NewHilux.net

Just bought a new Rugged X. It tried to kill me on the first bit of dirt road on the drive home. A few bumps going in straight line and the back kicks out sending the car sideways. Only slightly better in 4wd. Previous cars, Amarok, landrovers, subarus, bmw x have had no problems. Tire pressures at recommended.
Car is usually unladen, one or two people with dogs in the back. Will be used for 1 or 2 week 4WD camping trips a couple of times a year.
Since I have already spent ridiculous amount of money on the car I'd prefer not to spend much more. Is it the springs or the shock absorber compression rates that make the ride so stiff. ie Can I just change the shox?

I think its operator error.

When you say tyre pressures as recommended, do you mean Toyota recommended road pressures? I usually travel at around 28psi if I'm 4WDing, even on decent dirt tracks. No load in the tray will make you a bit bouncy too.

Andyfive wrote:I think its operator error.

I am definitely not perfect but i've been hooning about for 40years, 4WD driving for 20yrs and driving this exact road almost everyday for the last 5 years. Only ute I've previously used before was the wifes Amarok and never had problem on this road.
Open to suggestions on how to operate a Hilux though

wildthing wrote:When you say tyre pressures as recommended, do you mean Toyota recommended road pressures? I usually travel at around 28psi if I'm 4WDing, even on decent dirt tracks. No load in the tray will make you a bit bouncy too.

Yep Toyota recommended pressures which is 29psi front and back when unloaded. This isn't 4WDriving though. This is the dirt road on the way to my property that I have been driving most days for the last 5 years and have had no problem in any of our previous cars including the wifes Amarok and her subaru. I could lower the tyre pressures further but that effect the handling for the fast sealed country roads for the rest of the trip to town.
I think Toyota have made the suspension way too stiff for bumpy roads when unladen. Probably to make it safe when carrying weight. I Knew it was a bit firm when I did test drive but of course Toyota wouldn't let me drive it on dirt roads during a test drive so I didn't know exactly how bad the firm suspension would be on my everyday road.

Just wondering if changing shox only will improve the ride \ handling or do I really need to also replace springs.

peterjj wrote:I am definitely not perfect but i've been hooning about for 40years, 4WD driving for 20yrs and driving this exact road almost everyday for the last 5 years. Only ute I've previously used before was the wifes Amarok and never had problem on this road.
Open to suggestions on how to operate a Hilux though

All 1 tonne ton Utes are skittish in the rear end unloaded. Factory tyres won't help either.

Don't forget the Amarok is constant 4wd and the the Hilux is 2wd.

I'd suggest getting to know your car before driving like Colin McCrae.

peterjj wrote: Is it the springs or the shock absorber compression rates that make the ride so stiff. ie Can I just change the shox?

You've bought something designed to carry a heavy load & you're not loading it or by the sounds of it flexible with driving style.

The springs are what carry the load, the "shox" are there to dampen the spring from oscillating and most dampening is on rebound. If the compression valving was overcooked it could add to the stiffness but unlikely a significant factor as Toyota have been working to address harshness over the last few years and you still need some damping that direction regardless and more so with stiffer springs.

Easiest and cheapest would be to simply learn the vehicle and drive accordingly, otherwise springs more tuned to your no load situation with dampers to match and understand & live with limitations of heavy load.

I feel for you. I felt exactly this way when I first drove my lux unladen. Turned out the tyre pressure was set to 36psi from the showroom which is the recommended load pressure. Dropping to 29psi made a world of difference. For unsealed roads I drop it down further to around 24psi which I find offers a lot more stability. But as others have said keep in mind it is a RWD and subject to "kicking" on those surfaces. AWD is the way to go which is why to this day I keep debating in my head if I should have got a Triton!

It is a new utility the suspension will be stiff put 200 to 300 kg in the tray to help brake in and yes check the tyre pressure Toyota all ways over inflate as if you are carrying a full load.
Was the TRC working should have keeped the hilux under control as mine shuts it down straight away and stops the fun until you turn it off

..to answer your question: yes, better shocks can help with the bumps. Original shocks help well in the push stage of the shocks. The tires and rims of our cars are very heavy and when the springs are rebounding the wheel just falls down (pull stage of the shocks). Shocks with better push and pull ranges will calm down the wheels noticeable.
I live in an old city with not too good roads and also tramtracks. I have changed my rear shocks after 4000 km of driving my new Hilux. I can feel the difference and will change the front ones in the next weeks.
Another thing is the stiffness. Shocks will not help there....
..sorry for my maybe not perfect english..