Suspension/lift kit

Any recommendations for suspensions/lift kits? I was looking at a 2.5 lift kit from Rough Country but after reading about it on here people said it wasn't good so I'm looking for recommendations.

 

Your new, so introduce yourself

what truck do you have? 4x4, prerunner?

what do you want to do with your lift? crawl on some rocks, fire roads, expeditions...

Before you start looking at lifts, ask your self how much you want to spend... then add a minimum of $1000 to it

Most important! use the search button, in the upper right of the screen

Gather as much info as you can. It's all here

 

Well I've got a 99 4x4 SR5 Xtra Cab manual taco and I'm just looking to at the very least replace the suspension because mine are blown. I was looking at a lift just cause my truck sits fairly low and I'd just like to get it up off the ground a little more. I only do a minor amount of offroading so there's no real reason I need it I just want it for fun and to sit up higher.

But the main focus is the suspension because I want a smooth ride. I live in Atlanta and if anyone has been there y'all know how crappy the roads are and how many potholes there are haha.

 

Look through this thread first: There's a whole section on suspension lifts, etc...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-thread-compiled-list-of-helpful-links.95271/

Then, as Fuergrissa said, you need to ask yourself some basic questions first.

The two most important are:

1) Budget
2) Intended use

Will this be a city truck/mall crawler or an actual offroader? If so, how much? 90% street, 90% offroad, etc... Then ask what *kind* of off road? Rock crawler, dunes, desert running, overlanding, fishing/hunting, etc...

We tend to make fun of mall crawlers around here, but it's all lighthearted (more or less, lol). If that's your intended use, it's cool, you do you, but what people will recommend for that type of use will be different than if you actually beat the snot out of it offroad.

Generally speaking, any of the lift "kits" out there (rough country, pro comp etc...) generally suck for actual offroading. You'd be better served getting a set of adjustable coilovers and some leaf springs/shackles to match, and good shocks. Then you need to think about tires, and what "look" vs. "function" you want.

 

Aight I'll take a look at the thread. And I'm not necessarily gonna purchase it right now I'm looking around for the best option for what I'll be using it for and then I'm gonna save towards that. And I know the flack that mall crawlers get and thankfully I will not be using it for that primarily. I like to go camping and do light off-roading up in North GA and the likes. No rock crawling or anything like that just going up on some mountain trails with lots of bumps and dips and stuff. But also like I said, I just don't like how low it sits right now and I want to get it up just a little higher so it'll look better.

 

Cool, you posted as I was typing...

First, it's a truck, so a "smooth ride" is relative... lol

Now we're getting somewhere...

My first suggestion would be a set of Bilstein 5100's. They're generally regarded as one of the best bang for your buck "mods" for your suspension. They're pretty cheap too, $300-$350 a set of 4, and the fronts are adjustable so you can set the springs higher (or leave at stock height) for a little bit of lift in the front. So really, you could set the fronts in the middle setting, and likely level out your truck if you did nothing else to it. They handle well off-road. Mine lasted 6 years, and likely several more since I gave mine to a friend when I upgraded to Kings.

Or, set them higher and get add-a-leafs or longer shackles for the back to give a little bit of lift. For a long time, I had 5100's and rear shackles and fit 32" tires, the front rubbed occasionally at full lock.

If you go more than 2.5" of lift, or if yo go with a mid-travel type setup, you'll also need a "diff drop" which lowers the front differential to help maintain proper CV angles.

 

Careful, you can easily start an arms race. Lift it a bit, now it looks funny with stock tires. get bigger tires, now they rub, lift it more. still rubs, now you're cutting fenders, pounding pinch welds...

 

Yeah I say smooth ride with a grain of salt haha. How's the installation on the Bilstein's? Is it easy enough to do it myself or would you just recommend going to a shop?

And I'm not trying to go too high on a lift, definitely no more than 2.5" I was only looking at that because that's just what I had found online.

 

It's pretty easy. Look around that suspention thread I linked to, there are detailed instructions there. You use your stock coils if they aren't worn out. You compress them either with a tool you can rent for free at auto zone, our there's a way to do it on the truck with a jack.

It's even easier if you get a place like wheelers to install new springs for you, then they ship them pre-assembled. I'd look into that if your oem springs are worn out, might be worth the extra few bucks to have someone else assemble them. Then it's literally 4 bolts per front shock, and just the two for the rear shocks.

 

I was considering getting Rough Country, but I'm mostly a city driver.
3'' lift.