TSB...Sport or off road Bilsteins??

Believe me I searched all over and could not find the answer....I did find that with both TRD sport and TRD off road models the shocks are tuned differently. I also just found out that included with my suspension TSB I will receive upgraded shocks to the TRD version.

My question is first is there a huge difference between the sport tuned and off road Bilsteins. My second question is does anyone know what versions (tuned or sport) Bilsteins are included with the suspension TSB??

Thanks for the help and if this has already been covered a thousand times I apologize as I could not find anything on it.

 

Hmm... never thought of that... to be quite honest, after driving a sport and an OR, I couldn't tell the difference between the two...

 

I honestly don't know if they're different or not.

Give your dealership a call and ask them for part numbers. If the part numbers match - they're the same.

 

if theres any difference at all, its not a huge difference. i believe the billys are the same but maybe the coils are a little different.

 

I spoke to the dealer today and the parts man was not in however the service dept. person I spoke with did advise the Bilsteins were indeed different between the sport and off road versions.

He was unable to say if the TSB replacement shocks were the off road version or sport tuned ones and for some reason could not figure out the part numbers. My parts should be arriving at the dealer Tuesday evening and I plan to have the work done Friday.

On a side note I am wondering just how much this TSB has cost Toyota as it seems everyone is having the work done....still wondering as to why they have not simply repaired this issue at the factory ,with all of the 2009 models, to avoid such issues.

 

Because there are plenty of folks who do not mind the ride the way it is...

 

The first TSB came out in '07 (don't quote me), they updated it to include '08's and they still haven't figured it out to put them on at the factory. Maybe in the long run they save a few bucks when it is all said and done.

 

Well being a fairly new member I quickly realized there are very many threads dealing with this issue and realized also that almost everyone has the work done. It seems like an avalanche of people complaining and for the 2009 models to have the same issues it seems like a huge waste of money on their part.

For me it was not so much of a ride problem as it was just having something a little better on an already very costly truck. I am hoping it will improve the tightness of my ride as well as cornering and the TRD shocks have to be a small improvement in the least.

Still trying to figure out what type of shocks will be included however I guess I will know Friday....

 

We hear about it alot here because it's a prime question once people poke around the site a bit....but there are only 15K registered users...and only about 2K of those are truely active posters. And even some of those haven't had it done because they A) don't haul or two or B) they put aftermarket springs in anyways...

Last year Toyota sold 144K Tacomas, in 2007 it was 174K...So there are tons of folks who don't know about the TSB or Tacoma world and haven't had any issue with it.

 

I have an 09 taco with the three leafs and have loaded the hell out of it several times and it barely ever bottoms out. I have to have a full load of wet firewood ans hit a decent bump before it bumps. May not be as big of a problem as some people are letting on to. If i have a problem I will take it in, but not until then

 

I have a 2008 DBLCAB Sport with the 3-leaves. I did an Add-a-leaf with my lift kit. No problems,better ride too. I had an 2005 with just a rear lift block,and it sagged pretty good,even with an unloaded dirt bike trailer. An add-a-leaf kit can help out a bunch,but you will have to raise the front too,to compensate for the new increase in height in the rear.Just my 2 cents here..........

 

my invoice for the tsb was $1900 haha (free to me of course)

 

Whaaaatt?! A new member who took it upon himself to search and find the info on his own? What are you, a communist? That's just not the American way (these days).

 

Yes believe it or not I search very much before posting and have found many answers on my own.....plus several hours of reading material. I have an interest in flashlights (for some weird reason) and years ago when searching for a duty light I stumbled across a flashlight forum and have been there for years. I am a moderator there and know first hand how annoying new people can sometimes be......even if it is innocent in nature.

Brunes now that you put it that way I can see how the numbers may be much lower and if it were not for me searching this forum I probably would never have known about the problem as well.

Honestly I really believe I could have lived with the 3 leaf set up and even standard shocks however to get basically a free upgrade to TRD specs is something many will not turn down....myself included.

Let me ask any who have received this TSB if you can say you notice a difference with stability at highway speeds? I have read many threads talking about the stiffer, and improved load capability, however few comment on day to day driving. I notice as it is now my truck feels like it has a lot of slack in corners at moderate speed. It is almost like driving a boat with the "sway" when cornering. Does the added springs and better shocks only improve the load and off road ability or will it actually tighten up my daily driving as well??

 

I notice at road speed the stiffer suspension felt MUCH better on turns. After I got it donw I tried hitting a few speed humps going a bit faster than normal (there are a few on a 30mph speed limit road) and the truck takes them much better than before. In terms of off road, I never really wheeled it too much before the TSB so I cannot vouch for any gains there. In the end, it really did tighten up my daily driving.

Disclaimer. I had it performed a few months ago so the new suspension might not be fully broken in/settled/however you want to phrase it

 

Ok i know this off topic a little but after seeing "The Torch" I have acquired a sort of flashlight interest as well. That flashlight is ridiculous.



On topic. It almost seems as if the guy you spoke with is mistaking the difference in coil springs between the sport and off road models for a difference in shock obsorbers... If there is a difference in valving between the shocks them self, this is the first I have heard of it.

 

Honestly I really believe he was simply attempting to say anything just to get me off the phone.For a certified Toyota employee he sure seemed to be clueless as to part numbers between the two option packages.

He did mention the springs and shocks were shipped fully assembled and I have no idea about the difference between coil springs and shocks. So is it true basically the Bilstein shocks are the same between the sport and off road with the main difference being the coil springs??

I have read that there is a noticeable difference in ride,and handling, between the TRD sport vs off road packages. With the TSB basically making the standard truck a TRD model (suspension wise) I have never found any information saying which version of TRD suspension parts are included.

I have searched through all kinds of sites including Toyota Part numbers everywhere and I can not find any listing showing the factory part numbers for TRD Sport vs TRD off road. What I did find was simply descriptions saying "special sport tune" or "Special off road tune"

It would be kind of cool to know if my altered TSB truck had the sport or off road suspension components.....yes I am planning on purchasing some bedside TRD decals from sockmonkey (he has some cool stuff) and I wanted them to match whatever the suspension would be.....sounds crazy I know however I am real weird like that.

 

I am not sure as to the differences between the shocks them selfs, and I suspect there are no differences between the two models, although, the Sport model definitely has a different coil spring than the Off-Road model has. The Off-Road model is a progressive spring rate coil where as the Sport is not.

 

I am the same way, got the TSB done, and the only real difference between my truck and the TRDs is a locker. Got the bedside decal and am pumped

 

I'm very new to this forum and playing catch up to this whole TSB thing, but from what it sounds like you shoud go with sport decals. From what I understand the main difference between the sprot and off road models is the locking diff in the off road ones. Since you have a regular tacoma, adding a TRD suspension would make it a sport. Keep in mind, I'm just a new guy with plenty of questions myself.