ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks For Our Land Cruiser

We’ve added a substantial amount of off-road gear to our 1994 Toyota Land Cruiser. Thus, our daily driver/trail rig SUV has gained weight. Additionally, we’re pointing our rig down tougher trails at higher speeds. Consequently, we desperately needed to upgrade our Cruiser’s shock absorbers to account for its heavier weight and more aggressive wheeling. For this, we turned to ADS (Arizona Desert Shocks) for the company’s premium 2.5 Direct Fit Race Shocks to replace our smaller 2.0 shocks. ADS developed the shock with Slee Offroad, hence the Slee co-branding on the shocks. Slee currently offers the largest range of specialty products for the 80/100/200 Series Land Cruisers in the United States. The company is also a leader in suspension systems in the space. We bolted the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks onto our SUV and pointed the rig to the Rubicon Trail to test ’em out. Here’s our report.

The ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks for our Land Cruiser use remote reservoirs on the front shocks and piggyback reservoirs on the rear shocks. These shocks have a 2.5-inch-diameter body and are designed to simply bolt in.

About ADS

ADS, based in Tucson, Arizona, has been building products in the U.S. since 1992. The company offers over 50 bolt-on OE shock applications as well as universal shocks for custom builds. OE replacement shocks are available in bypass and coilover designs with oversize shock bodies ranging from 2-1/8 to 3 inches in diameter. ADS also offers universal coilovers and air shocks for lightweight trail vehicles or race rigs. Along with up to 5-1/4-inch-body, 7-tube external bypass shocks as found on Baja rigs and Trophy Trucks. The company can also build custom shocks for racing applications. These include 3-, 4-, 5-, or 7-tube bypass shocks in a wide variety of body diameters and stroke lengths. But that’s not all. ADS also offers heavy-duty sway bar end links, billet control arms, tie-rod ends, hydraulic bumpstops, and more.

Adding off-road gear to our 4×4 meant an increase in overall vehicle weight. This had a domino effect, requiring attention to other areas, such as the vehicle’s shock absorbers.

How Our Land Cruiser Got Heavier

Contributing to our Land Cruisers weight gain is a Cascadia Vehicle Tents rooftop tent, G-Fab Motorsports custom rocksliders, and a Warn VR EVO 10-S winch on a Bell Fabrication Front Bumper-Winch Cradle. Additionally, the interior of the rig has a custom rear drawer system packed with gear, and there’s a Dometic CFX3 electric cooler. You know, common off-roading/overlanding gear. Furthermore, the SUV is outfitted with Dobinsons Spring & Suspension coil springs to provide lift and counter the heavier weight of the vehicle. The Land Cruiser rolls on meaty 37×12.50R17 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires mounted on Method Race Wheels 105 beadlock wheels.

ADS 2.5 Direct Fit Race Shocks

We were stoked to find that ADS offers 2.5 (2.5 refers to the 2.5-inch-diameter shock body) Direct Fit Race Shocks for our rig. The company says these shocks are top-of-the-line shocks that are engineered to deliver maximum control and stability. These shocks are crafted from high-grade materials, and they use advanced damping technology to produce a smooth ride. Furthermore, the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks are a bolt-on design that seamlessly integrate with the existing suspension system.

Compared to a 2.0 shock, the 2.5 has a larger piston surface area and more oil volume. Additionally, the ADS shocks for our rig have remote reservoirs that help with cooling. All these things combine to create a shock that will perform better under our heavy rig whether we’re rockcrawling or scooting down a trail.

These four photos show the highlights of the front install. With the old shocks removed, the team at Fit Garage prepped and installed the new ADS shocks. Installation was easy and all necessary hardware was included. The front shocks are sold as a pair but did not include mounting brackets for the reservoirs. We purchased Slee Offroad reservoir shock mounts that are specific to the front of 1991 to 1997 model year Land Cruisers. Each bracket simply bolts to existing holes in the top coil bucket, so no drilling was required. Clamps are included to affix the reservoir to the bracket. Note that the remote-reservoir hose is routed clear of heat sources and pinch points. It’s also worth noting that the upper mount of each shock’s stud/shaft is machined for a socket or wrench, which makes tightening to specification an easy task.

What We Chose

For up front, we chose ADS P/N 250-S1257-000. These shocks are for Land Cruisers with 4 inches of lift, and they have remote reservoirs. They’re sold as a pair and have a stroke of 9.5 inches. For the rear of our rig, we chose ADS P/N 250-S1156-000. These shocks fit a Land Cruiser with 2.5 inches of lift. Like the front shocks, they’re sold as a pair. The stroke length of the rear shocks is 10 inches, and they have piggyback reservoirs. Each shock has a UV-stable ceramic powdercoated steel shock body, an 0.875-inch-diameter hard chrome-plated steel shock shaft, and spacers machined from 303 stainless steel. Additionally, each shock contains premium full-synthetic shock oil, is fully rebuildable, and is made in the USA with American components.

ADS also offers front-application Direct Fit Race Shocks for the 1994 Land Cruiser with 6 inches of lift. Rear shocks are also available for 4 and 6 inches of lift. Furthermore, the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks are available for a variety of other 4x4s. The stroke range varies by application. It’s also worth noting that some shocks are available with a compression adjuster.

These four photos show highlights of the easy rear install. The factory upper mounting plates are reused, so the team at Fit Garage removed each from the old shocks and transferred them to the new ADS units. Because the rear shocks use piggyback reservoirs it’s simply a bolt-in-and-done install.

Fitting The Shocks At Fit Garage

With the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks unboxed we were instantly impressed at the top-notch quality of all the components. The installation of each shock was straightforward and easy. We turned to the team at Fit Garage in Bend, Oregon, to bolt in the parts while we documented the install. The company is well-versed in Toyota 4x4s and four-wheel drive in general. It offers everything from standard vehicle services to full-blown vehicle builds. The shop made short work of the install and ensured every item was installed perfectly.

Driving Impressions Of The ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks

Following the install of the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks, we pointed the Cruiser to the Rubicon Trail. During the drive from our home base in Oregon, we were impressed at the SUVs ride. It was plush, but not soft, and overall handling was vastly improved. The Cruiser’s front swaybar was removed long ago to improve front suspension travel. With that said, the new ADS shocks made the SUV more predictable on the curvy roads leading to Loon Lake, where we began the Rubicon Trail. On the Rubicon, as we crawled over the rocks, the shocks performed impeccably, with no weird unloading or other quirks. And on the trail back to the Tahoe staging area the shocks swallowed up the water crossings and washouts with ease. We felt like heroes as we maneuvered through the obstacles at speed thanks to the ADS shocks.

The Bottom Line

Since installing the ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks on our Land Cruiser we’ve logged nearly 1,200 road miles and completed the Rubicon Trail. We’re very impressed at the shocks performance both on- and off-road and at low and high speeds. Among other things, the SUV feels more planted, and the shocks do a stellar job soaking up terrain. They’re smooth through the shock stroke in both compression and rebound and there’s no crashing or popping. We feel the tuning is perfect on these shocks. Overall, we’re very pleased with the performance. The ADS Direct Fit Race Shocks are rock solid, just like the Rubicon.