New to Lifting - Need Advice

Hi all,

2018 TRD Sport Access Cab here. I'm looking to lift the truck and overall upgrade the suspension.
--Looking for 2'' of lift in the front and level the ride height in the back.
--Intended budget between $1K and $2K
--Currently use the truck for 95% commuter driving / 5% mild/medium offroading, ideally looking to do more off-roading.
--Interested in finding a setup that will increase load carrying capacity in hopes of someday towing a boat.
--Interested in buying a complete kit with parts that will not introduce significant wear overtime (no spacers), meaning i want new struts/shocks, coils, AAL, UCAs, etc.

I've crawled through the hundreds of threads related to lifting and suspension upgrades however i'm still in need of some help. I'm having trouble choosing between the Bilstein, OME, Toytech, Eibach setups since I don't understand the relative strengths/weaknesses of each. Given my goals and budget, can people help point me towards a complete kit that would work best?

 

All you will get here is more of the same you got from you’re initial search.

If you don’t want to spend the time to cut through the opinions; suggest you go to a vendor OME, Wheelers etc and buy a mid level kit.

My current setup: I got Billy 6112’s front, 5160 rears, OME 95R’s leafs in the rear. All new poly bushings.

 

My 2015 just got OME 885 coils and 5100’s all around plus the Dakar 095 leaf.
I got 2 inches in the front and 2 3/4 in the rear but I have a camper shell on the back.
Mine commutes 90% of the time and I didn’t need any new UCA’s.

Rides much better and ready for action. Spent about $1800 on everything including the install

 

One huge factor on your budget... Are you going to do the lift yourself? Or pay someone to do it? You can get a lot more bang for your buck if you lift it yourself.

 

I'm not experienced enough nor do I have the tools to install myself, thus i'll need to pay someone to do so. With this in mind, still willing to spend a little over $1K on a complete kit and eat installation costs on top of that.

 

Man I wish you were closer. We could save you some $$ and you could be a part of doing the lift.

It's always my opinion that the more you know about your truck, offroad, the better. Doing your own lift is a good way to start that.

As a matter of fact, my son is driving down from Spanaway WA today and we'll be lifting his 2nd gen. lol

With that said, it's understandable without tools/experience you'd need to have someone do it.

 

Have you checked in with your local TW thread?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/north-west.40/

Not sure how it works up there. If there any locals that would help you install. I know we've got a good group that have helped quite a few do a lift down here.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/209-tacos-mod-day-version-10-0-8-10-19.560536/

 

With all that being said. I would 100% suggest you contact @Wheeler's Off-Road Inc all of the time, everytime.

They are good people, they have a variety of suspension products that will fit what you want/need. They aren't all about up selling and all the other BS. If you tell them what you're trying to do, and what your budget is, they will get you the best for your $.

Seriously... Wheelers are good people.

 

If you're not going to be carrying a lot of weight (all the time) in your bed. This would not be a bad lift for you.

 

save a lot more money and then get a performance suspension lift such as Icons digressive shocks that will rock on road. Call @Toytec Lifts

 

I would highly recommend NOT getting Icon.

Every single person I know that had Icon, sold them to buy Fox or King

 

Why? And what was your personal experience? Mine are absolutely amazing. I can take turns at two and three times stock speed. On typical dirt roads (ruts and washer board) they run best at 45-60 mph. After 30k miles no problems, sag, leaks or rebuilt yet. Most of the negative comments I’ve reviewed show poor planning, faulty installs, or miss understanding the trade off from high tech systems with run of the mill.

 

All I know is the guys I know that have run Icon... simply no longer run Icon. And it wasn't due to poor planning, bad installs or not knowing what running coilovers involves. These are guys that run everything from Death Valley to Slickrock and Rubicon.

 

ahh gotcha. Op wants to change stance and get good on road performance. The latter is why I suggested digressive shocks as they excell for 95% of his driving. My off-roading is generally slow speed so whoops are less of a problem and the dirt roads in NE are fairly well maintained so washer board performance is key.

 

For the record... I'm also one of those guys running (basically) Icon (actually Donahoe Racing) coilovers... and I'll also, eventually be one of those guys that switches to Fox or King.

The Icon (Donahoe) coilovers are nice... but really not that much nicer than the 5100s I had before I put them on.