Dobinsons MRR Suspension For 3rd Gen Tundra – Review

A Premium, 3-Way Adjustable Lift Kit With Supporting Mods

Since the 3rd Gen hit the scene, many modifications and upgrades have become available. However, when embarking upon off-road adventures, selecting the right suspension setup can be one of the most critical parts of your build.

The Tundra’s factory suspension is indeed capable enough to bring you to many places, especially the TRD Pro’s. However, investing in suspension upgrades rewards you with optimized ride comfort and capability across all types of terrain. With enhanced suspension, you’ll navigate rugged trails with greater ease, improved stability, and control.

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• Dobinsons MRR Lift Kit: Check Price

Kit Overview

Originally, my 3rd Gen Tacoma had a Fox suspension system. It performed well in every situation I could throw at it. For the past year, I have been running Icon’s Stage 7 package, which was also very capable. As you can tell, I love experimenting with different suspension setups. So, when I heard about Dobinsons’ new MRR kit, I had to try it out.

I appreciate the customization, adaptability, and reputation for making some of the toughest components in the world. Their MRR suspension kit comes with all the bells and whistles; 3-way adjustability for fast and slow riding; can be fully tuned to your needs before shipping; and is precision-engineered to insane specifications.

My kit came as a 3/2 front + rear lift and included were upper and lower adjustable control arms, diff drop, and an adjustable panhard bar – a complete suspension package. There is a ton of available customization for any application.

My Setup

After a short wait, this package of goodies awaited me in the driveway:

• Front Shocks with adjustable remote reservoirs – MRA59 A446 3-Way Adjustable
• Front Springs – C59-838 (75mm – 3″) 0-110lb Load
• Front Differential Drop
• Rear Shocks with adjustable remote reservoirs – MRA59-A885 MRR 3-Way Adjustable SLV LT
• Rear Springs – C59-841V (50mm-2″) 0-110Lb Load
• Adjustable Rear Panhard Rod – PR59-1421
• Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms – WA59-559K
• Adjustable Rear Upper Control Arms – WA59-571K
• Adjustable Rear Sway Bar End Links – SE59-591
• Fittings and Misc.

Front Coilovers

The overall installation flows like most other suspension kits for the 3rd Gen Tundra and is entirely doable at home. It’s like Legos for adults. Take it slow and follow the instructions.

A few points to note:

• The coilovers come wrapped in cardboard padding. Leave this on throughout the installation process to protect the beautiful teal paint.
• Wear gloves during installation and keep some cleaners and rags handy.
• Get a harness bracket to secure the reservoir hose. I believe they normally supply one, but mine didn’t come with it. That hose is somewhat long and it’ll flop around if not secured.

Adjustability

Dobinsons boasts a 60mm CNC machined high flow billet aluminum race piston and a 3mm thick heavy duty DOM seamless 66mm O.D. shock body precision honed to +/- 0.04mm with upgraded 3 stage FKM-HNBR sealing system. In layman’s terms, it comprises bomb-proof, race-proven, expert-built components. If you compare the OEM shock and spring to these, you’ll immediately see the difference in size.

Furthermore, all four shocks are 3-way adjustable for a variety of applications. There are two knobs on the external reservoir: purple and black. Each adjusts the compression zones for your ride type:

• 10-Stage High-Speed Compression – For aggressive, high-speed off-roading through ruts and holes
• 20-Stage Low-Speed Compression – For creepy crawling and cornering
• 15-Stage Rebound – Control your coils, prevent bucking

As noted, these adjustments are available on all four shocks. A simple manual comes with the kit, instructing you how to dial in each for your setup, terrain, and driving style. This allows serious customization for any terrain.

Unique Reservoir Hose Attachment

Unique to Dobinsons is the lower point of attachment for the reservoir hose, as well as a 360-degree swivel. I’ve personally found this to be super helpful when lifting my Tundra, let us say, beyond the normal envelope of recommended parameters. This causes the upper control arm to articulate down and inwards, close to the coil springs.

If your aftermarket coil-over reservoir hose attaches at the top of the shock, the UCA may rub on the hose at full droop, causing serious damage and malfunction over time. But with a lower attachment point, this problem is solved.

Locking Collar Coil Seat

Two locking collar rings are located at the bottom of the coil-over. The kit also comes with a spanner wrench for adjusting these. There is about 3/8″ of thread space for a total of close to an inch in adjustability downward. Dobinsons recommends taking the coilover off the truck and using a coilover press before adjusting.

Front Differential Drop

Pictured above is the front differential underneath the bottom of my truck. Dobinsons recommends a differential drop kit when lifting the front 3″ or more. They sell a kit for this and it is easy to install, involving two brackets and bolts. This lowers the front diff. and reduces the axle and CV boot angle. I measured 13 degrees of axle angle on the 3″ lift with the front diff drop.

The only downside to dropping the front differential is that it is now the lowest point in your front end. So, if you plan to rock crawl, I would advise skipping this option and going with Toyota’s extended axles (the red ones). Or add some kind of compatible skid plate.

To install, loosen, and remove both brackets, which will cause the forward side of the front differential to lower down about an inch and fit into the new bracketry. You can support the differential with your hand as the rear bracket and two axles will be intact.

Rear Shocks & Coils

The rear shocks come with the same stout build as the front. I appreciate the direct attachment coupling and shorter hose length. The hoses are ParkerTM braided high-pressure hoses while the reservoirs are 60mm in diameter and made from 6063 aluminum. From the outside, the hoses appear to be a simple rubber compound, but that is just a cover for the braided line inside.

Also on the insides are a T6 6061, height adjustable spring seat, and a lightweight CNC machined low friction floating piston. A lot is going on that we don’t see, but as is often with real performance, the quality is in the details.

Like the front coil-overs, the rear shocks have an external reservoir with multi-compression adjustment: high speed, low speed/crawling, and bucking prevention. You can position the reservoir in an easy-to-access orientation for future adjustments. The shocks also come with a rubber protection boot, but I usually leave these off.

Track Bar

The rear coils I got were part number C59-841V (50mm-2″) – 0-110Lb load. These lift your truck 2″ in the rear with little to no added weight in the bed.

Because of the arc curvature of the rear panhard bar, this 2″ lift will push your rear tires to the driver’s side, throwing it off track with the front tires. Hence, an adjustable panhard bar is necessary to bring the rear tires back in line with the front. Dobinsons’ adjustable panhard bar is the slightly angled horizontal bar behind the axle in the picture above.

Measure the distance of both tires relative to a particular point on your truck (any point, be consistent) before installing the C59-841V springs. Then, measure that distance afterward. Divide the distance in two and add that number to the length of the OEM track bar.

If that’s confusing: the 2″ lift pushed my tires 3/4″ to the left (driver’s side). So, I lengthened the panhard bar to push the tires back towards the passenger side by half that distance, 3/8″. It’s not much, but having rear tires off track with the front can cause major ride quality issues. Lastly, I must say that this bar is way more stout and heavy-duty than the OEM bar.

Rear Links

As you lift the truck, the rear axle turns upwards towards the front of the vehicle. This places the drive train at an angle it was not designed for and can sometimes lead to driveline vibrations. In rare cases, the truck can become misaligned. The adjustable links allow you to push and pull the top and/or bottom of the rear axle to get it back to an optimal angle.

Manipulating these links is quite straightforward. Dobinsons recommends making one-turn adjustments until you find the right setting for your setup. For my rear 2″ lift, I adjusted the links to push the rear axle down 2 degrees, which is what I ran with prior setups at this rear height. So far, it’s holding up rock solid.

Dobinsons’ panhard bar and links are made from HSLA (High Strength Low Alloy) steel and have a 40mm OD and 6mm wall thickness. To give you a real-world idea of the difference: the OEM upper control arm weighs 6.2 lbs while the Dobinsons weighs 8 lbs. The OEM lower control arm weighs 8.2 lbs while the Dobinsons weighs 15.6 lbs. These adjustable control arms determine the pinion angle and alignment of the rear axle with the frame and lift.

Sway Bar Links

Last but not least in this awesome package are the adjustable rear sway bar links. When lifting your truck, the rear sway bar will pivot to an unnatural angle, making performance suboptimal. Experienced off-roaders will say that rear sway bar stability is crucial, removing the front sway bar but leaving the rear one on.

So, it makes sense to drop this rear sway bar back to factory height with adjustable links. I set these to be 2″ longer than the stock ones. As with every other component in this kit, they’re super stout.

Final Thoughts

This is the most complete suspension overhaul I have put on any of my rigs. Having handled each part myself, I now feel more confident in my truck’s capabilities than ever. After putting it through some trails, I can honestly say this is the smoothest aftermarket suspension I have ever driven.

I attribute this to the high degree of adjustability at all four corners. The steering feels tight, the articulation is meticulous, and the truck feels solid yet buttery over rough terrain at any speed.

Pictured above, you see the lower control arm angles are steep but not nearly maxed out for a true 3″ lift. If you look closely, the front diff drop is visible, hanging down about 1″ below the front cross member. It’s a weak spot, as I mentioned above. However, my front axles are at optimal angles for long-term durability.

I lifted the front end off the ground to let the suspension fully droop and check that the axles, tires, and bearings all spin freely. This confirms that the 3″ front lift is a safe height (with a diff. drop) for normal operations.

The lift leaves a slight rake that only catches the scrutinizing eye, but the overall stance is assertive and confident. My truck is on 35s currently but it could easily fit 37s. Overall, the MRR kit has been a pleasure both on and off-road. It is super stout and buttery smooth, and I’ll be rocking this kit for a long while.