Help me choose new tires and coils

Okay, so after doing a lot of research, I've decided that I'm gonna get some billy 5100's all around. I can't for the life of me figure out what coils I should get. I'm not keen to lift it much, but wouldn't mind lifting it an inch or so. It's only 2wd on an open diff, so I'm not going to be rock crawling or mudding. I've looked into eibachs, but my understanding is they will give me a 3" lift, which I don't need or want. I also looked into OME 881's, and those look like those would force me to get the truck lifted by 1.75" to 2".


Next topic. Tires

My tires are frighteningly bald, but I just got paid and want to get new ones ASAP. What should I get for a prerunner that is primarily driven on the road, and might be used for occasional off roading? The tires I thought would be good for this would be Firestone Destination A/T. I have All Season tires right now and they've served me pretty well in the past. Basically, what do you guys recommend?

Also might be important to point out I'm on 15" rims. There don't seem to be a lot of options (I'm probably just using the internet wrong, lol)


I put a ton of effort into trying to figure this out on my own, I lurked the suspension and tire forums, but both seem to be dominated by 2nd gens that are into heavy off roading with armor. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't have the $$$ that all these guys seem to have for suspension and tires.

 

If you can't tell, I'm really indecisive on the whole coil thing. Let me see if I can explain it better, because even I don't understand what I wrote.

I need new coils. I'm on the stock coils after 150k, and they're shot. Through looking at them, it seems that if I buy new coils, I HAVE to lift the truck. For example, if I went with 5100's and eibachs, with the billies set to 0 the truck would be lifted 3". Is my understanding completely out of whack or what?

I would like to stick to stock height for now, but I think a 1" lift could look good. Basically, I need advice on this.

 

I have been doing a lot of research on tires and I am getting some DuraTracs. If you go on tirerack.com you can see reviews for each tire and narrow down what you are looking for ( price, load range, terrain).

 

yes, if you get eibach coils, you set the billy's to zero and you get 3 inches of lift. i don't know much about the ome coils, but i think they also have a predetermined amount of lift built into the coil.

as far as tires, i'm running 31x1050r15 bfg all terrains and absolutely love 'em. they are on the heavy side, but i am extremely confident in their ability to get me in and out of any situation i put my truck in. i drive mostly on road, but do a fair amount of camping and exploring on forest service roads and dirt track and the like.

 

Thanks for the speedy reply! What caused you to go with duratracs? Also, Tirerack doesn't list duratrac as being available for my truck, I thought that was weird.

That sounds exactly like what I do. I'll be driving to work/school for the most part, but really enjoy weekend trips out in the desert or in the forest. I've seen some bad reviews for bfg's on TW though. Common nicknames are "rugged fails" and "long fails" because they have a really thin sidewall.

What do you guys think of these?

Firestone Destination AT

$219+ Firestone Destination A/T Tires

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...autoYear=2003&autoModClar=&vehicleSearch=true

Firestone Destination LE
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...3&autoModel=Tacoma 2wd PreExtCab&autoModClar=

 

If you don't want much of a lift you can always get a new pair of OEM coils and adjust the 5100s to give you just a little lift over stock.

The Destination A/Ts are good tires for the money. I'd also suggest some Hankook Dynapro ATMs. They're pretty cheap and are an awesome A/T tire.

On the pricier side I'd look at Michelin LTX AT2, BFG KO, and Goodyear Duratrac.

 

no, not the rugged trails... those are known to be pretty shoddy. i have the much-lauded BFG T/A KOs

 

So I looked at replacing with the OEM coils and found it'd be $201 with shipping to get them. With some reading I've found that the stock coils are pretty weak too, so I figured it'd be better to put the same amount of money towards nicer shocks. I just don't think I need a 3" lift for a truck that isn't the best for off roading.

I'll look into the hankook's now, thanks!

 

Same boat here re: suspension. 160K miles and it's time for something new, but I don't want to lift my daily driver and towing vehicle. I do like to go play, but mostly drive on pavement.

Also, FWIW, I've had two sets of the BFG All Terrains and love them. It would take a lot for someone to convince me to get something else when it's time for new tires again.

 

What about OME 880 coils instead of the 881s?
Per website - Average lift from this coil set on an extra cab v6 Tacoma is 1.25-1.5".

 

I was just looking at that and trying to figure out what the difference (if any) is between the 880's and the 881's in terms of ride quality.

 

Found this on another different vendor's website (Cruiser Outfitters).


[SIZE=-1]Front Coil Specifications:[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=-1]OME 880 - Free Height: 365 mm Spring Rate: 88 N/mm [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]OME 881 - Free Height: 375 mm Spring Rate: 88 N/mm [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]OME 882 - Free Height: 395 mm Spring Rate: 88 N/mm [/SIZE]
  

All 3 have the same spring rate, they are just different heights depending on how much lift you want and how much weight you are carrying in the front (bumper, winch, etc.).

 

Awesome! I think I'll go with the 880's then. That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for.


It now occurs to me that if I lift the front, I need to do something with the back, otherwise it could look pretty goofy. Having done no research on this yet, can I just do the AAL thing and get 1.25" - 1.50" off it? I'm going to look into this now, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

 

I second the OME 880s to go on your Bilsteins.

As far as tires go, the tire that creates a hardness in my pants is the BFG A/T TA KOs. I had them on my 4x4 dakota and loved loved loved them. But that was when oil was cheap and I got 31x10.5s mounted and balanced for a little over $500. Shit, they're prolly over a thousand bucks now. I plan on getting your original choice, Firestone Destination A/Ts. All the reviews I've read say they are a good tire on and off road. and the price is right. My dad's supplier said he can get 4 265/75/16s mounted and balanced for 640 after tax. That means I will be wearing that tire when my mismatched set wears out.

 

OME 880 seem to fit the bill for what you are looking for.

Both the tires you linked too are sized 225/75r15. That's a pretty small tire (~28''). You should have an easier time finding tires in the 235/75r15 size, and it will look better if you are lifting the truck a little.

The largest size you can fit without issues is 265/75, but naturally the larger you go the more power you lose. Your odo and spedometer will also read slower than you are actually going.

 

x2. I ran the same tires on my '92 Toyota Pickup for about 10 years and LOVED them. I found them to be great for inclement weather, good for the occasional off-road use, and they wear very well (over 50K miles on each of the sets I ran).

x2. I'm very happy with my 881s, but I wanted a bit more lift than you're looking for. The 880s should give you exactly what you want. I'm also happy with Bilstein 5100s all the way around, but you might also consider OME Nitrochargers. (Some folks prefer the ride they give when paired with OME springs.)

An AAL will work if your leafs aren't flat/frowning. If they're shot, a new leaf pack is the way to go. Wheelers offers a number of options, including a 4-leaf pack (for stock height) and a 5-leaf pack (for a little lift).

 

I'll look into the nitrochargers. I'm really strapped for cash (starving college student), so I'm just looking to fix her up a bit. The ride quality is pretty bad now, so I think anything would be an improvement.

I'm not sure what shape my leafs are in. Here are some pictures I took in my other thread though.

 

Yeah, I plugged in the trucks information and that's what it matched it to. I'm still learning about tires, so I'll look into what those numbers actually mean. What size would you recommend for a 1.25" lift?

 

For looks I would go with a 31'' tire (31x10.5r15)which is roughly the same as 265/75r15. For slightly better fuel economy, a 30'' tire would work.


from the online tire size calculator