Parts upgrade needed to accommodate Bilsteins?

If you don't touch the rear, I would absolutely not go past the 1.1" setting unless you want to Carolina squat. If you like the "level" look then 1.1(3rd notch) should get you that. If you like even a little bit of rake then you may not be happy.... but it's easy to add a 1" block in the rear. You can add a 1/2" block to the rear but it will be a little more involved because typically the thinner blocks have to be bolted into the leaf pack.

 

I gotchu I might be considering the OEM lift instead so I called my local toyota for an install quote but my vin isn’t under the part as “fits” I have a 2016 sr5. He said they can install it but it’s not returnable. Will the OEM lift fit my 16 sr5?

 

leveling a truck is dumb, most people who do it go back but whatever floats your boat

 

Here is what I did back in December

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2022-tacoma-trail-edition-4×4.723589/page-55#post-28391533

 

Why do you say that? Elaborate

 

? Have you done the lift, oer are just speculating?

Because trolls are going to troll.
You do you. I'm one of many who lifted their front (.85" in the case of the second gen) to level out the truck. I've never been happier and will not go back.
The second gens had a leaf pack recall that lifted the rear, and I run airbag suspension, so my rear was always high.
I originally installed the Bilsteins at 1.75" and the step up to get in the truck, as well as visibility over the hood was not good.
Truck was too jacked at the front.
Lowered the the .85" lift, and have never been happier.

 

Lmao right seemed like a very passive aggressive comment I’m just weighing my options sheesh lol

 

Trucks have rake so that they sit more or less level when loaded down in the back, i.e. pulling a trailer or having a bed full of stuff. Leveling the front height to match the rear defeats the purpose, and causes your truck to squat in the rear when you actually do have a load in the back. It's entirely an appearance mod, and one of the many mods that people do to these trucks that actually has a negative impact on function, which is why many people justifiably (myself included) consider it dumb.

My caveat is the same as @mushroom_man7, it's your truck, you can do as you please, but it helps to understand the consequences of modifying the truck before you do so. If you level your truck and ever find your rear end squatting with a load in the back, at least be courteous and adjust your headlights accordingly so you're not blinding everybody else on the road.

 

A truck with rake will also sag with a load (especially a taco). If the lights are aimed correctly on a truck with rake and a leveled truck, the headlights would be pointing up higher the same as the leveled truck with an equivalent load. If I'm wrong please let me know.

 

The rear is about 1" higher than the front stock, unloaded. If loaded down enough to sag the rear 1", then it would be level front to back. I would assume that the headlights wouldn't need any adjustment at that point.

If you level the truck and apply the same load to the rear, now the truck is 1" lower in the back than in the front, causing your headlights to point upwards. The equivalent on a stock truck would need to compress the rear end 2" to have the same effect.

Basically you need significantly more weight in the back on a stock truck before you would have to start worrying about headlight adjustments.

 

That’s fine I just wanted to know the reasoning behind it. Having this knowledge that might change things. Thank you for actually explaining why. Now I’m considering the OEM lift, it says it’s only compatible with 2018 or higher, is that true or can I get that installed on my 2016?

 

Yeah that’s the thing I’m not hauling any major loads I just love the truck and don’t plan on using it for anything work related, but I may look at going bigger with the OEM lift, do you know if the 2018 and newer lift is compatible with the 2016 sr5 or if it won’t work?

 

I'm talking about both trucks having the lights aimed correctly prior to load. A raked truck will sag just like a leveled truck, the starting point is just different. Since the headlights do not auto-adjust, they would be aimed too high on either a raked truck or leveled truck with load.

 

Sorry, I misread your last post. Yeah, if the headlights on the leveled truck are adjusted to have the same cutoff height at the same distance as a stock truck, then loaded they'd both be the same. The only problem is that most people don't bother to adjust their headlights after leveling in the first place.

 

Agreed. People not adjust the lights after lift is a whole problem in itself. If OP does it correctly the headlight argument is moot when comparing stock rake vs level.

 

Yeah no problem. As far as I know it works on 2016's, there hasn't been any major changes to the trucks since they came out. Here's the thread about the OEM lift kit if you're interested in reading further, I did a quick search and it looks like there's several people in that thread with the kit installed on their 2016's.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-trd-oem-lift-kit.695620/

Edit: Upon some further reading in that thread, it seems like the 2018+ requirement is because of the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), which started in 2018. The kit comes with a new grille and cameras/sensors to accommodate the lift so that those functions still work properly on 2018+ trucks. I'm not sure if it's possible to order just the suspension components, as those will still work fine, it's just that you wouldn't need the new grille and sensors and stuff because your truck doesn't have TSS.

 

A $200 set of suspension airbags will allow you better and safer drive ability at GVWR and/or when towing a trailer.
In addition, you'll NEVER have to worry about your truck being out of level, as you just "inflate to adjust".
Set the front 5100's to level the truck out with 5-10 psi in the airbags, and go from there.
I'll never own another truck without them.

 

At that rate I’m thinking of just going for the OEM lift kit for like 600 more

 

That’s the conclusion I have come to as well. I’m going to try and find just the parts, if not I will just try and sell the grille on ebay or something and take the L, idk it seems like for 1200 i might as well go all out and get the OEM lift

 

What is steering you toward the OEM lift?