Fox 2.5 Performance ELITE Shocks (Fronts) Installed Review. Making Progress on 2025 Off Road Hybrid Harsh Ride

[PierceVonCloud]

Like many others on this forum with various trims, I was disappointed with the harsh, jittery ride of my OR Hybrid. It started with lowering the tire pressure to 34 psi (it was delivered with them at 45 psi).

Then I put on Fox 2.5 Performance shocks on the rear, which calmed down the rear axle a noticeable amount. Then I put on ICON progressive rear springs. They were intended to be 2" lift springs on a non-hybrid, so on my hybrid, the lift ended up being barely 0.5 inch which was fine since my objective has never been to lift the truck. The softer rear spring rate was also a step in the right direction. I knew that when it came to the front suspension, I wanted to be able to mess around with low and high speed compression since I think the stock suspension has problems in both areas. The jittery, constant vibration on some roads comes from underdamped low speed bumps and the harsh, continuing oscillations of the suspension (especially the rear) after a big high-speed bump seems like underdamped high speed effects. I know most of the talk has been that the red Bilsteins are overdamped (including some of my posts). It gets very hard to determine what the exact problem is because jitteriness can be from both under and over damped systems. Plus, I've only been working on one end of the car at a time.

The Fox EVO DSC system is awesome - I'm so glad I went with it. The coilovers come with Eibach 1600.375.350S springs, which are 3.75" ID 16.00" long, 350 lb/in springs. There are 8 clicks of adjustment for hi and low. I have the hi speed on 6/8 and the low speed at 4/8. I used an 8Milelake spring compressor to so I could adjust the top perch upwards about 3/8" to take some preload off the spring and the lift still ended up being about 2 inches. I also put on TRD UCA's to get more droop clearance for the big springs and the remote reservoir hose. I recommend some aftermarket UCA's other than the TRD set with these coilovers as there is barely a hair's width to the hose at full droop with the TRD set. It will have to work for now.

Anyway the front feels fantastic. It is the plush, supple ride I was hoping for. All due to proper damping and soft springs. Now I just need to get the 2.5 Elites on the rear, then I'll finally be done. I have some private dirt roads I can drive at speed (50mph+) and the Fox suspension makes my 4Runner into a big ATV. I couldn't stop giggling.

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[danimaldaisy]

Like many others on this forum with various trims, I was disappointed with the harsh, jittery ride of my OR Hybrid. It started with lowering the tire pressure to 34 psi (it was delivered with them at 45 psi).

Then I put on Fox 2.5 Performance shocks on the rear, which calmed down the rear axle a noticeable amount. Then I put on ICON progressive rear springs. They were intended to be 2" lift springs on a non-hybrid, so on my hybrid, the lift ended up being barely 0.5 inch which was fine since my objective has never been to lift the truck. The softer rear spring rate was also a step in the right direction. I knew that when it came to the front suspension, I wanted to be able to mess around with low and high speed compression since I think the stock suspension has problems in both areas. The jittery, constant vibration on some roads comes from underdamped low speed bumps and the harsh, continuing oscillations of the suspension (especially the rear) after a big high-speed bump seems like underdamped high speed effects. I know most of the talk has been that the red Bilsteins are overdamped (including some of my posts). It gets very hard to determine what the exact problem is because jitteriness can be from both under and over damped systems. Plus, I've only been working on one end of the car at a time.

The Fox EVO DSC system is awesome - I'm so glad I went with it. The coilovers come with Eibach 1600.375.350S springs, which are 3.75" ID 16.00" long, 350 lb/in springs. There are 8 clicks of adjustment for hi and low. I have the hi speed on 6/8 and the low speed at 4/8. I used an 8Milelake spring compressor to so I could adjust the top perch upwards about 3/8" to take some preload off the spring and the lift still ended up being about 2 inches. I also put on TRD UCA's to get more droop clearance for the big springs and the remote reservoir hose. I recommend some aftermarket UCA's other than the TRD set with these coilovers as there is barely a hair's width to the hose at full droop with the TRD set. It will have to work for now.

Anyway the front feels fantastic. It is the plush, supple ride I was hoping for. All due to proper damping and soft springs. Now I just need to get the 2.5 Elites on the rear, then I'll finally be done. I have some private dirt roads I can drive at speed (50mph+) and the Fox suspension makes my 4Runner into a big ATV. I couldn't stop giggling.

FYI if you end up revisiting this….Fox told me their front springs are linear. The only problem I see with mixing a progressive spring in the back is making defensive highway maneuvers dangerous. I believe the shocks themselves are linear

 

[Striker53]

Like many others on this forum with various trims, I was disappointed with the harsh, jittery ride of my OR Hybrid. It started with lowering the tire pressure to 34 psi (it was delivered with them at 45 psi).

Then I put on Fox 2.5 Performance shocks on the rear, which calmed down the rear axle a noticeable amount. Then I put on ICON progressive rear springs. They were intended to be 2" lift springs on a non-hybrid, so on my hybrid, the lift ended up being barely 0.5 inch which was fine since my objective has never been to lift the truck. The softer rear spring rate was also a step in the right direction. I knew that when it came to the front suspension, I wanted to be able to mess around with low and high speed compression since I think the stock suspension has problems in both areas. The jittery, constant vibration on some roads comes from underdamped low speed bumps and the harsh, continuing oscillations of the suspension (especially the rear) after a big high-speed bump seems like underdamped high speed effects. I know most of the talk has been that the red Bilsteins are overdamped (including some of my posts). It gets very hard to determine what the exact problem is because jitteriness can be from both under and over damped systems. Plus, I've only been working on one end of the car at a time.

The Fox EVO DSC system is awesome - I'm so glad I went with it. The coilovers come with Eibach 1600.375.350S springs, which are 3.75" ID 16.00" long, 350 lb/in springs. There are 8 clicks of adjustment for hi and low. I have the hi speed on 6/8 and the low speed at 4/8. I used an 8Milelake spring compressor to so I could adjust the top perch upwards about 3/8" to take some preload off the spring and the lift still ended up being about 2 inches. I also put on TRD UCA's to get more droop clearance for the big springs and the remote reservoir hose. I recommend some aftermarket UCA's other than the TRD set with these coilovers as there is barely a hair's width to the hose at full droop with the TRD set. It will have to work for now.

Anyway the front feels fantastic. It is the plush, supple ride I was hoping for. All due to proper damping and soft springs. Now I just need to get the 2.5 Elites on the rear, then I'll finally be done. I have some private dirt roads I can drive at speed (50mph+) and the Fox suspension makes my 4Runner into a big ATV. I couldn't stop giggling.

DID CHANGING ONLY THE REAR SHOCKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? I WAS THINKING ABOUR TRYING OME MT64'S FRONT AND BACK. THINKING OF TRYING REARS FIRST. I HAVE A ROOFTOP TENT ON IT AND IT GETS A BIT BOUNCY.

 

[PierceVonCloud]

DID CHANGING ONLY THE REAR SHOCKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?...

Only as much as the Fox 2.5 valving is better than OEM. So, you be able to tell there are better shocks in the rear, but they don't solve the bounciness by themselves. It is a matter of proper valving to control the movement of the spring. The OME kit comes with rear lift springs correct? I would hope the OME rear shocks are well matched to them. The reports seem to be favorable for the whole kit in general. Would you want to just do the rear, even if temporarily? I thought the OME kit added quite a bit of lift.

 

[Striker53]

Only as much as the Fox 2.5 valving is better than OEM. So, you be able to tell there are better shocks in the rear, but they don't solve the bounciness by themselves. It is a matter of proper valving to control the movement of the spring. The OME kit comes with rear lift springs correct? I would hope the OME rear shocks are well matched to them. The reports seem to be favorable for the whole kit in general. Would you want to just do the rear, even if temporarily? I thought the OME kit added quite a bit of lift.

One kit adds 2' and the other is just the shocks.

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