Buying my lift today. Last minute questions:

Today's the day. I've been talking with Mica from Downsouth Motorsports and he's very helpful. I'm about ready to commit to buying, but I want to make sure nobody can point out any huge scary black spider monsters that might jump out and eat me before I order my stuff. (Forgive any silly questions or references. I'm NOT knowledgeable about this stuff.)

My truck is a 2013 DC TRD Offroad 4x4 with the 4.0 V6. I'm 90%+ on paved roads, but I want the option to perform well offroad. My MAIN concern is reliability and proper alignment. I'm a little worried about issues with the VSC after lifting and getting new rims/tires, but that seems like an infrequent problem, so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

DSM is suggesting 4 Bilstein 5100's on stock coils with an Icon 3 Leaf progressive spring kit. I would also do a differential drop and carrier bearing drop. Finally, I was going to throw in a set of Total Chaos UCAs to make damned sure I can get my alignment right without any worries.

Most likely I will be having Yodaman (I'm in Santa Rosa, CA) install this for me. The rims/wheels I'm getting will be Worx 803 Beast 16x9-139.7 rims with P265/75R16 Goodyears.

Any thoughts, tips, or suggestions on what I'm buying or how it should be installed? Additional stuff I should include? Scrap the whole thing and go with the OME kit? Drum roll...

 

I would advise against a diff drop after reading this:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/118545-remove-differential-drop-your-05-tacoma.html

Also, if it were me, I would get new coils. If you're replacing the shocks and can afford to replace the coils, do it. Just my .02

 

How high you looking to go? Sounds like if you want UCAs you want 2"+. I would get a set of Coils to give a lift over just extending the 5100s. If you do decide to go that route, I would say buy the 5100s and coils already assembled. I just installed mine this weekend with a member helping me, and it takes forever to compress those coils. Just my 2 cents...if I had it to do all over again, I would have gotten the 5100s and coils at same time. That way you can have them assembled and ready to go onto your truck.

EDIT, I did NOT get the diff drop installed when I did mine. My exact setup was Bilsteins at .85, Eibach Coils, and LR UCAs. Granted I've only had on there since this weekend so can't really say too many good/bad. I will say I had to drive about 30 miles back home on it w/o an alignment from the members house, and it road really well(speeds up to 60 mph).

 

Don't get the diff drop spacer kit it will only damage your truck worse than lifting it would.

 

Agree with these 2, Billy's on the stock coils is a significantly worse ride than getting some Eibach or OME coils to replace. This will all the springs to do the lifting and not the shocks.

 

5100 set on .85 with 884 OME coils for the front.

 

DSM will advise against this.

 

What lift height are you shooting for?

 

You're planning on a 9" wide wheel, but planning on running 265 width tires?

That's a bit weird. Personally I run 285 width tires on 8" wide rims... Best double check that the tires you're getting are approved for mounting on a rim that wide.

 

Also, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone use Total Chaos UCAs while still running stock coils...

Dan's question is a good one - what total height you goin' for?

 

I would say go with OME coils and struts over mixing OME coils and 5100s. Why not go with the shock that is designed for the spring rate of the spring they sell with their kits? I also recommend going with a coil and strut combo over preloading a factory spring and then spending extra money on UCAs. If you can only afford 5100s and UCAs or OME coils and struts, I recommend OME and then save up for the UCAs later if you need them. A good alignment shop should be able to get you in spec with 885 OME coils and struts without aftermarket UCAs.

 

I've got a trd off-road with 5100's and the icon progressive aal. I didn't need the diff drop or uca's. I'm at the 1.75 setting. My alignment came out good.
I like my setup. I would consider setting the shocks to 0 and adding lift springs, but I'm happy with it as it is.
Ck my gallery for pics.

 

Thanks for the replies. I've definitely gotten the picture that a dif. drop kit is a no-no for my truck. Copy that.

But now two different shops have told me that for what I'm trying to accomplish (about 2.5-3" of lift on a 90%+ daily driver) I should just get a block and spacer kit. I'll call on the tire/wheel size thing to make sure they didn't screw up.

I've read nothing but bad stuff about leveling kits on this site. However, I've just talked to two "professionals", one with 10 years of experience and the other claiming 40 years, both of whom told me a spacer kit was the best bet.

The guy with 40 years (out of Concord, CA) told me that the Tacoma isn't really an offroad vehicle because of the IFS. He said anything other than a spacer/block kit is basically a waste of money for this truck.

Then I talked with a guy from Diablo Offroad in Walnut Creek who seemed a little more open-minded. He said the spacer/block kit was an okay option but that the 5100's with new coils and the spring pack was better. He also recommended a Dif. drop kit and was surprised when I told him that you don't want to put that on a 2013.

In short, EVERYBODY has different thoughts, and some of them are vastly different. And so many of these "experts" at 4x4 shops don't know some basic stuff that it seems like they should.

I'm as confused as when I started, or even more so! At this point, I'm about ready to forgo the lift and just buy rims/tires and call it good. When my current shocks/springs start to wear out, I can replace them with better stuff.

So frustrating. Thanks again for all the help, folks. Despite the frustration, I'm learning a ton about this stuff, so it's worth it in the end.

 

Don't be frustrated. It just depends on what you want and how high you want to go.
If you want the 2.5 to 3 range your setup was good, just ditch the diff drop and carrier drop. I would suggest some lift springs and set the 5100's to .85. That would get you around 2.5 in the front. I like the icon setup in the back. Toytec has a pre assembled bundle with 5100's and springs ready to install. I like dsm too, that's where I got my stuff.

With this you would be at around 2.5 of lift for decent money, good ride, and it's a fairly proven setup.

 

Since you're not going offroad much if not at all, the spacers would work, and it's obviously a helluva lot cheaper. It sounds to me though that if you're already looking into new UCAs, that money isn't a big issue, not saying you don't want to save where you can, but decent UCAs cost more than any of the other components. I think my setup was just over $1k, and that was with brand new UCAs. If I remember right:
LR UCAs - $380
5100s(4) - $320
Eibach Coils(Used on here) - $100 i think
Icon Progressive AAL - $200

 

OME 884 springs will give you exactly 2" of lift in front on a DC (that's the route I went with, on Nitrocharger shocks) I love the way my truck handles now compared to the spacer lift I had before. If you are aiming for a higher lift, I'd get 885's and don't forget the trim packer ring to correct the taco lean on the drivers side.

 

I was wrong about the wheel width. It's 8 inches, not 9. I just ordered my stuff. I went with the 5100's and Icon AAL with no UCAs. I figure I can add those and change the coils later if I hate the way it rides. Do I need to buy a shim for the taco lean? Yodaman gonna install on Monday if all goes as planned.

 

No spacer needed if you are on stock coils. Just be sure they stay on the correct side.

 

I'll make sure to remind him not to get the coils switched hehe

 

Sooooooo!!

After more reading and deliberation, I decided that stock coils with the 5100s, while doable, wasn't the best option. I called Downsouth Motorsports back and ordered the OME 885 coils to go along with the shocks and Icon AAL.

The person I spoke with advised me against this. He said that the Bilsteins are specifically valved for the stock coils. He seemed a little annoyed (or maybe he was just busy and I'm being paranoid) with me when I told him I wanted to buy the coils regardless.

He quickly told me, "OK, I've got your payment information on file already." I thanked him but by the time I got the words out, he had already hung up. It seemed rather abrupt.

After he hung up, I realized I forgot to ask for a trim packer along with the coils. I can't find one on the website for DSM, and I'm not too keen on calling them back anymore (bugged the guy like 3x today).

Is this something that I really need? It seems like 5mm of "lean" probably won't matter much. How hard is it to fix myself later if I decide it bothers me? Should I just stop being a baby and order it today?