wondering about suspension

hey all, im a 2 week tacoma owner and was just wondering about some suspension modifications i would like to do in the near future... hope some of you can clarify this for me

i have read about all kinds of suspension mods on this forum and was wondering for an 06 tacoma, v6 dc sb 4x4, would coil-overs (like king coilovers) or a replacement shock/strut (OME, bilstein, etc) be better for me?

i am not using my tacoma for offroading much, maybe once every couple of weeks, but have heard that replacing the front struts and springs with coilovers will make handling better, as well as the ride...

if i do replace the front suspension with coilovers, what do u suggest i do for the back end suspension, (besides the add a leaf (im out of the tsb warranty period))

thanks for your advice...

 

well...depending on how much lift you want.....coilovers are a great choice. for the front, you can keep your stock coils, and get a set of bilstein 5100's and set them at the height you want, and you can still get an aal for your stock leaf pack. toytec and all-pro have them, as well as wheelers offroad.

 

you are on the right track for the front, i like coilovers better than the 5100's, in my opinion they ride better but thier is a big price difference, for the rear if you don't want aal you can change the whole leaf pack, deaver, all pro, alcan and ome has one, the price's are alot more than an aal but if you have the money go for it.

 

i dont want too much lift, i already have the 265/70 r16 tires on there, and that is a lot of lift, im only 5'9" and i would only want another 1-2 inches of lift... how much would a set of coilovers for the front cost? and how hard would they be to install myself?

 

go here and check out the ome coils they have.................. as far as install........if you have never used a spring compressor...i highly advise taking the coil assemblies to a shop and letting them sway in the shocks for you.

 

i have used a spring compressor, and i have one somewhat readily available...

 

install is not hard, price depends on who you buy, king, fox and icon are around 1300, sway a way or camburg(same thing) are around 800-1000 depending on who you buy from, i am the same height as you and have 3" of lift but also have steps, not really for me, my wife is 5'1 and she needs them. check out this website, he is a vendor and helps alot of us out.

http://downsouthmotorsports.com/c-64291-toyota-performance.html

 

darn, im definetely gonna have to save up for those... what are the pro's and con's between the coilovers and just changing to OME or bilstein, etc?

 

you can tune the coilovers, rebuild them when the seals go out vs ome you would have to change coils and you can't rebuild them, the 5100's you can change the height but can't rebuild, most people go with the ome kit or the 5100's, they are both great and you might love them. I would go with the 5100's or ome and if you don't like them keep your eye out for some used coilovers.

 

i think im definetely gonna save up for some coilovers, even used, i think theyd be better, whats the ride difference? (body roll, road feel, control) etc?

 

in my opinion they ride about the same on the street but when you hit dips and bigger bumps it takes the hit alot better, body roll does not change. i have the sway bar out so i have a little body roll but it handles so much better.

 

should i keep the sway bar? am i even able to?

and what about the off-road ride?

 

off road coilovers are good, makes the ride alot smoother, the sway bar is up to you, you can take it off, some people like it and some don't, if you want to take it off you have to take the skid plate off and the two brackets off in front and the bar just falls down.

 

what does the sway bar do, besides help lessen body roll?

 

that is what it does, keeps the body roll down.

 

does it have any benefits for offroading?

 

the sway bar off it handles much better, try it. some people like and some don't. i like it better on road and off, easyier on speed bumps and dips, easyier to turn the steering wheel.