Proud New Tacoma Owner

Greetings from the PNW, just bought my first taco and I'm geeked about it. I'm a newbie without much mechanical or wheeling experience so I'm looking to learn a lot here. I've been reading a lot of other threads on suspension and I'll be looking to upgrade my current stock stuff in the near future. I'm still at a loss whether to go full ome & dakars or bilstein 5100's with either eibach or ome springs and new leaf packs from Benz springs locally here. Also open to learn about other options. Has anyone delt with Benz springs in Portland before? Would I need new uca's with ome springs and bilstein's? I called down to downsouth motorsports and they said bilstein's were better shocks than the ome's. I talked with someone over at 4wheel parts off 82nd in Portland and they said ome with nitrochargers and dakars is the better way to go. I've read several threads about bilstein's and ome/dakars etc and it seems about 50/50 with diff peoples opinions on them. It would cost me about 1100-1200 dollars to buy 4 bilstein's and have Benz springs put on 2 new leaf packs with hardware and install everything. 4wheel parts said aprox 1300 for dakars ome's all around with springs up front installed. Is this about right? Which way is better? Are there other shops in the Portland metro area that you would recommend over the above listed? Thank you for any help/info for the newb here.

 

OK, Go, here goes...


Welcome to the madness! Congrats on the new rig.


Now, for the suspension stuff, I'm going to tell you what a lot of others will end up saying - search the forums here, read and learn from the vast amount of info others have shared here.


I went down the same path last summer and compiled a ton of info about the subtle differences, what to focus on, what mattered and why, then priced stuff up, recheck prices, went to local shops and wandered the 'Web.


Best advice - don't be in a hurry - we're talking about a bunch of money and lots of potential to end up with something you only like, instead of loving it.


If you can, meet up with other owners and ask for a ride in their truck to see what the actual setup you're considering will be like.


I'll say this - you might be surprised with what a stock truck is capable offroad, so be careful shopping for upgrades. Going tall outta the gate won't make you a better wheeler. Often just an inch or so off added clearance and more aggressive tires are the only keys needed. Heck, I've wheeled mine 100% stock, and it was a hoot & a half.

 

Thank you for the advise.

 

Excellent advice from sportsguy, especially the last part.

As for the gear,

4 wheel parts is best avoided at all costs. Idiots with hammers and a slick willie sales tactic.

downsouth is pretty good from what I know, but really surprised they were touting the bilstein

Wheeler's offroad is a good supply source.

From my research, bilstein for on-road people, OME for offroad. Bilsteins heat up after extended heavy use - unless things have changed in any renditions they have done.

OMEs have good compression dampening, but very little extension dampening. When you drop in a hole, the shock wants to shoot out fast and feels jarring. The only set of shocks that are going to improve that is the spendier King/ICON/Fox options. This shouldn't dissuade you from getting the OME, they are good for the money, but this is where you can begin seeing why there's such a price jump for a more luxurious level.

You will need upper control arms to manage proper alignment. An excellent budget option is the Light Racing upper control arms, you can find them from Wheeler's offroad. Make sure they have the newer Spec Ride bushings.

 

Thank you for the advice and info. So with the full OME package from wheelers I'd also need new UCA's to maintain proper alignment? Thanks again.

 

Correct. Any suspension lift will need UCAs.

 

unless you use a spacer