Lift Options and Suggestions

Hello, I'm wanting to level my truck and possibly lift it a couple of inches. I've been reading a lot of threads here but am confused with all the information that is out there. I guess I'm gonna be doing some offroading but nothing highly technical, just trails with the occasional obstacle. I was gonna go with 5100 all around and a 2'' AAL. Is that decent? And if so, any suggestions on a specific AAL kit? Or would it be better to consider replacing the coils up front too and something different on the rear? Also I'm looking for good riding quality both on and off road, and durability. I mean, as long as i'm spending the money i wanna make sure i am upgrading from stock rather than downgrading. any good complete kits that you can recommend? I have a 2015 trd off road. If you have pics that'd be great too! Thanks for the help

 

Based on the "some offroading but nothing highly technical, just trails with the occasional obstacle" comment... It sounds to me like you want either OME or 5100's. Sure you could go all out with Fox or something, but I'm confident you'll be satisfied with the OME or 5100's. Unless money is no object, then why not go for it.

I don't have any input on the AAL since I went with the Dakars, which are awesome by the way.

My only advice is grab some Light Racing UCA's and set them to 2.5 (edit: set your castor to 2.5, not the UCA's). Otherwise your truck won't handle like it used to; the castor adjustments is shared on the same eccentric with your camber on the stock lowers and it is fairly limited, you'll end up sacrificing some castor to keep your camber in spec.

Head to: OR
https://bilsteinlifts.com/product-category/toyota-tacoma/

And get your credit card ready.

 

Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah looks like ome is what I'll go for in the end. Are the Dakars the complete leaf set from ome? LIke 2.5 inch? And you think it is better to change the UCAs even on 2 or 2.5 inch of lift? Anyways yeah, looks like I have a little more saving to do.. And studying I guess.

 

Correct, Dakars are full leaf pack, for a full 2.5"! Some even say between the Dakars and their rear shocks they put in, they got the full 3" bang on.

Personally I would, but keep in mind I'm kind of anal with my truck and everything has to be equal to or greater than stock. So after any kind of lift you're going to change your handling to be less than stock condition. I cheaped out first time around and didn't do the UCA's and was only able to get around 1.8 castor, and I could feel it in the steering. That said, in no way did it affect safety, at all. Truck still tracked straight, didn't bump steer, truck didn't wonder when going over dips, etc... however, it just felt/handled "different" which annoyed the F**K out of me. As soon as you throw some aftermarket UCA's in there and get that castor out to 2.5 (some guys prefer low 2.0's other prefer up to 3), the trucks handling is restored back to the stock feeling. And pick whichever aftermarket UCA's you want really, doesn't have to be Light Racing... they're just highly adjustable and reasonably priced (unlike the others price tags, IMHO) but basically any aftermarket UCA is an upgrade from the stock, non-adjustable.

Hope this helps.

 

Helps a lot, thanks. I'm now reading through the ome Q&A thread and finding a lot of info there too. But just like you, I'm trying to put something on that is not gonna downgrade the ride. what kind of setup do you have on your truck?

 

Had the billies w/Dakar's on my '08 Taco. Loved it, they're adjustable too so if you had a bad driverside lean like some guys do, you could adjust for that. Not sure if OME can adjust? Probably worth looking into.

On my '13 I have the 3" BOSS w/Dakar's and LR UCA's. I do find the boss rebounds a little hard in front, but once I get my winch bumper on, the extra weight should put that back in check.

I'll try and find a pic from my phone here and post one.

edit: I should also add... my boss lift maxed out my rear brake lines. When I put the truck up on a lift and the rear gets the chance to hang, the brake lines get a lil tight for comfort. Another mod for the near future... kiss your wallet good bye and welcome to TW I guess haha

 

I'd go with a body lift, that's what really cool people get................................................................................................or maybe use the search function for the other hundred threads asking what lift people should get

 

Your best bet is to call a vendor, I researched and researched and finally Marie at @HeadStrong Off-Road helped me out and worked with me as I went from from just wanting a simple lift to going with Fox suspension.

 

You can take a look at what I did, I wanted a small functional lift with minimal drawbacks. By using the factory Baja lift, and not going very high you don't need UCAs. Toyota designed it to work with the factory UCAs. See the Baja link in my sig, better before and after pics are on page 2. 5100s and OME are also popular options. For the rear AAL, the 3 leaf progressive is going to be the best riding. New leaf packs are better, but since your truck and leaf packs are new (like mine) I opted for the progressive AAL instead. There are many different lift options, with no clear best. A lot will depend on your budget and intended use.

 

Pics of my '13 with the 3" boss... Testing the new pressure washer

 

I ended up buying the 5100s just to level out the truck for now. See how that works and maybe add coils and leaf pack in the future. I think you're right, this website gets to your head quickly, gotta be careful.

 

Yeah they actually contacted me today when they saw you tagged them on this conversation. Definitely impressed with the customer service, looks like decent prices too on their website..

 

Truck looks neat man

 

What's up man? I just did the OME 885s w the 5100s, LR UCAs and AAL. It is an upgrade from the factory suspension and I believe the truck handles better. I was hesitant to get new UCAs at first, but am glad I did because it rides so well. I too have a '15 DCSB and was more worried about ride than over the top off road capabilities. Spent months doing research but that was the best option I came up with was this combo from Head Strong OR, and am now really happy I did. Even met a new friend on here who helped me install it. I fuckin love this website. (Still waiting on my wheels to ship to put those and new tires on)

 

^^^ another +1 on the LR UCA's... Do it!

 

That's exactly the look and kind of riding I'm looking for, nice truck. And yeah this website is really helpful, loving it

 

Yeah now I don't have a choice haha

 

Hey jeff how much of a lift did the AAL give you?

 

I didn't measure it precisely, but it's between 2.5-3" up front and 1.5-2" with the leaf in the back.