That being said, I was intrigued by Elka’s jump into the market as I have never heard of them prior to seeing a couple of social media posts in the past months.That being said, I was intrigued by Elka’s jump into the market as I have never heard of them prior to seeing a couple of social media posts in the past months.
The Install:
As I said earlier, I can’t count how many different options for IFS Toyota suspension I’ve had the chance to work with. And after installing the Elka setup, it’shard to beat.
Hardware:
It is really nice to see a company making a reservoir mount with some thought put into it and not just another laser cut plate and some hose clamps to mount it up. Elka’s is a billet aluminum 2-piece hinged clamp which is going to basically eliminate the common failure of the typical hose clamps snapping. Just about every other reservoir mount I’ve used, italways seemed like a bit of an afterthought. Props for putting some thought and design into an often overlooked,but essential piece.
The hardware to bolt on the coilovers in the front is a grade 10 fine thread flange bolt,which is much nicer than the typical 3/8-16 course thread standard bolt that you will typically see in most coilovers. The amount that these bolts thread into the upper mount is also more than double a number of others,which is appreciated as I am one ofthe lucky ones that has had a bolt pull out from the top mount during some hard wheeli....er....daily driving. It’s nice to know that Elka took some steps to mitigate that problem. If I had one thing I could change, it would be nice if the bolt head was 14mm like the factory bolt instead of a 15mm but that’s me being overly OCD and it’snot a common bolt size.
Coilover adjustment:
Let’s all agree on something. Adjusting coilovers just suck. It’s not easy. Any person or company that tells you it is, they’re lying. With that being said, I’m going to praise Elka once again here. Instead of using a spanner wrench that the tooth snaps, or the wrench handle bends, or you can see how you’re supposed to line it up, or you can’t adjust it without taking the tire off (see what I mean when I said they all sucked?), Elka did it right. Loosen the Allen head pinch bolt a quarter turn. Use the supplied straight punch (that is machined to a perfect fit) and spin the fine thread collar to your preferred height. By far the easiest coilover I’ve adjusted. Props again.
Damping adjustment:
Up until now, I’ve only known one other company have an option for a high speed as well as low speed compression adjustments. Elka adding theirs to the mix is a welcome addition.Why is adjusting them independently important you ask? Well I’ll tell you. Since the dawn of time. People have argued over what is better. Progressive valving or digressive valving. Which one is better? Well just like birthdays(briefly explain how so),everyone has an opinion on the matter (and I only know yours because of Facebook).
To sum it up, it all has to do with how fast the shock is moving. For example, if you hit a large speed bump at your favorite mall whist going at a high rate of speed, that shock is going to compress rather quickly. This would fall under the “high speed” definition. If you take a corner or drive at a more reasonable rate of speed through a residential intersection, that would fall under the “low speed” definition.
Progressive shocks are softer under low speed and they get firmer as the shock speed increases.
Digressive? You guessed it. Firmer at lower speeds and they get softer as the shaft speed increases.
Now everyone and their great grand uncles mother has an opinion about why one is better than the other and I’m not going to get into it now. But in reality, it all boils down to what you are using your truck for and how/where it gets driven. With having both high and low speed adjustment, you are able to bias the shocks to either progressive valving or digressive valving by just turning a knob. How neat is that? Pretty darn neat if you ask me.
Final thoughts:
Now you just read me spouting off about how cool of a job I think Elka did blah blah blah yada yada yada. But that’s not to say it’s perfect,and I can think of two things I would change.
First, the rear shocks could be a bit longer. My Tacoma is running with a 1.5 inch 3 leaf Add-A-Leaf and that’s about the most you will want to do while still having some down travel in the shock. If you are running an aftermarket leaf pack or a shackle flip, the rear Elka shocks are probably not going to be the best option for your setup.
Second, up the size of the shock shaft from 3/4to 7/8 (make smaller too) and I’ll be satisfied. Is 3/4sufficient? Sure. But over built stuff gives me confidence to go have fun and not worry about having to return home on a trailer or leave the truck behind to make a spare parts run. Leaning on friends can only happen for so long.
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