Front suspension

Im looking into getting the Bilstein

$504 B8 5100 Series Set of Front & Rear Shocks fits 1996 2004 Tacoma with 1-1.5" Lift | TrendsAuto Decal | 24-249928 33-247724 33-247717

B8 5100 front end shocks for my truck, does anyone know if i will have to get aftermarket control arms also? or will the OEM upper and lower be fine? Thanks in advance

 

Welcome to TW.

 

Welcome!
Depends on how much lift. What springs are you planning on using? Less than 2" you can go without new uca's. You don't need to mess with the lowers.

 

Those specific shocks have 4 different lift adjustments i think the most it goes is 2.5" i believe, i was planning to use the oem springs unless i need knew springs also

 

The 5100a are made for OEM springs. This is what I’d use if you want to keep it simple and use the chart that the 5100s come with.

If you run different springs, the settings will not be accurate.
Some guys run aftermarket springs and set the 5100 to the first notch (lowest setting).

The 5100s use the spring perch as a lift.
Where as aftermarket coils use the spring as the lift.
You shouldn’t really combine the 2.

Read more on using after market springs here.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/5100s-with-ome-887-notch-setting-for-3-lift.589196/

In short, Use the stock springs.
And as a general rule, the closer you get to 3” of lift the more likely you will need UCA to get a good alignment.

 

Okay thanks, i just checked out that link about aftermarket springs. A lot of it looked like they were saying the oem springs dont work with the bilstein 5100. But also what youre saying makes sense too. I just wanna get all the right stuff so i dont mess anything else up. So if i wanted to put the 5100s on the highest notch, would i need longer UCA or shorter?

 

For what it’s worth I lifted the front of my 2015 about 2” and did not come close to needing new UCAs.

 

Facts only, enjoy! They are 2 separate videos btw.

https://youtu.be/ATmyTbMJL3o

https://youtu.be/huMztKaHsUE