Been a Lurker for too long...

Hey ya'll, figured I'd introduce myself before I start nagging ya for tips and advice. I've been driving an '88 22re for years (still have her, she's a beauty) and recently pulled the trigger on a 2017 Tacoma. I'm stoked, and now I'm learning how deep the rabbit hole can go. This truck just seems to demand I spend more money and her and mod her out, so bit by bit I'm going to create my dream truck. I got a really nice Snugtop, tinted the front windows, put Bilstein 5100s on the front, and that's it so far. Need to swap out the coils for the Toytech Eibach that will give me the 3" lift, and then want to put the Dakars in the back. Using just the coils to lift me up, will I need UCA's? Also, my ride looks a little heavy in the backend, any suggestions to give me a little bit of a rake? Hoping the Dakars will do it.

Thanks guys!

 

Welcome! Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I am will come along with answers to your questions.

 

Welcome to TW... Nice ride!!

 

Welcome to TW! Dakars in back should definitely keep that back end from sagging. Aftermarket UCAs are recommended for anything 2.5" or higher in the front to maintain proper alignment.

 

Welcome to TW

 

I'm wondering if the bilsteins with the toytec eibachs give a 3" in front and the Dakars with 3" lift in the back, whats the best way to give me slight rake to my stance? Wouldnt mind the rear being two or three inches so i dont get so saggy carrying my gear.

 

I got a monster 4" of lift from my dakars even with my bed rack and rear bumper weight, but most seem to get about 3". If you don't get the lift you want from the dakars you always add the overload spring to the back to get a bit more.

 

Good info posted above^ from other TW members!

 

OP, I got about 3.5"-4" with my Dakars, more than I expected. You could probably add an additional leaf after the fact if you need to, or a smaller spacer beneath the pack. Just a word of caution though, driveline vibes seem to become much more prevalent once you start lifting the ass-end of these trucks.

 

Congrats OP! Sounds like you got some plans for the rig. Im not sure to what extent you want to wheel, but many initially get focused on the lift height as compared to throwing on some quality suspension for the long haul although it may not be needed depending on your application. I would urge you to research your suspension options for a little bit if you can wait so that you don't buy your lift set up a couple times like many seem to do on here.

Here are some options...

FRONTS:

• Billys (5100s)
• Coilovers (kings, Fox, Icon, Sway away) - rebuildable
• Toytec coilovers - CAN be rebuildable depending on which product you get

REARS:

• Billys (5100s)
• King, Fox, Icon rear shocks - these can have resis which are great for compression adjusters to adjust your rear on the fly
• Dakar leaf packs - standard many guys go with
• ALL PRO Expo leafs - The older Dakars used to sag and die out after a few years (not sure if this is still the case with the new re-design ones) and so folks would seek out a more reliable alternative which all pro has good leafs that are about 1-200 more in price than the dakars.

At the end of the day, you do get what you pay for...BUT if you don't off-road much or at all you might never see the gains of the quality stuff. The cheap stuff is rougher on trail and is more prone to fatigue and designed with less longevity in the component like how the lesser expensive shocks are not rebuildable.

Just wanted to throw some knowledge at you so you know the scope of what can be had for the taco platform.

 

Welcome!

 

Good looking rig!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Hey, appreciate all the info! At the moment, I've swapped out front shocks for the Bilsteins but left the factory coils on them with the 2.5" lift. Not fun, so I'm swapping out those coils for the Toytech Eibachs so I can have the same 2.5" lift without preloading the coils. While I'm at it, I'm going to put the Dakars in the back with the longer Billys (5160? I forget how long I need 'em).

Wondering if I should go ahead and use the spacers to go with the Toytech coils, get the full 3" lift in the front to match the dakars in the back, and throw some UCA's on there all in one go and be done with touching my suspension for a while. Any real benefit from that extra half an inch and adding some Light Racing UCA's? Would they be worth it even if I stay at 2.5"? I explore the BLM roads out here quite a bit, but I don't do any really aggressive offroading.

 

Ucas help with maintaining a good alignment once you are higher than 2.5 inches. From your description, I think light racing ucas could be a good investment. As far as putting some spacer pucks on top of the coils will likely degrade the feel of the suspension and make them stiffer if I had to guess. I don’t care for pucks as generally they only provide more lift at the expense of making your suspension feeling clunky to a degree which can get annoying off road.

 

Welcome!
Ive been thinking of doing the 5100s, with Toytec Coils and possibly a 1/4in Spacer plate. Not sure

 

Welcome to TW!

If you want to keep or get your rake back, adding a set of dakars can provide that. One thing to note is that with new rear Bilstein shocks and Dakars you will need to get extended brake lines. The dakars can be stiff, They are supposed to give 2.75" of lift to the back of the truck which should provide you with about the same rake as stock if you have the front lifted 2.5-3". I've been running a set of dakars for a little over a year and 30k miles on my 17 OR. I've been happy so far and while I never measured I do believe initially I got ~3". Since I installed the dakars they have settled and I've lost some of the original arc and would guess i'm down closer to 2.5" with the weight I carry daily, ~200lbs in the bed. I like the ride with the extra weight as it softened the leafs a bit but will probably be ordering the AAL to gain back the ~1/2" i've lost and to support the extra weight I've been adding to my truck recently. I'm going to be >400lbs for my typical daily load once my RTT and bedrack go back on the truck then more when on trips.(I dont have a reliable place to store my RTT so its typically on the truck all the time, It was pulled off to get some other things installed recently and I've been putting off mounting it again since I have no trips planned for a couple months.)

 

Welcome. Like the rig

 

Welcome. Interested in pics of the ‘88 as well

 

Right? OP can't mention this and not show it off!

Beautiful third gen. What tire size did you go with?