Best 3” lift

I’m looking to upgrade from my current 1.5” ready lift in the front, to a full 3” lift. Adjustable coil-overs up front, adjustable shocks and 1” spring in the back. I want to get the most lift while maintaining great ride quality. Currently I am running 285/70/17 with a 0 offset. This will be a daily driver w/ occasional light off-roading. I’m looking at either the Icon, King, or Eibach kits. Budget isn’t really a factor, just getting the most lift while maintaining ride quality. From my visual research Icon seems to offer more lift than the Kings. Although the Kings seem to be the fan favorite, from photos they seem to sit lower than the Icons. I’ve get the Eibach set up on my runner, so I’m familiar with them. The Eibachs would be my last resort to save money if both Icon and King offer the same amount of lift as the Eibachs. What’s your opinion? Thanks

 

One thing thats so great about the gen4 is the ability to just slap on 285s with no effort. 3-3.5" lifts have always felt like shit to me on my past Toyotas (gen 3 taco, gen5 4R, Gen1 Tundra) and always seem to invite other components to fail down the line or require additional upgrades. With it being a DD, I think you would really be happier on the daily with a really nice 2" kit with some great shocks / springs / control arms. I really like Bilstein for on the road. They do a good job of taking out body roll and make the truck feel competent.

Really if you're determined to go 3-3.5", I think you have to go to a high end FOX or KING setup because TBH... most of the offerings out there (OME NItrocharger, Bilstein, etc) ride like hot garbage when adjusted up to that height to me. A lot of people are happy with them but the innate harshness all the time for me just kinda sucks. I think my top option for the Tacoma if I went 3" or so would be OME BP-51 personally. The adjustability can really be finetuned for what you need and they're just really nice units.

Good luck on whichever path you go with! Enjoy it.

 

Are you going to keep your 33s or go larger? I would think 33s with a 1.5" lift would look just about right. 33s with 3" of lift would leave a lot of empty space in the wheel wells, but that's very subjective. You want to maintain great ride quality, did the ready lift spacers maintain the factory ride quality?

 

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. Im starting to lean more towards the Kings, as most ppl seem to have only positive feedback back regarding this setup. I know a 3” will most likely require other mods for reliability, ie. diff & sway drop.

 

Yes, I plan on sticking w/ the 33’s for now. May go w/ 295’s at some point. The 1.5 RL works well, I do get some rub at full wheel turn. I’m hoping the 3” lift will eliminate that. As far as ride quality, yeah, it’s maintained the OE ride, which imo is kinda stiff for my liking. I have noticed if I hit a roller or speed bump to fast I get a hard knock. I’m beginning to suspect that the OE Bilstein is topping out with the added spacer, as it seems to happen on the rebound. My other reason for wanting a 3” kit is the rake. I didn’t add a bigger spring to the back, but the rear seemed to come up just as much as the front after adding the RL and the rake kinda drives me nuts. Idk. I appreciate your feedback though and welcome any other info you got. Thanks

 

Installing OME BP-51 and UCAs on my truck last week in July. Sadly, wheels are on back order and will have to wait until August sometime for those to know if I can fit 295/75/18.
I had OME Nitrocharger and Ironman 4X4 on my 2005. They were both over 2.5 in. and were similar in performance and ride quality; stiff on when going slow but softened up some at speed. I had 265/75/16 tires, just a tiny bit over stock.
This time around I’m choosing a higher end option. And sticking to around 2 in. lift to keep all the parts lined up as close to factory as possible (and not need to replace the needle bearing). The BP-51s have been something I’ve wanted for years. Didn’t think I’d be installing so soon into ownership though. Expected to wear the stock suspension first.