Small lift and towing

Running 265/70/17 on 17” sema wheels and the height is perfect in the back currently but too low in the front. I don’t want a squatted stance when towing my boat but want just a bit of lift. I am thinking 5100 all around on stock coils up front for a 1.5” lift and then a 1” block in rear for 1” rear lift, I don’t want much more from the rear. Question is, will the 1” block hurt my towing capability? It seems that AAL and leaf packs all add 2” and I don’t want much more than 1” in rear

 

No

 

3 leaf AALs typically add 1.5” with the the overload leaves removed. That’s what my Headstrong AAL gave me (but it’s more like 1.1” now with the weight of my camper shell on it). You’ll only get 2” from an AAL if you leave the overloads in (because they are about .5” thick), but the ride will be a bit stiffer.

Iwent with a $35 set of .5” spacers from Streetrays for the front and they gave me a cheap 1” front lift and it feels identical to the factory ride, just 1” higher all the way around. Very happy with it and I didn’t even have to compress the coils and disassemble the front coilovers because the Streetrays come with slightly less thick nylon lock nuts that allow you to use the factory studs.

I also didn’t need to replace my shocks. The rear Bilstein 5100s are the exact same length as our stock rear shocks, so it’s not necessary unless you just want to buy new shocks anyways.

 

Thanks for the reply. Can you explain how a .5” spacer gives you 1” of lift?

 

The front IFS has a approximately 2-1 “motion ratio”. That means that for every 1” of shock travel the wheel travels 2”.

 

Exactly. And I should add, I’m not a fan of spacer lifts in general, and I’ve been lifting and off roading Toyotas for close to 30 years. Bigger spacer lifts are garbage and they use up almost all of your downtravel to provide the lift, which is the worst way to do it. But, a .5” spacer is minimal and virtually unnoticeable to me as far as any loss of ride quality or performance (lots of people with much better suspension lifts use them in addition to their coilovers to simply level out the driver side “taco lean”). All I wanted for my Tacoma was a modest 1” lift because I think it looks the best with 265/75/16s, and the $35 Streetrays spacers are perfect for that IMO. Even tho they’re super cheap, they’re still good quality aluminum. All in all with the front spacers and rear AAL, I have under $250 into my whole lift.



I have a much larger and more expensive lift on my 3rd gen 4Runner that’s locked front and rear, armored, geared, etc… The Tacoma is my DD/work truck, so the only dirt it sees is easy fire roads. The 4runner can handle some pretty tough trails tho…

 

Don’t do blocks. Get a aal. Here’s a 1.5

 

I have stock 265/65/17s w/ Sema Pro wheels on my Sport .

That Toyota Trd lift is just Bilstein 5100’s in front, and a 1” block in the rear, with TRD stickers slapped on. The price they charge for that lift kit is ridiculous, so I just went direct with 5100’s set to the 1.1” setting ,and 1” block for the rear.

Changing the rear shocks is optional, the stocks will work with a 1” block. I installed everything in November, and have had zero issues.
Slightly lifted, the truck also sits level now.
Im going to add 5100’s in the rear this week simply because I want everything to match.

As far as towing, Im not aware of any issues. If you want to know Toyotas opinion, look up their TRD Lift Kit specs/info. Since they use 5100’s ,if they say adding the kit lowers capacity then you will have your answer.

I haven’t experienced any towing negatives with the kit , but ignorance is bliss.

 

would you mind posting a few pics of your 5100 front with 1” block in rear?

 

265 70-17 on Method 701 0 offset. 5100 w/Bilstein UCAs. Deaver 402 stage 1 w/5100.
Tow a 1000 trailer w/SMARTCAP and cargo in the bed. No squat and works great on the trail, desert. Solid.

 

6112 5160s with OME med leaf pack(2inch lift). Not much sagged but it’s also an aluminum boat

 

how much lift did you do with the 6112 up front?

 

I maxed it out! HAHAHA 6/5 its damn stiff!!! should be between 2"-2,5'

 

I do some commercial trailer towing. 6500 to 9000 lb trailers. The first thing we do is to try and get the trailer as level as possible. We have different hitches and ones where we can move the pole up or down.
I mentioned this because we have the resources and assorted hitches in order to get that trailer level. But if folks lift their truck a little too high, when they attach the trailer it’s not going to be level, that would be a concern for me and something to think about if you lifting and plan on towing something.

 

that is one of my concerns I am trying to avoid. I don’t toe often but when I do, it’s a 4000# boat. Been looking at icon 3 leaf for the rear but without overload it will sag and with overload the lift is too much. 2.5-3”

 

Do you want pics of how the truck sits , or a close up of the components?

 

You could do 1" up front with the 5100's, and dont use a 1" rear block. It'll be level, and have less towing issues.