4 banger lift/leveling headache

Hi!

First of all, I have to say that I have done a lot of research about this topic. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT.
I would not be surprised to have gone through all the related topics on this forum. This is actually what got me confused, not to say completely overwhelmed

I own a 2009 4 cyl Tacoma that came in with a front spacer, it looks nice but the ride is awful. Not sure what is in the rear. Anyway, time for me to get rid of that cheap puck, big question is what I get instead. I currently have stock size tires and will stick to them for a while. This Taco is my daily driver, I sometimes go for long trips off-road but nothing crazy.

I would go with 5100's and OME 884 coils expecting a 1.5''-2'' lift, is that a big deal if I don't go with AAL for the rear?? What I am after is basically a decent leveling configuration, some compromise between a complete lift kit and a stock setup.

 

I have the same truck as you and have heard you can expect 2-2.25" lift in front on 884s and 5100s at bottom setting. I just installed 5100s all around with fronts at 1.75 and stock coils. Definitely nose high with my original flat ass 3 leaf pack. It's in the dealer today getting the recall 4 leaf pack. I will post pics of it after I pick it up tomorrow.

Maybe post a pic of your leaf spring pack and spring perch area so people can see which pack you have and if you have a rear block.

 

@AR15xAR10

 

884 is too much coil.

883s for you.

Talk to Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road

 

3 leaf is levelish at .85.

4 leaf is levelish at 1.75.

 

@Hartza Have you looked into the ome 883s? a couple of guys are running those on their 4 bangers, and have said great things about them (both members i have seen running the 883s have stock rear setups). Important to get your .25" spacer on the driver side to help with taco lean. I just got my leafs replaced under the recall, so my truck has a little more rake than i'd like with the factory front end with 100K on them. 883s and ome nitrochargers should give me about 1.75" after settling on my 4 banger. I'll post pics when complete.

 

Truth.

 

You should show us some good pictures of your spacers and all around your leaf springs and rear axle so we can see how much your "leveling" spacer is and if you have any rear lift blocks.

This is what i just did:

Front: 5100s set on 0.0" with OME 883X coils and driver's side aluminum top plate spacer (to combat the "taco lean" caused by the driver's side having the driver, battery, and gas tank all on the same side of the vehicle)

Rear: 2014 OEM (4 leaf) TSB/Recal leaf springs with new oem bump stops, new ubolts, and hardware. Plus 0-1" rear 5100s.

I gained 1.5" over stock in the front and 0.5" over stock in the rear. The truck sits perfectly level now that the coils have settled.

If you go 884, you will be nose high. It'll put an access cab, especially a 4cly (weighs less than my v6 in the same sr5 configuration) at 2.0" of lift. Then you will need a 1" add a leaf in the rear to raise it up to meet the front...which could end up making the rear look higher than the front, its really a gamble.

 

The OME 884X coils will provide approx. 2" of lift on an

$90 2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma With 4L Right Petrol intake air snorkel kit high performance system compatible kit Replacement black Rotational Molding (2005-2015)

2005-2015 stock double cab 4x4 and the OME 883X coils will provide you with approx. 1" of lift on the same truck. If you have a truck other then what I specified, lift heights can range from around 0.5"-.75" of additional lift. The lift achieved from any kind of spring, whether it is a leaf spring or a coil spring, is a variable lift. Meaning that the amount of lift achieved can vary. Many factors come into play like condition of the factory components, trim of truck, and any add-ons or additional options you may have.


As far as the aal goes it really comes down to if you want the additional lift and capabilities that it provides.

 

OP has a 4 banger, 6 lug Acess Cab. He's getting conflicting info already. Hopefully you can steer him on the right track.

 

I will do my best! I revised my post to go into further explanation on the lift.

 

i understand that i'm a minority here. I have an ac 4cyl and installed the rough country kit with a 3" spacer in the front and a 2" block in the rear. i really like it the truck rides great and and it provided me with enough lift to put 285's on the truck and it sits nice and level. i have no intensions of rock crawling (i don't even know where i could do that around here) or any extreme off roading. i go off road when hunting and don't hold back but it's mostly mudd.

 

Not really.

His truck configuration weighs about the same mine does. I have 884s with no additional spacers and have 2.25" of lift, which is more than he wants - so he would be best served with 883s according to the approx. lift heights he said he wants to have.


I tagged @AR15xAR10 because I just went through all of this with him (and he bought/confirmed order with @HeadStrong Off-Road) and their end results will be nearly identical, despite one being 4 cylinder and the other V6.

 

883s

 

Wow. That's a lot of helpful information, I honestly didn't expect this much in one day.

I knew about 883s but thought they were designed for 1st gens. The driver's side spacer is something I never heard of before. I would certainly change both coils and shocks, OME 883s/90021 combo or Toytec/Eibach coils with Bilstein 5100s. Not a huge difference between these two if not mistaken and a lot of people actually go with OME coils and 5100s.

Does it make sense not to get an AAL in that case assuming that I would take the rear block off if there is one? I believe so anyway.

I have to wait a couple of days to take pics (the truck is at the airport). The front spacer is Revtek if not mistaken.
Btw I live in a remote area north of 60 which means shipping + duties will be an extra 20-30%

Thank you all for this precious help
I really enjoy this website that has already helped me a lot in the past, the classic 2.7 vs 4.0 topic among other things.

 

Just for reference, here are some pics of mine after getting the recall leaves installed with 1.75 5100s and stock coils up front. Rear end didn't come up as much as I thought it would (I feel like it only came up 3/4" or so from the busted 3 leaf pack). I took measurements and have about 1/4" difference side to side and it's within an 1/8" of level from front to back. I'm going to see if things settle as I'm kind of expecting the rear to drop a little, then I'll take it from there. And for what it's worth, I am loving the ride at 1.75 with stock coils so far. I haven't noticed much difference in stiffness, but maybe I need a little more ride time.

 

883s were made before the second gen Tacoma was born, but that doesn't make them a first gen only coil by a long shot.

I think an 884 is too tall for you and would be a roll of the dice. An 883 might just as well be also, but I'd suggest that over any other setup. I don't suggest Eibach coils unless you don't mind a stiff ride. Even then, I don't.

 

Sorry for the late reply, I had to deal with the crash of a hard drive and then went away for a few days.

Here is what I have in the front.



Never paid much attention to the back to be honest... not sure how much the block makes the ride.



... I could just get rid of both spacers/blocks but wouldn't mind upgrading the front suspension at least and go with 883s/5100 shocks (or the OME ones depending on what I can get shipped here).
I feel like this would be a great compromise between a stock setup and a complete lift kit.

 

Blocks/spacers are no bueno

 

If you watch Jet.com you can get a good deal on 5100s. I picked up all 4 for 245 shipped last year with some discounts at the time. I just priced them out now and with their 15% off your first order offer you can get them for 270 shipped...still not bad.