[jkrishnakj]

In sum and substance I can see that it did the job for you. Though I just admit that the data and graphs were a bit too much for me. Got me thinking - since when have I taken aversion to such technical points. Good of your daughter to be part of this exercise with you.

[EZrider]

@graaja, What a brilliant well researched, empirical technical report!

As a medico, I’m especially impressed that you’ve taken the trouble of addressing the cognitive aspect of what constitutes ‘comfort’ in an objective and scientific manner. Balancing ride and handling is a dark art which has some many factors influencing it.

This is stuff that manufacturers should be doing, who have access to plenty of resources.

Well done once again to you and your daughter!

[sagarpadaki]

Kudos to you and your daughter graaja . The kind of data collection and the subsequent analysis is truly remarkable. Your daughter has hands on experience now which is far better than having just theoretical knowledge.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by EZrider

@graaja, What a brilliant well researched, empirical technical report!

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Kudos to you and your daughter graaja..

Thank you so much for the kind words!

And thank you once again for that first hand feedback on the ride comfort. That gave me the confidence to go ahead with this install.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by graaja

I took a calculated risk in choosing the Tough Dog Foamcell Adjustable suspensions, and I feel the risk has paid off very well. I am very happy with the improvement over the OE suspensions and also with the flexibility of being able to adjust the suspensions in under a minute. The Tough Dog suspension has nine-way adjustments. Setting 4, which is halfway, is almost similar to the OE suspension in stiffness. I have four settings below for better comfort and four settings above for better handling.

What a comprehensive review !
I am sure of your choice. This will last you long. Way back in 2021, I was looking for better suspension for my Ford Endeavour 3.2. At that time only Ironman and Old Man EMU was available in India. I did some research online and concluded on the Tough Dog suspension. Reason: Its Australian, tried and tested, positive reviews everywhere, adjustable and also an Award winning suspension. However no dealer was willing to import it for me, as they did not have any tie-up or contract with Tough Dog, and everyone was pushing for Ironman. Disappointed, I installed ARB Old man EMU, which I am still using till date. Not that these are bad, but the Tough Dog would have been better. Congrats again on the great buy.

[megazoid]

Got a chance to sample graaja's Fortuner with the Tough Dog suspension and it certainly felt like a good improvement from the stock car. Drove it over a mixed surface for a short while and the improved body control was immediately apparent. The damping felt better over jiggly surfaces and we went over one particular undulation at some speed and the car felt tight on the compression.
Overall, a welcome addition to a wonderful package.

[svsantosh]

Congratulations to you and your Daughter on a wonderful upgrade/study/project.

Couple of important things you need to consider asap.

1) AFM UCA
https://www.steeringandsuspensionwar...ntrol-arms-uca

2) AFM Diff Drop kit
https://www.the4wdshed.com/diff-drop...NkUAC2jGuKby93

3) AFM Sway bar relocation kit (fancy name for drop kit) You need these for front and rear. Not critical but you will not have access to the full flex. This link is not for T-Fort, but you will get similar ones, just dropping the idea.
https://www.4x4modsaustralia.com.au/...caAlavEALw_wcB

(Disclaimer - Links from internet, am not promoting these...)

For any IFS lift kit these additional kids are paramount along with the longer struts/springs.

The steering geometry has been altered, and also the CV angles and front prop shaft need some breathing space, they are on absolute limit now.

PS - If you are going to do some extreme off roading, consider a knuckle reinforcement kit - the Toyota front Knuckle will bend out like a safety pin in one small jump after a 2" lift.

https://www.chaosfab.com/product/201...ssets-59698-SB

I am sharing some knowledge I learnt in UAE as part of a Off-roading company. Attaching one Long travel FJ we had exhibited back in 2016 in UAE-SEMA event. Your ToughDog though is not a extreme long travel 4"/6", it still has altered the steering angles, to save your tyres please invest in some more minor kits.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Congratulations to you and your Daughter on a wonderful upgrade/study/project.

Your ToughDog though is not a extreme long travel 4"/6", it still has altered the steering angles, to save your tyres please invest in some more minor kits.

Thank you for the kind words and suggestions

I considered the UCA upgrade, too, along with the suspensions. But I watched several videos where it was mentioned that generally UCA is not needed for lifts less than 2". Only when the lift is more like 3" or 4", UCA becomes a must.

I discussed this with Mr. Thomas of 6th Mile Customs, and he also confirmed that for this suspension, which results in a lift a little less than 50mm, there is no need for a UCA, and the desired camber and caster values can be achieved with the existing UCA. As I am not into off-roading and need the suspensions for regular highways and bad roads with occasional off-roading that may be required in my road trips, I was told it was not necessary to change the UCA.

That is why I did not get the UCA.

[Robin43]

Thank you for making it really easy for me to choose my next upgrade on my fortuner.

I own a 4×2 fortuner 2023 model. I am in a bit of a trouble since the day I installed Black Rhino alloys on the beast. The car originally comes with a 17 inch alloy and I upgraded it to Black Rhino Barage 18 inch

The specs is as follows for new set of alloys

Wheel Size: 18
Wheel Width: 9
Wheel Lug Pattern: 6x139.7 (6x5.5)
Offset: 0
Hub Bore: 106.1
Wheel Load Rating: 2500 Ibs
Wheel Weight: 35 bs
Wheel Model:BRO09

I have been facing ton of issues since the day I installed them. I got this imported from US. Initially the tyres installed was Yoko geolandar 265 60 R18. The ride used to be a lot stiffer and every pothole used to get radiated to the steering wheel. The steering just couldn't feel any lighter or smooth anymore and the ride was always bumpy. Since the YOKO was AT I swapped the tyres with Continental HT with the same dimensions. Apart from a hole in my pocket nothing changed on the ride performance.

Here is thread on that.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...ml#post5870080 (The official alloy wheel show-off thread. Lets see your rims!)

Now I am a bit confused. Am I suppose to change the tyre to 265 65 R18 or should I go with tough dog suspension or should I change the tyre and as well install the suspensions. I spoke with the a service advisor on the issue and they straight away said CONTINENTAL TYRES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED BY TOYOTA. I couldn't find anything on this in the web. I am really stuck with this. And as well the alignment couldn't fit in after upgrading to continental.

I just wish I can get the car back on track

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Robin43

Now I am a bit confused. Am I suppose to change the tyre to 265 65 R18 or should I go with tough dog suspension or should I change the tyre and as well install the suspensions. I spoke with the a service advisor on the issue and they straight away said CONTINENTAL TYRES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED BY TOYOTA. I couldn't find anything on this in the web. I am really stuck with this. And as well the alignment couldn't fit in after upgrading to continental.

I just wish I can get the car back on track

A change from 17" to 18" will definitely stiffen the ride. Even with a suspension change, a 17" will provide much better comfort, compared to 18".

Having said that, before you change the suspensions, what is your tire pressure? Higher tire pressure can also result in a stiffer and bumpier ride. I use a pressure of 30 and found it to be a good balance. Try lowering the tire pressure and see if this helps.

[Robin43]

I always keep it at 28 PSI in all the tyres. Do you think installing the suspensions and changing the tyre from 265 60 r18 to 265 65 r18 or 275 60 r18 might solve the issue? My only concern is the bumpy ride and the steering response to humps and potholes. My steering vibrates vigorously when I drive on potholes or when I am driving on some bad roads.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Robin43

I always keep it at 28 PSI in all the tyres. Do you think installing the suspensions and changing the tyre from 265 60 r18 to 265 65 r18 or 275 60 r18 might solve the issue? My only concern is the bumpy ride and the steering response to humps and potholes. My steering vibrates vigorously when I drive on potholes or when I am driving on some bad roads.

In another thread in our forum someone had mentioned to the effect that every kilo that's added to the 4 corners will be effectively multiplied by 7 when the vehicle is in motion as the wheels and tyres are always on the move.

You have instinctively understood that your stock setup was better, I would suggest looking at the weight of aftermarket wheel and tyre combination, offset etc. The closer you are to stock, the better things are going to be.

I could feel the hesitation in changing direction, as in extra weight to turn in on the steering wheel just by changing between same size HT/AT , probably a few kilos , I am sure a much heavier wheel and tyre combination will have a lot more influence on the steering and suspension set up.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Robin43

My only concern is the bumpy ride and the steering response to humps and potholes. My steering vibrates vigorously when I drive on potholes or when I am driving on some bad roads.

I think what you are describing is the steering feedback. Fortuner comes with a hydraulic steering system that has very good steering feedback. This is where the way the wheels are responding to bad roads is felt on the steering wheel. I don't think changing the wheels or suspensions will remove this feedback.

If you have retained the original 17" wheels, first switch the wheels from 18" to 17" and observe how this changes the comfort levels and steering feedback. My guess is that this will improve the comfort levels, but the steering feedback will remain the same.

Also, by bumpiness do you mean the sideways motion (that feeling of getting thrown around) when the car goes through uneven bad roads? If yes, this is mainly due to the body-on-frame construction of the Fortuner and the high center of gravity. Even with newer suspensions, when going through uneven roads this getting thrown around feeling may reduce a little, but not completely.

So first change the wheels back to 17", and then take a call on changing the suspensions.

EDIT: +1 to Kosfactor. The weight of the aftermarket wheels may also be changing the dynamics. You should be able to verify this by going back to stock wheels.

[Robin43]

@Kosfactor. Thank you for the insights. Since the day I upgraded it's been a lot of sleepless nights. Regretting the decision of getting the alloys.

Originally Posted by graaja

If you have retained the original 17" wheels, first switch the wheels from 18" to 17" and observe how this changes the comfort levels and steering feedback. My guess is that this will improve the comfort levels, but the steering feedback will remain the same.
...
So first change the wheels back to 17", and then take a call on changing the suspensions.

I still have the 17 inch with me. I will install these and try once again. It's really hard to go back to stock after getting used to the looks of car with after market alloys. I am ready to go to any extent to get this issue resolved with the Black rhino alloys on the car. For now I will drive sometime with the 17 ones and see if there is any significant improvement