Looking for advice on Bilstein 5100's and lift

Sup guys,

Long story short, I would like to keep my tacoma as it looks right now.

I called Toytech and apparently, I need to keep my original Spring because if I get the Eibach Spring the car will be set at 3" lift, which will kill my Factory UCA'S.

So, the Idea is 5100's front and rear, the issue now is that the guy told me if I put the 5100's in the rear I need to get I believe a block or something like that, this would lift the back of the truck and would be looking a lil higher than the front if I keep the Bils at 1.6inch which is where I want them, I mentioned that I wasn't looking to lift the rear and he said that the shock wont work as efficiently because it needs to be stretched?! in order to work well.

What do you guys think?

What should I do in this case?

I attached a photo of my taco and how's looking right now with the 1" spacers which I'll be ditching after I get the bils, however I like how it looks with the front lifted and the back stock.

Cheers!

 

I got the Toytec 5100 Coilover kit, and yes when raising over '2 inches, you'll need to replace the UCA and a diff drop. As for 5100 and blocks in the rear? I had my rear 5100 with no blocks, and for the length of time that occurred (about 3.5 years), I had ZERO problems.

 

I put the 5100 ride height adjustable in the front to the max (goes to like 2” i. Can’t remever) and 5100 in the back. I never blocked the back. I believe they says 0-1” on the website or instructions. If you go bigger than 1” in the back I think you need to raise your bump stops. (Don’t quote me on that though)

 

Buy the 5100's for the front set on the second mark and buy 5125's for the rear that are for stock height and be done....

I have 5100's on the top setting with a Toytec AAL in the rear. I love it. And it's much better than a spacer lift....

 

I had the same question. Check this out it will help
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/another-bilstein-5100-question.515360/

I’m currently running 5100 on the middle setting in the front and 5100 in the rear with just stock suspension but I do plan on a AAL back there eventually. I think you mainly just don’t have much upward travel in the rear with stock suspension and 5100

 

This is my truck stock

This is my truck with Bilstein 5100s on all 4 corners. Front set on the (around) 1.5 setting. Rear with Wheeler's 1.5 add a leafs.

 

You don't need to unless you go near 3" or over (DB, SAS, or LT at that point anyway)

I have OME front with 881 (~2.5") and stock UCA, no problems. The diff drop isn't really doing anything either as the angles don't change much for 1/2" of movement.

 

I guess it comes down to the alignment settings, in my truck without the UCA's it would not have happened.

 

My truck is approaching 300k on the original springs. If I do the 5100's on a fairly high setting, will I need new springs, and which ones should I buy? Also, assuming I add a leaf at the back, will the 5100s work and not affect towing negatively? (I am thinking about a bit of lift in the back as well since the shocks are original and need replacing, I dont want it to sag with a heavy load or trailer)

 

The AAL will help with the heavy load or towing a trailer. Look into Ome coils you can get different sizes depending on how much lift you want and how heavy of load you plan on having in the front (winch, aftermarket bumper )

 

My springs were so done at 100K miles, that by 120K miles they were arching backwards. I offroad infrequently, and towed even less. But the new springs were a revelation, and my only regret was to wait as long as I did!

 

Hi
2.7 with 10k winch and custom bumper.

I used the Bilstein 5100 with old man Emu 885 springs at the lowest setting. Rides nice and is level with my rear wheelers off road springs 5 leaf springs which added 2”

 

Why does the driver look so bored?

 

Well if he actually bought the 885 springs, hes sitting there wondering where he went wrong in ordering springs for a 2nd gen Tacoma.

 

Truck yea——They work great . Way Better than a shitty oem spring compressed on second or 3rd setting. Wheelers off road in Oregon talked me into it and I havent been sorry. My son hates pics by the way.
A quick search found I am not alone.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/old-man-emu-setups-on-1st-gen.141055/

 

No extra load on the front. I am also on a tight college student budget, should've mentioned that. I assume I need new coils since they are so old, but can I buy stock springs and get any lift, or will I need aftermarket ones?

As for the add a leaf, I like the idea. But do I need new leafs in the back? They are sitting straight right now, but I've heard even new ones will sag within a year or two.

 

Ome coils run around 160ish I believe. You can buy new shocks that will give you a lift without buying coils (bilstein 5100). That is what I’m currently running I’m also on tight budget. I’m happy with how my truck sits and performs with them but may get new coils a little later on. I’m sure you could get the coils and some cheaper Moog or other brand shocks. I’m not sure one prices of oem shocks but my guess would be is there probably around the same price as the billie 5100. I could be wrong though!


As far as the rear are trucks are known for having weak rear suspension that is known not to last. Everyone says the AAL is just like putting a bandaid on them. It will help but in the end you still have weak older leafs but on the the other hand new leaf packs are 500$ plus. I personally will be putting an AAL on my truck soon but I don’t really wheel much. I manly just want them to help with my axle wrap and slight lift to match my 5100 in the front. It all comes down to personal choice

 

The nice thing with buying the 5100 shocks is if your not happy with how much lift you get out of them or how they ride on stock coils you just buy new coils and can still utilize the 5100 shock on the lowest setting

 

What I'm mainly worried about is putting new shocks in with the old coils. Will that not cause any problems?

 

No problem at all. That’s what I’m currently running on my 99 prerunner with 133k miles.