3rd gen stock tacoma needing lift

Hello,
My name is Andrea. Very new here! I have zero to very little knowledge of leveling kits/lifts, etc and would greatly appreciate guidance and insight.

I have a 2016 Toyota Tacoma sr5 that sees many back roads (nothing crazy but a lot of pot holes and divots in the road). I would love more clearance and have tried reading up on lift kits but I’m completely lost. I’ve seen photos of Tacoma’s with 2-3” lifts and I think 3” is where I want to be. Currently on LT265/70R16 BFGoodrich ko2’s. Eventually I’d like bigger tires but first I want to get a suspension lift done. This lift is solely to gain more clearance and I don’t want to cheap out or buy the wrong product, etc.

I have a pretty generous budget but would still like to try and save money where I can. So my question is, which suspension lift would you recommend for 3”? Any companies I should avoid? Would investing in bigger tires be necessary or can I get away with my current tires on a 3” lift? (I really don’t like the look of tiny tires and a huge gap so that’s my concern - I’m also aware I’d probably need spacers if I eventually purchased larger tires?). I’ve also read up on certain “blocks” and “add a leaf” that can go in the rear to level it out and again, I’m lost with those. Is that suggested/necessary to add in the rear? Ideally I’d like a level look but not sure how to go about it.

Seriously any guidance, tips, knowledge, before & after pictures, links, etc ALL appreciated.

Thank you so much,
Andrea.

 

Welcome. Here's a place to start. Lots of reading...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...2016-tacoma-presented-by-toytec-lifts.395798/

 

First off, welcome! Wow a lot of questions going on here.

First, I would say if you have 4x4 don't go higher than a 2-2.5" lift in the front. Once you get any higher than that your CVs will start to have an unfavorable angle and can wear out prematurely.

Depending on budget you can't really go wrong with Fox, King, Bilstein, ADS, Icon. Those are just the bigger players in the suspension market for tacomas. keep in mind that spending more will get you more but you may not necessarily need it. I would say a good starting point would be to call your local off road shop or whoever you will buy the lift from and talk through your setup, planned weight added to the truck, etc and they can help guide you down a specific path. Not knowing a lot about your rig, maybe look into the Bilstein 6112 / 5160 setup. Or the Fox 2.0's. Personally I'm a believer in the "buy once, cry once" mentality, so I went all out and got what I knew I'd want to keep "forever". I'm on 2.5" Fox's with remote res and DSC adjusters on front and rear. You'll also want new upper control arms in most cases. You could go with Camburg, Total Chaos, or SPC. I have Camburgs myself.

If you do the lift/level right you should gain about 2-2.5" of lift in the front and that will level the truck on stock leaf springs. This mean no spacers, no add-a-leaf. If you carry weight in the truck bed then you can do an add-a-leaf or new leaf pack depending. I would steer clear of blocks or spacers at all costs.

To fit bigger tires, it's more about trimming the plastic in the wheel wells and getting a cab mount chop (CMC). This will help with rubbing even a 285 size tire. I have 265/75/16 tires (a 31.6") and go on pretty much any trail I want to. You can definitely get away with keeping "smaller" tires and the lift not looking funny. But again that's personal preference. Keep in mind a lift doesn't gain you true ground clearance. You will still have your center of your diffs where you'll have low points. The only thing that improves this is bigger tires really.

The main benefit of a lift/upgrade to suspension is the ride feel and offroad capability. You will feel more in control on dirt, feel bumps and ruts less and the shocks will be able to take a better beating. That's the big gain.

Honestly, I'd say go with 2.5" of lift, and stay away from spacers and blocks and you'll be stoked!

 

Thank you for the welcome!

Wow, I am overwhelmed!!!! I really don’t want to make a bad decision and am constantly going back and forth on my decisions and scouring the internet for all possible resources lol. I love my Tacoma and want it to be as safe and reliable on the forest roads as possible. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Anywhere between a 2-3” lift and I think I’d be thrilled, based on the photos I’ve seen. And yes it’s a 4x4! I’ve read good things about Bilstein and it seems to be one of the more popular ones I see popping up. I do plan on going into a shop tomorrow to see if they can offer their knowledge and steer me in a good direction. And Upper Control Arms, are those necessary regardless when lifting your truck or is that something you do when you add bigger tires as well? (I’m so sorry for the questions).

Feeling more in control and having a smoother ride is definitely important to me, like you said! I’ll start looking into what you recommended with the 2.5” lift. Thank you!

 

Andrea, come and hang out in the Canada Sub forum; don't forget to post in the BC Thread!
There are a ton of different suspension options as you've probably found - and your truck is very capable as is of handling many of the Forestry roads you can find in BC.
Figure out what you want to use it for - and then talk to a shop that does off road Toyotas for a package rather than mail ordering bits all over the place..

 

Thank you so much, Mike. I think a package deal would definitely be ideal for me. Glad to see fellow BC’ers!

 

Nice! A reliable offroad shop will be a great help! All the internet reading is subjective to opinions and everyone's got one. haha. But a good shop should help you dial in what you need for your exact setup and truck. You won't need upper control arms in all cases of lift. But they really help the lift move freely in its entire range of motion, especially when talking about down travel or droop. You want a longer and more heavy duty arm so that the nice shocks you put in there can do their job!

 

I just installed Bilstein 6112/5160 combo and I’m super happy with it. On road driving and hitting bumps are a lot smoother. Not as expensive as Kings/fox and they preform well. It is also my DD.

Heres the specs

Front:
Bilstien 6112
5/6 setting
Total chaos UCA
Superbump bump stop
ECGS bushing
Sway bar removed

Rear:
Bilstein 5160
U-bolt flip
superbump
OME cattier bearing drop
3* axle shims
Headstrong 3 AAL

if you’re looking to save some money.

UCA are recommended above 2” lift but some have gotten away with keeping the stock one.

Superbump bump stop. You can keep the stock front and rear.

ECGS bushing. Recommended but not needed. Some report vibration after they lift so I just replaced mine with I was there.

3* axle shims and carrier bearing drop. Recommended but not needed. Again, people have reported vibration after lift.



I ordered from Headstrong off-road. They were super helpful

 

Welcome!
Tip: hit the quote button on the post you are replying to so that way they get an alert.

Upper control arms major benefit:
- gives you more caster (very helpful when getting bigger tires)
- gives you more suspension travel/movement
- beefier
- get ones that can be greased/lubed easily

I like doing highspeed mountain runs (30+ MPH). Lots of pot-holes and dips (washboard kinda roads). My primary suggestion (I am on my third set of suspension), get 2.5 body shocks. I had 2.0s shocks and it blew out and started leaking. I am on the same boat as previous poster; buy once cry once cause I did the mistake of going the cheap route and ended up spending more (hence on my third set of suspension).
My second set of suspension was the 2nd gen Pro Bilstein (you can't buy them anymore unless used) which was basically a 6112/5160 non-adjustable. Pretty good and what most people would only need. I went overboard and got custom-tuned Radflos tailored for my vehicle and driving preference w/ all the bells and whistle for my third and current suspension.

 

Another vote for Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road simply call or message her and tell her what your plans are. She will go over everything and set you up appropriately. I have a full OME lift from them and have been very happy. Lots of choices out there but for a full, quality lift you’ll spend maybe 1200-2500. Obviously you can go higher or lower but that’s a good place to start. Now wheels and tires of course will add more. Here’s a shot of my 2017 with about 3” or lift. Good luck and welcome.


and should your load ever increase I just bolted on a set of bags to what I had and for a couple hundred bucks more. No issues.

 

Thank you so much everyone, I won’t bothering quoting everybody with a response but I very much appreciate it. Some nice trucks you guys posted here!

Update: Talked to a gentlemen today at a local suspension shop and he was able to quickly recommend a couple products. Bilstein 6112 front and 5100 rear plus two add a leaf is what he suggested. He said I could probably get it all done for around $2500 which is pretty much my max budget. Will be going in next week to talk to him more and get the ball rolling. I’ll try and post a picture as well once it’s all done. ✌

 

5100 w/ a bilstein 6112? Why not 5160 rear? Your front end will outperform the rear and you will notice it on a long drive in dirt roads especially when you add weight. The rear already feels jarring when going over bumps.
This forum talks about 6112/5160 combo extensively. It's what people go with because 5100 is only a 2.0 body while 6112 is a 2.5. To compensate for the difference, 5160 is a 2.0 body but has a reservoir.

Here is the whole 6112/5160 kit from Headstrong (what people were recommending you to talk to):https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p473/Performance_Bilstein_Kit_(HS16BK-2).html
Price: $1,386
It includes the add a leaf. An install should only cost around $500-$700. I would shop around different shops and asks how much the labor to install suspension and add a leaf. Then I would purchase the suspension online (make sure the shop you decided on will install parts you bought).

 

Agree.

 

I have no idea! It’s possible I heard him wrong but I’ve also seen the 6112/5160 combo a lot on here too. I’ll mention that when I see him in person next week. Thank you for the link! He mentioned labor to be around $400-$500.

 

Just say he did say 5100. A 6112/5100 combo price:
5100 (rear pair): $175 total
6112 (Front pair): $780 total
Add a leaf (3 leaf AAL top quality not the cheap stuff): $200 total
Grand total: $1,155
These prices are from headstrong, but the prices on other vendors are the same not taking account shipping. The reason why I say headstrong (even though I don't go with them since I have my own vendor) is because they help a lot of new people out. You need to call them though for shipping since their website only is programmed to ship in the US. Outside of it, you would need to call or email them.

That is about a $1,400 gap for labor and upcharge.

 

With exchange that’s $1950 cdn then add in shipping. It’s cheaper for us to buy direct from Essex Bilstein out of Vancouver.

 

You can check out some local pricing with free shipping here for 6112s and 5160s
http://www.bilsteincanada.com/
I also like Elka suspension
https://tctmagazine.net/fall-2018/elka-suspension-review
https://ca.elkasuspension.com/trucks/

 

Well I feel stupid lol. I completely blanked out on the exchange haha. Apologies
On the bright side, if it's $400 in Canadian Dollar for labor, that's pretty cheap compared to what we see here.

 

@hellopnw I'd call Marie at headstrong. She's a very nice lady and can explain anything you'd like to know about lifting your truck and work with your budget to get you the best offering.

Even if the exchange rate is too much you'll still have great info

 

I also recommend the Bilstein 6112 / 5160 combo. I did it with SPC upper control arms in the front. Wheeler's add-a-leaf in the back. Good setup!