Advice for a 2.5" lift on a 2nd Gen - Now with Pics!

Just wondering I have a 2006 DCLB SR5 tacoma and I'm wondering if option 1 would give a smoother ride?

 

Any lift is going to ride more rough than stock, unless your stock coils and shocks are completely trashed.

 

I agree. Softer spring rate no spacers sounds like a better ride overall.

Now I was considering the same lift you described expect for the Icon rear aal. I thought you were as well. What changed your mind?

And now I don't know if anyone can answer this but I was told the Bilstein 5100 with the Icon aal rear would require me to remove the overload leaf? Anyone want to chime in if that is true or necessary?

I was told if I wanted to keep it in I would need longer rear shocks? I do towing on occasions and would like to keep the overload. Plus I have read removing it can do a lot worse then just decrease payload.

 

To be entirely honest, I'm leaning heavily towards the OME 884 springs up front at this point. Even if they aren't "designed" to work together, I really like the idea of pairing the 5100s with the OME springs since they have a softer (and closer to stock) spring rate than the Eibachs. That and I figure if the 5100s are "designed" to work with OEM springs, the OME springs should in theory pair better than the Eibach springs which have a much stiffer spring rate. Also, when it comes down to it, I feel much more comfortable using springs alone to achieve the ~2" of lift I'm looking for and using a single .25" spacer on the driver side just to correct the lean.

As for the rear, I've decided on the Wheeler's AAL over the ICON AAL right now on the basis of price. There's about a $55 difference between the two and from the reviews I've read about both products it doesn't appear the ICON is necessarily worth the additional money (this is solely my opinion and is based on reviews and testimonials I've read online so take this with a grain of salt) Either way though, both products are essentially the same, they are both 3 leaf progressive AAL kits and they both offer 1.5" of lift. I'm actually hoping to achieve closer to 2" of lift if Toyota ever gets the "upgraded recall" rear leaf springs in stock... I'd much rather pair the AAL kit with a brand new upgraded OEM leaf pack over my non TSB OEM leafs that are pushing 6 years old right now. If I can pull that off, I'd imagine my ride quality in the rear will improve tremendously.

I can't speak to the removal of the overload leaf with the 5100s. From what I've read, I was under the impression you could use 5100s with up to an additional 2" of lift with no problems. Given that the ICON AAL kit you're looking at provides an additional 1.5" of lift and the OEM TSB spring provides roughly .5" of lift, I'd think you'd be fine with 5100s. I will let someone else with more experience chime in but for what it's worth, I plan on using OEM 4 leaf rear springs with a 1.5" AAL kit and 5100s. That and I believe there is a different version of the Bilstein 5100 rear shocks you can buy that are a bit longer but I'm not entirely sure as I haven't been researching them.

 

Did you end up putting your order in? Seems you've done all your homework and now its time to pull the trigger.

 

I'm in no hurry to lift the truck so no, I haven't placed an order yet. That and I'm not going to install an AAL to the rear leaf pack until after Toyota replaces mine under their newest recall. And as anyone who qualifies for the recall knows, they first announced it last fall and they've yet to notify any of us that the new parts are available...

Anyway, now that I've nailed down the exact parts I'd like to use I've been hunting for the best deal I can get online. That and before I order anything, I need to decide on which tire size I'm going to upgrade to and what brand of tires I want to use that way I can have everything installed at the same time. I'm hoping I can decide on tires and get things ordered in the next few weeks but again, I'm not going to install anything until I get my rear leaf springs replaced under the recall and that could be months from now.

 

If you're looking at all terrains, I did a lot of reading and decided on the hankook atm's. They're great, exceeded my expectations. Awesome in all conditions including snow.

Too bad Im selling my truck today, hopefully my new one will have decent tires. :'(

 

Subd

 

I'm about 95% sure I'm going to buy Hankook Dynapro ATMs, I just don't know what size to get... Originally I wanted to go with 265/70/r17 but after doing a bit more research I'm leaning towards 255/75/r17. They are both very close in overall diameter but I like the idea of a little thinner tire with the thicker sidewall. However, the price difference between the two sizes is going to play a big part in my decision... the 255s are close to $150 a piece online and believe it or not, the 265s can be had for $120 a piece. I may go for the 265s just to save myself $120 but again, since I'm not in a huge hurry I've got some time to make the final decision.

 

Im in the same boat. I have a 2014 tacoma sport 4x4 dbl cab short bed. I want to lift but dont want to spend to additional money on UCA's. I was considering using factory coils but after reading this now im unsure.

 

I was wondering about this simple 2.5" lift from Toytec with just spacers and aal. Would this be harsh? I don't do off-roading except crawling up 4 wheel drive roads to find a camp spot.

http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/25-Lift-kit-wrear-AALs_p_307.html

Edit: I guess spacer lifts aren't too good after reading more. LOL

 

Which rear Bilstein shock were you going to run?




Does anyone know if they make a 1.5-3" version for the rear?

 

I know it's been a while since I provided an update to this thread but for anyone interested in doing something similar, I purchased and installed both my lift and new tires over the last two weeks. It all started in early May when I was finally (over a year and a half after the initial notice was sent) able to have the new recall rear leaf springs from Toyota installed. Once that was complete the following items were installed on my truck:

BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 Tires

Headstrong Off-Road Bilstein 5100 Coil Lift Kit

The tires I bought are the 265/70/R17 in the C load range (1" larger than stock) and the lift kit included OME 885 springs (with a 1/4" spacer on the driver's side) and an Icon 3 leaf progressive AAL for the rear.

The lift has been installed for roughly 48 hours now and my before and after measurements (center of hub to fender) are as follows.

Before:

FL: 20"
FR: 20.5"
RL: 21.75"
RR: 21.75"

After:

FL: 22.5"
FR: 22.5"
RL: 23.75"
RR: 23.75"

Overall I've gained roughly 2" in lift all the way around since installing this kit. And the ride difference is night and day compared to my worn OEM Bilstein TRD Sport suspension. The new tires are incredibly comfortable and super quiet for having such an aggressive tread pattern. And the truck feels much more controlled on the road and much less sloppy over harsh bumps. The feeling is more noticeable considering I found out during the install that two of my OEM shocks were blown or close to blown but either way, I'm super happy with the results of the lift and new tires.

I have very limited pictures of the truck before the lift (and unfortunately I don't have any directly from the side) and I haven't had a chance to take any new pictures with the lift installed. I'll try to get some tonight after my alignment to give you guys an idea of what this setup looks like on a Double Cab 4x4. I'll see if I can dig up a before photo as well and try to take a picture from the same angle for reference.

Anyway, if anyone has any questions about the setup let me know and I'll do my best to answer them. I couldn't be happier with my truck right now and I highly recommend the OME/Bilstein combo as well as the BFG KO2 tires!

 

Did the icon aal allow you to keep your overload?

And I feel you on your wait for your new leafs... I'm waiting for a new frame and leafs as well.

 

Yes, with a minor amount of modification to the OEM overload mounting bracket, we were able to install the overload leaf with the Icon 3 leaf progressive AAL kit. And I'm glad I did it because I wanted to maintain as much of the factory forward rake as possible and if we had removed the overload spring the truck would probably be sitting to close to level for my liking.

 

What is the part number of the Bilstein 5100's that you used in the rear?

 

According to the invoice from Headstrong Off-Road the rear 5100 part number is

$91 24-186728 5100 Series Shock Absorber

24-186728.

 

What kind of modification was required?

 

Had to cut off one side of the metal bracket on the overload spring just in front of the hub as it interfered with the bracket installed on the 3 leaf AAL pack. That's not the best description and next time I take one of the rear wheels off I'll try to snap a picture for reference. The overload spring has a bracket on each side used to hold it in place on the other 3 leafs (one of those mounts is also used to mount the brake line). Obviously the downside to cutting that bracket is that if I remove the AAL and go back to the stock rear leaf springs, that bracket is essentially useless. But I wasn't worried about it considering if I ever touch the rear suspension again I'll be much more likely to ditch the factory springs and AAL all together in favor of Dakars. Either way, I'm not having any issues with it right now and I'm very happy with the final product with the overload spring still installed.

 

Notice any difference in MPG?