ANOTHER thread about lift kits vs levelling kits?! WTF?

I know, I know. But I read thru about 20 other threads and didn't feel like I had any current advice for my perdicament. Here's the skinny:

I have a 2006 with 265/70/17 BFG AT's on my truck and my stock shocks are shot all the way around. The tires are brand new and I don't want to replace new tires so I don't think a lift kit is really what I'm looking for.

I also don't really want anything higher than a couple inches in the front. I'm really just looking to give my truck a little more aggressive stance while getting rid of the "higher in the back" look of a stock Taco.

I'm not sure if I can even raise the back end at all but I'd like to go up a couple in the front without making my truck look goofy with the 265's. If I can raise the rear an inch, all the better.

Additionally, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a hardcore off-roader. I wish I was cool, but I'm not. I'm just a self-employed photographer working a million hours a week trying to stay out of the red. So as much as I'd like to have a $1,500 lift kit on my truck, it would be a waste of a good lift kit.

However, I don't want my truck to ride like a meat wagon because I chose a levelling kit over a quality lift kit. So are all levelling kits going to make my truck ride horribly and wear out other suspension parts in the process?! I'd like to use some Bilstein 5100's with a levelling kit, is that possible?

Again, I'm sorry for starting yet another "lift vs levelling" thread but I'm really confused and need some input because I'm getting overwhelmed and need to make a decision soon. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input.

 

If you just want the front lifted go with some Bilstein 5100s all around and adjust to 1.75" or whatever you need to level it out up front and have good shocks on all 4 corners again for a decent price. Otherwise you're looking at expensive coilovers or a terrible riding spacer lift. The only downside to the 5100s is trying to find them in stock somewhere.