Circlip Settings & Lift

Hi,

I've been deciding between the Bilstein 6112/5160s, or the Eibach Pro-truck 2R kit. I think I've decided on the Bilsteins, since I've read they handle a load better and perform better off road (I know that comes with the drawback of not having as smooth of a ride as the Eibachs, but is it worse than stock?). If I'm wrong on any of this or making the wrong decision, let me know.

Anyways, I want to put 33s on my truck, and was wondering if I could do that with the Bilsteins and an Icon AAL (1.5"). I don't want them to just "fit", I'm looking for a no-rub experience, even when off-road.



Here is the circlip information.

 

Lifting an IFS vehicle does not give clearance for bigger tires, especially if used off-road. Period. If you want a guaranteed zero trimming/modification experience, stick to 32" and smaller tires with zero offset/positive offset wheels. Or you can try to fit skinny 33's but it can be a gamble so be prepared if you go that route.

 

@Rylestyle I did exactly this for the reasons @wi_taco stated. Only went to 32" tires because I didn't want the hassle of potential rubbing or the need to trim. I consider my offroading "easy to easy-moderate" and don't see the need for 33". YMMV and if I did anything more serious would have to reconsider.

Note, not 1005 sure on this but I recall reading that a space for the spare tire cannot accommodate a 33" without modification as well. Another reason I stayed with 32".

 

Okay I’ll look into that. I know you can fit a 33” in the spare slot with some bending underneath.

 

should I stay at a lower circlip? Are there any downsides to going as high as they run?

 

Correct you should be able to fit a 33" spare underneath but it requires some "massaging" of the small tabs that hold the spare in place to fit the bigger rubber. Not hard though, big hammer and a couple minutes of anger management should do the trick.

Unfortunately I cannot answer where you personally should put the clip. Everyone has their own different reasons & personal tastes. I'm no expert on 3rd gen suspension but I think commonly 2" front 1" rear makes it "level" more or less? So if you do 2" up front and you get an actual 1.5" in the rear from the AAL it will give you 0.5" of rake front to back which should be about perfect when unloaded. If you haul stuff more often, you may want to set the front lower so that when you load the bed it doesn't make your headlights go sky high / back end squat to the floor. Again, all preference and how you use it.

Also more preload (aka more lift) means less downtravel and sometimes having that downtravel is desired over having X amount of lift. That's getting into some finer details about tuning suspension but most people who daily drive probably aren't going to notice a difference in this scenario.

 

I run a snugtop 6 foot shell, as well as load up my truck with my tools for work every day. Not a crazy amount of weight with the tools, but combined with the topper is definitely a couple-few hundred pounds. When overlanding/camping, it'll be loaded with more gear and I'll be sleeping in it most likely. But I'm not sure exactly how heavy all of my camping equipment is.

By down-travel, you just mean how far the wheels can tuck into the well? I definitely want a pretty nice amount of down-travel for off-roading/overlanding. Won't be doing any bouldering, but maybe some rock crawling, especially on a couple of hard trails. I'd forfeit a little bit of lift for this. But, I don't want to have too little lift to the point where I can't fit bigger tires without rubbing. Any idea of a sweetspot I should look for?

Maybe I should look into other options of suspension, where I can get a nice lift without preloading the coilovers to the max.

 

Following up on this thread, decided to go with the Eibachs.

 

By down travel he means how much much the shock can be depressed before it bottoms out. If you go with a rear shock that adds some travel this can be avoided to some extent AND you should also consider upgrading the bump stops to also cushion things.

Don't quote me on this, but I went with Belstein 5160 in rear and I believe they have 1" extra travel over the stock Offroad model shocks. Other shocks are specifically long travel if you wanted more but I am not super familiar with them.

 

Stock offroad model rears (made by Bilstein) are the same length as the standard rear 5100s, holding them side by side.
5160s for 3rd gen Tacoma are .7" longer and only .2" more compressed length, per Bilstein website.