2012 2" lift - Best way to go?

I use my truck every day for business, drive 40K+ miles/year and often have customers in my truck, so a 6" lift w/ 35" tires really isn't practical for me. I have a 2007 dbl cab Sport (soon to be my son's truck) w/ 5100's at 1.75", 265/70r17's and rear air bags. I have been very pleased with my truck's performance both as a daily driver, moderate tow vehicle (trailers to 4000 pounds), off-road as my hunting vehicle and occasional light off-road play vehicle.

So I'm planning the future for my 2012 dbl cab Off Road and could use a little help. I'm happy with the tire size and lift I have on my '07 (yes I know they will be 265/75r16's on the Offroad, but same basic size...) and know that the mild suspension component upgrades I have are well suited for the stated uses. The question I have is - Is this the best way to achieve this mild lift?

I see reference to using aftermarket springs in conjunction w/ the 5100's set at 0 lift setting to achieve a similar lift (1.75" setting w/ stock springs) - what are the advantages to this type of set up?

Is there any point to changing UCA's in a mild lift like this?

Art there other suspension components I should be looking at? If so what are the advantages?

I know these may seem like silly questions, I know the 5100's and airbags will work for what I want, just want to make sure I've got the best set-up for my application. Budget isn't a huge concern, I can afford to get this done right (if there's a better way than just the 5100's and the airbags) but I don't want to pay to have it done multiple times.

Thanks,

David

 

The reason people go with 5100's and eibachs (for example) is that when you go with an aftermarket spring there is no preload on the spring and makes for a better ride.

If your dead set on only having a 2 inch lift just know most people get over that when they do the above mention method, so if your ok with that then more power. If not just get coilovers and set it exactly how you want it, good luck and your lucky to have 2 tacos in teh driveway...

 

I'm driving 40K miles a year, larger lift and tires start eating into the fuel economy and even more importantly start causing some difficulty for customers getting in and out of my truck. I already have had PLENTY of griping about this w/ my '07 and it's mild lift - that's why I bought an Offroad w/ Nerf bars. I should have checked into that more, would have bought sliders if I'd realized the difference at the time - this is the sort of screw up / redo I'm trying to avoid on the suspension...

So I'm pretty stuck on the 2" max lift. Sounds like the Eibach's would be an upgrade. Not sure about the coil overs reference - is that another possible way to get a mild 2" lift or is that only for larger lifts? What about UCA's - any point w/ a 2" or less lift? Anything I should be looking to do to the rear besides 5100's and bags?

Advice much appreciated, thanks!

David

 

I know what you mean about fuel, my 285's suck but i love how they look and how they preform offroad.

From what everybody says about Eibachs they are for sure an upgrade. I have coilovers on my truck, they just allow you to set the exact ride height ones desires. Right now they are at about 2.75 eventually im getting a plate bumper that will weigh the front down. So after that happen all i have to do is crank up teh coilovers back to 2.75 and im back to where i was at.

Just google "coilovers" or look on youtube or search here on TW theres tons of info.

As for the uca's if you stay around 2 inches you will be fine, and for the back the 5100's and bags sound good if they've worked for you in the past...

brett

 

Thanks Tony!

Anyone else? I know I don't NEED UCA's, - is there any benefit to adding them? Coil Overs?

What would be the benefit to adding the Icon extended travel coil over shock kit set to 1.5-2" and the Icon tubular uniball UCA's?

Would there be any point to adding this in conjunction w/ Icon Rear Resvoir Shocks and Air Bags?

Will I get any benefit from the Icon Components (Coil overs, Rear shocks & UCA's) if they aren't set to 3" lift ? Will they improved suspension ride & durability?

How difficult is it to adjust the Icon coil overs? Can that be done on the truck? Could I ride around most of the time w/ them set about 1.5", then jack 'em up to 2.5" and add air to the bags for more rear lift off road? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I don't know much about suspension upgrades.

Thanks,

David

 

It's no problem ask all the questions u have.

First like you said new ucas aren't need but they will improve your ride, as will getting the icon coilovers. (I have them up front on my truck and 5100's in the back).

To be honest if you don't do alot of off roading I would not get the rear resi shocks to me it just overkill and a waste of money (just my opinion).

Overall up grading to icon though your ride will improve tremendously. Also you can adjust the coilovers while they are on your truck with a spanner wrench.

Your on the right track and you won't be disappointed with anything ICON

Brett

 

Thanks again Tony!

How difficult is it to adjust the coil overs w/ the spanner wrench? Is that a quick 2 minute adjustment that can be done frequently or something that should really be set and left alone?

I off road a lot during hunting season, but it's not real tough off roading and I'm usually trying to ease along quietly, not seeing how fast I can blast through. Appreciate your input on the rear shocks!

So - Icon extended travel coil over shock kit set to 1.5-2" and the Icon tubular uniball UCA's, Bilstein 5100's rear and the airbags will have me set w/ some 32" 10plys on my factory rims. I'll need to get rid of the nerf bars and swap to sliders before I tear something up.

Anything else? Am I missing anything?

Thanks,

David

 

There not hard to adjust at all you can actually do it with the tire still on the truck if you want to or take it off and its easier. I set mine and left them alone, I wouldnt adjust them and change them often because it will change your alignment too...

That sounds like a strong setup, you should be happy with it .

What kind of tires are you planning on running?

Also what part of Texas are you hunting in and what do you hunt?

brett

 

I don't know if you've priced any of this out but Icons are pretty expensive. They will improve your ride but it doesn't come cheap. You can adjust the coils on the truck I believe but you shouldn't do it frequently unless you're getting it realigned. Anytime you mess with the geometry of the front suspension, it's a good idea to get the truck re-aligned. Otherwise, you risk uneven tire wear or poor handling on the road.

You said you came from a 2007 with 5100's set at 1.75 and really liked the ride. If you want 2" of lift and want to keep some money in your wallet, check out OME 884 coils. They'll get you right about 2" of lift on your double cab. Another option would be Eibach coils with 1/2" top plate on the driver's side and 1/4" on the passenger side.

I wouldn't go with remove reserviors and air bags, just seems like a waste since the air bags will do some dampening on their own, taking away from the performance of the remote resi's. If you need the performance of remote reservior shocks, you probably shouldn't be adding air bags. Air bags don't allow for ton of droop and, if pushed too hard, can tear on you.

Lastly, I don't completely understand the theory behind extended travel coilovers for a small lift. I get the extended travel, but for such a small lift, you'll have plenty of downtravel with the standard coilovers and could save yourself $1,000 on not buying the Icon uniball UCA.

 

Thanks again Tony!

I've been running Mickey Thompson ATZ's on my '07 Tacoma and have been very pleased with them. This is how they looked w/ about 72K miles on them:



I swapped them to a new set at 75K (on the tires, not the truck) for my son. In 75K miles I had 1 puncture - a heavy grade industrial screw. I hunt in Gonzales county, about 14 miles SSE from the Buckee's off I-10 on the way to San Antonio (if you know where that is!). Thorns and rocks are a constant problem at our place, can't count the number of plugs we've put in tires out there and over the last 8 years we've probably killed at least a dozen tires w/ cuts. I was dumbfounded that I never had a problem w/ the MT ATZ's in two hunting season - I know that's partially luck, but still I was impressed!

The back 1/2 of our place has a lot of sand w/ a clay bottom - break through and your screwed! The MT ATZ's got great traction back there aired down also. On road traction has been really good, particularly in the wet and they aren't too loud. I don't read a lot of forum chatter about them, doesn't seem like they are in favor w/ too many others - I've tried a bunch of other stuff and they seem to work better all around than anything I've tried (BFG AT's, Cooper STC, Bridgestone Revo's, Michelin LTX AT2, General, Dunlop, Firestone MT's (don't remember all the designations, been too long...)

This is the only set of AT / MT tires that I've ever liked well enough that I replaced with the same thing when worn out, probably will put them on the new '12 too....

David

 

Pugga,

I appreciate the comments! Your last point first - I don't know enough to have a theory - I'm asking, is there any benefit to doing this? I put a LOT of miles on my trucks. I expect this one will have 170K+ by the time I give it to my daughter in 4 years (if she still wants it - If not I'll drive it to about 250K in 5-6yrs and get another).

I use my truck for business, have a lot of customers riding in them, sometimes for extended trips. I want the best suspension set up I can get that isn't going to make customers gripe about getting in and out of my truck and gripe about the ride on trips. Ideally it should look close to stock.

I don't drive my trucks hard off road, but I do use them a lot and want the best set-up I can get and the most durable, bullet proof set-up I can get. I tow a light trailer (ATV) and a moderate load in the bed frequently, a heavier trailer (about 4000 pounds) 3-5 times a year. I have enjoyed the flexibility the air bags have given since I had them installed a few years ago, but am certainly interested in any alternative suggestions.

I know the Icon stuff isn't cheap, but I can afford it if there will be a benefit. If there's no benefit (improved ride quality, improved wheel travel, improved durability) then I have no interest. I don't know much about suspension modification, trying to learn! One of these days I'll be able to afford (and have a place to park...) a play vehicle and then I'll probably do something more along the lines of a 6" lift and 35" tires w/ front & rear lockers. My son's '07 would seem like a good candidate for that build if it survives his teen years! Till then I'm trying to make do with what I can.

Again, I appreciate the comments and suggestions!

David

 

When you get into Icon, Fox, King, etc. you're paying for a few different things. They can be custom valved, rebuilt when needed and are adjustable. Off road, there is definitely a benefit to having a higher performing shock/coilover set-up. On road, it will be better but that's not really where they shine. Rebuildable is a plus in one regard and a drawback in another. You can rebuild the shocks instead of buying new when the time comes but typically a higher performance shock will wear out quicker and you need to do something while your truck is down unless you can do the rebuild yourself.

Extended travel, the way I understand it, does allow for more wheel travel. If you have 3" of lift, you basically kill your downtravel and the extended travel versions get you some downtravel back. With a shorter lift, I'd question whether the extended travel versions would be worth it since you will still have a decent amount of downtravel anyways. Avoiding extended travel shocks means you wouldn't need the uniball UCA which adds a significan't amount of money to your setup.

As far as customers riding in your truck, if they're going to gripe about getting into your truck with a 2" lift, it doesn't matter if it's a spacer lift or King coilovers. A lifted truck is a lifted truck.

As far as ride quality, I feel the coilover options, even as inexpensive as the Old Man Emu setups, are an improvement over stock. OME has a close-to-stock spring rate and the nitrochargers are supposed to ride very smooth. Many people have the OME setup and are very happy with the ride both on and off road. Personally, I went with Eibach coils with are stiffer and you might not like the ride on a rough city road. High end coilovers can be custom valved toward the roads you drive on. If you go with them, talk to someone like Downsouth Motorsports or another knowledgable suspension shop so you can make sure you get them set up the way you want them.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to drive you away from Icon, they make really nice stuff. I just want to make sure you're buying the high end stuff for the right reasons!

 

Pugga,

I appreciate the comments and insight! I called Jeremy at Icon and spoke w/ him for a few minutes - his comments were that the Icon extended travel coil overs came set up at 2" of lift from Icon and were designed to work w/ their UCA's. He stated that this set-up would provide me "the best of all worlds"! A decent ride on the street, improved street handling/cornering, improved off road ride and improved wheel travel. Jeremy also touched on what you and Tony mentioned, that long travel w/ airbags wasn't gonna do much. When I described what I was towing and total rear weight, he seemed to feel that airbags were probably my best option combined w/ a standard travel shock.

The comments about customers and vehicle complaints - most of my customers on my '07 that complained said, "you need some of those steps...", so I got the '12 w/ the Nerf bars (because I didn't research enough). I'm only explaining why I'm not going w/ a 3" lift and 33" tires. They can deal w/ the 2" lift, 32" tires and nerf bars (sliders eventually...).

I may end up w/ the OME set up or even the Bilstein 5100's. Before the 5100's I had the factory shocks, air bags and 2" spacer lift - again not enough research (it's a reoccurring theme!) Trying to make sure that before I do anything to this '12 that I explore my options and make the best choices I can so I don't end up once again saying to myself "not enough research".

I appreciate your input and suggestions - you and Tony have given me a lot to think about and research. I see a lot of comments to "use the search function" but it can be tough if you don't feel you understand the basics enough to know what to look for!

Thanks for the help!

David

 

tag

 

Ok, called DSM, they were very helpful! They told me that extended travel icons and UCA's were overkill for what I'm doing w/ my truck - I really don't drive my truck hard enough off road to appreciate the difference. The Icon extended travel coil overs & UCA's would be a good choice if I was trying to build a truck w/ only 2" lift but wanted to run at high speed (relatively...) off road - in that case the airbags have to go, so it doesn't really make sense. High speed off road vehicle and tow vehicle/load carrying truck seem to be an incompatible combination (at least w/ a 2" lift).

As previously suggested, DSM suggested the OME Nitrocharger coil overs, rear shocks & air bags, leave the UCA's alone. For what I'm doing this sounds like the set-up to go with. Should provide a modest performance boost over the 5100's, solid durability, good street manners and reasonable vehicle height for my customers.

Got some more research to do, but if I was buying today (I'm not!) this is what I would get.

David

 

Downsouth Motorsports are great people to deal with!

 

It's good to note that a lot of times when you go to an aftermarket coilover that you should also do a sway bar relocation kit so that the sway bar doesn't contact the coilover. It's a very simple, 20 minute job to do yourself.

 

So what setup did you go with?