Best oem replacement front struts?

Yeah, but they're expensive and AFAIK, need occasional rebuilding. Seems like a waste for a street-only truck.

 

I agree on Kings not meeting the OP's intended purpose, but the're not expensive and don't need occasional rebuilding.

Especially if they're kept on the street, they need a rebuild much less often than if they were used offroad.

 

Kings for a 98 tacoma are over $1200 on toyteclifts.com. Something I'm missing about them not being expensive? Don't mean to be ignorant, but that's a lot of moolah compared to a spacer lift.

 

I have 5100’s with ome 880 coils on it now set at 0”. They ride like shit.

 

I have King 2.5's, for a '98 4R that doesn't even go wheeling.

I paid the same for Fox 2.5's, for an '01 Tacoma, that was 2WD.

I did so because the coilovers are -

1. a complete setup
2. adjustable
3. offer not only the aesthetic appeal one looks for (lift), but a quality ride
4. are serviceable, so no more replacing coilovers
5. can be retuned if your usage changes
6. can be sold as used to recoup money, due to the reasons above

 

how are the stock uca’s with those 5100’s? Might throw my stock uca’s back on

 

Now, I'm not saying you have to go out and buy Kings/ADS/Icon/Fox just because I listed some of the benefits above, but to call them expensive is a bit ignorant.

I'd say you just don't see the value in them, and that's fine.

A lot of people are perfectly content with say OME, Bilstein, etc.

 

That's subjective.

I would describe the ride more like "it rides like a pickup truck should be expected to ride." It sounds like you want it to ride like a car.

When I did my 5100s, the ride 100% improved over stock (again, subjective), and that was still re-using my stock worn out coils and on the middle setting.

The Monroes are probably your best bet for as close as you're going to get for a car-like ride.

 

no I mean they ride fine but I don’t like the stance. Lower in the front and I don’t want to move it up a notch because it would probably ride worse than it is now.

 

Ok, if you don't mean the RIDE, stop using that word, lol.

I highly doubt you'd even notice if you moved it up one clip. Or just get 881's. Probably sell the 880's pretty easy.

The reason trucks are higher in the back is so when you load it up with rocks and gear or whatever, it doesn't look like a dog scooting on the carpet.

Spacers are cool and all, but just kidding, spacers suck.

 

this was stock everything with 1.25” spacer up front. It was nice. I loved the stance and the ride was fine. I did a pretty risky trail in the sierras from king canyon water fall to spooner lake. It wasn’t anything crazy but I did it all stock. A couple steep washed out spots and it did great.

 

I know but I don’t overload the truck in the first place so it never squats.

 

You don't need ANY lift for something like that.

 

I know I didn’t say you did. I was mainly saying I did it with all stock parts. So I might go back to all stock parts.

 

oh yeah, all stock these trucks handle more than most people can dish out.

Reverting to "stock" you'd be spending money on a down grade.

If it rides fine (as you said it does), IMO your best bet for a little additional lift for the stance you want is 881s. Same spring, just a little longer. Or move the spring up one clip on the 5100s - that's free.

But if you want to revert to a more "car-like" ride, then yeah, Monroes are probably a good choice.

 

Assuming "spendy" and "expensive" mean similar things to you (they do to me), I'd say I'm not alone in my thinking. I never said I thought they were overpriced (which means something different than "spendy" or "expensive"), and I never said I don't see the value in them (in fact, you make a good case for their value), but the OP is contemplating a spacer lift on a 23 year old, street-driven truck. The value you describe likely doesn't apply in his case.

 

I was recommending against Kings for a street truck.

 

KYB from Rock Auto are great. Super smooth ride. 2 years no problems so far.

Be sure you specify 2wd or 4wd version when ordering.

 

The way Rock Auto and many other retailers distinguish between models is dumb and confusing, and it's not always consistent. I blame Toyota for this.

What you need to specify is 5 lug or 6 lug. You can specify 2wd and if you're not careful, you'll get either a 5 lug or a 6 lug prerunner which are completely different trucks.

 

6112s at stock height ride amazingly well for a mid price option