Can I use bilstein 5100's?

I hate the suspension in my 2010 dcsb.I am thinking of putting aal on the factory 4 leaf rear and going with bilstein 5100's on the front.I don't want to lift the truck,just stiffen the stock suspension and hopefully improve handling.Don't want to spend a fortune either to fix something Toyota should have done in the first place.Would aal on rear and 5100's set at 0 or 1 on front help?

 

Yes, yes you can. Just make sure that they are set at 0. Also, give the many many 5100 threads a read. There is plentiful information with these being among the most popular mod on these trucks. Not being a turd, just trying to help.

 

Yup. Not a ton though but will likely give you a slight rake with the 5100's at 0. Do the AAL and put the 5100s at .85 on your stock springs. The ride will stiffen a little but should set pretty level.

EDIT: also depends on which AAL.

 

^^^ This

The front will have to be set up a little or different spring used with 5100's. Unless you want a lot of rake.

 

Thanks for the replys.I have a hellwig aal coming from S D truck springs for the rear and will try 5100's set at .85 on front.Most of my complaint is body roll on rough uneven roads.About 90% of roads in Maine.

 

I have a 2012 with 5100s set at 1.75(?). It sits noticeably higher in the front than the rear now. I was thinking I should lift the back a bit.

Reading here about AALs...What does that stand for?

 

Add-A-Leaf, it's just another leaf spring in the rear.

 

sweet, thanks. I'll have to look into those.

 

Body roll is typically a function of spring stiffness, not strut/shock. The strut/shock should be matched to properly control the spring.

Anti sway bars are also a spring, most effectively used by road course racers to fine tune the suspension after their primary spring/shock combo has been set. The negative side of anti roll is the tie of L & R sides can exasperate certain conditions, as it doesn't allow max freedom of the suspension.

So as a Tacoma newbie myself, I'm curious to learn if the problem the OP is trying to solve will in fact be solved by the Billies. If so, does that mean that the front springs are actually adequate, but improperly dampened?

I'm not speaking of lifting and lowering stuff here. Just normal ride heights with response changes.

And are there options for more spring capacity in the rear with no lift? IE similar arc, but increased load-ability?

 

Bill, your coil springs are progressive as are the OPs (I believe the Base, SR5, and TRD OR all use the same coils, and TRD Sport gets a linear rate coil) and I think therein lies the issue with body roll and cornering performance. Mine are preloaded to .85 with 5100s and body roll is much less pronounced, though I'm also modified in the rear with a Wheeler's 3 leaf progressive AAL.

I don't think you'd see a difference without the preloading of the stock coils. TRD Sport coils though, would maintain stock ride height and stiffen up the ride, especially preloaded.

 

Thanks!

Makes perfect sense. So if I have it right, preloading the spring with the new strut (using the adjustable perch position) essentially stiffens the spring rate on the models you mention. Probably by 'removing' the lower end of the progression by limiting spring travel.

If you didn't want lift, it would make sense to swap springs and combine with the 5100s? Suspect OE sport springs might be readily available as take offs from folks adding armor and such.

I looked at the AAL you mentioned. It's looking like air bags may be the main way to add some capacity (or at least limit droop) w/o having to add lift? Or are there some higher capacity springs (or spring packs?) that give that w/o lift?

Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm not against lift, I just don't need it for how I use the truck.

 

Airbags would be great, yep. I imagine Sport coils can be found for $75-100 or so on the market. Though I wonder if they'll provide any lift, because the Sport has a 4 leaf rear and the others are 3 leaf.