TELL ME WHERE I AM WRONG...I speak for many NEW GUYS to lifting

I have read stickies, and days worth of reading and searching this forum. I am now ready to post questions. I am going to lift my 06 DC 4x4 SR5 WITHOUT UCA replacements (and will keep 2" or less of lift up front to hopefully ensure no problems with alignment)

Now that I have clarified those things....suspension gurus please tell me where I am wrong and give any advice that I may need to hear (please refrain from replying "DO a search" or "Read the stickies" or any other comments. Instead, post the link to the sticky or thread you are talking about in an attempt to help. This thread should help others also when finished because as I am noticing many many people want a small lift without replacing expensive components (UCA's) and have honest questions. Please remember that to new guys to tacomas and lifting, there are SOOO MANY OPTIONS out there that it gets quite intimidating! Please keep this thread helpful, and not hurtful.
That said, tell me where I'm wrong and give advice.

1. 5100's up front set at 1.75" is ideal for the money (i'm not an off-roader, but I want a small lift and don't wanna trash my suspension or alignment).

2. Front 5100's set at 1.75 preloads the shocks....meaning the lift is coming from the shock and not the spring. It is better to go with the 5100's set at 0" and Eibach springs to give softer, more natural highway drive. What springs will give me 2" lift with 5100's at 0??? I am not interested in spacers to lift the truck, as I have read all over that this isn't an ideal way to lift truck. Would OME 884 springs be best and 5100's set at 0?

3. 5100's in rear with a toyTec 2" AAL will NOT work....???? If this is true, please discuss in more detail and provide best alternative for money. I want factory rake look, so I also want a 2" lift in rear, but obviously i still want to be able to have some down travel and 5100's don't allow this. Is the cheapest fix here using 5125's in rear with 2" AAL??? This will give more down travel from what I understand.

3. AAL info: I definately want an AAL kit with anti-friction pads to prevent squeak noises, etc. 2" toytec AAl is good choice because it will settle over time. (no need to throw out 10 other options for AAL's if this works for sake of lessening confusion) With the toytec 2" AAL lift will I need to pry factory leaf brackets open in order to add the new leaf or will the 2" toytec slide right in place? (i don't know if I have TSB leaf set-up at this point, just bought truck, sorry. Tell me if that is something i MUST know and I will find out right away)

Thank you everyone that has already contributed to this forum. Great place to be for sure. I look forward to continuing my learning at the TacomaWorld of Learning and Devlopment

 

When ordering your AAL you have the option of getting the AAL with TSB or without. If you have 4 leaves, then your have the TSB. But if you have 3 you have the regular non TSB leaf pack

 

Thank you Luck3. I am going outside now to check......
OK.....3 leaves.....no TSB, and I can see where the rubber stopper HAS in fact made contact with frame multiple times...interesting. Truck now has 83k so fix aint free.

Thanks again for first comment!

 

Great input Anthony! Thanks for clearing up the first error i made! The spring is preloaded, not the shock.

I believe the 884 spring would work for my scenario, and with 5100's would give me a 2"lift.

Would I be better off with 5125's in rear (99% pavement driving) with 2" AAL or 5100's with 2"AAL??? Do the 5125's present new problems (i.e. other adjustments like lengthening brake lines, etc)

 

TTT anyone else want to chime in here? Feel free.

 

is 5100's at 2.5" with the toytec 1/4" top plate spacer(for .5" lift) bad? I occassionally off road..and I want a full 3" lift

 

You have been wrong about one thing. You have neglected to mention how much money you want to spend.

 

I'm sorry. Parts under 750 bucks total. If i was an off-roader I'de get the UCA's and off road shocks but i just asthetics SAFELY.

 

sub'd

 

You want a small lift. IMO, I think Eibachs/5100s set at zero and a 1 1/2 aal would suit you. YES, you can use the TSB aals on non TSB leafs.

I'm suggesting this from experience. I had 5100s set at .85 with the Eibachs, 2" aal. (no tsb) and I had a noticeable rake. I'd imagine if you do ~2" of lift upfront and do a 2" aal, you'd have a crazy rake.

 

You can actually order longer 5100's from DSM. I had the ones that came with the TOYTEC lift and snapped one of the shock stems this weekend. On a side note I do wheel on a regular basis. I would contact DSM about the setup you are looking to run and they can probably give you the exact setup you are looking for at a great price.

 

Just fyi....With a non tsb leaf pack (3 leafs) you can use either AAL the 1.5" or the 2.0" depending on the height you're looking for. (Its the 2.0" AAL that won't work with the tsb 4 leaf pack) I'm running billys at 1.75 stock springs and a non tsb leaf pack with the 1.5" AAL and the rear sits alittle higher than the front. Perfect IMO

 

Nice lookin lift there buddy! If i do the OME springs and 5100's at 0 i'll have right around 2" so if I go with the 2"AAL i think the rake should still look pretty stock, and will even probably settle abit and look more leveled over time than stock no?

 

Do you mean after install your rake increased? If i lift both ends 2" won't the rake remain the same or close to it? I'm only thinking goin with the OME springs because it gives me just a little bigger lift without preloading. If I preload with eibachs or OME's i would probably need UCA's anyhow. I'm avoiding all that for now.

 

The OME's are a taller coil than the Eibachs but a softer spring rate. The amount of lift you'll gain between the two would be very comparable, you'd end up most likely right at 2" from the OME and just under with the Eibach.

The AAL might give you a little over the advertised lift and will settle some with time. That being said, you could end up with slightly more rake than stock but in theory, you shouldn't. A full 2" lift all around should maintain stock rake just 2" higher.

 

Might want to check this out also. This AAL rides great but is a little more expensive than a single. It comes with new u-bolts and centering bolts though. If you keep the factory overload, you can get just under 2" of lift with this AAL.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacoma-marketplace/166580-fs-icon-progressive-aal-kit.html

 

Thanks man . That sounds like a good plan but if you're going with the 2" aal, you might want to consider the 885 springs. Search for pics of each and you'll see the difference.
I'm about to replace my front coils with 885 (maybe 886) to help with the added weight of a plate bumper and a new rear leaf setup to help match the performance of the rear leafs to the performance of the front coil spring/strut setup. Still researching on the rear though.

 

This

To add, If you're only going to remain 2.5" or under, you won't need UCAs.

 

All I have up front is an avid light bar...nothing too heavy. 885's will make a rougher ride right?

 

Not necessarily, the 885's and 884's have the same spring rate, the difference is the 885's are 10 mm taller.