Donahoe suspension

[jdanna]

What are peoples oppinions on the donahoe suspension package? the full deal with the bilstein 5100s, deaver leafs and new coilovers?

Is it worth $1650? (if i ever HAVE $1650)

Ive heard that it greatly improves the ride on and offroad, and it offers a very modest 2in lift, which is really all I want.

[KatzTRD]

I cant see spending that much for a 2" lift, I dont care how well it rides. Hell my 6" lift + 2" lift didnt cost that much total.

If all you want is 2", talk to Armored (If he still has that revtek $500 coupon), you could save 1200+. Or just put on some cornies and a add-a-leaf for about 300.

[Ted]

What are peoples oppinions on the donahoe suspension package? the full deal with the bilstein 5100s, deaver leafs and new coilovers?

Is it worth $1650? (if i ever HAVE $1650)

Ive heard that it greatly improves the ride on and offroad, and it offers a very modest 2in lift, which is really all I want.


If you are looking for a good setup that is the way to go. You get what you pay for in suspenstion technoloy.

[TURNER]

ted is right, donahoe makes good shit and even though its only 2", your rig is gonna ride like dream on and off road, the only advice i have is just think long and hard about how long you plan on stickin with this lift, eventhough you can take it off and put stock stuff back on (unlike the fabtech kit) it is a lot of $$ and if you ever wanna take it off to do a SAS or long travel like ted's, yer gonna take a hit based on what you spent on it

[hecull]

I don't have Donahoe's stuff, but I have SAW coilovers in the front and Deavers with Bil 5100's in the back. The ride improvement on and especially off-road is huge! From all accounts, the Donahoe coilovers are a big improvement from SAWs(ask Gadget, I think he went from SAWs to 'hoe's,) so I would expect the truck would ride great with that setup. I did mine for much, much less by keeping my eyes open for used stuff. My whole lift cost me less than $800, and other than some seized bolts was a cinch to install. New Donahoe coilovers alone are $950 from Wheeler's (who are are cheap with great customer service BTW.) When my new SAW springs come in(included in my $800) I will have 3.5" in the front and rear, but my double cab is lower than your x-cab from the factory, so I've got more room to lift without CV boot angle issues. About the equiv of 2.75 inches for you. Add in some 32's over your stock 31's to get an extra 1/2 inch. I notice a big difference in power going from 31 to 32, so 33's are out of the question without a re-gear for me anyway since it's a DD. Some do it, but not for me.
Turner's exactly right though. I should have thought of that at the beginning. Unless you tow it, 2-3" is the best lift you're going to get with your AAD truck unless you go drop bracket or SAS. If you really want to beat the crap out of it, get a 2nd (older) truck to beat the crap out of. Probably what I'm going to do myself.
Hope that gives you some ideas.
Kyle

[jdanna]

yea i think ima try and go for the donahoes. I was originally thining spacers and AAL, but whats the point, ill keep er stock until i have the cash for a real suspension. but it will be quite awhile before i have the cash to do it, if ever (i have another project on the way, a 1970 buick skylark, that may be taking a significant amount of my income away). thanks for the advice everyone.

[JMUTaco]

I have got the Hoe's, bilstein 5100's, and the deaver aal. I went from non trd supsension to that, so the ride quality went from terrible to unbelievable. I have only had it a couple of months, and takeover was the first chance I had to wheel with it on there and the control and flex on medium blue trails was great with this setup. Take this with a grain of salt because I haven't ridden in any rigs with other coilovers, but I figured if I was going to dump that much money into the suspension, another couple of hundred dollars for the Hoe's, which had gotten awesome reviews by everyone who had them, would be worth it. I knew well before I bought them though that I only wanted the moderate 2 inch lift, so I plan on keeping them on there for as long as they work. As for the deaver springs, I had to take the overload off of my stock setup, so load capacity is reduced. When I get the extra cash to do it, I am going to get the rest of the leaf pack, because from what I've read, the full pack compared to the add a leaf, makes quite a bit of difference. If you live anywhere near winchester, drop me a pm and I would be glad to let you catch a ride so you can get a first hand feel for it.

Brian