Which option should give a better ride?

The shop that installed my 5100's must have made a mistake because I have 885 coils but am measuring 24.25" from center of hub/wheel to fender. I had asked them to set them to 0 but they must have set them to .85". Stock UCA.

My dilemma is that now, I like the height the truck is at. I like the way it looks at 24.25".
The problem is it rides horribly. There is no droop.

So I'm now deliberating how to be at this height but with a decent/good ride quality.

1. Keep my OME 885 and 5100's and keep them at .85 or crank them down to 0, and buy a set of JBA UCAs either way. I'd lose some height at 0 but would gain droop. If kept at .85 (if that's indeed what they're at), I'd keep the height but the JBA UCAs would help with droop I believe. Not sure how much the JBA UCAs would alleviate the rough ride though.
   
   
2. Keep OME 885 springs and 5100's. Set the 5100's to 0 and get a spacer that goes on top of the coilover. Along with JBA UCAs. This would also get me around the 3.5-4" lift I believe.
   
   
3. Go with a 4" spindle lift with original springs & 5100's at 0. According to my research, this should get me to about 24.5" from center of hub to fender. Slightly higher than where I'm at now. I THINK I could live with that height and my ride should be back to basically stock, so smooth.

I'm trying to do this on a budget and either the JBA UCAs or the lift spindle run relatively the same so i'm considering them as even. Would option 1 & 3 be pretty much the same ride quality?

Thank you!!

 

You have to run them at the 0 setting and you can not put anything but trim packer on the 5100, if you put a lift spacer you’ll have the same issue. If you want more than 3” you need to go to the lift spindle or a DB kit.

 

Look at your shocks, what ring are the springs set at? If you can't tell, post a pic.

 

I can see 2 slits above/inside the spring

 

I'm guessing the perch/clip is set on the .85" setting.
Which seems to add up.
Stock similar trucks are at 20.5" hub/fender stock height (I never measured mine prior to lifting). 885 coils get them up to about 22.5 - 23.0". Throw in .85" from the 5100 and it should sit at about 23.35 - 23.85" or so.

 

What's limiting the droop, UCA/ball joint or the shock?

 

I don't know for certain. Both the UCA/ball joint and the shock are close to their limit. I don't know which is "topping out" first though.

 

I'm thinking if you want the taller lift above the 3", then the spindle lift is the one. Although I thought I read that you will need to cut your cross-member for these spindle lifts.
Probably good to pick up new UCA's either way. Those 5100's are technically extended travel and having appropriate UCA's would help with the clearance (if there is any issue)

 

I'd recommend swapping out the 885 for a softer/shorter spring, setting the 5100 at the bottom clip, and installing a spindle lift. That'll keep you close to the factory ride.

No need to cut with a spindle lift. It's a drop bracket lift that involves cutting the crossmember if you're 4wd...no cutting for a drop bracket on a 2wd I believe.

 

Yeah, that's one of my options. 4" lift spindle, throw in the stock coils, 5100's at 0. The downside I see to this option is that It'll bump me up slightly higher than I am now. 24.5" is where it should technically be (20.5" + 4" spindle). If I planned to go to 285 tires, I'd be okay with this, but I would rather not to to 285's. Why doesn't anybody make a 3" spindle lift for the Tacoma? That would be perfect - 3" height with stock suspension feel... SCORE!

I guess I just have to decide if I rather go back to stock coils and buy a 4" spindle and either deal with a .25" larger gap in fender (but with much better articulation/ride than current) or go up to 285's.
Or go down .85" on the 5100's to the 0 setting and buy JBA UCAs.

Seems like the best options on a tight budget.

 

Ok, update sort of...
Took the truck to a shop to take apart the strut assemblies to bring the clip down to 0. To my surprise, the clip is already at the 0 lowest setting. How in the world am I at approx 4" lift with just OME 885 coils?

 

Just reading through this thread, and looking at the pictures you posted you are definitely at the 0 setting. My guess is the coils you have are not 885s, did you purchase them new or used from someone else? Look at this picture of a 5100 with 885 coils. There seems to be 1 more ring on the 885 (9) then what you currently have (8). Its hard to tell from strictly pictures but your coil looks a little thicker too.



If I were you I would order a set of 887s with JBAs. Won't cost you much more then $700 and IMO they ride GREAT. It will get you close to the lift you want without the harshness. If you want more you can always use a 1/2 spacer with some extended bumpstops and the ride shouldn't change too much.

 

My truck has both JBA High Caster UCA's and 4" lift knuckles. I'm extremely happy with both. The knuckles are the ones they sell on eBay.

 

The major lift from the coilover. Every 1" in lift you lose that in droop.

 

I've been thinking trying to figure this out and the only other thing that occurred to me is that maybe these perches my strut has is "shorter" and thus has the coil sit higher up on the shock. All the other pictures I can find of 5100s seem to have a black perch and they appear to be deeper, thereby allowing the coil to sit lower in the length of the shock, if that makes sense.

The 885 coils I bought brand new back in 2010. I paired it with a set of 5100s at that time and this 5100 set is my 2nd or 3rd set (can't recall). The truck seemed taller and felt rougher after this last set of 5100 was installed.

Either the shop swapped my 885 coils for someone else's coils or this perch is the culprit

 

Your bottom bracket/coil bucket or whatever its called looks really odd as well. It should flip down and the spring should seat inside it if that makes sense. Yours looks a little thick, you can see this if you compare yours to the photo I posted.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...wogCzpU8I_byZPsRPvYzMwwnp0dybv4UaAlV3EALw_wcB

This is what you need I think.

 

Yeah, that's what I've noticed too. It looks different than other perches I've seen online. It's definitely sitting in the right direction though.

 

OP

You have coils that are 12 years old. You realize that suspension components are a wear item right? And you installed (are those new, or used?) shocks expecting this huge lift?

Why not just replace your coils?

 

Yes, 12 year old coils. I understand they are a wear item.
I installed these 885 coils new. I'm not expecting a huge lift. In fact, I think I'd like to just go back down to 2.5" to 3" lift at this point. The problem is I have no idea how I am getting 4" of lift on 12 year old 885 coils with 5100s set at the 0 line.