Suspension/lift recommendations?

Okay, I know I'll get harassed for not searching but I didn't want to search for a question similar to my needs, it's my money I'm going to be spending I want to ask my exact question and find out what's best for ME not some other guy.

Okay, I want a lift better suspension so I can do some moderate off roading. I have a TRD sport (I figured I'd swap out some suspension either way and I don't plan on doing severe hill climbs so I'm fine with the LSD rather than the lockers, however is there an aftermarket mod for that if I so choose I wanted lockers later?) Anyways, I want some beefier suspension and in that process I'd lift it probably 2 inches, what are your recommendations as far as suspension/lift kits? There are a lot on the market there should be a lot of different good options, what are some pro's and con's of yours?

 

Either Icons or OME or Toytec

 

I don't know anything about cars so can you guys help me out like I'm a 5 year old and give me reasons why this or that so I can attempt to learn this stuff? Haha I hope to some day be semi knowledgable of these things, but for now I don't know anything

 

As far as lockers, yes you can add those later if you so desire. ARB Air lockers seem to be what everyone recommends and they have awesome reviews. For a performance lift, if you don't need to clear larger tires and just want 2 inches then I'd say check out an lad man emu kit with the rear Dakar leaf pack, I've heard nothing but good stuff about that kit as far as on road ride quality with off road performance. If you decide you want a larger lift I'd say check out thepartswhore for his deals, he's got an awesome list of parts for the cheapest prices I've seen anywhere, I just picked up a full fox coil-over ext travel setup with UCAs and a complete rear leaf pack for about 2500, shipping included. Oh to find that thread just search "ultimate suspenison" (I know it's spelled wrong but that's how he spelled it.

*edit I meant old man emu, not lad. Stupid iPhone auto correct.

 

What's your budget? That will largely dictate which brands you should be looking into.

Also, lockers can be added at any time and your lift will not affect that.

 

budget isn't a huge issue, the I'd rather spend less money, but I don't want a cheap-o brand that'll break or not function properly otherwise. It'll be a while before I can build up enough for expensive stuff though because I JUST bought the truck and had to take out a $7,000 loan so I have to sell my current car and then wait about a month to have the truck paid off and then I'm going to put in a navi system first (because I'll use that more). So I'd rather it not be super pricey, but I can validate spending more if it's great.

 

No one here is going to throw out an option that is complete junk. You can get a decent lift on a budget but having a somewhat defined budget helps because the sky is the limit on what you can spend on a suspension set up. For example, you can pick up a set of Bilstein shocks with Eibach coils or OME shocks and coils for around 350-400ish but a set of Fox or King coilovers can cost well over $1,000 (some over $2,000).

A decent, budget friendly lift would be Bilstein 5100 or Old Man Emu Nitrocharger shocks all around, an AAL for the rear and Eibach or Old Man Emu coils for the front.

Check out Toytec Lifts, Wheelers Off Road and Downsouth Motorsports for lots of options and pricing.

 

Thank you very much for that help, I saw the 5100 video that was posted earlier in this topic (thank you wolfpack for the link) and was liking that set up. Another question I wanted to ask was about lights in California, I know off road lights have to be covered up, but what about normal headlights, what's legal here in California, I know we can't have the blueish ones for example.

 

I also knew nothing about suspensions until I came to this website....early on I found these two links to be extremely helpful learning the basics

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/142677-suspension-lift-info-includes-pics.html

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/11282-tacoma-lift-faq-guide-read.html