RPM Garage Lift Install Review - Monrovia, CA

Hey guys and gals,

I've seen a few threads with members looking for good offroad shops in SoCal and after some research I decided to go with RPM Garage in Monrovia which is near Pasadena. I was driving up from South Bay but it was worth the hour drive.

Steve Lam, the owner, has a great shop and an awesome team. I highly recommend them for lift installs, wheel/tire mount/balances, alignments, whatever you need. They've done simple lifts, like the OME one I did, to long travel lifts, regears, and more. They are a smaller shop so I definitely recommend making an appointment in advance. I also recommend calling as well although you can also reach them via email.

Here is the team members I worked with for my lift. They all are offroad enthusiasts and have some sweet rigs of their own which you'll see parked behind their shop.

• Owner - Steve - IG @rpmoffroadgarage
• Lift Install - JJ - IG @rollinriceball
• Tires Mount/Balance - Steven - IG @masterofnon3
• Cab Mount Chop - Steven - IG @mixedmetalwork
  
• Alignment - Al - IG @sponsoredbywifey

Here's what we installed. We got everything done in one long day.

• Front suspension
  • OME 886 coils (OME2886)
  • OME 90000 firm struts (OME90000)
  • OME front trim spacer 5mm (OME95PF5) on driver side
  • @HeadStrong Off-Road strut assembly (coil isolators, bushings, washers, and strut mount)
  • @TOTAL CHAOS upper control arms (96504)
  • Mixedmetalwork Cab mount chop
  • Hammered and sealed pinch welds
  • Trimmed fender liners and fender flares
  • Remolded fender liners
• Rear suspension
  • OME 60091 nitrocharger sport rear shocks (OME60091)
  • OME dakar heavy duty leaf pack (ARBEL096R)
  • OME U-bolts (OMEU53B)
  • OME driveshaft spacer (OMEFK29)
  • @HeadStrong Off-Road leaf spring and shackle bushing kit (FBK05TAC)
• Wheels/tires
  • 5x 17x8.5 4.3" BS -11 @SCSPerformance dark bronze F5 wheels
  • 5x 285/70R17/C BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires
  • 27x M12x1.5 extended thread spline @SCSPerformance black lug nuts

I also highly recommend working with Marie from @HeadStrong Off-Road for your lift needs. She's extremely knowledgeable and has great prices and customer service. She was very patient with all of my questions.

Approximate measurements (probably not super precise). Note: I had decent sagging while running stock suspension for two years with a @SouthernStyleOffRoad hybrid bumper and winch in the front, @SOS CONCEPTS sliders, RCI Metalworks front skid plate, and a camper shell and bed drawers in the rear (that was eventually replaced with a @KB Voodoo mid-height bed rack with a Freespirit Recreation high country series roof top tent).

• Measured from the center of hub to the bottom of the fender
  • Before
    • Front: Driver Side 20" / Passenger Side 20"
    • Rear: Driver Side 20.25" / Passenger Side 20"
  • After
    • Front: Driver Side 22" / Passenger Side 22"
    • Rear: Driver Side 24" / Passenger Side 24"
• Measured from the ground to the bottom of the fender
  • Before
    • Front: Driver Side 34.25" / Passenger Side 34.5"
    • Rear: Driver Side 35" / Passenger Side 34.75"
  • After
    • Front: Driver Side 38.25" / Passenger Side 38.25"
    • Rear: Driver Side 39.75" / Passenger Side 39.25"

Photos

They have two car lifts inside and one outside, we used the outside lift for my truck


Removing the wheels and getting all of the parts together


OME struts, OME shocks, and Total Chaos UCAs. I went with 886 coils which are 402mm in height with a 660 pound spring rate. This compensates for the front hybrid bumper and winch along with the skid plate. I was also planning ahead for the full plate bumper which I installed after the lift.


SCS wheels mounted on 285 KOs. I went with C-rating to save some weight and hopefully reduce the MPG and power loss with the bigger tires.


Old stock (and wimpy) TRD Sport suspension


Comparing stock TRD Sport leaf springs with new OME leaf springs - quite a difference! I went with the "Heavy Duty" leaf pack which will provide approximately 2.0" lift for 2016+ Tacoma while supporting a constant load of 660 lbs. This compensates for the rear rack, RTT, awning, and other camping supplies. I was also planning ahead for the rear high clearance swingout bumper which I installed after the lift.


Stock front suspension


Stock cab / body mount


Stock rear suspension


New leaf pack installed on driver side, old stock leaf pack on passenger side. Notice the difference in the number of springs.




Rear shocks installed


Marking where we will cut for the cab mount chop


Fender lines pulled back so we can cut notches into the pinch welds so that we can hammer them flat for extra clearance behind the fender liners


Notches cut in the pinch welds


Cutting the cab mounts







Mounting and balancing the new wheels and tires



Cab mounts after cutting



Making stencils to cut the new cab mount plates which will be welded on


Cutting out the cab mount plates


Finishing up the front suspension and dialing in the UCAs


We made some small spacer brackets for the brake lines and ABS lines to have some extra breathing room with the rear suspension flexed. We were comfortable reusing the stock lines after adding the spacers.


Front suspension done


Lining up the cab mount plates to be welded on


Mounting the new rear wheels and tires


Cab mount plates welded on and pinch welds hammered flat



Cleaning up and smoothing out the welds





Cutting some more off the corners of the fender flares. After doing Mojave Road, I noticed some slight rubbing while flexed so I'll trim off some more off these corners.




285 fit under the truck in the stock spare location. I moved the hoist back with new holes and hammered the guides flat before doing the lift install which you can read about it more detail in this post. I also ran an MBRP axle dump exhaust for awhile but it was too loud for my tastes so I ended up reinstalling the stock exhaust and cut it to axle dump. This was temporary until I installed the new rear bumper with a swingout.


Sealing up the pinch welds that were hammered flat


Heating up the fender liners to remold them to push them further in/back in the front and rear


Paint drying on cab mounts


Front suspension with everything finished


Doing an alignment and biasing the caster forwards some to give more clearance behind the front tires




All done!






Stock components and old wheels and tires which were sold the following weeks


A few shop photos



Trying out the new setup in Mammoth




And then putting it to work on our Mojave Road trip

 

sweet!

 

Thanks! Super happy with how everything came out. They are great dudes.

 

Awesome write-up! You've got an impressive set up there.

I'm still trying to figure out my lift, tire and wheel combo. I just can't decide on what to do as the options are endless.

 

Great post and an even better looking rig!

 

I live just up the street from RPM Garage, after several crappy alignments from Firestone and other local places, I found RPM Garage (no idea how I never knew they were there) and they knocked it out of the park...great alignment.

They're big time Yota enthusiasts...bunch of built T4Rs and Landcruisers always parked outside their shop.

I try and do most of the work on my truck myself but it's nice to know that they are just down the street from me, just in case lol.

 

Thanks! I appreciate it!

Yeah, there really are a ton of options. For me, the OME lifts were a great balance of price, future maintenance needs, and capabilities especially with regards to compensating for heavy crap all over the truck.

I appreciate it!

Yeah, they do great alignments. Al is awesome. They are also very familiar with lifted vehicles versus your normal oil change place.

I considered doing the lift myself but for the price of the install, it made sense to have the experts do it and do it right!

 

Damn, glad to see you back and posting! Always loved your taco!

 

Haha, thanks! I've been too busy enjoying everything SoCal has to offer! It's been a year since I moved here.

Finally documenting everything I've done in the past four months or so.

 

Haha, welcome to socal man! It's a great place to be! Hope to see ya rolling around in the streets bro!

 

Thanks, bud!

 

Great review and the truck looks sweet! Those guys are always super easy to work with on the business end!

 

Thank you for the write up. I have to go see these guys for alignment.
Truck looks bitching btw.

 

Rig looks awesome, if you don't mind how much did they charge you to do the CMC?

 

Thanks, Vin! Thanks for making some badass wheels!

No problem, I hope it’s helpful! I definitely recommend them for alignments, they do great work.

Thanks! I want to say around $250 including supplies and labor but it was in December when I did the lift install. They did a great job. I recommend calling though to get an exact quote.

 

Sweet truck and write up

 

Thanks!

 

Are you planning on selling your previous wheels and tires? (I believe you had the TRD wheels, right?)

 

Yeah, I had the 4Runner Pro wheels and 265/70 KO2s. I already sold them and they went quick! Stock suspension is already sold as well.

 

Thanks for the review. I only live a couple of miles from them. I'll be stopping in there pretty soon to check them out.