Wheeler's Offroad HD rear leafs w/ Bilstein 5100's at 1.75"

So a quick update after about 200 miles on the new setup. I'll try to be as specific as possible for anyone who is thinking about this setup.

First, what I've been ranting about most of this thread: Rake

I think a good amount of my concerns had to do with the fact that I had so much weight in the bed initially with two sets of tools, jack stands and my old leafs. After I took my tools out (between 70 and 100 pounds between Ryobi One+ 5 tool set + Ryboi One battery powered impact wrench + 2 extra massive batteries + Craftsman 265 piece mechanics tool set) I was still have difficulty "eyeballing" whether or no any rake existed. I took a measurement straight up from the ground level to the lower rim of my cap and the rear of the bed and then again near the front of the bed and did indeed observe approximately 1.75" of difference between the measurements. This isn't much, but it's about perfect for what I wanted. After I took out the stock leaf spring, the rake was more noticeable. So with the ~170-200 pound cap + ~140-180 punds of crap that I had in the back, the truck still did not sag to level with the Wheeler's HD leaf springs and Bilsteins set at 1.75". I'd call that pretty good. I assume as the weight would increase past that, the leafs would stiffen up a bit and would not continue to depress in a linear fashion (or at least that's my hope for when I go traveling around with a lot of gear this summer).

On a side note, the Ryobi One+ battery powered impact wrench was amazing to have during the install. That thing has a lot of torque.

Next: Ride

Now, when I put on the 265/75R16 Michelin tires from the stock Rugged Terrains, the ride quality improved noticeably with just that. That being said, I think that the ride quality has been superb with all three weights I had in the bed (Cap, Cap+stock leafs, Cap+Stock leafs+tools). I did not remove any springs from the leaf pack, I used the HD leafs exactly as they came. I also have Bilsteins on the front and the rear, not just the front. I can't attest to how these would ride without the couple hundred pounds of cap on the back, but with the cap and nothing else, I wouldn't describe these as harsh at all. There is a nice, stiff/sporty handling to it that makes the truck very responsive and gives a great degree of road-feel to it. Ever since I installed the cap on the back, my truck had been very susceptible to body roll or a sloppy feeling when going around corners and had a certain bounciness to it after going over bumps in the road. The Bilsteins and HD leaf pack have completely alleviated this in my truck, which was very welcomed. I have not ridden in the back seat yet, or had anyone ride in the back seat, so I cannot attest to the ride quality back there, but I can't imagine it would be a much different experience.

Ride Height

The ride height over all is perfect i my opinion. I have a Jeep Cherokee that I lifted 4" and put substantially larger tires on, and I was not looking for another vehicle like that. I only plan to do light off-roading/ driving to back woods camp spots and trail heads, so I know that I didn't not need to lift it up much (or really, didn't NEED to lift it at all). I didn't take specific measurements before I lifted, but with the Bilsteins in the front set to where they are, and the rear slightly higher, I would estimate between 1.75" and 2.25" in the rear. When driving down the road, I don't feel like I tower over any one else really, and X-Terras and 4Runners are still at my roof height or higher. That being said, there is a nice aggressive, higher feel to driving now (while not sacrificing handling, as described above). I am 5'9", and I have to take a very deliberate step up to get into the truck, and my 5'5" girlfriend needs to make good use of the "oh sh*t handle" to enter the vehicle now. So the extra clearance is very noticeable while entering the vehicle. Again, this is with 265/75R16 tires, so the overall increase in diameter is contributing a half an inch to this increased step up/clearance.

Overall

Overall, the best way I can describe my setup as the way I have it now is that I wish this was the truck I bought from the dealership. I wanted a little extra height and a little bit stouter rear end from almost the beginning (or at definitely from when I put the cap on) and this met those goals almost exactly as I had planned on. I personally like the rake that you find on Tundras and Ram 1500s, so that was the rake I was shooting for and didn't quite get. But I'm not far enough away from it to complain anymore or do something like put a 1" block in the back or another add-a-leaf. I would recommend this lift for anyone that is concerned about messing with the dynamics of your truck and not wanting to go to the full OME 3" lift. Wheeler's was easy to work with and shipped my order relatively shortly after I ordered (I ordered New Year's day, so I expected a little delay).

I can take more pictures of how it looks without a load in the bed if anyone is interested in how it looks now, or answer any questions regarding anything I haven't covered above, or wasn't clear about.

Patrick

 

Great review. You remind me of myself - the older I get, the less I want to lift my trucks. My trucks have been getting progressively shorter throughout the years. I also tend to attract short women who have trouble getting in a stock truck, let alone a lifted one.

 

did you use the factory overload leaf as well? that gives you .6" of lift in the rear due to just the thickness of the leaf itself.

 

Thanks, I'm hoping that people who are on the fence about a lift will find this helpful. I'm going to end up getting sliders welded on next month to help her in!

I didn't even think about this, but it's an interesting point. I put my stock leafs on craigslist and am slated to sell them on Friday, so I don't think this is really an option for me anymore. I think I'd rather take the $100 I was offered... However, if in the coming months, I start to notice a sag from where the leafs are right now, I'll be on the lookout for some take-off leafs. Thanks for the idea!

 

This is exactly the setup I'm about to install on my truck this week. Couple of quick questions. It sounds like you kept the factory coils up front with the billys? I've read that by preloading the factory springs the ride can be a bit harsh, what have you thought about it? Sounds like it's working out well.

Have you had any issues with driveline vibes?

Any general advice for the install?

 

I haven't felt any harshness at all. It's been really actually, has a more sporty feel to it. Sometimes, if I'm really looking to feel it, I can barely feel driveline vibrations when I start accelerating from a stop. But really I have to be nit picky about it to notice anything.

As far as general install goes, I found it very straight forward. I used the no-coil compressor method to install the fronts and it was really easy. One thing is that I couldn't get the top nut off of the stock shocks up front. After I got the nut up as high as I could get it, I ended up cutting the threaded part below the nut with a reciprocating saw. I wasn't planning on selling the stock components, and I didn't want to take any more time on it. Cutting it off was the easy way to go.

Including a couple mistakes I made, it took me 5 hours. I have a Ryobi One battery powered impact gun that made everything much easier. If I didn't make the mistakes I made, I could have had it done in 4 hours or less.

Overall I'm very happy with the set up. Depending on how much the leafs settle/sag in the back, I may end up lowering the front down to the 0.85" perch. As long as the ride height stays where it's at right now though, I'm happy with the stance and the ride quality. Definitely an upgrade for both aesthetics and ride quality over stock.