The Battle of Lifts! Which one?

Its that time of year! Christmas is right around the corner and its time to get a few presents for my PreRunner. I've been looking at several lift kits but I cant settle on which one to go for. I've read a few other threads but nothing is clear. Here's what I have boiled my search down to:

Bilstein Adjustable Lift Kit with 5100 Shocks
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/Bilstein-Adjustable-lift-kit-with-5100-shocks_p_132.html

Bilstein 3" Lift Kit with 5100 Height Adjustable Coilovers
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/3-lift-kit-with-Bilstein-5100-Height-Adj-Coilovers_p_364.html

Rough Country 3" Suspension Lift
http://www.roughcountry.com/toyota-suspension-lift-kit-745n2.html

Pro Comp 3" Suspension lift with Front and Rear Shocks

$557 Pro Comp 3" Lift Kit with Front ES6000 Shocks and Rear ES9000 Shocks - K5081B

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...ks.aspx?t_c=1&t_s=38&t_pt=3533&t_pn=EXPK5081B

Those are just the 4 that I have eyed out. I'm open to any other suggestions! I also would like to know why you pick a certain kit and not just a product.

 

I vote Bilstein because they come with add a leafs and not blocks. But if you're just mall crawling, blocks will be fine. Plenty of people use blocks and don't have problems, but Ive seen two trucks with block problems, granted they were not Toyotas. One the block cracked into two pieces (probably isolated incident) and another that somehow got knocked loose and fell out while mudding (not sure how that happened other that shoddy install as the u-bolts where still whole and not broken).

 

If ur going for 3"

Get the ome setup from toytec down south motorsports, or wheelers.

Ur gunna need new upper control arms too.

I'd try to get a 3 leaf aal too..... It will ride smoother unloaded.

 

Btw..... I've ridden in a second gen with those bilstien and eibach (toytec) coils set at 3" and it rode horrible.

Chris4x4 had the ome 3" iirc and it rode pretty damn nice...... If I was going 3" I'd def go that route if not a fully adjustable setup.

 

I want something that's going to be Pretty comfy going down the road also. Its just a PreRunner.

Am I going to need upper Control arms for A 2WD?

 

Can you shoot me a link to the website with the lift so I can see what your talking about?

 

OK so I have narrowed down my search to the OME Full lift kit and the Ultimate Lift Kit. I cant decide which route to go so please elaborate which would look better/ride better/ what options to choose.

 

You don't NEED UCAs; I ran a 3" spacer lift for a while without them. However, these trucks tend to wander with 3"+ of lift and no UCA replacement since it becomes difficult to properly align them with the stock ball joint.

I now have replaced all my suspension with Fox (love them and recommend them if if is in your price range) and UCAs with total chaos. A lot less wandering on the road now!

I would definitely go OME. I was going to go that route... until a too good to pass up deal came up on some Foxes. Nice part about the foxes was I didn't have to figure out what coils to get. And now whenever I get a front bumper, I can just adjust the ride height instead of having to get all new coils to level the truck.

Anyway, I digress. I know a couple of people with OME and they seem to really like it.

 

why not icon? demello is running a great deal with them right now and if i had the money i'd jump at it

 

pick ur components
http://downsouthmotorsports.com/b-35154-369936-old-man-emu-ome.html


all in one minus UCA's (this includes the dakars, which will create a 3" rear lift IIRC, and I have NOT ridden in a truck with dakars)
http://downsouthmotorsports.com/i-9449752-old-man-emu-complete-kit-for-05-13-tacoma.html


heres the icon 3 leaf aal
http://downsouthmotorsports.com/i-4...oma-6-lug-05-current-rear-add-a-leaf-kit.html

 

Honestly, Id call downsouth motorsports and tell Sonny or Micah exactly what you will expect out of your truck as far as ride, towing, on/offroad, height.


u can also run the icon aal with 5100 rears.......pick them here
http://downsouthmotorsports.com/c-6...cks-toyota-bilstein-oem-5100-rear-shocks.html

another option is wheelers kits.

The superbumps are nice

 

Dakars state the rear 2.75" I believe. Went from an AAL to dakars and the change in the amount of lift in the back is noticeable.

the dakers ride nice as long as you have rear shocks that are paired correctly for them. I drove for about a month with Dakars and stock shocks o) before I got my new shocks on. Rode like shit for that month (obviously). If you go with the OME shocks or icon/fox/king adjusted for the dakers the ride should be much better. Mine sure is!

 

waay too much lift for stockers too......... much flexing and you would top out quickly.

would u reccomend extanded lines with your new dakars?

sorry, like I said Ive never ridden with dakars, but they APPEAR to be a quality setup for a 2.75" lift. Thanks, off the top of my head I thought it was 3", but ur right according to the site.

 

Agreed. Way too much lift and travel for stockers. I was going to replace the rear shocks soon anyway so I figured if I blew them out not a big deal. A deal on the dakars came up and I jumped on it. Unfortunately the deal was I give you mine-your give me yours so I couldn't wait until the shocks came. I actually went wheeling with them like that.

A lot of people run extended brake lines. I am not at the moment. I have had it at full flex and the lines are good. Might someday change them out when I have run out of other mods. Biggest thing is to just make sure they are ok at full flex.

The back of the truck tends to come lifted a little more than the front. As far as I have seen none of the '3" lift' sets ACTUALLY lifts the rear 3 additional inches. I think the AAL usually comes in 1.5 or 2" configurations.

The AAL I had rode great. I switched to Dakars because I want to get a snowmachine in the not too distant future and wanted the extra boost for the added weight in the bed Dakers ride great too and give more flex off road. It's all about what you want to use your truck for.

Personally, I am trying to make my truck good (but not the best) at a lot of things. I dont tow/carry heavy loads frequently and I don't wheel all that hard. However, I want to be able to have my truck perform well in any situation I put myself in. I felt like the Dakars would cover all my bases pretty well.

(that said, my shock selection is way overkill for anything I will ever do.... but hey, now I can drive full speed over the awesome alaskan potholed roads in the spring....)

 

better to overbuild than under build right?

 

Since your a prerunner you can also install maxtrac spindles (4") and won't have to change your front shocks etc ( unless you want to) and ride will be like stock and tie rod angles will be like stock as well. They also come with the extended brake lines. No upgraded upper control arms are needed for this either.

Just another option

Then just replace your leaf pack with dakars or allpros and longer rear shocks.

 

Always blows my mind people say all these lifts and don't consider the fact that hes got a 2wd truck. Spindles are the way to go for 2wd trucks, anyone says otherwise is unfamilar with them or just doesn't understand the impact of loaded coils, adjustable shocks, lift coils or strut spacers.

You want the best possible ride for a price that won't kill you wallet, check out lift spindles.

 

I based it off of his links to 3" lifts.

IIRC arent most spindles 4"?

camburgs run the same roughly as a full OME 3" lift dont they?

 

Yeah I hear you, but TC and CST make a 3.5" lift spindle which is only 0.5" different.

Even 1" extra isn't that big of a deal really and allows for more tire clearance.