Advice on drop kits and suspension

Here's a little background on my truck, it's a 2015 double cab off road. Previously I had put 5100s all the way around, the fronts set to 1.75 and a 1 inch block in the rear. Recently I got the urge to upgrade my suspension a bit. I put the wheelers 1.5 inch aal in the rear, took out my block and just placed my order for some ome 885 coils for the front. No upgraded bumpers or winches or anything adding weight to the front so the 5100s set at 0 and the 885s should get me about 2.5 inches of lift which is what I'm aiming for. My question is with all these drop kits... what are most people with this setup having to do in the way of cb drops, shims etc? I've read through a ton of posts about the diff drop and that's for the most part frowned upon so I'm not doing that unless I have to. But do most people end up doing the cb drop? I realize it's usually on a truck by truck basis but most people I read about that have done it have a 3" lift or more... do most people with a 2.5" lift get by with no vibrations and no drop kits? Also, would it hurt at all to install the cb drop kit even if there isn't any vibrations? Reason I'm asking is I plan on installing my coils in the next couple days, getting an alignment and then taking the truck on a road trip... so I don't really have time to install the coils and see if there is vibrations then order the drop kits, I'm kinda pressed for time. As of right now with the 5100s set at 1.75 and the 1.5 aal in the rear, there is no vibrations whatsoever. Do the vibrations come from raising the rear or the front? Sorry, I know a lot of questions lol. Thanks for any advice.

 

First of all, 885 coils gave me the same lift as stock coils with 5100s set at 1.75. If your truck is an access cab V6 4x4,you'll get close to the 2.5 you're looking for. Other configurations will get a different amount of lift.

As far as the CB drop, just set up the rear how you want it. If you get driveline vibes, try the CB drop. It may or may not help. It reduced mine, but I still have high speed vibes. The low speed vibes went away. Pinion shims are a better solution. A one piece drive shaft is the best (and my next) fix for driveline vibes.

 

Your going to get a mixed bag of opinions on your questions.

As for the Diff drop, some say they aren't worth it. They actually rotate the diff 90 degrees and the thinking is that could prevent proper lubrication (no real proof of that though) The diff drop can also put your diff in position from being hit be a rock while offroading. I believe there is only one case of that happening though.

As for shims and Carrier bearing drops, I believe that is more of a truck by truck basis. If you get drigeline vibrations, then you can address that.

FYI, I did 5100s with 887 coils and the Icon AAl. No shims, no diff drop, and no carrier bearing drop. I've been keeping an eye on my CV boots in case they start to wear but so far so good (about 7k miles I think).

Not sure if you've heard of the Needle Bearing vibration but you could experience that when lifting. I had mine replaced under warranty as there is a TSB for it.

 

So you didn't get any vibrations after lifting? Like I said, I already did the rear and that's as high as I'm going, I just have to throw on the 885s and re set the 5100s to 0... and how much of a lift did the 887s get you? I went with the 885s because the ome site advertised a double cab with no extra weight would get about a 2.5 inch lift

 

A v6 double cab 4x4 will definitely not get 2.5. My access cab didn't quite get 2.5.

 

This is what I pulled from the head strongoffroad site

 

The only vibes I got was my first lift which was only 5100s at 1.75. that's when I had the needle bearing replaced. 8 months later I went with the 887s and the AAL and had no vibes at all. I never measured but pretty sure I got 3inches from those.


Edit

Before the 887s settled.

 

Quoted lift heights usually are at least slightly more than what is finally achieved. this is universal from most manufacturers/vendors I've noticed.

 

Ok cool, yea I didn't have any vibrations when they were set at 1.75 and I still don't now just I swapped the rear block for the aal. Hopefully that continues. Btw your truck looks sick. Good work

 

Yea I kinda figured that. I read around a little bit and it looks like the couple people that are running the same setup as I'm going to do achieved a 2-2.5 inch lift. We'll see. It was pretty much level before with the 5100s at 1.75 and the 1 inch block, I just hope it stays pretty much level and no vibrations. Right now with the 1.5 aal, i can tell its sitting ass high so hopefully the 885s will lift it a little more and make it sit even again. I also bought a 1/4" spacer to fix the lean. Idk if that'll help or not

 

Yea, just keep in mind if you get front vibes it's probably just the needle bearing.

Thanks man! If you spend alot of time on here you start spending all your money on parts

Where in MD are you? I live right on the VA/MD stateline but on the Eastern shore.

 

What's the needle bearing exactly? I haven't come across that yet. And did Toyota cover that under warranty even after you lifted it? And I actually live in PA now just over the md line. Haven't updated my profile yet. And I've noticed that lol. My wallet hates my truck.

 

It's a bearing in your front diff.

There's a TSB for it and my dealer honored it even with my level kit. If you search on here for needle bearing you'll get a ton of hits. You can find the TSB number that way too

 

My dealer said the slop in mine was fine. I just went ahead and did the ecg bushing and everything is tight now.