Help Leveling my TRD Offroad Prerunner

Okay so I made the wrong call on installing a 2 1/2 inch Daystar leveling kit for my Tacoma. The front of the truck is nose high and overall I wasn't too impressed with the kit. I'm going to be getting the leveling kit taken off in about a week. To replace my 100k mile worn out shocks, I ordered Bilstein 5100's all around. I'm a little confused as to what setting I should place my front shocks on. My truck is a 2007 DC Short bed prerunner with the TRD offroad package. I noticed some people claim that the ride is rough if they lift the front up considering the truck has progressive shocks? My truck is a SR5 TRD Package, so do I have linear or progressive coils? I also have the 3 leaf pack in the rear (no TSB). I would rather have the stock rake look over nose high. So should I the front set at 0, .85, or 1.75? I want to maintain factory ride as much as possible and I really don't want to install an AAL or block. What's your guys thoughts? I really like the leveled look without having to adjust the rear in any way.

 

5100's with the fronts set at 1.75 will level the truck. Had that setup on my '06 and just installed it on my '15. Left the factory coils, no AAL in the rear or anything. Here's my '15 with the 5100's installed. Looks a little nose high in the pic, but that's just the angle of the shot. It's perfectly level and the ride is sensational.

 

I definitely like the looks of the 1.75, but Im just curious on how I'd look on my truck considering it reached 100k miles last month. I would rather have the rear sit higher than the front. I'm assuming the '15 model comes with the rear TSB?

 

I had the same setup on my '06 SR5 DCLB. No rear TSB, non-off road. Installed at 98K miles and had 200K+ miles on it when I traded it. Same result. Completely level and great ride. The ass sagged a little when I had my race bike in the bed, but that's to be expected.

 

Did you happen to take measurements of the fender wells to the ground/center of the hub? Some people have a half inch difference between the front and back.

 

Ride with bilsteins at 0.85 is stiffer, but I got used to It. About level, is a matter of perception you will have to decide if you really like the way it looks without lifting rear a little.!

 

Unfortunately, no. But if you're really worried about it, do the install at 1.75 and measure. If it's too high, the drop it down. Or, you can just set them at .85 and go with a subtle forward rake and be done with it.

 

Would I have to lift the rear if I set the shocks at .85?

 

I would prefer doing that, but I'm having a local shop install it for me considering I'm going to have to have an alignment afterwards. So I'm trying to avoid having to spend a lot on labor costs.

 

How much does the .85 section lift the front end? Will it even be noticeable by others or would it be worth leaving it at 0?

 

He is skipping over important information. So don't just act like a fool and throw them in at 1.75, or .85, or whatever else.

 

What do you recommend?

 

Before installing the lift, use a floor Jack and jack up your truck to 1.75 inches and see how you like the look of it. That will give you a rough estimate of what your truck will look like with bilsteins at 1.75.

 

As much as I would like to do that, I currently have a 2 1/2 spacer on.

 

You need to go outside with a tape measure and measure your HUB to FENDER heights front and rear, and then you'll see (and only then will you see) the actual height difference between front and rear. Then you can figure out which setting will most closely yield you the desired lift.

The settings of preload that 5100s assume (0", .85", 1.75", 2.5") are ESTIMATES and aren't accurate numbers to go by. You can't know for sure what you'll end up with until you do the job and put the truck on the ground and measure the hub to fender heights again.
I got 1.5" of lift with stock coils and .85 setting on 5100s. At 1.75 setting I got 1.75" of lift.

Don't listen to anybody giving you general blanket statements that have little factual basis when it comes to your truck and suspension wear, especially at your high mileage. If you're paying cash money for someone else to install it for you, you need to make sure you're measuring your actual heights. The general consensus of .85 leveling a 3 leaf OEM pack and 1.75 leveling a 4 lead OEM pack doesn't account for trucks with 100k miles on the OEM leaf packs, and it doesn't account that Bilstein's given preload numbers are ONLY estimations. They can't guarantee or tell you what the settings will give from one truck to the next, they can just ballpark it.

I was nose high at .85 with 1.5" of lift by nearly half an inch, on a brand new truck. So, don't take anything posted previously as hard fact. It's far from the case.

 

I made a mistake by not measuring before installing my spacer. The spacer is still on, so how could I perform an accurate measure? Would my best bet by setting the shock at 0?

 

Ideally, yes. But you can reasonably estimate by subtracting 2.5" from your hub to fender heights with the spacer installed. There is nothing concrete about lift results, so measuring and estimating as best you can is key to get as close to the end goal as you can.

 

Alright, I'll go take some measurements in a few minutes and post them on here.

 

Okay so the front sets around 37 inches from the ground up. The back is around 36-36.5 inches from the ground up. I am running a 17inch wheel with all terrains.

 

So you shouldn't go higher than .85 setting, likely.