Bilstein 5100 / Eibach Gallery

Here's those before & after pics for you Jacob:

Passenger side CV joint angle before:




Passenger side CV joint angle after:

 

Ehh it happens.

The shop who assembled my ome881/bilstein5100 combo had it on the top setting. I felt like a total ass telling my mechanic the whole deal and asking to have him reassemble them on the correct setting.

Most regular mechanics aren't even aware that you can lift a truck without spacers or brackets.

 

Mm yep that's exactly how I'm gonna feel tomorrow morning when I call him, and explain why I can't run it like that. I even called back after I dropped my truck off and told his co-worker that it was important he tell the guy that the shocks need to be set at zero (stock)... but I guess that message never got passed along

Yeah my mechanic was taken back that the lift was the coil itself and then was really bewildered when he saw the lift afterward, but no wonder because it's about 1-1.5" higher than it should be

 

Is that recommendation just for this specific instance or for all Tacos? My are showing up in the next day or two. I'm having a mechanic install them next week. My understanding is that they ship set for 2.5-3" lift and was going to just have him put them in like that.

I don't know much about this stuff and am learning as I go, so I appreciate opinions.

 

Your bilstein 5100s should be set at 0", or stock. They are there merely to cushion the ride. The actual lifting (of 3") will be done by your Toytec/Eibach coils

 

Mine came shipped with the snap ring on the highest setting. Make sure you move it all the way down. This will give you the lift you're looking for. Anything higher and you're going to damage parts. Tacoma IFS can only handle 3" of so or lift without a drop bracket.

 

Back into the shop



Hopefully this time they'll get the billies on the lowest setting. Maybe this'll make the ride a little better because it sure was bouncy on my way home/back to the shop

 

It will

 

Holy crap that looks high up front on that second notch!

 

Yeah, that's what I thought.... Then I drove it and felt like I was gonna get sea sick the ride was so damn bumpy

 

I was gonna say it had to have been, mine was pretty stuff till I got the uniball UCAs
And cause i have a 4banger up front there's not to much weight!

 

The ride is A LOT better than it was before. Here are the CVs and the coils/shocks. Those are where they should be now, correct? I think so but it's always reassuring to have a 2nd opinion




Now he said he had them on the highest setting but when measuring before/after this is what it looks like from the ground up the center to the (middle of the) fender flare:
Stock
FD - 34.25"
FP - 34.50-34.75"
RD - 35.50"
RP - 35.25"

After Front Install (at 2.50") w/ Coils
FD - 39.50"
FP - 39.25"
RD - 36.00"
RP - 35.50"

After Fron Install of shocks to 0" w/ Coils
FD - 38.50"
FP - 39.00"
RD - 35.50"
RP - 35.50"

I feel like I would've had more drop after he lowered the bilstein shocks down to the stock level

Like I said, the ride is a hell of a lot better and looking at it, the struts look like they're on the stock setting and the coil is DEFINITELY doing it's job by adding about 4" of lift -- which will probably settle to around 3"

 

Want to add my truck to the gallery. Thanks for the help tacomadude89, blackdawg, and everyone else!

 

That looks a lot better. And as far as the numbers with the 5100's at the highest setting with the eibachs you were probably maxing the control arms (full extension) and they were limiting the amount of lift you actually got. I'll go measure mine in a sec just to compare.

 

Awesome! I look forward to comparing measurements.

 

measure from the center of the hub to the fender, that way tire size doesn't come into play when measuring height


my h/f readings with the eibachs were 24.3" up front

 

also, the first time I had a shop put on my 5100's for me... this happened



so you're not alone in that department. haha

 

Lol I bet all of our mechanics are weirded out by our upgrades.

Lift coils? Shock notches? You people are insane.

 

Good to hear, my readings were 24.5" on either side +/- 0.2" so that's quite a relief.

Reassuring yet

 

IIRC, stock is around 21", 24.5 is a 3.5" lift

they should settle after driving around a bit, mine were 24.0 right when I swapped them out last month

just take note of your CV boots, the 3.5" lift is a little much for them right now

the mech that I had put on my expos and 5150's asked me what the little "can" on the shock was for....



and told me my expo's werent made for tacomas (made specifically for 1st gens)
that they had 3 overload leafs (don't have any overloads)
that they wouldnt flex well (almost a foot of flex)
that they'd ride way to rough (ride great, esp with loads)
and that they look stupid on the truck (fuck this guy)