To TSB or Not to TSB

sorry it took so long to post pics...had the tsb and 5100's installed on 10-26-12 at serra toyota in birmingham...the .85 was a last minute decision and i'm satisfied the way the truck sits as it is.the excellent pictures taken on this site for tacomas set at 1.75 didn't really suit me,althou the all seemed to sit basically level,some looked a bit "nose up" to me,which i didn't want...i was gonna wimp out and set them at "zero"...but in the end i just said what the hell,nothing ventered,nothing gained.the comfort and stability of the 5100's and tsb rear is really something! as far as comfort goes,i have to wonder if they'd be even smoother with the fronts set at zero,my trd sport was transformed into a much more capable machine...i was really expecting a jarring,rattletrap of a ride,but it's nothing like that,the fronts soak up rough urban surfaces with no booming or crashing and the rear is planted so nicely,it's a totally different truck...in my opinion,bilstein slapped it outta the park with the 5100's!the blu/yellow bilsteins and original 3 pak leafs were smooth and comfortable,as long as everything stayed reasonably smooth...cycle that set-up a few times and you could feel them going away.i'm sure most of the more experienced guys on this forum would probably consider this a +1 set-up,only to graduate to the more exotic systems,but i'm diggin this,hopefully i'll never get exposed to "camburg,icon,king,ect"..i really can't imagine my truck handeling any nicer...but who knows....

 

Installed the suspension stuff this weekend. Ended up going in a little different direction than originally planned.

Decided a 1.5" AAL was necessary since I didn't gain any significant height after the TSB was done. That meant the rear would be way high if I set the front at 1.75" on stock coils. So I decided to put OME 884 on the Bilsteins instead of reusing the stock coil. A little bit more lift and no preloading.

Worked a charm! Sitting about 2.5" higher in the front and still have enough rake that the weight of the LEER cap won't point the nose high.

The install was incredibly easy. I used the controversial lowering of the lower control arm method to decompress and compress the coils. No removing of the sway bar or other linkage stuff. The front was easier than the rear. Not sure why that technique is so frowned upon. Seemed pretty safe to me. Of course the safest technique would be to have someone else do the work and as a result you would never be threatened, but if you're going to do it yourself it works.

Next is to order the cap this week and start setting it up for camping.

 

Looks good! Now if you can just keep your buddy there from peeing on your tires...

 

Thanks Bobbb! Fortunately for the tires he is a she and does more squatting than leg lifting.