Donahoe Racing suspension?

[Spotter's Wife]

Anyone seen how cool the Donahoe Racing lift is? I am looking into getting it for my FJ, and wanted opinions first. Here's the link to the website:
http://www.donahoeracing.com/product_results.php?make=Toyota&model=FJ&year=2007&submit=Go+%3E

My husband and I saw the kit at Off Road Impact in Las Vegas, and it looked really strong. So, what do you guys think? Has anyone here installed one? And do you know the retail price, roughly?

[eli1]

You may be looking at approx. $1400.00 retail for the basic package ;front coil overs, rear shocks and rear springs . . . add about 1k for the upper control arms & another 1K for the "chubbies". Do a search on the blue site as an example. Great reputation appears to be the norm . . .

Good Luck

[FJ-Ollie]

I have this on my FJC... I run the front coilovers and the rear shocks w/OME 895 rear coils. I know several people who run the front coilovers with OME 895 rear coils and their shocks... Also a great set up. For all practical purposes this type of set up is all you should need. I have seen people with the DR front coils and the OME rears jumping their rigs 3-4 feet off the ground with no problems (other than the tires rubbing the top of the wheel wells on impact:D ). It would be nice to change the upper control arms, install the jounces, etc. but unless you're running the Baja at 100 mph it's not necessary. All told I have the following in my suspension (note: I did all the install):

DR Front Coilovers (Light Racing): $1050
OME 895 Rear Coils: $140
DR Rear Shocks: $140
Extended Rear Brake Lines: $60
Front End Alignment: $49

I don't jump mine but I do run prerun washes and deserts and push the rock crawling to the limit at which the IFS will allow me. No problems so far and the ride is awsome...

Another option, maybe a little cheaper, is the All-Pro Walker Evens front coilovers with adjustable ride reservoirs. My wheeling buddy runs these and they are nice too. You can reach into the fenderwell and turn a knob for whatever ride comfort you want. He makes his adjustments when airing down and airing up. I think he paid in the neighborhood of $900 for his. The Donahoes are pretuned to the FJ so no adjustments are required. Some people like to be able to adjust theirs though. He runs a 2" spacer on the rear coil with Revtek shocks to accomodate the extra 2"s of lift and extra abuse.

When adding height to the rear end you have to add the extended rear brake lines. When you get into full articulation, the rear brake line get drawn pretty tight if you stay with the factory lines. You run the risk of braking a line on the trail if you don't change them.

Check out www.toyteclifts.com for some decent prices and different options. If you don't want a radical suspension, just go with the basic OME (Old Man Emu) all around. It's cheaper and has been tested over time as one of the most durable suspension systems on the market.

Hope this helps and sorry for the rant...:D

[Spotter's Wife]

Another option, maybe a little cheaper, is the All-Pro Walker Evens front coilovers with adjustable ride reservoirs.

Thanks for the input. We have determined that the All Pro suspension front and rear with adj. res. shocks and ext brake lines is the way to go for our needs. We also opted for the heavy duty upper and lower rear links... you know, in case I need to wheel it real hard on the way to the kids soccer practice!!:laughing:

Jon Bundrant over at All Pro is great to do business with, and has a lot of Toyota expertise, which was a big factor in our decision. We also ordered his front and rear bumpers, in case I hit a pedestrian on the way to soccer practice (j/k)!

I'll upload pics in a couple of weeks when all the mods are complete!

[FJ-Ollie]

Thanks for the input. We have determined that the All Pro suspension front and rear with adj. res. shocks and ext brake lines is the way to go for our needs. We also opted for the heavy duty upper and lower rear links... you know, in case I need to wheel it real hard on the way to the kids soccer practice!!:laughing:

Jon Bundrant over at All Pro is great to do business with, and has a lot of Toyota expertise, which was a big factor in our decision. We also ordered his front and rear bumpers, in case I hit a pedestrian on the way to soccer practice (j/k)!

I'll upload pics in a couple of weeks when all the mods are complete!

Sounds like you'll have a wonderful set-up... I'm working on the bumpers yet... I'm still running stock bumpers...

[Sillyneck]

hey... if you need donahoe at a killer price, pm me.

[Whitewater]

Can't go wrong with either All Pro or Donahoe. The only reason I'd give an edge to Donahoe is because of their real world off-road racing program. They beat what they build.

[Spotter's Wife]

Can't go wrong with either All Pro or Donahoe. The only reason I'd give an edge to Donahoe is because of their real world off-road racing program. They beat what they build.

Awe man... and to think I was this close to entering the Baja 1000!

Hey, if I want real action, I'll take out the buggy!:D

For now, I just wanna be the hot mama in the bitchin' FJ in the school parking lot!

[RedBullJeep]

Cool to hear that you'll be able to do the 100 yards of Glen Helen wash without trashing the running boards in less than 90 minutes now! :dustin:

Good choice...I think both kits are about equal but All Pro does more for our industry so giving them your business is a good thing.

[Spotter's Wife]

...without trashing the running boards... :dustin:

yeah... we threw those in the trash last week...cheap plastic... did I mention the new All Pro Rock Sliders are installed now!! In case I have to take the scenic route to the soccer park, of course.

AND... we just mounted the Walker Evans beadlocks on Pro Comp 35" Xtreme Muds...:D VERY COOL.... pics soon!

[AddictedOffroad]

Can't go wrong with either All Pro or Donahoe. The only reason I'd give an edge to Donahoe is because of their real world off-road racing program. They beat what they build.

And Walker Evans doesn't??? Walker taught Craig Donahoe how to race........... :shaking:

[Spotter's Wife]

so... the build up is complete!

Check it out...:eek:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6820119#post6820119

[dumass]

Cool to hear that you'll be able to do the 100 yards of Glen Helen wash without trashing the running boards in less than 90 minutes now! :dustin:

Good choice...I think both kits are about equal but All Pro does more for our industry so giving them your business is a good thing.

X2

[Lance]

And Walker Evans doesn't??? Walker taught Craig Donahoe how to race........... :shaking:

What does Walker Evans have to do with All Pro? :confused:

I believe you've got your desert gods mistaken... *cough* John Nelson.*cough*

;)

[unimog12chicks]

The All-Pro coilovers use Walker Evans Shocks

[Lance]

The All-Pro coilovers use Walker Evans Shocks

Gotcha... But Walker doesn't do DESIGN work for AllPro. (as far as I know)

[TRD]

Gotcha... But Walker doesn't do DESIGN work for AllPro. (as far as I know)
All Pro is selling Walker Evans "adjustable" shocks

[Beat95YJ]

All Pro is selling Walker Evans "adjustable" shocks

17 position "adjustable" at that. Much better than MX-6 "adjustable" shocks with only 6 positions.

[TRD]

thought you would appreciate that :flipoff2:

The more positions, the more adjustable it is :D

[IRUNROCKS]

stay away from all pro's fj kit, its junk, lots of problems, trust me i know

[IRUNROCKS]

post from tacoterritory.com
there is a big forum about this kit
here is my story
so i went on a mild wheeling trip (sedona). the all pro seems to work pretty good. my wife drives the truck back and forth to work during the week, well i brought it to work on friday, was under my truck on friday (may 11th) found the right rear shock to have puked all the oil out!!, i removed the shock to see if there was any damage to the shock shaft, none found. called all pro, talked to someone other than terry, they said yeah send it in and we will fix it for under warranty if no damage found. i told him i just bought this kit and asked what i was supposed to do in the mean time for a shock, he said just put the stock one back on. i guess my mistake for not keeping stock shocks? i tried to reason with this guy that i just bought this thing and asked if he would send me another one before i took this one off, he laughed, said yeah but it will cost 199$ !!!. needless to say i hung up before i flipped out. so i started looking at everything else. the upper arm makes contact with the coil over bucket side (part of the frame) the spanner nut on the coil over looks like a shit sandwich cause no spanner wrenches fit and the alum that it is made from is really soft. the upper arm is hitting on spring on the coil over also. so i called back and again talked to someone other than terry, he couldnt have cared less about anything. i told him i was going to remove kit and send back for a full refund. he said ok. again like he could have cared less. again i hung up. called back and asked for terry. he was unavailable, left a message for him to call me, (may 14th still no call) so i got on web lookied up walker evans racing and called them about shock leaking and coil over issues. when i told him i had just bought kit and rear shock is puking oil, he told me he would send me a replacement shock at no cost and put a call tag in box to send the leaking shock back at no charge. i talked to this guy for a good 30min about coilovers also. he knows about spanner nut issues, asked if i had any ideas. i said yes told him to buil them like camburgs, i have them on my taco and have never had any issues other than sprigs sagged a little fast, he also said he was having same problem with some of the atv shocks and didnt know what to do.
so i went and wheeled truck again this weekend, ran a dirt road a little faster than before, coil overs seemed valved ok but now you can feel and hear the upper arms hitting the springs and the coil over braket on the frame!!
needless to say when donahoe gets more coilovers in stock im buying a set their and a total chaos upper arms.
so far i think the all pro stuff is junk!!!

[helocat]

Those looking at Donahue kits remember the rear shocks are re-badged Edelbrock welded eye shocks. Nothing like what King, Sway-a-way or Fox uses, a real race built rear shock.

[TRD]

What's wrong with a welding on the eyes? A lot of old Fox shocks (also Bilsteins) have the whole top and eye welded on. The internals all work the same. They just dont have billet caps. So you loose a little bling and a lot of price. But maintain the same performance.

And the shocks are not Re-Badged Edelbrocks. They are custom made for Donahoe to their specifications.

FYI: Edelbrock shocks have also been used on race cars such as 7s trucks and trophy trucks.

[Beat95YJ]

Those looking at Donahue kits remember the rear shocks are re-badged Edelbrock welded eye shocks. Nothing like what King, Sway-a-way or Fox uses, a real race built rear shock.

Please tell me the diffrence between the DR shock and a Fox, SAW or Bilstein 2.0. Please discuss items which relate to the performance of the shock.

I am very interested to hear what you have to say.


(btw, its spelled DONAHOE)

[crusty1007]

:stirthepot:
this ought to be good.
:mr-t:

[Spotter's Wife]

I'm no mechanic, but my .02.... I'm simply very pleased with our All Pro shocks (the Walker Evans adjustable reservoir thingies). We now have over 600 miles of trails on them, and they are fantastic.

I can even adjust the shocks myself, and I'm just a mom. At the trail head, 4 clicks toward "Soft" and we can hardly feel washboards. Back at the pavement, 4 clicks toward "Hard" and we're back in bid-nez!

All that other stuff is just rambling on to me... these are simple to use, do the job, and take a beating. :D