[MENTION=102715]CrazyNorwegian[/MENTION] knowing what I know now, and if I were to do it over again, I would go with my current setup again. I love the height, the ride, the stiffness, the handling, cornering and response. I feel more connected with the vehicle and far more in control. I experienced that "floaty" feeling people have referred to, before the lift, on highway speeds, and if i'm honest, after the lift, too, but not as severe. However, the wheel spacers seemed to have cleared that up. I know that setting the caster to 4+ will make even more difference, but, I have stock UCA and unable to achieve that with the lift.
I don't do any hardcore off roading at all, but I spend a good amount of time on Forest Service roads 5-7k feet up in the mountains of the PNW. I wanted a setup that gave me more confidence in handling, not to say I was unable to to handle the truck with stock suspension. But, I want to be able to read the road and terrain through the bumps and road conditions so I can better respond. I believe the Bilsteins provide that.
For the same reason I enjoy the OME rear springs. I used the information below, which I believe I got from another user on t4r.org, but don't remember the original post:
Stock oem springs are 180lbs
SAW 1.5" lift 213lbs, 18% stiffer than stock
OME 895E 2" lift 260 lbs 44% stiffer than stock
OME 895 2.5" lift 260 lbs 44% stiffer than stock
OME 889 3" lift 260 lbs 44% stiffer than stock
Superflex 2.5" lift 218 lbs 21% stiffer than stock
I went with the 895E, because i wanted it to be stiffer than stock; though, all springs listed are stiffer. I know there are a few guys on here running the SAW with the Bilsteins, and seem to be very happy and there are many of us running the Bilsteins w/OME rear springs. I went with the "E" because I did not want over 2in in lift.
My guess is most people are fairly happy with their setups and hopefully did enough research prior to, to make an informed decision. One that they may or may not regret based on a change in their needs. If I was not happy with mine I'd pull it and start over.
Get the best setup for the money you want to spend. I think it was Socaltrail who was just challenging people to ride in his 4Runner, and was giving a rave review on the Icon. Not sure if it was Stage 1 or one of the many others. But, seems he's just as happy as I am, because his setup fits his needs perfectly.
All the research that led up to helping jbstrd install my lift, I read that it's better to replace all four corners with the same shock. So you're riding stiff in the front and mushy in the rear. That sounds like a bad combo. I'd personally be more concerned with getting my shocks on the same page before the rear springs. But, seems you're on top of that already.
Also, I quite literally read all 100+ pages of
this. I wanted to know what people were running and the pros and cons with their choices. I suggest you do the same.
Hope this provides some kind of insight on the combo you're looking at.
