Bilstein & Eibach Combo

If this has already been beaten to death, please hook me up with a link. Been searching for quite some time now to read reviews/input on the setup.

General question (may even be a stupid one). Can coil/shock combos like this (or the Billy & OME) be purchased in this "mid-travel" or "extended droop" option for a little additional travel when maneuvering the slow, rocky areas?

Now on to the questions about the Bilstein 5100 & Eibach Coil combination.
For those who have this setup:

-Are you running lift?
--If yes, how is that treating you?

-Which leaf springs did you pair this with?

-Can you testify to this setup off-road?
--Washboard type roads?
--Flexing on the slow & technical areas?

-How about daily driving?

-Longevity?

-Would you do it again?
--If not, which setup (comparable)?

 

If you want ext travel coil overs you need to look into like king, fox, icon

 

Was wondering about that. Noted. Thanks.

 

i am running tundra 5100 with the ebiach coils and .5 spacers on top. this maxes out my travel top to bottom and because the tundra 5100's have extra up travel the shock doesn't bottom out on the up travel before hitting the bumpstops even with the .5 poly spacers. I'm assuming i get about 3-3.5 inches of lift.

 

hmmm, im interested now. Have you had the tacoma 5100s? How do they compare to the tundra?

 

X2

 

You will need UCAs if you want a little more droop, otherwise your UCAs will limit travel. If you really want a much fuller range of motion, you'll need to get a long travel kit.

 

Firstly, don't stack lifts (i.e. 5100's and spacers), and I would definitely recommend not extending your lift beyond 3" without a bracket lift. For 4x4, you need a diff drop kit beyond about 2-2.5" lift and likely aftermarket UCAs. Really, anything over 3" and you should be running a bracket style lift (pro-comp or whatever) because you are exceeding the limits of the CVs and the suspension geometry, even with a corrected UCA.

I'm running King extended travel coils up front with total chaos uniball UCAs and a diff drop kit. Up travel is the same (limited by the bump stops), but an inch more down travel, which gives the wheels another 2" (ish) travel. I deleted the sway bar, so there is a little more lean in corners, but nothing that isn't manageable, especially with the Kings. It's not my daily driver anymore, so I felt a little better about taking it off.

I'm currently running tired stock leafs with a 1.5" shackle and 5100's in back, however they are getting replaced this summer, probably with Deavers or All-Pros. Once I get the new leaf pack, I'll start doing some measuring for new shocks, probably Kings to match, but actually, my 5100s ride quite well - even with the Kings in front.

Both on and off road ride is excellent. Like I said, no-sway bar means it leans a bit in corners, but totally manageable. The on-road ride is smooth and it definitely takes pot holes and speed bumps better, but make no mistake, it still drives like a TRUCK (as it should). Off road, those pretty blue shocks are awesome. Was out driving with a friend and his nearly identical 2003 doublecab. We had just put my old 5100's on his truck when I got my Kings. I was in the lead going down some rough forest roads, carving turns, hitting berms, you know: having fun, but not really pushing hard (had my son in the car, too). I didn't think I was going that fast, but I ended up waiting at one spot for at least a minute or two for my friend. When he finally drove up, he was telling me about all the times he "found the bump stops."

I went with a mid travel setup because the other option for increased travel is a long travel kit, which is an entirely new ball of wax. You're talking $5-8k without even trying, and they aren't really "bolt on" kits.

 

I have a lifted 2002 Taco TRD 4WD, with 5100 Bilsteins, Toytec/Eibach front Coilover kit for the 5100's, SPC UCA's and Alcan heavy duty leafs in the rear. It also has Wheelers Off Road shackles and the front diff leveler thing, as I have 3 inches of lift.

I love my truck for daily driving, skiing trips, towing and light off roading.

Though I have two cars, the Taco is really the daily and all weather vehicle, so it gets more miles. As such, I don't do HEAVY trails in either Colorado or Moab. but I do take the truck off the pavement.

 

why not? what would be the problem with my tundra 5100 and top spacer setup?

I am running SPC UCA's to compensate for the extra travel.

but if you can explain why i dont have this setup correctly i will be the first one to change it.

thanks for the inputs

 

There is no ext travel struts.

staking lifts to get more then 3” of lift can lead to parts breaking especially on a 4x4 it Also effect your suspension geometry when going higher then 3” making it hard to get an alignment. But if yor not looking for more then 3” then why would you stack in the first place you can just get it from the struts. If you want more then 3” you need to look into a bracket style lift

 

The aftermarket UCA doesn't really compensate for "extra travel", it positions the spindle differently for a higher ride height so you can maintain a factory alignment.

With more than 3" lift, you can over extend your CVs and full droop, and especially if you don't have a diff drop, will have too high an angle on your CVs at normal ride height, too (they will wear out quickly). A pre-runner can be lifted more than the typical 3", but that's because you don't have to contend with the limitations of the CVs. Even then you shouldn't go more than maybe 4"...

The other problem with spacers is that it's possible to now bottom out the shock BEFORE you hit the bumpstops (= bad!). If the Tunrda shocks have enough up travel that you bottom out the bumpstop BEFORE bottoming out the shock, that won't be a problem.

 

well as far as my experience goes the tundra setup is good.

i get the 3 inches of lift and still have good down travel with that setup (unlke the tacoma 5100). the tundra 5100's have more up travel thats why i put the spacers up front. as mentioned earlier i get contact on the upper bump stop and the tundra 5100's still have about 1/2" more shock travel to go with the .5" top spacers.

after i installed everything i pulled the suspension down to full droop and spun the wheels to make sure the CV axles were not binding at full droop and full turn. I could have went with the 1" top plate spacers (cause theres more room on top) but there was some slight binding at full droop with the 1" so i opted for the .5" as the final setup.

I also have long travel CV boots installed so no boot rubbing also have diff drop.

I beleive the tundra 5100 setup is a little shorter than the tacoma 5100's at the bottom clip. Tundra has 4 grooves and tacoma has only 3 grooves.

another good thing about tundra setup is the bottom bushing that bolts to the control arm is 2x as thick. looks way beefier.

 

Why is this decision so difficult? All I want is something better than OEM with a slight lift (1-2") in the front to get rid of the rubbing with the 275/65r16 tires.

The leafs need to be replaced for sure. OEM is fine. Trying to research if I really need the shackles. It's a CO truck. Perhaps I can re-use the ones that are on there?

 

biggest question is how much you want to $pend?

 

HeadStrong has the Bilstein Kit with OME 880 coils for $631 (assembly included).

The Pro Truck Lift Stage 1 is $535 at Wheeler's.

I can dig those prices. I am assuming I will have to spend about $600-$700 for some good leaf springs that provide a 1" lift or so. I'm a little hesitant with this though. The leafs that are on there now are SHOT. There's no telling what I would get with a lift that's over "stock" because mine are sagging by who-knows-how-much.

I'd love to go with a King setup... but there are other factors in my life that strongly suggest I go with a more affordable solution.

Guess I should have mentioned that I'm looking for about 1-1.5" of lift. If that. I wouldn't be mad if I hit factory specs but the suspension was FRESH and could handle what I put it through. The truck is used to haul stuff for my part-time second job. The roads involved are F*d up too. One particular section I must traverse actually forces articulation. Not mad about it. Just saying.

 

I’ve had 2 different Bilstein/ Eibach combos on 2 different Tacoma’s. Eibach makes a 620# coil which gives you 1.6” lift, I measured afterward and that was accurate. This is with the 5100 on the “0” clip setting which is where you really want it otherwise your compounding lifts again basically and preloading a heavier longer coil isn’t preferable. They rode pretty stiff but the truck was a 4cyl and I didn’t have any extra weight up front either.
The current truck is a dcsb v6 and I installed the 5100’s at “0” with the Eibach 600# coils. These provide 2.5” lift so I put a 3/8” poly spacer on the drivers side and 1/4” spacer on the passenger side to get rid of the lean and supposedly provide a full 3” of lift. Idk if I got a full 3” or not but pairing this with Camburg uca’s Gave me a well functioning suspension which also rides very well on the road. CV angles are great and alignment numbers are spot on with a +3 for castor. No diff drop and no need for it.
I paired the front with wheelers 3 leaf progressive aal and it gave me about 3” in the rear as well. The 3 lead is only supposed to produce around 1.5” of lift but I’ve put them on both trucks with the same results. I’m happy so far all around. The rear works great, rides well, and I’ve had some heavy loads on it with no noticeable sag

 

I’m really digging the white on white.

 

Hmmm...

All I'm looking for is 1 - 1.5" up front (which I cannot say is even "stock") and the rear at 1". Even taking the rear to OEM would probably give me what I want. The rear leafs right now are toast.

I will probably go with the billy's and OME 880 springs for the time being. The truck will have to survive the next year or so of 2nd job duty (hauling stuff at night). After that... I should be clear to go Kings or Icons. I say this is possible because my petite Wife loves driving the Tacoma. Problem is: cannot fit the baby seat in the Xtra cab for our camping/fishing/hunting trips. Gotta use the Scarlett Behemoth (can't really navigate the tighter, technical trails)!

My concern is the rear leafs. Do I order some true OEM leafs? OR do I ask for 1" of lift from them? There are local shops ($900 installed), or there are Deaver or Alcan leaf packs. Not sure which to go with.

 

I think your plan for the front is solid, I'm also debating ome coils or just go kings