RadFlo Group Buy

[Trail X]

Kyle, if it makes you feel any better, I'm looking forward to getting exactly what Matt has. That thing kicked some butt during my 5 minute test drive. I think the 600 lb spring rate was right on, as it seemed spongy enough to absorb bumps, but it didn't allow the truck to continue downward after a bump so far that it bottomed out the suspension - like my 87s do.

I'm looking forward to taking the water breaks on the trails at full speed and getting some air with the front tires without fear of constantly bottoming out the suspension. I'll probably get straps for the rear though, since the rear shocks don't have the same construction as the fronts. Don't the Radflos have internal extension bump-stops built in?

[HARDTRAILZ]

That's interesting since he was talking about getting softer springs.


I was debating straps in rear already but need to test regulators brake line extention idea before doing anything.

[ErikSS]

I found the rear of Moots truck to be too soft. Maybe that changed JDs opinion a bit.

[Moots1288]

That's interesting since he was talking about getting softer springs.


I was debating straps in rear already but need to test regulators brake line extention idea before doing anything.

Since I got the longer brake lines and the plate on the bottom perch of the spring I had a tite hanging off the ground and still had droop left in the brake lines

[OregTrailBlazin]

I understand, but your shocks are likely valved differently too. I am not sure your or Raodies experience would transfer straight across to these

That is right, his is valved for a Tahoe, and mine for a Tacoma.


It seems that the package chosen is a good cover-all, but might be able to get little tweaks. However, i do not think any of us have the knowledge or background to know which aspects to change. Maybe getting 15 sets out in use will allow for future buyers to benefit from our experiences.

Thats what I was thinking too. This will make a good base. The only changes I can really see to them in the future is valving tweaks.

Couple more questions...

How much is a new spring if we wanted to try a 500 vs 600 in the future?

Right at 80$ each.

Roadie states at least once that he will not run coilovers without limiting straps after his experience. Should we be looking into limiting straps?
There are some in here that should probably run limit straps whether running Bilstein HD's or these coilovers. I imagine most will be fine without, these are stronger than the stock setup.
I believe there are a few other things that led to Roadies failure. One of them being the design of the two lower mounts I made him. We have been talking about another design that I think will make allot of difference.

I greatly appreciate the discussion and quick answers to lots of "last minute" questions, but felt it was not my place until I was a part of this buy. Thanks.

No problem, let me know if you come up with any others, or if I missed anything.. I'm trying to answer everything with as little typing as possible. I just got over 30 stitches in the palm of my hand Saturday. My typing skills are a bit slow..

[ErikSS]

Holy Crap! 30 stiches in the palm of your hand?!?!? Obviously your "ok" but I hope you get better fast. Oh... And Were Are My Coilovers?!?!? Haha

[HARDTRAILZ]

Damn. Hope it all heals well and quick!

[AlekG]

Just a couple of slightly related comments from a VERY early adopter of coilovers ...

When I jumped in, I had to take a huge leap of faith in the FabTech DirtLogic 2.5 coilovers. As you may suspect, they were not being very helpful as I believe they were weary of any kind of custom use of the set I decided on - they are for Toyota Tacoma's and are adjustable 0" - 3.5". There is no mention of spring rate anywhere but I decided to go with the Tacoma ones vs the Tundra ones as I thought they would be a better match for our vehicles (the Tundra being a full size pickup). The full kit for the Tacoma also doesn't come with any limiting straps as I believe the design itself and the sturdiness of the constructions limits the travel as required.

How could I be sure of the measurements? Well, believe it or not, I took this diagram which they had in high-res on their site:



and using the known 2.5" diameter of the shock, I extrapolated all the other measurements that I thought were pertinent to get a handle on the top plate sizing, clearance needed for the spring, overall length, etc. etc. The big chance was relying on my shop to find a solution for the bottom mounting ... which they did.


In the long run they served me extremely well over many, MANY, miles on-road and off-road. As for the spring breaking a couple of years ago, my mechanic believes it was not through any stress related issues, but perhaps a stray rock knicked the metal enough to cause a stress fracture in the spring steel which ultimately gave way ... luckily not very far from home.

The good news is that the new springs are in and they are performing as good as when I bought them. I cleaned the shocks up with a Dremel soft brush and gave the stainless areas (not including the piston rod) a coat of clear flat rust paint. I wish I had the foresight of doing that when I first got them.

I think overall everybody is going to be very happy with the RadFlo's in terms of performance. I hope they are as robust as my experience with the FabTech's. All the tweaking that is potentially available to you guys is really a bonus.



(old picture, before the spring break)

[ErikSS]

I really like your truck. Why don't you have a build thread? I'm surprised you don't have your upper control arms flipped.

[Moots1288]

This is around 2 - 2 1/2 inches of lift

[v7guy]

If you wanted to try out different spring rates for the different setups we all run it would be pretty easy to get a spring rate with the online calculators available such as here
http://www.crawlpedia.com/spring_rate_calculator.htm
http://www.hypercoils.com/spring-rate-calculator/

The biggest problem is finding a place to get your corner weights from. I believe Rory said he got his vehicle weight (around 6000 lbs loaded, he didn't state the corner weights if I remember right though) from work, but for most of us it'll be tougher to find a place to do it at.
As far as unsprung weight, I can weigh a spindle,control arms, caliper, rotor, if it'll help someone, they're just laying in the garage. You'd have to add the weight of your specific wheel and tire.

From there, the rest is just measurements. Unfortunately I've committed these measurements to memory...

UCA length is 9"
LCA length is 15"
shock mount to LCA pivot is 10.5"
strut angle is about 75 deg


the useable wheel travel will depend on your combo, but again, not difficult to measure. The only real problem I see is that the radflos should add some useable wheel travel since it's a smaller diameter than the stock setup.

[jonbo2002]

That's interesting since he was talking about getting softer springs.


I was debating straps in rear already but need to test regulators brake line extention idea before doing anything.

Should have those for you soon Kyle

[AlekG]

I really like your truck. Why don't you have a build thread? I'm surprised you don't have your upper control arms flipped.

Working on it ... but there is so much ...

The flipping was not even an idea yet when these were done. And the shop looked at the unloaded angle (of the ball joint) both stock and with the coilovers and didn't notice a very large difference ... they were comfortable with the max angle it was going to reach.

[OregTrailBlazin]

There is no mention of spring rate anywhere but I decided to go with the Tacoma ones vs the Tundra ones as I thought they would be a better match for our vehicles (the Tundra being a full size pickup)

Funny thing is both the Tundra and Tacoma use the same spring rate 650#. The valving in the Tundra is a bit firmer though.

[DirtyBacon04]

I really like your truck. Why don't you have a build thread? I'm surprised you don't have your upper control arms flipped.

He does, it's just not on this site. Not sure how current it is, but it's detailed.

http://88xpeditions.blogspot.com/p/vehicle.html

[ErikSS]

He does, it's just not on this site. Not sure how current it is, but it's detailed.

http://88xpeditions.blogspot.com/p/vehicle.html

I had already read that. But if it's not on this site, it doesn't really count.

[Trail X]

Back to the group buy. Did I miss a planned ship date? Do we know when to expect these? I've got a free weekend next weekend and would love to install these then.

[HARDTRAILZ]

That's opening weekend of deer season for me, so it won't work for me.

[mikekey]

Back to the group buy. Did I miss a planned ship date? Do we know when to expect these? I've got a free weekend next weekend and would love to install these then.

Build time was 2-3 weeks from time of each order according to Johnny. HARDTRAILZ will probably be getting his last. Most will be getting these near Thanksgiving I'd expect.

And really, 299 replies? How many times have we all this.

[HARDTRAILZ]

They will make a great Christmas present to myself and give me time to figure out how to explain to the wife that I an getting them.