So, I want to change my suspension a little and looking for advice on which way to go. I have a stock height 97 Limited and with no aftermarket bumpers sitting on 16" steelies, and plan to swith from a 265/75 to maybe a 235 or 255 come spring. Looking at either Eibach or Dobison (Teal color is different which I like) springs/coils, and either Bilstein or Eibach shocks and struts. I daily this now and wanted a change from the basic I have now, but not looking for a huge lift maybe 1.5-2 at most. In the back would be 60qt cooler filled with drinks, food, ice and alot of fishing tackle, chairs, etc. for the beach or camping on weekends. Driving on the beach is practically the only non pavement driving I do with it and that is spring through fall on the weekends. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Good title for the thread. How much money do you want to spend?

As you can see in my signature these are my lift mods. I went cheap kinda, I mean Rough country loaded struts kit was around $650 and the Jba UCA was like $400 the bushings for the steering rack and sway bars were like 100, the Sonoran steel adjustable Panhard 320, the tires were $1200, the wheels I got a great deal $360. Installed all items at myself and a little help so saved some labor costs.

I mean I'm missing items, but you get the picture. It's a deep hole to jump in when you start spending money.

I still need trailing arms, body bushings, etc...

If you ask 10 people this question you're gonna get 10 different answers.

I figured the title is the name of the rig...

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Yeah I had to give her a name after everything I have going on (not just talking about things with the rig but other stuff).

Good choice. Save your money on the front and just use the spring perch notches on the 5100's to lift the front. Just go up 2 and you'll be ~1.5" of lift. No other changes on the front needed (other than replacing worn parts, of course).

For the rear, you have a few choices, so that one is more of a pandora's box issue... If you are ok with your current ride stiffness and sag with cargo, you are actually a good candidate for a spacer lift in the rear. Eibach springs I think are the lowest 'lift' spring available. Mood "99 Tall" coils will lift about the same amount, but reportedly start to sag quickly. OME 2906 will do 2" of lift, but are much stiffer (which may or may not be what you want).

Then you'll want to consider bushings, end links, etc. from there for comfort/control of your ride.

-Charlie

So lets say with Bilsteins front and back and going with ome rear spring would I need to pick up a pck in the process? I would like to avoid the sag in the rear when having my cooler and gear in there if at all possible but still have a comfortable suspension, I know asking alot.

Would like to keep this around $1000ish so I can still do other things. But I also like to say if you're going to do it, do it right the first time. I don't mind wrenching and doing it myself. I just want some kind of solid direction without skimping. I still have my bushings I have laying around I need to replace that I put off due to lack of time. But with this now going to be a daily got to get moving on everything.

your bushing will make a big diff. personally for what its worth, im no wrencher or have much lift exp but i did finally take the plunge on making an actual purchase after 2yrs of hummin n hawin quite a bit of research, vids etc. 2yrs ago everyone was all about the bilsteins but i find these days some who have moved on to something else, kinda diss them now a bit. australia drives the 4x4 mkt, old man emu & Dobinsons as you mentioned i dont think you can wrong with either. both products explain the load height/lift of their springs specifically for our 3rd gen rigs. There is also the '99 talls from toyota which is probably only a 1inch.

as mentioned above i think a popular ome spring option are the 906 for moderate lift. 2". before you take your plunge take some serious thot to weight, this is what really should determine your choice. bumpers etc. many seem to go with billy & 906 but i could nvr understand why peeps werent pairing ome springs with ome shocks? i believe billys give height adjustments with their perches i think.

i was previously running stock 99talls with 4600 billys, big upgrade from original tired 20yr plus shocks but i really hated the ride, too stiff.
i went with ome890s and also their "soft valving" rear shocks cause i was really concerned with 2 things .. going with 890s being more lift & potentially be a bit stiffer(i think thats illogical) but i really wanted a plusher ride. someone on these forums i think had this set up & described it as "cadillac" like. so far so good but its only been a couple wks & few miles so im not giving a stamp of approval on anything yet.

id decided on 890s because of loaded weight on trips etc, occasional towing also someone had complained about 906 sag somewhere. currently im slightly concerned i mayve over done it on the 890s but whatever i know theyll settle some & i know im just being picky, whats an inch .. nothing.

also a forum member here has a nice how to vid on 906s and billys lift on u tube, simple "speedys garage 3rd gen" should find it easy enough .. youll get an idea of height looks ride etc. Timmys is great also!!

another u tube recommend is "tinkerers adventures" he has great vids on explaining on whys, geometry and physics of lifts/suspensions etc

a bit all over the place but hope it helps in some way ..

I do like the sounds of a Cadillac like ride, but what did you use for the front? And I'm guessing PCK and a diff drop? Did you keep OEM Cv's or switch to extended?

i try to do all my own wrenching when i can with the help of tims vids ..
not much time lately & havent gotten to front yet ..

did rear with new oem bushings "rear lwr control arms/trailing arms" + springs & shocks ..
currently im undecided exactly what im doing in regards to "pck" .. so havent gotten there yet..

there was a forum memeber here not long ago selling Dobinsons front springs practically new ..
have a pair of used billy 5100s i purchased locally cheap so i have dobbi spring billys and new dobbi top hats ready for install but when budget allows id almost guarantee ill be swapping out the billys unless im somehow floored with the ride. (currently running original coilovers

Diff drop, i ordered one from Sonoran Steel, then watched "tinkerers adventures" vid on u tube regarding diff drops so currently undecided if ill even install it. im currently running 265/70/16s & undecided if ill chg tires size to 17s, its a possibility, if i do then i might install diff drop which will still lv me with a net gain in clearance with the 17s. also the dobinsons i have are the 276s which with my current 99talls wil only negate me about a1inch lift from current setup so i dont think i need any extended cvs.

if id had my choice of dobbinsons fronts i wouldve prolly gone with the 134s vs the 276s