Good Shops for a Lift in the Boston (Northshore area) ?

I'm in the market for a lift pretty soon, maybe 3 or 4". Does anyone know of any shops or are there any people who have done it/know how to do it?

Thanks!

 

safe yourself a ton of money and install yourself. (very easy to do, even by yourself with basic hand tools)
which lift are you planning on ? there are more than several choices. Search the suspension threads and you will find a ton info. what kind of wheeling are you going to do, is it just for looks ? etc.....


BTW welcome to the board.

 

x2, here's a good write-up on how to do it yourself. Saves a ton of money!

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/su...talls-full-ome-kit-rear-brake-lines-pics.html

And welcome from a fellow Masshole!

 

Thanks so much guys!

It would mainly be for off roading, just rough old logging roads, not for rock crawling or stuff like that. Haha, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but I've seen some vids of people jumping, and would love to be able to throw in new suspension decent enough to do that.

But in all reality, my budget as a college student is pretty tight. What type of lift would you all recommend? I was thinking coil overs, and it would be good if I could keep the stock leaf springs (if possible). I'm a noob to all this, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

you can buy some bilstein 5100s, use your stock coils or upgrade to eibach coils which has a higher spring rate.

you can set that at .65 1.75 and 2.5 of lift(i think not positive on these numbers)

then the rear you can get a add a leaf (i suggest a 3 leaf progressive AAL)

and that will even out the truck. i also suggest bilstein 5125s for the rear. thats the best/cheapest you can really go.

 

What's your budget for a lift and how tall do you want to go? What's on the cheap side for someone may be outrageous for someone else. 97yota4wd listed a good option for an inexpensive, functional lift that would allow you to retain a lot of your factory parts. If you want to go a little better, you could also replace your factory coils as well. It would ride better than preloading your stock coils but could also put you into the range where you'd need new upper control arms. Once you start getting over 2", you run the risk of needing UCA's to obtain proper alignment and they ain't cheap

Fixed

 

From what i have been reading, i would stick with either bilsteins or OME lift rather than a set of coilovers. Of coarse the coilovers are "better" than both bilstein and OME but being in new england, coilovers would be tough to keep in good condition long term due to road salt during tough winter months. Also, for less than the price of coilovers only, you can purchase a complete OME lift kit.

 

Fixed for you. The complete OME kit is a coilover kit, just not readily adjustable with a spanner wrench like like some of the more expensive sets. You're also paying for a lot more than adjustability in most cases. As you mentioned, there is really no comparison between Bilsteins and a good set of Fox, King or Icon shocks.

 

Thanks everyone!

I'm a total noob, so I apologize.

My budget is under $1,000 for everything, and I'd really like a suspension lift (no spacers). So after rethinking and researching further, could I do 884 OME coils in front, then AALs in the rear? What are the stats that I'd need on the AALs do you think, 2"?

I'm unsure about the shocks, I was thinking OMEs or Bilsteins, your thoughts? And I don't want to replace my UCAs, but I've heard that upon installation, it's easy to break them too. Could I avoid replacing them by staying under 3" and being super gentle while installing?

You guys are super helpful, I can't thank you enough.

 

1.5" AAL should be good, 2" would put you a little ass high. I really like the 1.5" 3-leaf progressive AAL. It's a little more expensive but comes with new U-bolts and centering pins and rides great!

884's are made to be paired with OME struts but will work with 5100's as well. I've got 5100's and am happy and others are happy with OME struts. Really can't go wrong with either.

You're not going to break the UCA during install. The issue is getting your alignment within spec after the install. The stock UCA does not allow for enough adjustment to get the caster within spec. You can sacrifice a little camber to gain some caster adjustment but that means you're going to wear your tires faster. (Caster does not prematurely wear tires, it causes the wandering feeling at speed, Camber affects tire wear). Anytime you push 2.5" of lift or over, you roll the dice on whether you'll need new UCA's or not. Some have gotten away with it at 2.5" of lift, some have not, it's case by case. Regardless, you will not break your UCA during install unless you're doing something really really wrong.