Rookie needs lift advice

6112’s / 5160’s in rear with 32” still looks good. For my needs and off-roading work great. 2” up front and about 1.5” or more in rear. Good idea to keep weight down. Exactly what I have done with my build. I sleep in my bed softopper works perfect. Wheels are method 16x8 0 offset Yokohama x-at they measure out 32” e rated as well.
Good luck

 

I would do 5100s all the way around with 888 ome and a rear AAL before I went 6112s with blocks in rear. 5100s are a solid lift choice and 6112s are on another level but you’re sacrificing a lot with rear blocks to get lift in back with a very very nice front setup for handling lift off roading.
I am currently on 5100s and ome 888 springs up front with .25” spaced for Tacoma lean on driver side with deaver AAL in back and I’m able to run 255/80/17 33.31” tires with no rub.

6112s and 5125s will be here today though so I’m jumping up another level on my truck

 

Hopping on this thread to see if any of you guys have experience with the OME 2-3" kit with 886 heavy load and EL112R heavy Dakar leaf pack (https://yotamafia.com/product/ome-old-man-emu-2-3-lift-kit-3rd-gen-tacoma/). I've been looking up suspension kits for a few weeks and I've been going back and forth between this one and the Bilstein 6112/5160. It fits my budget and seems to be a nice middle ground for a daily driver (sort of, have a highlander too) and weekend overland vehicle. If anyone has other suggestions let me know!

 

Honestly, other people kind of said it, but... here's the deal. You do some camping and you sound like you want to push the 4x4 button occasionally, so I'd skip the spacer/block lift. Just decide on your budget and look for suspension lifts that you can afford. Once you hunt around for a bit, you'll probably raise your budget a little. The problem with "what lift should I get" questions is that you can literally spend any amount you want. From like $300 to $30,000.

When I did mine, I budgeted about $3k (a few years back), without wheels and tires. I ended up with an Icon stage 3 kit (front coilovers, UCAs, rear shocks, rear leaf AAL). It's about 1.5-2" lift, depending on how you dial it down. In my head, this was a middle-of-the-road upgrade that was good enough for what I wanted to do, and it fit my budget. New wheels were another $600-800ish... and then new tires are a different discussion altogether. Don't even wanna touch that right now.

I'm not pitching the Icons. People got tons of opinions about King, Icon, Fox, etc... They're all pretty good.

One thing I didn't see anyone talk about is rebuilds. I don't think the Bilstein 5100s can be rebuilt. They just get replaced when they wear out (if I'm wrong, I'm sure 100 people will correct me lol). So some of the more expensive components do have a longer life, and that's something else to consider.

Also, if you buy nicer parts then a lot more people want to talk to you at the campground.

 

I feel that your lift choice is more aesthetics than function. And will cause drivability issues with the need of UCA's and the front axle bearing and drop spacers etc, etc... As others have stated, for your needs I think a simpler set up would be better. Your description of use seems very similar to my own. My decision ended up being the Eibach Pro Truck 2.0 lift with 1 inch rear blocks, and stepping up to 265/70R17's on a set of +5 offset 17×8 Art Replica 237 rims. All in I will be less than $3000 in to this set up and I think it will be more than enough for my needs. Obviously some of this is aesthetics but there is function in there as well.

I also considered the Bilstein 5100's but felt the Eibach was a better match for what I wanted. ( until I have an opportunity to test out a set I will truly never know.) You just have to make a choice and hope it pans out. Suspension is a subjective thing. One person will love something and another person will hate it. I think that you might be happier in the long run looking into a kit that will be less complicated than the kit you are looking at.

 

I had that OME setup on my 2nd Gen and have ordered it for my new 3rd Gen. Goes on next week. It is my work truck and I work in the bush. The 2nd Gen had a great ride and load carrying that I need for the bumpers/winch and gear.

Also run 235/85/16.

 

The set up I showed in the link is a suspension lift. They come pre set to 3" up front and I didn't mention this before but I was also going to add the back shocks for another 180$. I am assuming at this point Ill do a UCA swap and a AAL in lieu of the block.

 

Okay this sounds right up my alley. So say I wanted to go 2.5" up front. My AAL would be 1.5". I would do the Diff drop and Buy the UCA's for a swap out. Do I need to be the Drive Line spacer kit as well? I really like this kit. It comes out cheaper than the Bilst setup I linked. I was also going to add UCA and AAL to that set up and order the back shocks as well. This seems right up my alley though. I am going to drop the extra 190$ to have them assembled. Well actually I think I will call around and see how much a shop will charge me to assemble them.

What size tire do you run?

 

I've got a 2020 4wd TRD Sport. I was in a similar spot to you earlier this year, and ended up doing Bilstein 6112/5160 with a Headstrong AAL. Rear has 1.5" AAL and 1/2" shims. Front has the Bilstein set at 6/5 and 1/4" front spacers from Headstrong. Absolutely loved the customer service at Headstrong Offroad - talk to them and they can answer a lot of questions.

I also got SPC UCAs & Carrier Bearing drop kit from Wheeler's but haven't installed either. I meant to when I was installing the lift, but had problems removing the OEM UCAs and haven't gotten back to it.

I am running 275/70R17 with 17" TRD 4Runner wheels.

 

So your strut assembly was #5/#6, you did the UCA SPC, and the 3-leaf AAL. What was the coil selection?

 

Standard 600lb coil for the front. Stock bumper and no immediate plans to upgrade.

 

How has the rose been without new UCAs? Also curious if you know your alignment (caster) numbers? I’m about to install 6112s on 6/5 and am thinking I’ll hold off on new UCAs to start.

 

Hey man I hope my advice can help you as I’ve redone my suspension many times.

My first setup was bilstein 5100s all around, with the fronts set at notch 2. I did it mostly for performance and better ride quality, as I already had trd off-road wheels and almost stock size 265/75/16 all terrain tires. Still looked pretty sweet and didn’t have to trim anything and didn’t run anywhere.

phase 2 happened about a year later when I really wanted to go up in tire size where I decided to lift my front to almost 3”. I did this by setting my bilstein 5100s back to 0 and added the ome 887 coils which is a longer heavier coil, got scs -10 offset wheels wrapped in 285/75/16 (32.6”), and decided on Total Chaos upper control arms which were highly recommended to add to prevent damage to my front end. I was hoping to not have to do a cab mount chop either, but I did end up rubbing a little more than my liking turning around bumps, so I went in for the cab mount chop a few days later. Rear remained stock.

phase 3 I finally gathered all the parts for it and banged out the install in 3 hours today with a buddy. I’m so stoked on it. Before
my rear end sagged super bad because of my stock leafs and all the added weight in my bed, probably about 300lbs constantly with my camper shell and roof racks, sliders, and mattress platform system. I would bottom out on the smallest bumps so I decided to buy the OME Dakar medium duty leaf pack, bilstein 5160 reservoir rears, u bolt flip kit, and wheelers super bumps. It lifted my rear about 2.5 inches and rides super nice, I couldn’t be happier with my current setup. I’m going to install my extended brake lines tomorrow as well as swap some new 5100s on the front, mine have 75k miles now and they’ve been through a lot lol.

current suspension setup: bilstein 5100 with ome 887 coils front, total chaos uca, ome medium duty 300lb leaf pack, bilstein 5160 rear, u bolt flip kit, and wheelers superbumps.