Finally Ready To Lift My Truck

So im finally lifting my truck. Iv done a lot of searching and looking around for my best option and im at a loss. I don't do a lot of serious off roading but I go out on the trails a bunch so im only looking for a 3" kit. My first though was to just do a spacer lift but after searching around that seems like the last thing I want to do. So I started looking at Pro Comp, OME, fabtec, ect... So now im at ToyTec. Im just wondering if there are any other suggestions out there that im over looking. I was hoping to only spend around $600 or so but now looking more towards the $1000 range. Is the ultimate lift kit my best option? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

ultimate, or a lot of guys run the OME as well

 

If i were you go with OME set up cheaper than ultimate lift kit. OME is very capable on or of road and coil, shock and top plate spacer w/ trim packer on driver side levels the truck out nicely plus if you have a 1000 bucks to spend the OME is 600ish leaves 400 for other mods

 

I got the Ultimate kit (with AAL) along with a set of TC UCAs after lurking here and reading an assload of posts. I couldn't be happier. The truck rides and drives better and looks great (IMO), and everything was pretty straightforward to install. I haven't had any issues and am about 12K in since lifting. I am obviously not a desert racer nor extreme rock crawler...but I use the truck about like you describe so that's why I chimed in.

BTW, I have been pretty happy with the AAL that comes with the kit. It increased the ability to carry loads without sag a bunch, and didn't settle too badly. Personally, I like the ride quality. If you are looking to save money now, you can get the AAL and get a leaf pack down the road.

 

Thanks for all the info. Do you need to get a new set of UCA's for the ultimate kit? Or is it more of a bolt on and go set up.

 

Aftermarket upper control arms are recommended so that the vehicle can be aligned properly (caster within tolerance) with a lift, however, you can get by without them and many people do. Lots of posts here about alignment specs, steering and ride quality, etc. to check out. My buddy who works at a tire shop (and who aligned my truck) said the aftermarket UCA made it easy to get it to spec.

ToyTec recommends the Light Racing UCAs which are cheaper than the TCs...there are several other options as well.

 

In the $600 to $1000 range, Old Man Emu is going to be your best kit.

 

The tradeoff of the toytec coilover vs. OME is Toytec spends more on machining metal parts that go into a coilover assembly that's threaded so it can be adjusted on the truck.

OME spends more money on a big Dakar leaf pack in back.

If you're carrying camping gear into the back country, OME is a better use of your sheckles.

If you're into unladen wheeling and like the "levelled" look (ass-low to my eye, but that's just me) Toytec might be a better choice.

Out of the box, OME comes with springs and shocks and you must get a spring compressor to assemble. Out of the box, "ultimate" comes assembled, but you can choose a less expensive option to assemble yourself by going down to a shop with a spring compressor.

 

^^^ What Steve said

 

Thanks for the info, I might end up going with the OME setup. How do you like it on your truck?

 

So far so good. I haven't gotten it dirty yet, so it's really too early to say anything useful. But it hasn't ruined the ability of my truck to fulfill it's primary role, which is as my daily-driver.

I've got the 885 & Dakar springs on a std cab, so I got a pretty high lift out of it - prolly a little more than I would have liked, actually.

Basically, the bumpier the road or street is, the better I like how the suspension feels. But freeway expansion joints ride a little less comfortably now than the family minivan. ;-)

Access cab with a V6 you'll probably get a little more reasonable lift height and better ride than I did. But, if you really *want* the height, you can just tack a half-inch top-plate spacer on there and it'll send you right up.