What lift kit to get?

I have a '13 Tacoma PreRunner TSS Edition. Its just a two wheel drive, so my lift is basically going to be for looks, but I don't want it to break or anything if i have to take it through a little mud on the way to the deer stand. The main thing is I want to keep the smooth ride it already has. I understand that some lifts are shaky and may vibrate, so I would like to stay away from that. I've asked around and people are telling me a suspension lift kit is best. I don't want anything big, just 2 or 3 inches. Would my 30" stock tires look alright or would I need to get bigger tires? And lastly, around how much would this cost? You guys know a lot more about this stuff than me, so just let me know what you think.

 

Bilstein 5100's, rear AAL.

 

What i plan on doing and recommend is:

For the front:
going with a 4 inch Maxtrac Spindle Lift-$500-800 on ebay
It will Ride like stock but the tires will come out a bit from the fenders.

For the rear:
You can add an All Pro Standard 3 inch leaf pack $500+
extended 3-4 inch Bilstein 5100 shocks
new U Bolts etc extended brake lines etc.

 

Blistein 5100 shock absorbers or the Blistein 5100 ride height adjustable shocks? So you're saying the Blistein 5100's on front and rear and the add-a-leaf kit for the rear?

And how much lift is this going to add?

 

The adjustable bilstein 5100 has 3 different settings for lift.
i think they are .85 inches, 1.75 , and 2.5 inches

you can add an eibach coil for 1.6 lift but reccomended to set the bilstein at .85 or lower.

the Add-A-Leaf is usually 1.5-2 inches in the rear depending on where you get it froml

 

2nd Gen Billies have 4 settings.
0", 0.85" 1.75" and 2.5"
The higher you set them the more they preload the coils & the stiffer the ride.
OME 885s on Nitros will give you around 2.5"without a top plate spacer (a top plate spacer will give you twice it's thickness in lift).
In the back you can get the OME Dakar leaf packs for around 3" or an AAL for 1.5" to 2" & I would reccomend a 3 leaf progresive AAL if you go that route.
Ongoing lift install price thread(1 2 3 ... Last Page)
And yes stock tires will look funny on a lifted Taco. 265/75/16s will look good on a stock to 3" lift.
Stock tires with 3" lift


255/85/16s (33.3") tires on 3" lift

 

Well the stock tires on the TSS Edition are 265/65/17s, so they are only an inch shorter than your recommended 265/75/16s.

 

Since you have the 17" wheels it would be 265/70/17s
Here's one with 2" in front & TSB leafs in back with 265/75/16s.

 

That one looks great! So if that one looks great, 1 inch smaller tires wouldn't look too bad would they? For a little while anyways.

 

My top pic shows stock tires & the MGM pic shows the 1" larger.
I thought mine looked funny with the stock tires, but ran them when I was commuting 280 to 350 hilly miles/week with my 4Banger.
Same Taco & tires now with 3" lift, bumpers & winch, sliders & skids and he's in the process of cutting it up to fit 35" tires.

 

What size are those stock tires in your first pic?

 

Ok, so I'm a total NOOB with this Tacoma. So just adding Bilstein 5100's and add a leaf is all I need to raise my truck a couple inches?

 

From what I have heard the best thing to do to maintain your smooth ride and raise it up a few inches is to get the Bilstein 5100 adjustable shocks and an add a leaf kit. The adjustable shocks will raise the front up to 2.5 inches and the rear Bilstein 5100 shocks are not adjustable, so you need the add a leaf kit on the rear to level it out. I'm a noob at tacomas also, so anyone please feel free to correct me and help us out.

 

245/75/16s same diameter as 26570/16s and 265/65/17s

 

You will be disappointed if you think running Bilsteins 5100s at 2.5" and doing an rear AAL will maintain your factory ride. The AAL is an overload leaf spring that will be pretty stiff unless you plan to haul around a few heavy set chicks in the bed and maxing out the front Billie's at 2.5 will stiffen the ride. Look into OME lift or coilovers for the front and a soft riding leaf pack for the rear. Why go cheap when you spent that much on a brand new truck? You will enjoy driving it much more and be better off on and off road.

 

What they said.

 

What I have and HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Front: Maxtrac 4" spindles with adjustable Bilsteins set at 0.85" for an overall lift of 4.85"
Rear: 3" blocks with extened Bilstens for a 3-4" lift. Also I have 1.25
spidertraxx wheel spacers to match the front since the spindles push out the tires .75". I plan on going 3.5" with an all new leaf pack sooner or later for towing.

The ride is amazing and pretty close to how it was when it was stock... I'm not a mechanic and I did this lift all by myself.

 

OME carries softer rated coil springs if the OP chooses a softer ride.

 

Well I started this thread to find the best lift kit for the looks and ride and they told me the billies, but you seem very intelligent on the subject, so please enlighten me on everything you would do to a stock tacoma to lift it up a few inches and keep the smooth ride. And please no acronyms or abbreviations. We're noobs.

 

Just went thru this on my '13 4X4 DCSB. From everyone I talked to and everything I read, I ended up getting the OME suspension kit with Dakar leafs. My buddy needed to replace the shocks on his Dodge Ram and got Bilstein 5100's all around. He's got them set at 1.75" up and the ride is a touch harsh for my tastes. If not the full OMEs, the more cost conscious route for me would have been Bilstein 5100's (front set to 0), OME 885 coils for 2.5" lift, and an AAL.

As far as looks, just posted this in the other OME thread, but here's post-lift with 265/75/16's. I was worried the tires would look too small but it turned out ok.