Is leveling the front really worth it?

Kind of a crappy pic, but my 2015 TRD Off Road with Bilstein 5100s set at 0.85". Pretty level if not EVER SO SLIGHTLY lower in the front. Alignment came in perfect, all angles seem to be near stock, no vibes, drives better than stock. Took it offroad where 4L and rear locker where necessary and it worked flawlessly (even added some rocky mountain pin-striping). HAVE NOT noticed a change in MPG, but I did lose some when I went from stock, crappy BFG trail whatevers to the Duratracs.

 

will a 5100 bottom out also?

 

Never have so far and I actually take mine off road.

 

@Rock Lobster , you are unreal dude. I mean, that's just amazing. If you would read what I said, what is "cheap" is subjective. Folks are free to spend what they want to on their vehicles. For some there's a big difference between $100 and $200 bucks given the additional cost of installation and alignment etc. I know some folks on here just throw money at everything and think they have to have the best, but not everyone has that luxury. I'm not going to assume that everyone on here has money to blow.

As to my diff drop, I don't have to justify an mod I've made. It works for me, no issues, I'm happy, I have no reason to bash it to anyone else, given my experience, I would 100% recommend it unless you're running baja rallys at 50-60 mph offroad in rocky terrain. So install a $25 kit or replace CV's when they fail, because CV's are cheap...

 

Another pic of the front Bilsteins.

 

@Rock Lobster , 60k on mine and 0 issues is proof enough for me. I'm not going to waste my time taking pics of my improved CV angles either. But you're smart so you should know that is a fact.

Go ahead and read through the rest of the thread and take note of the guys that said they run spacers and are happy. I don't know what proof you're looking for?

You win dude, congrats.

 

Thank you very much! That's a sweet truck. 265 70 16?

If I wasn't so cheap I would have already done the same. I am having hard time justifying new tires and 5100's before I make my first payment and with only 800 miles on the originals. So for now I will drool over others and ask them to post pictures. Gotta love truck porn.

 

Yep, 265s. Really gotta take some off roading pics

 

Do you recommend any (spacers) brand?

 

@Rock Lobster , I went over and checked out my buddy's lifted tacoma here at work since he has about the same lift as me and no diff drop. I really wanted that proof, but I didn't get it. You were definitely right on that one. When I went up from 1.75 to 3" lift on my front, I had the diff drop installed at that time. The angles looked pretty good after the lift which I attributed to the diff drop. But apparently that was just where the hell it was gonna be anyway. I'm a big enough man to admit you were right about that one. I'm gonna remove the diff drop when I put my new lift on that is arriving today.

I still maintain that the OP would do just fine with spacers, but agree that 5100's are a better option. Naturally one's own personal budget comes into play with what they want to achieve, their expectations, and their personal opinion on ride comfort.

 

Does setting the 5100's to .85 on stock springs equal .85" of additional height between center hub and fender on the front? $200 for a set of shocks + installation + front end alignment sounds like a lot of money just to lift the front end up less than 1".

 

It should net you around or just over an inch I believe. Not sure exactly how much.

You'll need to align the front end regardless of how you level.

 

Oh yeah, I know. I'm just saying it seems like purchasing and installing a set of 5100's would cost close to $500 including an alignment. That sounds like a ton of money just to raise your front end up 1".

 

Difference between my 2013 Baja and 2009 Prerunner is less than (1) MPG on same daily route. Some of the decrease is higher speed limits. I now average 10 mph higher most of the time. The load range Ds on my Baja weigh in at 49 lbs. Not sure what the tires on the 2009 Prerunner weighed but they were lighter. I am guessing 4 lb range.

 

@stump jumper, is your Baja 4x4? That would easily explain the mpg difference.

 

Then you'd be appalled by what I spent to put Icon coil-overs on mine, currently running only about 1" over stock height. Thing is they are adjustable in-place on the truck as I have added other stuff (more weight) over time. May go higher in the future and have that option very conveniently.

 

yep, most all of my driving is hwy and I do not think there is much diff on hwy between 2wd and 4wd

 

How is the ride compared to stock with the stock offroad coils?

 

I've been asked that before and I don't really know since I installed the 5100s right after i bought the truck. It seems to ride about how I remembered it, but noticeable difference off road and especially on wash board roads.

 

I know this is vain, but including the improved offroadability, I really like the look of the aluminum 5100s, matches the silver sky paint really well and doesn't stand out like the yellow stock billies did.