Suspension Upgrade help

This!!!

OP if you're still using the stock leafs I would recommend all new leaf pack. I drive on average 50k miles a year and a lot of oil field lease roads (extremely rough dirt roads). I just installed the OME kit and couldn't be happier, best suspension I've ever had by far. It's a little more than you're looking to spend, but well worth the money.

http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/OME-TAK--OME-Tacoma-Suspension-lift-kit_p_231.html

 

@HeadStrong Off-Road What is your response to the OME leaf pack adding 2.75" - 3" even though Bilstein 5160 only recommends a 1.5" lift?

 

I just read in the link that the 5160's in the kit have half an inch more travel over the original 5160s

 

Right the original 5160 only allowed 1" of travel. If you look on the left part number you can make out 25-242539. If you google that part number you can see multiple re sellers saying that this shock will accommodate 0 - 1.5" lift. believe me I'd love to get the Dakar leaf pack but I don't want to buy them at the expense of busting up my 5160s

 

Rear shocks work a little differently. When sourcing rear shocks it is recommended to know what the extended and collapsed length of the shock is and how that works with the rear lift you are going with. For example the standard length Bilstein 5100 rear shocks are spec’d out for a 0-1” rear lift. They have a 14.22 collapsed and a 24.06 extended. You can utilize them for lifts outside of that range. It is how you are achieving lift that largely plays into this. Those shocks will work with an 1.5”-2” add-a-leaf lift because the add-a-leaf is only around 1/4”-3/4” thick but it re-arches the factory pack thus providing that much more lift. The same is true with the 5160’s. They are spec’d out for a 0-1.5” rear lift but since they have the collapsed length of 14.22 and extended length of 24.06 they are actually longer then the OME nitrocharger sport shocks (collapsed 14.17 extended 23.58) that ARB pairs with the Dakar pack. The biggest things to take into consideration are making sure you cycle the suspension to ensure that you are hitting the factory bump stops before you fully collapse the shock and that when the shock is fully extended your brake lines are not taut. In this case Bilstein provides a brake line extension bracket with the 5160’s. You could also go with the Extended length RCD/Bilstein 5100 rear shocks (collapsed length 16.34 and extended length 27.28). Those are for a 3”-4” block lift (which means they accommodate the thickness of the 3”-4” block and the factory leaf pack) so the collapsed length would possibly require bump stop modification if used with just the lift leaf pack.

 

OK so that was a bit technical for me but what your saying is because the OME dakar achieves lift by arch in the springs rather than seperation betwen axle and leafs, its OK?

 

Throw me in as another vote for the 6112's.

I've been running mine for going on close to 5k miles now and couldn't be happier. Installed on the #3 setting, they leveled me with the rear after they settled and ride better than the stock TRD OR Bilsteins did in every way.

Here's my post-install report on them if you're interested: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ik0niks-2015-trd-or-mostly-modest-build.433701/#post-12645063

 

Very good info here! Thank you!

 

I would hope that they would!

 

The lift is more so achieved by the OME packs being able to support more weight thus not flattening out as easy vs. being arched more, but yeah sounds like you understand what I'm saying. Most of the time it seems manufacturers consider block lifts when indicating what the shocks accommodate and this is primarily because blocks generally serve as worse case.

Also another thing to keep in mind is the rear shocks in these trucks are the limiting factor for droop. Understanding this in each case when the rear is at full droop the shocks are in fact fully extended. Shocks that are too long can over extend the factory packs, but this is a whole other topic.

Hope this helped

 

Ya I think it helped its just always confusing when discussing about this and the last thing one of us wants to do is mess up our shocks. Do you sell a kit with OME leaf springs as well as all the necessary u-bolts, fittings, extended brake lines etc. Basically minus the 5160s because I already have those

 

We do have our inventory reduction event that is going on right now and we have pretty much the exact kit you are looking for. Mines the brake lines. Those aren't on special. Depending on the age of our 5160's your extended length will be a little shorter. If you have the newer ones then they should have come with the brake line extension brackets. If you want to PM me your e-mail address I can shoot a price list over to you.

 

Any body have any experience with wheelers 8 leaf leafsprings? I am trying to decide which would be a better setup for the 5160's. Now that I have decided to spend a little extra I am trying to find the best combination for about 1600 dlls

 

So wheelers 8 leaf vs Dakar any comments??