Looking for better suspension, not necessarily a lift

You may be a little butt high for not waiting for the fronts but then again it's not like you're going with a 3" lift so it shouldn't be horrible. Pretty much your call on riding looking down for a bit ha glad you got it worked out

 

I dont see why you couldnt install the rear now. You'll be nose-diving in the mean time, but if you dont mind that, atleast you will have that much out of the way. Glad ya found something that will work for you. Hope you are happy with it. Dont forgive us an update when you do get it finished. And as always, pictures are never a bad idea.

Wheelers was out of my front shocks when I tried to order from them a month or so ago. Guess nobody wants to keep enough in stock and have money tied up in it. Toytec was out of the dakars. Oh well, its on now.

 

I got the springs and shocks installed this weeked.



Excuse the bad picture and dirty truck. The Wheeler's 5 pack lifted it about 1 1/8". Looks a little goofy now, but the front 5100's should be in relatively soon. I will probably set them .85" to compensate for the 2"+ rake I got going on now.

Went quite smoothly except for the usualy unexcpected things like having to remove the tow hitch. All the bushing we pretty much shot, and I had a frozen shackle that I had to beat on to get it to move. So overall its good I got all that replaced.

Thanks again everyone and I'll report back when I get the front done.

Brett

 

Why did you have to remove the hitch? Mine never came close to giving me any problems. In fact, I had the hi-lift lifting off of my hitch to help get the tension off the springs and such the whole time.

 

No first gens I'm aware of came with a factory hitch, so this was an aftermarket bolt on deal and had to be removed to get to the upper nut of the shackles.

 

Ah. Gotchya. I keep forgetting you are in a 1st Gen.

 

i have a 2nd gen and im planning on doing the same thing (no lift, just upgrade) im leaving the stock leafs (only 57K on them) and doing 5100's all around with eibach springs in the front. i'd say get the eibachs, they will probably level you out in the front.

 

I think he already has the 5100's ordered.

 

Thanks for this post and everyone's info-- please post updates when you're done!

 

All done!




Look at my sig pick for comparison. It came out very close to 1" lift all around. Thanks again everyone for the help and suggestions.

 

Congrats on getting it all done!

 

Hello Squeaky Penguin,
I'm about to do to my truck what you did to yours...
It's been a few months now and I was just wondering, how do you like the mod? Did it really improve yor ride?
Thanks,

Eric.

 

Eric,

As of now I'm really enjoying the suspension. Of course, I can only compare to my stock stuff with 200K miles on it. I bought a set of 265/75/16's since I last posted in this thread as well. They fit perfectly and look just right with the amount of lift. I would say onroad is slightly better, but the offroad performance is a vast improvement.

There are a few things I would consider with the setup I'm using though.
- Without a topper you would be left with a lot of rake.
Ocassionly I pull it off and the back end makes a noticeable rise. And as I said my current setup leaves the truck with just about a stock stance. Defenitly not level. You would have to compensate by using the top setting on the 5100s or use a diffent coil if you did not have a topper, which brings me to my next point.

- Coils
I've second guessed my self a few times now with coils. My stock coils are old and tired and should have probably been replaced. Of couse there are options for the 5100's like the eibachs, but that would result in too much lift. Maybe someone else could chime in about other coils, but I like that 1" lift setup and of course its not too common.

Anyways,

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

And a few pics just because:


Grouse Hunting


Flex

 

Thanks for the reply. Glad to hear you're liking it.
I need to replace worn out stuff / upgrade. I'm looking for no more than an inch lift. More and it gets harder to load motorcycles and such...
So I really appreciate the update and comments on your upgrade.
I'm planning on getting mine done sometimes this winter. Just gathering infos and tips right now. Lots of good infos on this forum. Thanks all.


Looks like your dog is ready to go find some birds

 

I'm in the same situation as you guys. I only want lift if it really increases performance and then as little as possible. I do have a set of KO2 265/75R16's coming in from Costco soon.

REAR:

I purchased the rear Dakar leaf springs from Toytec and am trying to decide if I should take a leaf out or just run it ready to haul stuff. I do think I will be putting things like gravel in the back, so probably just do the full pack. I have a Tonneu and am looking for a camper shell.

The PO put on 5100 Bilsteins all around, but didn't change the springs out.

FRONT:

I am considering the 880's for the front, but don't want a ton of lift.

I would prefer to get the 6112's and set at the lowest setting, but given I have brand new 5100's I am guessing that is a waste of money.

 

Return or sell the 5100s and get the 6112s. I run 6112s on my third gen 4Runner and the difference between them and 5100s is night and day. 1, they're highly adjustable for whatever ride height you want, but more importantly 2, they ride amazingly, like so good I actually get pissed that I can't feel the bumps I'm hitting for some feedback once in a while haha. they're super beefy, the digressive valving feels great at speed on rough roads and the ride is smoother than my stock shocks/coils were.

 

Yea - I already have the 6112's - bought them a few days after my post - just decided they had to feel like the ones I had on the Tundra and worth the $$ vs putting OME on the 5100.

I appreciate your input as I haven't heard of a lot of people buying them for 3rd Gen 4R and 1st Gen Tacos.

Full set up that needs to be installed still:

Bilstein 6112 set at 8/7 for 1.8" of lift.
Rear Dakar's with Toytec Boss shocks.
Topper on the back.