Stink-bug stance - what would you do?

So I've decided to get rid of my heavy leer bed cap and replace it with a tonno. I have a 1.5 inch AAL in the rear and stock springs with Bilstein HD's up front. Before I took the cap off it sat nearly level, maybe a half inch high in back, but now that the cap's off it's noticably higher out back, not terrible but it looks kinda funny to me. I drive 99% highway and put the AAL's on because the stock springs sagged with the cap. My question is: what would you do?
I figure I have one of 4 options:
1. Leave it

2.Install new 5100's up front - if this option what should they be set at? Also, if this option can I keep stock springs? (160,000 miles on them)

3. Take out the AAL's

4. Add a small spacer to the front - if so what size?

 

Add Bilsteins up front. Not sure what they should be set to (measure the aft vs the front and set them to the difference I guess). Keep the AAL in as it will help with axel wrap among other things.

Im about to get Bilsteins on all four corners and PM'ed Dan about a possible group buy from Wheelersoffroad.com (including OME coil overs). If you have the money, Bilsteins front and aft and some OME 881 coil overs cost ~$500. And with the group buy, hopfully less.

 

I just solved this very same problem yesterday. I had an AAL in the back and it caused my rear to be 2 inches higher than the front one stock billisteins and stock coils. Just billie 5100s will NOT raise your front. You need a new strut (i got OME 90004s because the billies were back ordered) and 881 or 882s. I went with 881s

The 881s are the same length as the stock coils but stiffer, your it holds your trucks weight 1.25-1.5" higher (or might be 1.5" to 1.75") and the 882s, if im not mistaken, are the same stiffness of the stock springs but longer than them.

 

If you get the 5100,s set the notch to the middle which will give you about 1.5 inch lift up front. Not sure what the above post is saying that the 5100's wont lift your truck at all. Your stock springs will be fine also. I have my 5100's with springs that had 180k on them. I've attached a couple pics of my truck. It has a little squat to it because of my shell. Its stock leafs in the back.

 

hmmm, I was under the impression that the spring was the compression force and the oil/gas strut was purely rebound. In which case the height of the truck could only be changed by the spring tension or spring height being increased. I thought the adjustability of 5100s was merely so that it could be combined with taller springs of the owners preference. that was was Dan at wheelers off-road was explaining to me one time.

 

I know 5100's are the best way to go, but how bad would a 1 inch spacer be instead? I went out and measured from top of tire to bottom of wheel well, the front is about 7 and the rear is about 9, so an inch to 1.5 inches would set things back to about what they were when new from the factory.

 

Misinformed! If he is at stock height in the front Then the 5100's will work fine! they were designed to give anywhere between o-2.5 inches of lift up front. So im pretty sure they will work fine for him!

 

By going up the notches, you increase spring tension. You can also get the taller spring and leave the clip at the lowest notch. The benefit to getting a taller spring is you get a little nicer ride because the spring isnt compressed already. Running a stock spring at the middle notch isnt too bad for me and I daily drive my truck. If you only want to level your ride and not do anything serious in terms on off roading, etc, stock spring is the way to go since you can save a few hundred and not buy new springs.

 

A 1inch Top plate spacer will give you 2inches of lift just FIY! If you are only looking to raise the front 1 Inch then i would go with 1/2 inch top plate spacer! Toytec has them on there site

 

Good to know, thanks for that!

 

Damn, that sucks. for the longest time i had front OME 90004s and i didn't install them because i didn't have the time or money to get 881s. I would have put the stock spring on them.

So wait. both the shock and the strut work togethor for propper compression... alright... how does the sturt produce upward force on the trucks weight? with an internal oil baithed spring?

 

I've been looking at installation instructions and it looks like even with the spacer I still need to take the strut apart? I was thinking I'd be able to just take it off, set the spacer in place, and reinstall. If I need to take the strut apart and compress the spring and all that, seems like it's stupid to put a spacer in when I can replace the strut itself with a 5100.

 

Exactly! Go for the 5100's. And while your at it, get some 5100's in the rear. Heck, through in some OME 880's (or 881's for a stiffer/taller ride)!

If you dont do it right the first time, dont do it at all .

 

X2. I looked at spacers for a bit, but eventually went with the 5100s. I have stock leafs in the back so I just went to the middle setting for about a 1" lift. The rear is still higher, but it looks a lot better. I thought 2.5" would be a bit much (for me). The front feels firmer, but not harsh or stiff.
Matt

 

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