway-A-Way doesn't support older products. I have a set of the old style 2.0's w/ 675lb/15" coils. They don't make replacement coils in that size anymore - even tho that was the "stock" setup listed on their web site.

That really sucks - since the coilover shocks are rebuildable, they should last for the life of the vehicle. The shocks I have were rebuilt by Mr. B'Taco, and again by myself, but without manufacture support are high buck junk now.

[jeffryscott]

:smilies27 Nope not yet... Have you decided?

going to wait, going to try the Tundra spring lift. At some point I'll do coilovers, but that is in the future ...

[Desertdude]

Donahoe's ...'cause these are the ones I bought :) still love 'em - the company seem to be continue to improve the quailty

[Super Doody]

to echo what everyone has said. I wason the old delphi ttora board when DR CO first came out. DR also has the least amount of warranty issues. Sway away, Kings, camburg all have their issues.

The only issues DR has are the banjo bolts hitting the coilover bucket but that can happens with all 2.5 coilovers this only an issue for 01 to 04 tacomas.

Here is an old ttora post:

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13248&highlight=banjo+bolt

Losing braking power is not fun. But proper alignment with max'ed out caster and zeroed out toe and camber is the way to avoid this and also getting lower profile banjo bolts.

[fbksurferjoe]

I actually have the kings which it doesnt sound like too many people have. I got an entire lift that included them and it was a price that i couldnt pass up.
I am very happy with them i have no complaints whatsoever. I would say Sway away are more than likely your best bet. I really am not that impressed with donahoe's stuff, but that may just be me.

[Ric]

Ive got the Toytecs (http://www.toyteclifts.com/96024runnercart.html#96024runnerfrontliftopts) coil-overs, Ive had them for about 2 months, and absolutly love them, great on and off road. well worth the money.

[Lost Canadian]

I really am not that impressed with donahoe's stuff, but that may just be me.

Just curious, but what exactly was it that you were not impressed with?:)

[fbksurferjoe]

Well i had a friend who had installed them on his tacoma and the first trip he took he blew a seal. I dont know if it was just a faulty shock but it took forever for him to get it fixed.

[flyingwil]

Well i had a friend who had installed them on his tacoma and the first trip he took he blew a seal. I dont know if it was just a faulty shock but it took forever for him to get it fixed.

I have heard of others having this issue...

[SOAZ]

Yikes!
They should replace it right away, but that would suck especially on the shock that is the most expensive.
I can honestly say a couple of things:
Donahoe has the least mark up on any and all of their lift kits when compared to other companies. When I worked there everything in the DR components cost more so although it was the most pricey it also cost the most and lowered the margin.
That being said, no prodcut is perfect and I know as with most companies, they will occsionally try a new spring co. or a new machinist etc and if quality lags the product will suffer for the items produced during that period. As I mentioned I think that they switched to a new spring producer and I had a couple of chunks of powdercoat missing on my springs and one person actually had their spring break!
All in all, I believe in their stuff, sure I'm biased, but if there is any problem with it send it in and make them back it up.

[teotwaki]

Ok there are 6 major brand name coil over company's for the Taco. I know each has it pros and cons, and I thought I would start a thread to discuss the options.


Donahoe
Camburg
King
Sway-A-Way (RaceRunner)
Fabtech
ALL-PRO


Seven including Downey