Starting new build/ Suspension help!!

Just purchased a 2013, 4D 4WD V6 Tacoma. I am ready to get started making this baby ready to ride off road. I have calling around to see a price on getting some suspension work as well as wheels and tires. The only place I know in the area that does off road vehicle work is 4wheelparts. They are very expensive for install, I was basically wondering if anyone had any other recommendations for shops near Indianapolis, IN, or if the job of putting a suspension kit on my brand new truck would be too much for me to handle with limited experience working on vehicle suspension. I have done quite a bit of work on street bikes as well as dirt bikes, just have never got into mods on any of my automobiles.

That being said, I am sure there is already a thread for suspension, but what would be a good recommendation for entry level suspension, I keep seeing everyone talk about Bilstein 5100s but i think i would prefer to have a 3'' lift and the Bilstiens look like they are 2.5'' at the max. I was looking at the pro comp 3" kit as well as the stage 1 Icon kit. But I am open to any ideas.

The wheels and tires i was looking to run 17" XD monsters and some 285 Nitto Trail Grapplers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

4wheelparts is known to be pricey and some people have had bad experiences with them but others have had no problems with them. Looks like your looking for a suspension lift so thats good. Stay away from spacer lifts if you plan on doing some off-roading. Check out toyteclifts.com as they have a good amount selections for you to look at with varying price ranges. With the help of some friends the install shouldnt be to hard but you will need the right tools and possibly a spring compressor and things like that on certain lift kits. As for wheels and tires....lots of people on here are running 17" wheels with 285's but just make sure you get the correct backspacing and offsets.

 

Also another good place to check out is down south motorsports!

 

any good walk throughs for doing full suspension, looking at the bilstein 3" kit from toyteclifts.com

 

Bilstein is the tried and true.
Lots of members say the pro comp rides like a tank.
Icon is up there with fox, camburg, and a bunch of other well known LT companies.

 

Theres multiple bilstein kits on there. Which exact one are you looking at?

 

I was looking at either the Ultimate lift package with Radflo coilovers, or the other ultimate package with the Bilsteins

The biggest concern I have is installing the kit. Looked at some write ups and it looks pretty complicated with the brake lines and data lines and what not.

And sorry for posting in the wrong area, not sure how to go about messaging a mod

 

I've heard nothing but good reviews on the ULK but I dont know anyone with the Radflo but that looks like a really good kit as well. I think either way you go you will be getting an awesome suspension lift. When I helped lift my buddies truck the only pain was getting the springs compressed but other then that it wasnt to bad. Probably about a half days work involved.....but then again we had another guys helping us that had experience in that field.

 

I just.installed the ome 3 inch suspension lift on my 2006 4D, and it wasn't bad at all. It was probably a total of 2-3 hours on the front and 2-3 hours on the rear. ardest part was prolly compressing the springs but as long as you have a good impact gun you should be fine.

 

You dont have to use a spring compressor to swap coils. THis way is much safer, easier, and cheaper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

Ive done it this way twice and will be doing it again on thursday

 

what youll need most for a self install are:

lots of tools, preferably powered
brute strength
a large, undivided amount of time
and a friend to help

its a worthwile thing to do yourself tho, cause you are the one that will need to keep an eye on things for maintenence, and if you put everything on then youll know if something looks wrong and needs fixin later.

 

Awesome looks like I will be able to pull this off on my own. Does anyone know if I will need to extend brake lines with jut a 3" lift?

 

nope

 

only if you are going offroad.

 

X2. Try to get two more people to help you with the install.

 

That is confusing, I do or do not need them? Obviously plan on going off road

 

you dont need them for normal driving conditions, but offroad you will be flexing the suspension alot more, and you might exceed the current length and break them. so for offroad its recommended that you replace them with longer lines.

 

but you dont have to. there are plenty of people on here that lift 3" and dont have ext. brake lines. Me included..

 

me included also, I didnt even touch mine for the lift install. but if the op is gonna rock climb or hop dunes or whatever, id extend em just incase.