Lift Kit or Leveling Kit

I've got a white 2011 tacoma 4x4 and I'm looking to get it lifted this summer. However, I'm debating on whether or not I want a leveling kit or a lift kit.
For a lift kit I was thinking a 3 in lift
But, I have also heard that I should look into leveling kits

Any opinions? I'm not trying to make my truck look like a Daddy's money Frat boy's truck. I'm an 18 year old girl for reference

 

Whats the lift for? Looks? bigger tires? Offroading?

And welcome to TW.

 

Offroading and Looks
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Welcome to the site. A budget will tell us what lift to recommend.

 

If you are into offroading then a true lift will perform better. on your 2011 (or any Tacoma) a suspension lift is the best type of lift and it is recommended to avoid spacers or blocks. Welcome to tacomaworld!

 

I've got roughly 1500-2000$ saved up for it at the moment along with however much I make over the summer. But 1500 to 2000 is what i have right now

 

Are you going to do any off roading? I would say if you have the money go for the lift if not just wait til you do

 

Thats enough to get a good real lift. I'd recommend ARB's line OME (Old Man Emu) lifts or the popular Bilstein 5100 Adjustable shocks with OME coils or 1 of a billion other options lol.

 

This will be the least expensive best way to go should get you 1.5-2" of lift.



A full OME 3" kit with Dakars & UCA's will be $1500-$1800

 

This is a king 2.5" lift

 

roughly how much was this for ya? including installment if applicable

 

My 2cents. Go with a lift kit since they're going to be better for what you want to do and follow the "buy once, cry once" mentality. Don't go out and through some Rancho shocks on the truck just because you got a deal on them. Spend the extra dollar on something high quality. King, Fox, ICON are all trusted and well-known brands. If it were my money, that's what I'd do.

 

This one was 3,800 installed but you can find cheaper ones that are just as good ... most people in here recommend marie from headstrong but i do believe they are moving atm n have put a hold on orders

 

do a 2" lift and get some nice wheels/tire package.

 

Yes those are all high quality lifts you listed but there are lower cost options that are still good. No they arent at the same level as King, ADS, Fox or Icon but still very reliable and good quality. Bilstein and OME are 2 good lower cost options that can provide a nice 1-3" lift for 1/2 the cost or more.

Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road is great to work with. They are currently in the middle of a move and not taking orders but should be in the next week or 2. You can Pm her on here or call them and get a lot of great info. After speaking with her I chose to go with a OME lift for my truck and its been great. I ended up spending around 1700 including UCA's, I did the install myself which saved money on that. I've also helped a few other members install there lifts because why pay someone when you can do it yourself? Its failry easy and its also good to learn how things work so you have a clue of what happened if you break something when your offroading. Around where I'm at we simply post up in our local thread asking for help and work out a day we can get together to get the work done.

 

3800 installed? I cant even find parts for less than 4.. But I'm lookin at the full compression adj resi, Dakar leafs, tc uca. Right at 4 just for the parts

 

You're totally correct. You can get a good lift kit for about half the price. I know plenty of people who've run Bilsteins and Old Man Emu for years and they've had no issue with them. They are good choices however, you do sacrifice a bit of quality and flexibility when it comes to the lower end of the suspension. I know from experience that the higher end of suspension you get the nicer amenities, mainly remote reservoirs.

I guess in my opinion, I'd rather have some spend a little more, but have an awesome experience with a killer setup that is going to last. But I totally understand if it's spending a ton of money on suspension isn't going to work. Just note that upgrading later will cost more if you don't spend it the first time around.

 

I did aaf in rear and for the amount of off roading i didnt need adj resi ... but yea with just resi its an extra 600 plus a few hundo for the dakar leafs

 

yeah I don't need it at all either.. But.... I want it. And if that's what I want, I wont be happy unless that's what I get.. haha. So I gotta save a little longer. Kinda did the same thing on my 4 wheeler. Ive never raced, never plan to, but ive got a good 3500 in front and rear long travel mx suspension on it.. You know, priorities!

 

Im in the process of throwing a fit til i get my hybird front pelfreybilt bumper haha but looks like i might lose this battle