After news of my leaking front strut I looked up options for replacement. I quickly decided that if it needed to be replaced, then it was worth looking into upgrading at the same time. I saw people mention 5100s everywhere on the forums and they seemed like a good budget option. I liked that I could level out my 4Runner in the process as well. I got the 5100s in the front only and road those for a while. I liked them a lot, but I started trophy riding whenever I put something in the back. I got the 5100s for the rear and found a pair of FJ rear springs for $20 on craigslist. I threw those bad boys on and rode that setup for over a year. I loved it. Handled well on the road and had good articulation offroad. I found a set of 1” rear spacers as well and threw those in the back to give the truck a little extra height for towing or loaded down camping trips. This gave me a good look and didn’t have me trophy riding everytime I went camping.
At some point during all of this, I saw a cheap group buy for some SPC UCAs on the forum and pulled the trigger on those. I was thinking about going to 33s at this point and new the adjustability would useful down the road. Can I just say that these are one of my favorite upgrades to Gandalf. Not only are they super strong, but the ball joints are serviceable and replaceable. The X-Trans bushings noticeably smooth out the ride. Love these things and they were a super easy install. A couple months ago, I got a set of energy suspension bushings for the front sway bar. Haven’t noticed a huge difference, but the truck seems a little quieter so I guess they were worth it. I didn’t get any for the rear since I did a rear sway bar “delete.” More on that under Locker and regearing.

I recently picked up a set of Toytec Superflex 2" lift springs for the rear. These things are awesome. Great articulation and smooth ride. Plus I don't have to run the spacer anymore. If I ever do a drawer setup or steel rear bumper I'll probably get the heavy duty (HD) version of these springs. Overall, I'm very impressed with them and would highly recommend. I also get my alignments done at Toytec since they know how to adjust the SPC UCAs. They are great people down there with some cool rigs. Always fun to go down there and chat with them.