Lifting with aftermarket Bumpers; be warned, lots of noob questions...

So first off, forgive me if such a thread already exists.
I own a 2012 Double Cab, SR5, 4x4, short bed.
I have a front and rear bumper on order from SOS concepts, thank you EddyRRT.
The front bumper weighs about 120lbs and the rear bumper weighs probably around 90lbs.
I might add sliders and skid plates depending on how much I get into off-roading, I live in Colorado so its a good possibility.

So with that information I am looking for a suspension lift at 2-3 inches.
It looks like Bilstein 5100s with OME coils is a good way to go, however with that weight should I go with 885s or 886? Also, at what height do I have to worry about getting a diff drop? I've read over 2 inches and some saying over 3 inches. Now when it comes to the rear suspension I've read great things about the Dakar leaf springs, but a lot of people tend to do the add a leaf. My truck has about 70k miles on it and the rear leaf springs seem to be squeaking, what's the life on them typically? Also, don't I need a spacer for the Taco lean?

Are you guys taking them to a local shop to get them loaded or from the seller?

Basically I'm hoping for a shopping list of what I need and what people think would be the right setup for my truck. I'm all for spending money on a quality product, but I'm Dutch so I like to get a good deal.

 

Get 5100s. Get 886 coils. Don't do diff drop. Don't do taco lean spacer. Get Dakar's since you're already upgrading suspension so might as well get new leafs. Order from headstrong off-road.

Hope that was short and sweet!

 

Thanks for the response. Any idea on an estimated lift with the values I mentioned? Also, what is the reasoning behind not needing the spacer? What kind of tire size are most people running with that type of set up, right now I have my glorified SUV tires.

 

That should net you about 2.5" front and 2" rear. With the dakars, you can remove certain leafs to tune your leaf pack for your specific needs. That'll determine exactly how much lift you should get.

I say don't do taco lean spacer because it's a negligible difference. I don't have it and can't tell any discernible difference to the naked eye. A few people have it and say that extra height is messing with that sides CV angle too much. For those reasons is why I don't have one.

I forgot to address the diff drop. That's a topic of high debate on here. The way the diff is designed, adding the diff drop rotates the diff instead of dropping it. This will still correct CV angles a little bit. The debate is that it's starving the diff of oil because it's rotated, but I have yet to see a single post on here of someones diff failing because of that reason. I personally run it because even if it's helping a little bit, it's still helping.

As far as tire, that's preference. If you want absolutely no trimming or cutting, go 265/70r17 or 265/75r16 and get an aggressive tire. I believe the KO2's come in a C load that size which is perfect for our truck.

If you don't mind doing cutting and hitting shit with a hammer, you can go 285/70r17 or 285/75r16 as long as you have wheel spacers or aftermarket wheels with proper backspacing. Otherwise your tires will rub your upper control arms.

 

Sounds like you're getting ready to start running your truck heavily off road. I would steer clear of 5100s you won't be satisfied with their lack of travel. It'll really depend on how much you're willing to drop on the truck and how aggressive you want to get. Forget the diff drop get that out of your head, you won't have issues with cv angle. The issue with having more than stock Travel is the Ucas have to go in favor of aftermarket units which can get expensive. I agree with replacing the whole leaf pack in favor of dakars although expect more like 4" of lift and you'll need extended rear brake lines, at least that's what happened with my truck. If you're in a shale like climate forget load range c you'll cut the shit out of them. Although I stand behind ko2s I haven't been able to hurt mine yet. I also highly recommend spindle gussets but that means wheel spacers or a min of 4.25 bs on a aftermarket wheel

 

Thank you for the information. Forgive the late response, working too much. I'm not planning on running it crazy off road, by the looks of your posts you are way more bad ass then I plan on being lol. The KO2s seem to get great reviews, right now I'm thinking my SUV tires aren't gonna cut it when I go to lift it, just debating whether to have two sets and keep the current ones for long highway trips. Anyways, I'll keep living vicariously through you and your awesome adventures.

 

Thanks again for the most recent response. I got in touch with the gal at headstrong and she actually told me they don't recommend pairing the Bilsteins with the OME 886s because they haven't tested it? I thought that was odd considering the amount of people on here that run that set up. I know it's not as aggressive as an ICON or FOX setup but I'm also not going to be going out on dunes or taking it to MOAB every weekend. Just the occasional fire road taking it off the beaten path.

Now were you saying you don't or do run the diff drop? I'll probably go with a 285/70r17 and get rid of my SUV tires.

 

That's weird. A LOT of people on here run that combo. You'd be fine in doing so.

I personally do run the diff drop. If it helps just a little, I figure might as well since it's an easy install and I offroad a lot and am constantly flexing out the suspension. If you don't, you'll probably be fine.