Bilstein 5100’s vs Level (3G)

So I just scored some SCS Ray10’s (-12) in 16”/Matte Black for my 21’ OR. Super excited!

I was originally going to wrap them in stock size KO2’s, but I think I may actually go a bit bigger and do 265/75r16.

After doing some research on here it seems people get mixed results when it comes to rubbing with that wheel, tire and offset combo when running stock suspension. So I think I may go with either Bilstein 5100’s all around to add a little lift or a level kit.

What do you all recommend? I’m leaning towards the Bilsteins, as I would like to keep the stock front end geometry. I previously had an 18’ Silverado 1500 and with a 2.5” level and ended up destroying my ball joints prematurely. Though I’m not totally ruling out a level kit if it doesn’t throw things too out of whack with the UCA angles etc..

 

265/65r16 is smaller than stock, right? So you wouldnt get any rubbing issues...

Any shock you go with, you wont keep stock front end geometry if you lift/level it. That's where things like diff drops and drop brackets come into play

 

Ahh I meant 75*! Sorry about that!

 

Ah, in that case, itll depend on what you do that'll determine your rubbing. There's guys that rub on stock tire size. If you wheel hard (not just some rocky trail/fire road), you'll probably rub. A -12 offset will make you more likely to rub on the front part of the fender (which is easily trimmable). If you wheel, a lift also wont make a difference on rubbing since your suspension, when compressed, will end up in the same spot

 

Makes sense, if I’m being totally honest I most likely won’t be using this truck to the far limit of it’s capabilities.. maybe a semi-rough/rocky backroad trail here and there.

That being said, would you recommend to one over the other (Bilsteins vs level)?

 

A level is the same as a lift your truck sits 1" higher in the back from factory and the term "level" just means youre lifting it so that the back and front are the same distance off the ground.

To achieve a lift, you have options.. each range from $ to $$$ like anything else and will offer different things. If your taco is gonna be a pavement princess with some fire roads here and there, I'd just run some what's called a spacer leveling kit as it's the cheapest and you won't need more than that for what you're going to do.

ZY Wheel 3'' Front and 2'' Rear Leveling Lift Kit Compatible for 2005-2019 Toyota Tacoma 2WD 4WD

https://www.amazon.com/ZY-Wheel-Lev...ywords=tacoma+level+kit&qid=1631607046&sr=8-9

A coilover system like the Billstein 5100s will cost you at least 5x that and it'll be unnecessary for your use IMO.

Also worth noting that if you go 265/75r16, you wont need a lift to fit them even with your rims. Even with a lift, you'd have to do trimming if it was needed without a lift because of the suspension compressing to the same spot either way.

 

Thanks for the info!

So, hypothetically, if I went either route (ex. 5100’s set at roughly 1” higher than stock/1” spacer level), how much do I have to worry about my control arm angles etc? I had a 2.5” front spacer on my previous Silverado and after about 7k miles it cooked my ball joints due to the severe angles..

Also, if I decided to do the spacer/level route, wouldn’t I lose a slight bit of suspension travel? Would that in theory limit my off road driving?

 

Counting no vibes, Just do a diff drop to fix your cv angles, and you'll be good. No UCAs needed. Going 5100s, or spacers, you'll lose suspension travel. With spacers, you'll lose uptravel and with coilovers, you'll lose downtravel. But if you're not doing any extreme offroading/rockcrawling/baja jumps, you wont notice. I noticed you have an OffRoad too... we have rear lockers for when we're up on 3 wheels.

You're probably looking at spending $5k+ and waiting a few months for some fox/king shocks, new UCAs, if you don't want to lose any travel.

 

Gotcha! I really don’t think I’ll be doing any “extreme” rock crawling, mogul jumping etc.. but I definitely will be hitting some rough backwoods rocky roads and trails. Do you think a diff drop would be necessary with a minor lift around 1” or so?

 

Don't need a diff drop until you're past 3". The pro already has a 1" lift and is essentially the same truck.

 

Yeah, but I'd disagree with passed 3"... my 2" 5100 lift had some pretty extreme CV angles even for my standards. Plus, it's a $40 kit that takes 20min max to install

 

Good to know, thanks!

As for the Pro - I’m wondering if Toyota/Fox designed those shocks to run with that 1” factory lift? (just my uneducated guess)

 

Did you ever have your 5100’s adjust near 1”? If so, how were your angles?

 

Funny enough, I had them at stock cuz I forgot to adjust the circlip so I've ridden at stock height and 2". No difference in ride characteristics, but yeah the CV moves up just a bit. Nothing concerning though

 

I’d rather have the additional clearance between the skid plate and differential without the drop.

 

Are you on stock suspension or have a lift/level?

 

2” lift. Truck had a 3” spacer lift and I removed the diff drop after dropping down in height. Had already done a ecgs bushing and noticed no real change in cv angle. Because the diff drop only lowers the front of the differential it looked like a 1/4” drop at the cv’s, maybe even less.

 

I see. I’m now thinking if I ended up doing any sort of level, I’m thinking it would only be a 1” or at most 1.5” front spacer and leave the rear alone. Just enough lift to notice, but not so much as to throw my angles angles off too much..

 

I wouldn’t sweat the diff drop. If you read up on it there are a couple shops that have shown they aren’t needed.

 

Yea honestly I would rather avoid that if possible. I’m assuming that a front level/lift of 1-1.5” will cause minimal angle changes, is that correct?