What suspension parts to get for my 1st gen?

Hello and good-day my fellow 1st gen Tacoma owners,

I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma and I've been contemplating on what shocks and struts to get for the front and rear. I have never replaced or upgraded them. I believe they are the original OEM ones that it came with. The drive is getting uncomfortable now and I feel bad for my truck. I have been saving some money now and have a total of $1000 to invest on some shocks and struts including having them mounted. I have heard good reviews on the Bilstien shocks and the old man emu. Right now I have a 2 1/2 " leveling kit with some 32" inch tires but willing to buy some 33". My question is, can someone let me know what to get and where ? Also, would like to know what exactly to order. I'am new to all this and really want to get my truck looking and feeling good again.

Thank You.
Art

 

Im guessing the 2" leveling kit is via spacers right? I'd use the $1k you have to get the right shocks/coils/leafs to lift your truck front and rear via the suspension and ditch those spacers...your ride quality will improve dramatically.

Bilstein 5100 shocks set to 0 with OME 881 or 882 coils will net you about 2" front lift, then use the rest of the money for the rear 5100 shocks with a 3 leaf add-a-leaf pack for your stock leaf springs which should give you about the same lift in the rear. All for about a grand

 

@MY1STGENTACO do this ^^^ get rid of the spacers they're no good.

 

@MY1STGENTACO this kit ^^^ is a little more than $1k but it is even better than the kit I described, because it comes with a whole new leaf pack and not just AALs. If you can spend the extra $200 or so, I'd go with this

 

+1 for @Wheeler's Off-Road Inc, ask for the tacoma world discount. My vote would be ome 883 up front, dakars out back and 5100 shocks and struts @ zero. Don't forget extended rear brake line, u bolts and exhaust drop bracket if you have a stock exhaust

 

Thank you for everyone that is replying and posting things for me

 

Where do I look for the 883 's ?

 

Unfortunately don't have many tools

 

883s will make for a very stiff ride if you don't have a steel bumper/skid plate/winch up front, or at least a couple of those. 883s have the highest spring rating of the 880s - 883s.

881s ride great and will give a 4x4 v6 about 1.5 - 2 in of lift in my experience (I got ~1.5 with them).

882s will give you about 2.5" of lift with a softer ride

883s will give you about 2.5" of lift with a stiff ride unless you have extra weight up front

 

Wheeler's Offroad and Headstrong Offroad are a couple popular vendors on here for those kits

 

Thank you so much.

So this kit will come with a 2.5' lift ? If so, I Can get this kit if you guys all agree. I would have to save a bit more money.

 

the link just takes us to the options, which springs are you planning on getting? 881s, 882s, or 883s? The front coils/springs determine the amount of front lift you get, the rear lift is determined by the leaf packs. This kit comes with Dakar leaf packs which should give you about 2.25 inches of rear lift.

 

I'll throw my hat in the "get the OME kit" ring.

If you're just replacing your shocks, go for the 5100's and get some shackles in the back (if the rear is still stock height). That'll run you ~$400.


But if you're thinking about replacing all your springs, too, the OME kit linked above is far and away the best deal. $1200 for an entirely new suspension is a great deal. The only other things to consider are the diff drop kit (also in that link). The kit already comes with an exhaust hanger and an extended rear brake line.

Other things to consider are ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack bushings and control arm bushings. After all that, your truck will feel like new.

 

Also he should consider spending the extra 4 hundred or so for the SPC upper control arms kit option if possible...not entirely 'necessary' but might have alignment issues with the lift and his stock uppers

 

I would give them a call. Talk to someone there and describe what you have and what you want. The different coils are for different lifts and for different weights (if you have a heavy aftermarket bumper/winch, etc...

Call them, they'll set you up right.

 

Looks good, but I'll never understand how you got 2.5" of lift from 881s lol...they aren't even advertised to provide that much. I barely got and inch and a half out of them with no front end weight

 

Nice Truck bro!!

 

True, but you can do that afterwords IF he has problems aligning. It's entirely possible he'll be fine.

 

Yea my truck currently has 278,000 miles on it

 

@Wju that kit that costs @1,200 will that be the BEST option I can go for?