New Member to TacomaWorld-2013 Tacoma with some updgrades

Hello guys I am new to the TacomaWorld forums as of today. I have in the past looked on this forum to find out different things relating to my 2nd Gen Tacoma. I am looking for some honest feedback and opinions on the things I've done and some things I am considering.
I bought this truck in Jan of this year and have a few upgrades/ Mods. I also own a first gen Tacoma (1996) with over 250,000 on it. That truck is a tank and ultimately led to the decision to purchase my 2013. I looked at the 3rd gens when considering, and honestly I'm just not a fan of them. Anyways Here are a couple of pics from when I first purchased it along with a few of the changes I've made.

Added: a "backflip" tonneau cover
New 18" Black Wheels and all terrain Tires
Pop and Lock Tailgate lock (really don't understand why they don't come from the factory with this)
Tacoma Bed Mat that I bought off Craigslist.
Tinted front 2 windows
Blacked out badges using Plasti Dip
Replace Stock radio With Pioneer SPH-DA120 APP Radio with Apple Carplay

I am considering: Lifting the front with a leveling kit. I am not an offroader.......I just like the aggressive look.
Possibly changing the front grill to a mesh type grill.
Adding Blue Halo lights and blacking out the headlight housing to better match the truck

Again I'm looking for honest feedback and opinions. Thanks!

 

Nice truck, welcome. If you're looking to level your truck, and don't plan on off roading, a strut spacer lift will do. There's a few that you can do easily without disassembling the strut. But your best bet would be a set of Bilstein 5100s. You'll get a shock upgrade and the option to go higher in the future should you choose to. Good luck!

 

Thanks Goyaz. I will definitely look into the Bilstein 5100's. I've had my head spinning around the different options to lift a truck and some of the disadvantages they can cause. I'm new to it all so it can be a little overwhelming. So I'm assuming with just changing the shocks out, it wont cause any unforeseen problems or cause any special modifications? I didn't even know that was an option to lift the front end.

 

Bilsteins are height-adjustable shocks and can be easily installed by any shop. If you know how to use a spring compressor you can do them yourself. No other mods are needed for the install. They use your factory springs and just compress them a little more. The ride in the front may be a little stiffer but not bad at all. And imho the increased stiffness plus the better dampening of the 5100s make for a better ride.
If you don't want your ride to change at all look for a front spacer that sets on top of the strut. Anything that goes inside the strut will require unloading the spring and preloading it. The preloaded spring will give a stiffer ride and with stock shocks it's more noticeable.
Just leveling the front will not require any other mods

 

Welcome to TW