Lift questions

Alright, for starters, I'm borderline retarded when it comes this stuff, so I apologize ahead of time for my ignorance. I have a 2013 TRD 4x4 long bed. I want to put a lift on it but I don't know what I want/need as I understand there are different ways. I've already searched the forum on different types of lifts, etc, but I still don't really get what would be best for my application. I'm going more for aesthetics and a little LIGHT off-roading. I want to avoid any cutting of the fender wells if possible. Eventually want slightly larger tires but nothing extreme. So... Do you need shocks in the back for a lift? Or are leaf springs sufficient? What are spacers for? I'm confused and have no idea where to start. Anyone have any recommendations or advice? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

To be a little more specific, I see the Bilstein 5100s are popular. Is it fine to do that up front and an add a leaf in the back? Or a new leaf pack? How do you get the truck "level?" What does anyone recommend for my application?

 

5100's, and an AAL would be fine for what your looking to do. Lift is not achieved in the back with 5100's. So yes if you want to lift the rear, in order of cheapest to most expensive would be 1. An AAL (single leaf) (better load handling). 2.progressive 3 leaf AAL (better ride) 3. A full leaf pack.

Many have said that single leaf AALs ride rough. I think a lot of these guys are running stiffer LT tires. I have 5100's on stock OR springs, and a single leaf AAL, with P rated tires, and it definitely firmed the ride up, but it is an improvement over the stock ride.

The next thing you should be doing, is to figure out how much you want to lift front, and rear. Take measurements now (at stock height), from center of hub to fender. That will help you decide how much lift you want on each end.

 

Call Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road. Tell her your goals. If what she recommends is currently outside your budget, wait and save more. Buy once, install once.

 

That's already excellent info. Is lifting just the front a thing? Based on pictures of other people's lift, I think I'd be looking for a 2 or 2.5 inch lift.

 

Yeah my plan is to do it right and what I want long term the first time. Thanks I'll give it a shot.

 

13 DCLB, 5100 Billies all around, TRD Sport springs, about 2.5 - 2.75 lift on my truck, Falken 265/75/16s

The fronts were setup on the second 0.85 grove of the shocks and have a 1/2" plate under the coil hat. The rear springs have two additional leaves in the pack. I bought the springs and shocks already setup from another TW member. The setup works great, my truck had the SR5 suspension under it to start with. The stock setup was a bit harsh at times especially when loaded. The 5100s firmed up the ride without being harsh. It works really well off-road, I'm not doing any highspeed desert runs or rock crawling but I don't drive it like I'm going to the mall.

 

Did you have to cut anything to fit the tires? Get any rubbing?

 

If you want to go with 2.5" up front, you will definitely need some lift in the back. You may need upper control arms at that height as well. You could get away with maybe an inch up front without lifting the rear, but that's about it. Some guys have done 1.75" up front, with no AAL, and it rides level, to nose high. But will definitely sag in the rear, if you use the bed at all.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-lift-faq-guide-read-this.11282/

 

No, I did however remove the little mud widgets under the front bumper, mostly cause they looked goofy to me. The only thing I would change on my setup is switch out the front coils for OME 885s.

 

To that I would add cry once.

 

I'm going a little different route than most. I have 2016 sport springs and shocks that I am going to mate with a .75 spacer. The 16 shocks will give me 1 inch and the .75 spacer will add 1.5 in the front. I am adding the aal for the rear to keep some of the rack. I am in it for 150 bucks with basically an oem suspension. Now I just have to install.

 

I am running a (mostly) OME setup. 887 coils up front with N140S shock. N182 in the rear + wheelers 3 leaf progressive AAL /w overload. Its a very nice ride overall. About 3" lift in the front and sits almost perfectly level without a load. Ill probably upgrade to a full leaf pack to give back a little front rake at some point in the near future. Did all labor myself and have <$1000 in parts.

 

Definitely talk to Marie at headstrong. here is the kit I got with camburg ball joint UCA's for my 2013. It's rides better than stock on the street and does well on the trail. Bilstein is also coming out with a new kit. 8112s but I'm sure it'll cost more.

 

Best advice so far was to call Marie @ Headstrong Off Road. From there on, here's my $.02 worth.....;

First step is to establish a budget. How much can you afford to spend. Once you have a handle on that, proceed with an open mind.

Spacer lifts aren't the best setup, but they get a bad rap that in many cases is unwarranted. They're a decent VERY LOW BUDGET way to gain lift. There is one near fatal flaw with spacers if you do much off roading. They cause the shock to run out of travel well before the suspension runs out of travel. This puts the shocks at risk of bending/breaking. Some people will try to tell you spacers cause a harsh ride. They give you EXACTLY what you had for a ride PRIOR to installing them......Same coil....Same preload.....Same shock. Also keep in mind, with a truck having some/many miles on the shocks PRIOR to lifting with spacers, you may have a shock that's near the end of it's useful life. THEN you get a bad ride. The fix is new shocks.... Which would eliminate the need for spacers if you choose the RIGHT shock. A remedy for the spacer/suspension travel problem is to install a spacer between the frame and the bump stop that is 110% of the thickness of the top plate spacer you choose to install. This limits suspension travel to roughly what you'll have with the shock travel...Keep in mind this is LIMITING SUSPENSION TRAVEL.....Just what it implies.....and NOT a desired effect if you want to go off road.

Bilstein 5100's are a good way to raise a truck within a reasonable budget. I personally do NOT like using them in the various lifted positions with stock coils preloaded to gain lift....I prefer using them set at 0" and instead using aftermarket (longer) coils. Better ride....No coil binding....no excessive preload that pushes the rebound dampening to or beyond it's intended limits. I personally have OME 885X coils (with 1/2" top plate spacer added) to reach a total of 3". Without the spacer, these coils give 2-1/2" lift. OME has a variety of coils for a variety of lift height's. Also they have a higher rated spring if you intend to put a heavy winch/winch bumper, skids, etc....on the front end.

Rear leaf's can be dealt with in many ways. "Cheapest" is probably just blocks and longer u-bolts. A `1" block will do "OK", but for roughly the same amount of work AND cost, you can add a good add-a-leaf (AAL). If you won't be hauling heavy loads, and you aren't hammering the suspension, a good AAL will do the job quite nicely. You can go on up the ladder with multi-leaf AAL, OR, a full leaf pack (such as OME "Dakar's")

Even with the new Bilstein 5100's don't expect a big difference in ride. They have the same EXACT internal valving as the stock TRD shocks. (Bilstein 4600's) The difference is the external body finish, and their adjustability on the front end. Any change in ride would come from either the new shocks vs old worn out shocks, OR from the change in coils.

OME shocks arguably ride better, but don't allow the full range of travel on front suspensions and run out of "droop" on rear suspension on lifted trucks. Just because something is more expensive, that doesn't mean it's automatically "better". I'm not a huge fan of OME shocks for off roading.

Once you reach the 2" to 2-1/2" front lift range, you'll almost always need new upper control arms (UCA's) to get the front in proper alignment. The higher you go, and/or, the bigger the tires, the more positive caster it takes to make a truck track straight. I'm lifted to 3" and managed to get 2.8 degrees caster, which is as rare as a unicorn....The desired goal with 3" is 3 degrees. The results are usually closer to 1 degree max with 3" lift and stock UCA's. I got lucky....Long story short, be ready to drop $400 to $1000 (depending on which brand UCA you choose) if you go past 2" lift.

From there on, you can go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Lifts are available that will lighten your wallet well into the many thousands of dollars. As your budget increases, the option list grows longer.

You mention "bigger tires". Keep in mind that even with a full 3" of lift, once you start putting tires as big or bigger than 33" on a Tacoma, the sawzall comes out of the toolbox. Some minor cutting is required even with 3". Bigger than 33"'s? Quite a bit of trimming is required.

 

OME 884 coils on bilstein 5100's set at zero with a 2" AAL seems to be a good budget lift kit. Should give about 2.35 inches of lift in the front and once the back settles a little under 2 inches to make it relatively level with a slight rake. Thats my lift goals, if you order the shocks and coils from headstrong it comes up to 520 dollars, and the 2" AAL you can get from wheelers offroad for like 80 bucks. 600 dollar lift kit and hopefully not gonna need UCA.

 

I've posted about this before, asking, but I still feel like a dummy.
I really want a TRD Pro suspension for lifting the front 2 inches. But I think I may get the Bilstein 5100s just because of $$$.

Just wondering if anyone has one of these:
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/TP14--Front-Top-Plate-Spacer-One-14-thick-spacer_p_351.html
a top spacer for the Taco drivers side lean. Is this something I really need to get?

This is the AAL I been thinking about getting:
http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/TAC-AL--ToyTec-Rear-add-a-leafs_p_16.html
It says 1.5 to 2 inch lift in the rear.
I really want to lift the front of my truck 2 inches or so, and have the "level" look, Im not trying to get a 3" lift or higher, just not what I want to do. But I definitely do not want the back to "sag" at all, so is this a good AAL for that?
Thanks