1.5" lift all around options

[ellroy2]

TEP w/KDSS and stock suspension with 24k miles. Planning on getting TRD Pro wheels with probably 275/70/17 tires. Considering upgrading suspension at the same time with a small lift to compliment the new wheels and tires. Unlike most, I would rather keep rake closer to factory. Most kits are leveling kits or in the 2.5" - 3" range. My goal would be to get noticeably improved ride quality while achieving an all around lift of somewhere in the 1.5" range.

I have read hundreds of posts and just end up confusing myself even more. For my budget, I have been looking at the Eibach kit(which gives more front lift than I am wanting) and 5100s with any number of combination of springs/coils. Or I go with aftermarket shocks and keep factory springs or keep factory shocks and get aftermarket springs? I don't really want to do spacers, but maybe that is the cheapest and easiest route. See, somebody please help me out and pound some sense into me! :bash:

 

[bigmace]

Get bilstein 5100s for all 4 corners and daystar 1.5" spacers in the rear. Set the bilstien spacers at the 2nd highest setting to net about 1.75" inches of lift. If you do it yourself all together should only be about $500 with an alignment.

 

[ManhstuhT4R]

Hey man!

Anthony from toytec here! You are definitely better off just getting bilstein 5100s and using the stock coils to go up 1 inch and call it a day!

 

[SR5 Phil]

I just posted the result of my Bilstein 5100s with rear spacers on another thread, with a picture of the resulting rake, which I wanted to keep close to stock as well:

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3313368-post993.html

This gave me closer to 2 inches of increased ground clearance. Stock coils. Well under a thousand dollars, including paying a shop for install and alignment. You may want to consider new upper control arms as well--my caster angle on the stock ones is lower than preferable, so while I like the change in ride and handling, the steering response is less stable than before and they may not be able to improve it much on the stock UCAs.

 

[Ryan at Eibach]

You can buy the Eibach shocks only and just run them with the factory spring. Still rides great.

Ryan

 

[vondy21]

I have a question that I never have seen fully answered about a setup like the OP is going for. If you do this kind of mild lift with quality aftermarket components, will you ever get a "better" ride/drive than stock or will it always be worse?

I'm talking on road driving. Obviously off-road will be better. I like the handling of the stock suspension with KDSS but would like to soak up some of the bumps a little better. Can an aftermarket suspension setup keep, or improve, the driving dynamics as well as soften the ride over rough roads?

This would assume similar size/weight tires to stock.

 

[ellroy2]

Thanks for all the responses.

Would installing either Eibach or Bilstein all around on stock springs require rear spacers then to get any rear lift?

 

[nimby]

Thanks for all the responses.

Would installing either Eibach or Bilstein all around on stock springs require rear spacers then to get any rear lift?

To get lift in the rear, you need to either add spacers or taller coils.

If you only go up 1.5" in the front, you don't need a spacer or a taller coil in the rear because you will level the truck (technically, you will still be 1/4" higher in the rear), but will look very close to level.

 

[Harrisnc]

Eibach, dobinsons and bilstein all have rear springs that will give you around an inch. I did the eibach shocks and a 3/4 rear spring.

 

[MrGainzz]

I have a question that I never have seen fully answered about a setup like the OP is going for. If you do this kind of mild lift with quality aftermarket components, will you ever get a "better" ride/drive than stock or will it always be worse?

I'm talking on road driving. Obviously off-road will be better. I like the handling of the stock suspension with KDSS but would like to soak up some of the bumps a little better. Can an aftermarket suspension setup keep, or improve, the driving dynamics as well as soften the ride over rough roads?

This would assume similar size/weight tires to stock.

Try to sit in a 2019 TRD Pro and you will know how it feels. Most suspension kits that include 2.5" shock bodies will greatly improve the ride quality when going over unpaved roads and bumps.

 

[ellroy2]

Perhaps a stupid question, but how would aftermarket springs affect ride quality? Do you see improved quality more so with replacement of the shocks or the springs?
With my old 4th gen 4Runner, I replaced factory suspension with 5100s and FJ springs 2 years before I sold it. The stock suspension was "worn" by that time so the new setup did feel firmer, but I don't recall it being overly rough. So I guess my question is do aftermarket springs do anything under normal driving other than raise the vehicle?
Hopefully this might help answer vondy21's question as well. Thanks.

 

[TexasTEQFan]

I was looking for a ‘sleeper lift’ to upgrade my rig and stumbled onto last year’s close out of the TRD FJ Bilstein Kit. I added a Daystar isolator in the front so the net gain was right at 2” and went with a Wheelers T13 rear spring which added 1”. End result, I upsized my rubber to 275’s and kept the forward rake so it looks like not much has changed. This kit was basically Bilstein 6112’s with the TRD coil up front and 5160’s in the rear plus the T13 spring.

One year in and no regrets for the $800 I have in it. Firmer more supportive ride, more travel over bumps and obstacles without any harshness. As mentioned previously, there are a lot of options that will net a mild lift but deliver a significant performance gain over stock.

 

[progress4m]

To OP:
I did almost what you are trying to get from the lift, here is mine: Custom lift: front 2.1", rear 1.5" (lift info: Another Bilstein 5100 question - scroll down to thread #744)

I that tread I have explain what I did and why.

I am Very happy with result!

 

[ellroy2]

progress4m:

How did you accomplish 2.1" up front? With Bilsteins set to .85 plus 1/2" spacers, shouldn't you have netted only about 1.5"?

Just wondering because I am leaning towards 5100s all around, front set to 1.75 with stock coils and T13 1.5" springs in rear(as opposed to Daystar 1.5" spacers).

I'm hoping this would raise everything up while still keeping rake. Seems like the T13 springs might only raise the rear up 1" so if Bilsteins front set to 1.75 would net me over 2" up front, I might have a problem.