Superior Engineering Profender/Dobinson 3" and 4" kits

[rwo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close rwo]

Has anyone installed one of the Superior Engineering 3" or 4" kits to a 150? I am interested to hear peoples thoughts on the kit if you use one, particularly about any problems that may be encountered by going beyond a standard 2" lift.

3" Kit

4" Kit

The 4" kit price is a bit misleading as it does not include their lower and upper control arms that adds about $1200 to the price (not sure if they are actually required for the 3" kit).

[thswyup Find all posts View Profile Close thswyup]

Has anyone installed one of the Superior Engineering 3" or 4" kits to a 150? I am interested to hear peoples thoughts on the kit if you use one, particularly about any problems that may be encountered by going beyond a standard 2" lift.

3" Kit

4" Kit

The 4" kit price is a bit misleading as it does not include their lower and upper control arms that adds about $1200 to the price (not sure if they are actually required for the 3" kit).

I'll let you know in a week or so have ordered the 4" it should be on its way

[smakb Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close smakb]

Soooo jealous. I wish that was available when I got mine lifted

[rwo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close rwo]

I'll let you know in a week or so have ordered the 4" it should be on its way

Good stuff, keen to hear how this goes and see some pics when your done!

Did you get the upper/lower control arms?

[christofurry Member Find all posts View Profile Close christofurry]

Will be watching this thread! Interested to see pics

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

i,m currently running a 4" lift with some superior items, once it all settles it would be about 3 1/2". The diff drop and rear lower control arms are superior engineering. Pics are on my rig build.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

The Dobinson coil springs are not made from high tensile steel as the King Spring coils are.

You SURE about that? Maybe not the same grade though I expect it will be close if not the same, but definately HT steel.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Roo, Some years ago working on a project that cannot be named we had a component failure and needed a very specialised spare part made from high spec steel. Order from Germany or Japan was more than 6 months and we were desperate. I went to Dobinsons to check out what steels were available and they let me loose in their steel store. Everything was well labelled and identified with heat numbers and certificates. I bought a couple of bits of spring type steel and we machined the bit we needed, returned it to Dobinsons for heat treatment to my spec prior to finish grinding and the result was just like a bought one. Saved us many many $$ in liquidated damages and as far as I know that part is still in service.

Sure plenty of years ago now and not automotive springs but the guys had an excellent selection of materials and ability. All round an affable bunch. So much so that when I converted the mid mounted mower on my tractor to mulching/centre discharge (you don't want to know what it is like mowing in the middle of a dry summer in Rocky, and there is a reason why it is called ROCKhampton) I had them make up some new blades for me. Once again my design and spec but the blades were still going strong a couple of years after I sold the tractor when previously the OEM blades were lucky to do a season.

[Peterpilot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Peterpilot]

I personally rate Dobinsons highly, those boys really know their stuff and were a wealth of knowledge when I compiled the suspension database. I also note that 8608 uses Dobinsons front and rear springs as well as front struts on "SIK-120".

As far as 3" or 4" lifts are concerned, replacing the front UCAs is the key to any lift over 2". Also needed is a front diff drop kit, extended rear brake lines and extended sway bar links. You may also want to consider rear LCAs and maybe a tailshaft extension.

The kits that Superior offer are not foolproof, nor are they complete without UCAs included. Simply fitting longer shocks and springs for a 4" lift without addressing drivability and wheel alignment issues is a recipe for disaster.

Front droop limits and CV angles need to be considered and strut length needs to be carefully chosen so as not to cause CV binding.

Bump stop limits under compression both front and rear need to be measured and bump stops may need to be increased to avoid bottoming out the shocks, or suitable compressed lengths chosen to avoid the problem.

[8608 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close 8608]

Dobinsons shot peen and 100% scrag test every single coil they make, and not to mention every single coil is pretty much hand made. no fancy billion dollar automated machines.

with what i know and have seen, a guess would be a 10:1 ratio of broken kings to dobbos on a good year. This is also includes the passenger car industry.

i've mentioned a few times about my steering and suspension that you can not use aftermarket components in place of genuine.
this includes any ball of sort, being tie rod ends, rack ends, upper or lower ball joints.

also, the 150's and FJ's are different to 120's. i haven't had the luxury of having all these cars in the one place to strip down and measure for you, but i know what works on my 120 does not on the 150 of FJ.

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

Dobinsons shot peen and 100% scrag test every single coil they make, and not to mention every single coil is pretty much hand made. no fancy billion dollar automated machines.

with what i know and have seen, a guess would be a 10:1 ratio of broken kings to dobbos on a good year. This is also includes the passenger car industry.

i've mentioned a few times about my steering and suspension that you can not use aftermarket components in place of genuine.
this includes any ball of sort, being tie rod ends, rack ends, upper or lower ball joints.

also, the 150's and FJ's are different to 120's. i haven't had the luxury of having all these cars in the one place to strip down and measure for you, but i know what works on my 120 does not on the 150 of FJ.

yep, all true Steve, and we will work on my 150 to see what can be done to help others out.

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

Dobinsons shot peen and 100% scrag test every single coil they make, and not to mention every single coil is pretty much hand made. no fancy billion dollar automated machines.

with what i know and have seen, a guess would be a 10:1 ratio of broken kings to dobbos on a good year. This is also includes the passenger car industry.

i've mentioned a few times about my steering and suspension that you can not use aftermarket components in place of genuine.
this includes any ball of sort, being tie rod ends, rack ends, upper or lower ball joints.

also, the 150's and FJ's are different to 120's. i haven't had the luxury of having all these cars in the one place to strip down and measure for you, but i know what works on my 120 does not on the 150 of FJ.

Agreed, the Toyota OE stuff is superior to the aftermarket replacements in these areas.
We have a couple of decent replacements for these, but at the end of the day the Toyota items will far outlast the aftermarket items.

Regards, Jason.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Roo you running a 90 these days?

[8608 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close 8608]

Agreed, the Toyota OE stuff is superior to the aftermarket replacements in these areas.
We have a couple of decent replacements for these, but at the end of the day the Toyota items will far outlast the aftermarket items.

Regards, Jason.

The main reason is not because they are stronger and last longer, but because they have more angle/movement in all of their joints.

if you buy a $35 tie rod end from repco or where ever, just compare it to the genuine stuff and you will see clear as day the extra travel range.

so really, if you buy a cheaper part, it will wear out twice or ever thrice as quick meaning you will need to buy 3 times as many parts over a period of time.
or it won't work at all and you pop ball joints of rod ends.

i've tried using road safe and transteer gear for tie rod ends and rack ends, but i get less than 1500km of on/off road use before they start knocking.
with a set up more on the extreme side, 100% genuine. same goes with the CV shafts. after market ones are cheaper than $800, but no where near as much travel.

[christofurry Member Find all posts View Profile Close christofurry]

Anyone have any updates on the Superior kits?

Or even any feedback on the Profender or Armada shocks for the Prados?