Spacers vs. Bilsteins

Hey guys,

I know this has been asked already but I wanted to put my specs out there and see if I got any different responses from what I've seen so far. I've currently got 3" leveling spacers from Motofab sitting on top of stock shocks and coils. (http://www.motofablifts.com/1995-2004-Toyota-Tacoma-4-Runner-3-Front-Leveling-p/95taco-3.htm).

I've been thinking about swapping them out for Bilstein 5100s, my only concern is the shift in ride height. My question is, if I chose to install them at their max height of 2.5", would the final resting height match what I have now or be greater/lesser? Also concerned about running them at this setting; will they hold up over time (I hardly ever offroad, truck is on road 90% of time), or should I be looking at a different brand of 3" shocks altogether?

In the future I plan to add 1 or 2 inches of lift in the rear with new shocks & leaves, as well as move from 265/75r16s to 275/75r16s; trying to keep this in mind while deciding which front shocks to go with.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

 

Suspension lift is better than spacers for sure. But if you get 5100s no one is going to recommend that you extend them all the way to their max 2.5" setting with factory coils. That will make your ride extremely rough and crappy overall. It's always better to get the right coils for the lift you want and leave the shocks set to 0", or at most maybe the first (.85") setting.

I have 5100s set to .85" with OME 881 coils which give me about 2" lift in the front. I think the OME 883's will give you closer to 3" with that setup though. Ditch the factory coils for the right length ones to get the lift you want, if you want a better ride.