What suspension is right for me?

We have a master mechanic that we use for vehicle maintenance. I inquired about installation after I had accumulated all of the parts. He gave me a ballpark of $450-$500 (leaf packs with hardware, coils, shocks, top hats). I ended up doing it myself with help from a friend so after saving on labor the total upgrade only cost me around $900.

 

I'd suggest taking the shocks and springs to a shop to get them assembled, or go through a different vendor and pay the small extra to have them already assembled.

Coil overs go on easy as all that needs to be done is one bolt on the bottom, and 3 bolts up top. A ratcheting wrench on top is perfect for this; 14mm.

If you find it difficult to line up the lower bolt and control arm, take some thick cardboard and place it under your wheel well. Place your stock bottle jack on your upper control arm, and start expanding your jack. This will push your assembly down to allow you to line up your bolt on the bottom.

Rear shocks are simply unbolt, remove, and replace.

Rear leaf pack easy as well, but requires a small bit of manipulation while you sit on your ass. This is where having 4 jack stands really helps.

Here's my post from a few weeks ago; the member ended up coming to my house anyway for the install

 

Awesome thanks for the detailed advice!

 

I vote blocks

 

They work fine for me

 

5100s suck

 

better than blocks.

 

5100s dont provide lift where blocks are used

 

Leaf springs (where applicable) provide lift.

Coil springs (where applicable) provide lift.

Shocks dampen.

 

5100s have this stupid preload feature that provides lift in front and wrecks your back

 

Still better than blocks.

 

I'm not familiar at all with their front shocks but have seen that they're adjustable based on the amount of lift you want/need. This could also be alleviated with a different type of spring as well. With that being said, they're similar to other full coilover setups in that, if you want lift, you need to preload your setup.

I don't understand the "wrecks your back"?

 

You two keep in mind James put 2nd gen Tacoma coils on his 1st gen.

 

By preloading it youre making it stiffer making it taller and destroying any semblance of comfort

 

In an attempt to fix the ride... they made it better

 

I’m sure

 

I know what the cause of adding more preload does; I implied it further by comparing them to full coil overs IE Fox, ADS, Kings.

If you're replying to my "wrecks your back" question, I was asking if you were referring to your back as in your comfort, or back as in the back of the truck since we are after all on the subject of shocks, and blocks were mentioned. Blocks are used in the back FYI.

With that being said, I'm going to refer to my comment I made several times before; how are you guys sensitive enough to complain about the ride in a truck? I'm riding on e rated tires at 38psi with a 2" lift (preload set from factory) and its comfortable as hell.

 

Lol I'm out.

 

It's all in your head dude.

Those 2nd gen springs are weighted for a heavier truck, i.e. the exact same thing increasing the preload with 5100s does.