Dobinsons MRR Follow Up from Shock Value S3

Summary

In this video, Overland Outfitters shares their experience with Dobinsons MRR shocks tested in the Shock Value series. Initially, they faced challenges with adjustments due to ordering long-travel shocks instead of the standard ones, leading to a compromised test. The video discusses the importance of shock adjustments, the setback of using long-travel shocks without bump stop spacers, and compares Dobinsons to zoned shocks like TRD Pro Fox and Falcon shocks. Despite the setbacks, they discuss the potential of Dobinsons shocks for specific setups and how they might still hold their place in the market.

Highlights

• A mishap with Dobinsons MRR due to ordering long-travel shocks 🔄
• Blind testing without proper adjustments led to unexpected results 🕶️
• Realization of long-travel shocks needing bump stop spacers 🚧
• Comparison with zoned shocks like TRD Pro Fox and Falcons 🦊
• Potential of Dobinsons shocks despite initial testing struggles 🌟

Key Takeaways

• Adjustments are crucial for shock performance! 🎛️
• Long-travel shocks need proper setups to shine. 🚙
• Even great shocks can be improperly tested. 😅
• Different shocks have unique tuning needs. 🔧
• Quality shocks may still not beat specialized zoned shocks. 🎯

Overview

The video begins with a confession about the mishap during the Dobinsons MRR shocks test in the Shock Value series. Enthusiasts at Overland Outfitters realized they ordered long-travel shocks, causing issues without bump stop spacers. Initial tests misrepresented the shocks' capabilities due to improper setups, leading to a retest for fairer evaluation.

As they explored the Dobinsons MRR further, it became evident that while these shocks offer great build quality, their performance heavily relies on correct installation and adjustment. The team highlighted the contrast between Dobinsons and zoned shocks like TRD Pro Fox, which provide better control due to their zoned features. Despite challenges, Dobinsons still shows potential if adjusted correctly.

The video's key takeaway is the importance of understanding shock setups and adjustments. While Dobinsons failed to outperform zoned shocks in the test, their flexible adjustment options could be advantageous for certain setups. Adjusters can either enhance or diminish performance, emphasizing the need for experience in tuning them effectively. The video leaves viewers hoping for another chance to test Dobinsons with optimal configurations.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Confession The chapter titled 'Introduction and Confession' revolves around a confession made about an error in a recent test of the 'doinson' gadget related to its shock value. The protagonist admits to having possibly messed up during the blind testing phase of the shock value test. The chapter transitions by focusing on the details and implications of these unintended actions.
• 00:30 - 02:30: Explaining the Mistake during Testing The chapter titled 'Explaining the Mistake during Testing' describes a scenario where the team conducted blind tests on mid-budget shocks, specifically the Doinson MRRS. Since these shocks are adjustable, they faced challenges because they couldn't tune them during the blind test. The team attempted to contact the manufacturer, Dominson, to get the correct specifications for an accurate evaluation.
• 02:30 - 04:00: Discovery of Incorrect Shock Length and Bump Stop Issue During testing, it was discovered that the shock absorbers were not functioning correctly. Initially, they were set too stiff, likely due to incorrect adjustments, suspected to be the Dobson's. Retesting with recommended settings made them too soft. Both attempts resulted in unsatisfactory performance, indicating issues with the shock absorbers. The testing concluded without resolving the issues with the Dobinson's.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Consequences of Incorrect Setup - Lack of Uptravel In this chapter, the narrator discusses the issue of incorrect vehicle shock absorber setups leading to inadequate uptravel. During a review process, they found that the shocks were too long, causing the shaft to bottom out into the shock body. This chapter highlights the discovery of this setup flaw and emphasizes the importance of proper shock absorber adjustments.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Limitations of Long Travel Shocks without Proper Adjustments This chapter discusses the two versions of a specific shock absorber: the long travel shock and the standard length shock. The long travel shock is designed for vehicles with a two to three inch lift and requires a two-inch bump stop for proper functionality. In contrast, the standard length shock is suitable for normal vehicle setups without the need for such modifications. The chapter emphasizes the importance of using the correct shock type for the specific vehicle setup to avoid performance issues.
• 06:00 - 08:00: Desire to Retest with Standard Shocks The speaker reflects on their mistake of ordering long travel shocks for their vehicle without considering the impact on the bump stop spacer. They were using a Daver Addie on stock leaf springs, which provides 1 and 1/2 inches of lift. The speaker did not realize that the long travel shock would limit the upward travel by 2 inches, as this was not something they had initially considered.
• 08:00 - 11:00: Challenges of Adjustable Shocks for End Users The chapter discusses the challenges faced by end users when dealing with adjustable shocks, specifically when integrating them with their vehicles. The transcript highlights a scenario where utilizing a 2-inch bump slider is deemed inefficient. It explains how lifting a truck by 2 to 3 inches with leaf springs, along with adding a bump stop spacer, does not genuinely provide the advertised long travel. Instead, this setup merely shifts the travel range, resulting in only a minimal gain in droop, about 1 inch, leading to dissatisfaction among users seeking genuine extended travel.
• 11:00 - 15:00: Comparing to Zoned Shocks (TRD Pro Foxes and Falcons) This chapter discusses the importance of uptravel in the suspension of trucks, particularly in the context of comparing different shock setups. The emphasis is on how uptravel affects the performance of the vehicle, especially when using stock leaf spring configurations. The text critiques the idea of using bump stop spacers, which limit uptravel, highlighting a misunderstanding about the effects of stock setups and lifts. The discourse reflects on the benefits of modifying the suspension to achieve greater uptravel, which is considered crucial for optimizing the vehicle's capabilities.
• 15:00 - 18:00: Potential Value of Dobinsons MRR Shocks The chapter discusses the discomfort experienced due to shocks bumping out on themselves without bump stop spacers. It suggests that adding a 2-inch bump stop spacer would not improve the ride quality. The chapter concludes that the issue of bumping out too early is due to insufficient uplift.
• 18:00 - 20:00: Conclusion and Apology The chapter discusses the challenges and considerations in selecting the right shock absorbers for a vehicle. It advises against using long travel shocks unless shock relocation is performed to maximize the functionality of leaf springs. The transcript suggests that long travel shocks may require more space than available without compromising the setup, hence recommending either shock relocation or to use shocks that fit the stock position.

Dobinsons MRR Follow Up from Shock Value S3 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 well guys I have a bit of a confession to make What was that [Music] i may have screwed up the doinson test in shock value So yeah All right let's just talk about it So basically we did shock value where we blind test a bunch of shocks
• 00:30 - 01:00 without knowing which ones are on it And this time we did mid-budget shocks series 3 If you want to check it out check it out right now But one of the sets of shocks that we did was the Doinson MRRS So basically we tested these shocks and because they're an adjustable shock and we're doing a blind test we couldn't dial them in So I had reached out to Dominson's to try and get the right spec so we could give them
• 01:00 - 01:30 their best shot They emailed me some specs ran those immediately We're like "These are way too stiff These are probably the Dobson's and they're adjusted wrong." So we ended up running them again blind And we ran them at the suggested instruction specs And when we ran them that time they were way too soft And so they were really bad both times So we were like you know what after the whole test was done we're like okay the Dobinson's we didn't get to do
• 01:30 - 02:00 them a fair chance give them a fair shot So let's do a totally separate video where we try and dial these things in as best as we can to make them ride good and then we'll give them a fair review So that's what we did However when we were out there shooting that we made a discovery the shocks were just simply too long The shock body was too long that the shaft was bottoming out into the shock body So this is where I have a bit of a
• 02:00 - 02:30 confession to make and that is that there are two versions of this shock There's a long travel one which is the one we had that is longer and then there's a standard length one which is what this one actually is So it's a bit shorter and it's meant for you know a normal setup Whereas the long travel one is meant for a two to 3 in lift but you're supposed to run 2-in bump stop
• 02:30 - 03:00 spacers I didn't know about the bump stop spacer thing because we were running a Daver Addie on the stock leaf springs which gives 1 and 1/2 in of lift And uh I didn't think that you would run a long travel shock and be limiting your uptra by 2 in I just wasn't even something that I even thought would be a thing So that's where I messed up I I accidentally ordered the long travel ones not thinking that they were just
• 03:00 - 03:30 going to be bottoming out on themselves because to me running a 2in bump sler is kind of goofy And basically how they're designed is they're designed that you lift your truck by 2 to 3 in with your leaf springs and then you put a bump stop spacer So you're not actually getting long travel like how they advertise You're actually just moving the range of travel from here to here Maybe you gain like 1 in or so of droop
• 03:30 - 04:00 but you're losing up travel and you're gaining a bit of down travel And to me uptravel is the most important thing you can have in the back of your truck That's why everybody does spring under so you can get more uptra So uptra is super important I didn't even comprehend that you would be limiting that with a with a stock leaf spring setup Like you know 2 to 3 in lift Yeah you gained some uptra That's sweet And now you've just limited it with these bump stop spacers
• 04:00 - 04:30 So anyway all that to say we did not run bump stop spacers and the shocks were bumping out on themselves which was obviously making it super uncomfortable The thing is is I don't think adding a 2-in bump stop spacer which doesn't come with the kit would have made the ride any better It would have been just as bad because we're still bumping out too early We didn't have enough uptra And even if we had lifted it 2 in instead of
• 04:30 - 05:00 1 and 1/2 in it's still not enough uptra I I just think that if you're running these shocks personally I would just avoid these long travel ones And if you actually want to get the most out of your leaf springs you just have to do a shock relocation There's physically not enough space to run a longer shock without limiting something and compromising your your setup So if you want the most shock relocation otherwise I would just run something like this that just fits in the stock spot and just deal with the
• 05:00 - 05:30 fact that you're losing some down travel But anyway that's how Doson runs it So I didn't quite get that and I got the wrong shocks and they were limiting the travel I would really love to test these shocks again with the standard travel version um with the fronts and everything and just try it again and see what happens and get them adjusted and do a whole video about how to adjust them and everything But the problem is we already
• 05:30 - 06:00 sold the original set that we had tested and I can't I can't buy another set I just these videos unfortunately I just can't buy another set So if Dobson wants us to do another video I'd love to do that We'll like do a whole video going through how to adjust them and everything but otherwise I we just can't justify buying a whole another set of shocks for this So unfortunately we have to kind of leave it at that But like we talked about in shock value having
• 06:00 - 06:30 adjustable shock is good and bad It really depends on you how you use your truck and how into this whole thing you are because what having adjusters does it is it kind of leaves the performance of the shock up to the end user So these could be valved kind of bad and if you don't know how to adjust these properly the ride is going to be terrible you might not even know like you might not be into suspension enough or have enough
• 06:30 - 07:00 experience to adjust them correctly and you're just gonna lose out on the performance that's available to you So that's the problem with adjusters and if the valving in the shock is way off it makes it really hard to adjust right So you know for me I prefer to start with like a very solid tune in the shock and then do fine minor adjustments with this whereas these are kind of set up that they have huge range of adjustment which is sweet that they like the adjusters
• 07:00 - 07:30 really work but it lets them like you can make these shocks way way way too soft for any Tacoma even if it's totally stock Though you can stiffen them up super stiff if you're running a lot of weight So that's cool But I would prefer to start with a base tune that if you leave it totally open would run great on a stock truck and then you can dial them up from there instead of having this setup where you can really mess it up in
• 07:30 - 08:00 both directions Here are my feelings on the Doson MRS after doing our tests after doing this subsequent video and everything I know about them I still think that they are a really good shock They have great build quality Everything else about them is sweet And for the price which we actually got wrong in the video um I looked it up on a website that listed them at like $4,000 something but actually on's main website which is probably the one I
• 08:00 - 08:30 should have checked duh uh is $2820 These things are a pretty good value with the adjusters and everything They give you a lot more flexibility than any of the other shocks we tested in this kind of price range were But at the end of the day do I think that these would actually beat the TRD Pro Foxes or the Falcons i think even if we had the proper length shocks and had the time to dial them all in perfectly I still don't
• 08:30 - 09:00 think they would beat them And that's because it's very very hard for a straight smooth body shock to compete with a zoned shock And what I mean by that is the Fox TRD Pro shocks are an internal bypass which allows you to have a compression zone at the top So when you're bumping out super hard it slows the shaft speed down so you don't get that bang into the bump stops They slow down nicely and then you hit the bump And they also give you a top out zone So
• 09:00 - 09:30 when the shocks fully extend instead of extending going bang they just extend and then slow down shaft speed and they slowly get to the top of their stroke But then in the middle they can be tuned softer so they have a really nice ride zone Whereas with a straight smooth body shock you either have to valve it firm for those big hits or softer for the normal hits and you'll never have that top out zone regardless So it's it's really tough to get the
• 09:30 - 10:00 same kind of performance out of a normal shock as you would out of a bypass So that's how the Foxes work The Falcons they're also a zoned shock but not with a bypass They run a like a foam bump on the shaft So when you compress it the last couple inches of stroke slow it down just mechanically with that with that rubber bump And then on the inside when you top out they actually have a spring right here So as the piston tops
• 10:00 - 10:30 out here it hits that spring and slows down So it's like a really cheap cool way to make a zone shock without having to do all the engineering and craziness of a bypass that and that's why they are so good in that mid-budget range So they still have that really sweet ride zone in the middle but then when you hit the bump it slows down at the end and when you extend it slows down at the end of that stroke So I just don't think that these even if we got them dialed in properly would be able to compete It's
• 10:30 - 11:00 just we saw the same thing in the first shock value series we did when we tested the 8112s and they beat everything else And that's because those were the only zoned shocks in the setup So you know it's just really hard for a smooth body shock So I think at the end if we had dialed them in really nicely probably they would have got third but we won't know unless we're able to test them again I still think that these have their place If you for instance have a
• 11:00 - 11:30 stock truck that you want to put shocks on knowing that you later want to put like a big heavy front bumper with a winch or a camper or whatever you want to like really boost up the weight of your truck These will give you that flexibility where you can start out soft and then just crank up the compression without having to revalve them or change setups or anything like that That is really cool I don't think you're going to get the very best performance possible out of these compared to the
• 11:30 - 12:00 others that have bypass zones but that doesn't mean that they're a bad shock Like we can still get great performance out of a smooth body shock So yeah I mean you just have to make sure that you know what you're doing when you tune these because it's very easy to make it terrible as uh as we saw in the shock light test because you know regardless of the bottoming out and everything else you know they still were way too firm or way too soft So it does
• 12:00 - 12:30 allow you to adjust them to be bad You know even if this was correct they could still be really bad So you got to make sure that you know what you're doing when you adjust these And uh you know maybe if we get another set we'll be able to to do that kind of video And so I'm hoping for that but we'll see what happens So that's it from me I really appreciate you watching this video I'm sorry that I kind of flubbed the test a little bit in that way I hope you'll
• 12:30 - 13:00 forgive me but you know we all make mistakes and uh that was one of them So there we go That's kind of what we ran into And yeah if you want to see more videos from us let us know Love to see it See you in the next one Bye