Consensus on Best Lift/Aftermarket Suspension

Hey all,

New to Tacoma's. Considering purchasing a 17 4x4 OR in the next month or so. Have been doing a bunch of reading on the newer 3rd gen's here the past couple weeks.

What is the overall consensus on the best lift/suspension options or the "go-to" that most people go with...if they want to be able to run a little bigger tire and level the truck out without taking away from or hampering the ride?

Would probably consider running a 32/33" tire on an 18"wheel. Nothing too crazy, but my main concern is keeping or improving upon the stock ride of the truck, not degrading it.

Thanks,

J

 

I literally just ordered this:

OME 885 coils
5100s (3rd Gen) all around putting front set to 0
Wheelers 3 leaf Progressive AAL with overload leaf left in
Driver side 1/4 in spacer
ECGS Bushing replacement (for Incase of vivrations)
Total was around: $752. I had some deals and stuff but that should be your total with everything new.

All information needed was in this thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dclb-with-885-springs-5100s-at-0-and-3-leaf-aal.502144/

Also welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome! Unfortunately, you will get no consensus because every lift has pros and cons. Additionally, no aftermarket suspension will be as versatile as the stock suspension, meaning some will be better on road, some will be better off road, but none will be superior in all applications.

 

Thanks for the info! Appreciate it!

 

Thanks. Appreciate the reply.

I understand that every lift/level kit has pros and cons. Usually certain makes/models have a "popular" or "most recommended" choice when it comes to lifts/leveling options. At least that has been my experience with other trucks I have owned (Jeep/Chevy/Ram).

 

Hope you made a typo, thread linked refers to 2nd gen 5100’s. This thread you typed 3rd gen 5100’s.

 

1.king
2.ads (close second, and a proud owner)
3. Fox
4. Icon (I've seen some problems )
5. Everything else. OME is good, along with probably everything on the list. Start with a budget, then figure it out.
Note: I live in Alabama and I have remote resi's all around because I'll be doing that high speed desert running all the time . Definitely easy to over spend!

 

Kings, UCAs (TC), AAL, 275 K02s

RZ Rob

 

MZ202

The fact you’d like to run 18” wheels leads me to believe you’re not going to really offroad this truck more than a dirt logging road.

Therefore I believe the 5100’s will be a good choice being that they are the same valving as the TRD off-road, how ever give the ability to be run at a higher front height obviously. Nothing crazy is going to change up front handling wise.

I pulled the front sway bar out of mine with 5100’s and even that didn’t do much in the way of making the truck handle different (in any negative way).

Photo attached - fronts at one notch below max setting. Rear 1 inch block.

Fronts not at max, due to not having to worry about cv’s
Rear 1 inch block cause when I did the lift people were going Crazy about rear diff howl and ‘problems’ therefore kept it lower to prevent any dealership back lash if anything happened to mine.

Just being Cautious. Lol. Next year I’ll re-lift the rear.

 

Thanks man. Appreciate the info!

 

Another user on the same thread uses 3rd gen 5100s and achieved similar results. That’s what I was going for.

 

Sweet looking ride man. Like that long bed.

 

Sweet truck man. Love the color. What size tires you running?

I'm definitely not going to be doing any Baja races. 99% of my offroad will be for hunting purposes. I live out west (rocky mountains). So mud, snow, steep terrain, are all stuff the truck would see. I do enjoy the look of a slightly lifted truck, but I'm not 18 anymore.....so I value comfort/performance of the ride.

I run the 5100's on my current truck and have been happy with them, would not be against using them again.

 

I put custom dirt on the paint for picture effect lol

265/70/17 duratracs. Next set of tires will be 255/85/16’s with new rims or leave the wheels alone and same size overall with factory 17’s instead.

 

18s will be rough for these trucks.
you'd be better with 17s.

lift won't do anything for other tires. if you go to a 33 w/ lift you'll need to do a body mount chop.
There's a lengthy thread on here that on stock suspension you can fit 33s (255 85 16) but as soon as you change wheel or suspension its not happening.

Something to consider when you go with remote reservoir suspension is rebuild schedules.
Fox says 50 000miles on road only, 10 000miles 50/50 or 1000miles 100% offroad. Thing is that 50/50 is likely including harsh off roading like going off jumps and baja like this suspension is designed for. Rock crawling not so much so you can likely push that 50/50 to more around 35-40k miles. (at least I'm hoping for my sake)

I doubt many will ride better than OEM on road. All of which usually involve upgrading leafs and springs for heavier duty ones. Ride will get rougher.



I'm waiting on my leafs to settle a little before I play with height in the front and seeing how low the rear goes with weight.

 

Few factors determine what lift is right for you.

Budget is one. How much are you looking to spend on a lift?

Tires size is another. How big are you looking to go? How much are you willing to alter the truck to fit that tire size?

 

Also with a suspension lift you might want to look into getting UCAs as it will throw your caster and camber off.

 

Not even.. ADS is best and Fox is now close behind. Fox is using higher quality build materials than King is at this point. Id say that Bilstein is head and shoulders above Icon but thats just me, I take quality control more seriously than having the craziest features.

 

Best to start with a quality set of leaf springs and some nice coils up front. Id recommend a set of custom Alcan leaf springs to start with in the rear. Next, you will want to convert to spring under axle to get more up travel for comfort offroad, along with some nice shocks in a 12" or 14" travel size. I would recommend hitting up Accutune offroad for shocks as well as shock relocation brackets for the rear, as well as Total Chaos for the spring under kit. Could use the Deaver leaf springs they offer, but Alcan has the Orbit-eye bushings which give much better grip/articulation for rock crawling and offroading

Next, you will want some nice coils up front. For a 33" tire I would recommend going with Fox extended travel coilovers and some Total Chaos UCAs. Bonus points if you opt for heim joint upgrade but not necessary. Finally, you will want proper bump stops and limit straps. A good offroad shop won't charge you much to test and install those.

Also now would be a good time to reinforce the frame mounting points of the front suspension along with the spindles... Not completely necessary but if you are going to wheel then this would be a great idea.

Depending on your budget, you can theoretically speaking, expand upon everything I have recommended. For example, could always go dual shock in the front, traction bars and traction bar-mounted shocks in the rear, full Long Travel, etc. All depends on what you want to spend, but for the best performance, comfort, and reliability you will want to start with what I recommended.

 

From what I was told by a shop that builds strictly rigs.

Kings is the best for off road performance but sacrifice EVERYTHING else. Don't be surprised to be rebuilding shocks every 15 000miles.
Fox I was told seems to be the best for longevity between rebuilds and mixed on off road performance. So i went with Fox.

I haven't heard much about ADS. Same shop had nothing really positive to say about Icon besides its good on road but have lots of problems with leaking.