Tacoma Suspension Swap

[Bellatidusskyebeur]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but jet.com has some really good deals on the 5100's for new members. I bought a set for the rear for my 4th gen for 124 plus change...free shipping too. I see a lot of you buying 5100s and just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[yosh2000]

been meaning to post back here. i recently swapped out my FJ springs for '16 progressive tacoma springs. The the stock is thicker, dont as me how much, forgot to take a measurement. i'll try to post back with my height and the diameter of the stock.

swapped out because my FJs were sagging. installed the progressives on the 0.85" setting on the 5100s and really like it. due to being progressive springs, i didnt want to preload them much more, as preloading progressive springs just takes the soft part of them out, might as well go with the linear springs if you are gong to jack the 5100s to the upper 2-3 notches.

now im looking for some rear springs, as my FJs are sagging on the driver side, even after throwing a 1.5" daystar on the driver side...

 

[jrm]

I'd really like to know

I think I'm going to pull them out and use the 5100 @.85" with the taco progressive coil. With the preload, I'm hoping it will stiffen up a bit, at least more than the OEM coil

what your hub to fender measurement is since the tacoma TRDs on the lowest clip yield 1.5"s of lift. And of course hear how they ride @ .85"

 

[Elan750]

been meaning to post back here. i recently swapped out my FJ springs for '16 progressive tacoma springs. The the stock is thicker, dont as me how much, forgot to take a measurement. i'll try to post back with my height and the diameter of the stock.

swapped out because my FJs were sagging. installed the progressives on the 0.85" setting on the 5100s and really like it. due to being progressive springs, i didnt want to preload them much more, as preloading progressive springs just takes the soft part of them out, might as well go with the linear springs if you are gong to jack the 5100s to the upper 2-3 notches.

now im looking for some rear springs, as my FJs are sagging on the driver side, even after throwing a 1.5" daystar on the driver side...

Thanks for this, thats great to hear. I will be doing this setup this weekend. So you would say its firmer than stock? You have the v8 I see so mine being a v6 I'm hoping these are going to stiffen up my ride quite a bit.

 

[jrm]

Hey.. any update?

Thanks for this, thats great to hear. I will be doing this setup this weekend. So you would say its firmer than stock? You have the v8 I see so mine being a v6 I'm hoping these are going to stiffen up my ride quite a bit.

pics? thanks...

 

[slimjj]

Hey guys, new to the forum and this is my first post.

I've been doing some research on swapping out my X-REAS to level it out and gain more off road capabilities and decided on going with the Tacoma TRD Off Road swap. At the same time, this is my DD, so I want as much of a complaint ride as I can (plus I don't want to piss off the wife) with the added capabilities.

I found a local guy selling his used set from a 2013 and he claimed there was only 15K on them (although based on their condition, I wonder if he left off a digit). Anyway, I went ahead a bought them and I'll be doing the sway in a couple weeks. I still need to buy the bushings and get them pressed.

I was planning on using my stock rear coil, but after reading some of the comments, sounds like I need to either add a 1.5" spacer or pickup some rear FJ springs. It looks like I purchased the progressive springs and now I'm reading that it may be too soft? Should I add a 1/4" or 1/2" spacer up front to add some preload?

Also, I'm planning on sanding and spraying the rear shock to make sure the rust doesn't spread any more. Is this rust in this location common?

 

[nj4runnertoy]

Hey guys, new to the forum and this is my first post.

I've been doing some research on swapping out my X-REAS to level it out and gain more off road capabilities and decided on going with the Tacoma TRD Off Road swap. At the same time, this is my DD, so I want as much of a complaint ride as I can (plus I don't want to piss off the wife) with the added capabilities.

I found a local guy selling his used set from a 2013 and he claimed there was only 15K on them (although based on their condition, I wonder if he left off a digit). Anyway, I went ahead a bought them and I'll be doing the sway in a couple weeks. I still need to buy the bushings and get them pressed.

I was planning on using my stock rear coil, but after reading some of the comments, sounds like I need to either add a 1.5" spacer or pickup some rear FJ springs. It looks like I purchased the progressive springs and now I'm reading that it may be too soft? Should I add a 1/4" or 1/2" spacer up front to add some preload?

Also, I'm planning on sanding and spraying the rear shock to make sure the rust doesn't spread any more. Is this rust in this location common?

My 07 4runner Sport Ed rear Xreas shocks are leaking I have been researching what to do. Any advise?

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[slimjj]

My 07 4runner Sport Ed rear Xreas shocks are leaking I have been researching what to do. Any advise?

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As with anything, the best option has been changing over time. At first it looks like people were changing to Bilstein 5100's with FJ Springs to get added lift as a cheap alternative, but some have complained about the ride quality being to stiff and bouncy especially in the rear. Then I've seen people going with the Tacoma TRD Off Road or Sport set up (with various rear springs from stock to FJ to OME), but haven't seen too much on the ride quality yet. I've also seen people go with a complete OME (Old Man Emu) set up, but I've heard similar complaints about the ride quality.

Bottom line is the ride quality is going to be different than X-REAS, unless you keep X-REAS. X-REAS has shorter shocks/struts which are made for a compliant ride on road, but does not offer much off road capability, as they are short and stiff shocks/struts. You can replace your X-REAS system if you want, but you have to replace opposite corners at the same time (FR, RL or FL, RR) or just replace all corners at once. I priced out a complete set on 1sttoyotaparts.com.

RL: $273.48 RR: $248.39 FL: $196.30 FR: $196.30 total $914.47 (list price is about $350 more). $1,135.65 with shipping and tax to Washington State. That's without install or alignment. Install is a bit trickier too because you have to raise all 4 corners at once to allow the shocks/struts to completely extend so you don't lose any hydraulic oil when you disconnect. That's about the price of some nice coil overs, hence the reason people ditch it for something else (Bilstein 5100's are around $350 for a set as a comparison).

When I first bought my 4Runner, I just liked the look of the Sport Edition, but didn't think much about the suspension (didn't do much research), I just figured that it would be off road capable since it was a 4Runner.

I'm choosing to go with the Tacoma TRD Off Road set up which has progressive springs (different than the linear springs on the TRD Sport) with my stock rear spring, because as I stated above I want some off road capability and a bit of a lift in the front. I still haven't determined if I'll be adding any spacers, might need some in the rear as I've read the Tacoma rear strut can out extend the spring. I'll be doing the install in the next couple weeks and I'll report back on the ride quality.

Hope that helps. I'm new to this, so if I've made some false statements, feel free to correct me.

 

[JeratBP]

[MENTION=147276]slimjj[/MENTION] - where did you find the TRD setup?

 

[slimjj]

[MENTION=147276]slimjj[/MENTION] - where did you find the TRD setup?

Local guy on craigslist took them off when he upgraded to OME. Searched "Tacoma" on craigslist auto parts section and just scrolled through the mostly junk until I found some. There's one from a 2016 TRD Sport I believe for sale too. Not sure if they'll ship, but worth a shot I would talk them down to 100-150 for the shocks and springs only.

Toyota Tacoma parts

 

[truman3]

Local guy on craigslist took them off when he upgraded to OME. Searched "Tacoma" on craigslist auto parts section and just scrolled through the mostly junk until I found some. There's one from a 2016 TRD Sport I believe for sale too. Not sure if they'll ship, but worth a shot I would talk them down to 100-150 for the shocks and springs only.



Toyota Tacoma parts

You might check fitment before purchase... I think only up to 2014 will work on our 4th gens. I could be wrong but I think I read that somewhere here.


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[84ability]

You might check fitment before purchase... I think only up to 2014 will work on our 4th gens. I could be wrong but I think I read that somewhere here.


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I'm running 2015 Tacoma suspension, it fits no problem. I don't think anybody has tried 2016 yet.

 

[slimjj]

I'm running 2015 Tacoma suspension, it fits no problem. I don't think anybody has tried 2016 yet.

One way to find out I guess!! Who's going to be the guinea pig?

 

[blackfc3s]

I will be doing to swap tomorrow. Pictures and a write up forth coming.

 

[truman3]

Yeah, I could be completely wrong, just thought I read that the new body Tacoma is not the same as the old/ours.


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[slimjj]

I will be doing to swap tomorrow. Pictures and a write up forth coming.

Any luck with the swap? What are you replacing? SR5? X-REAS? Interested to hear about the ride quality.

 

[blackfc3s]

Any luck with the swap? What are you replacing? SR5? X-REAS? Interested to hear about the ride quality.

My cam bolts and sleeves were fused to the control arm bushing so I didn't go through with the install. hopefully I will get the cam bolts and sleeves this week so I can install everything this weekend.

I'm guessing it will be firmer which is great because my Xreas is shot.

 

[Elan750]

Another update..

Been riding the front with 5100's @ .85 and the tacoma progressive offroad coils. I have an even 2.5" of lift from this arrangement. It definately rides firmer that old oem coils(130k) and 5100's @2.5". I would not run these coils without preload, I think they will bounce too much. At .85" its pretty good, could be firmer, but a cheap upgrade. I would have gone up to 1.5" on the 5100's but then I'd be going over 3" of lift on stock control arms.

Once I got the front where I'm relatively happy, I really started to analyze the back. I have the moog fj coils and the yellow tacoma bilsteins(5kmiles). This gave me an inch of rake over the front. They were ok on the highway but would sink a little too far in 30mph dips, and did slight dips when other cars wouldn't dip at all. And if I hit a bump while doing a U-turn, the truck would do a violent side-to-side shake. The shocks were just overwhelmed. you can notice if you watch the hood when you hit a bump-On the big bumps, the front would be lifting as the back went down. Tire pressure helped. 38psi and the back felt almost normal. 33psi and your driving a slinky.
Always being a cheapskate, I looked into alternative options. I got a hold of some used 5th gen 4Runner rear shocks (tokico with 20k miles) and installed them last night. a note, YOU DONT HAVE TO DRILL YOUR FRAME, as others are doing! You can either mod the bushings, or buy different bushings. I didnt even have to take the wheels off. Don't ask me for part numbers of alternative bushings as I just modded the 5th gen ones. The verdict? a hundred times better than the tacoma yellow ones. The back end feels in control again! I think now I can stop thinking about suspension for a while.

 

[slimjj]

Another update..

Been riding the front with 5100's @ .85 and the tacoma progressive offroad coils. I have an even 2.5" of lift from this arrangement. It definately rides firmer that old oem coils(130k) and 5100's @2.5". I would not run these coils without preload, I think they will bounce too much. At .85" its pretty good, could be firmer, but a cheap upgrade. I would have gone up to 1.5" on the 5100's but then I'd be going over 3" of lift on stock control arms.

Once I got the front where I'm relatively happy, I really started to analyze the back. I have the moog fj coils and the yellow tacoma bilsteins(5kmiles). This gave me an inch of rake over the front. They were ok on the highway but would sink a little too far in 30mph dips, and did slight dips when other cars wouldn't dip at all. And if I hit a bump while doing a U-turn, the truck would do a violent side-to-side shake. The shocks were just overwhelmed. you can notice if you watch the hood when you hit a bump-On the big bumps, the front would be lifting as the back went down. Tire pressure helped. 38psi and the back felt almost normal. 33psi and your driving a slinky.
Always being a cheapskate, I looked into alternative options. I got a hold of some used 5th gen rear shocks (tokico with 20k miles) and installed them last night. a note, YOU DONT HAVE TO DRILL YOUR FRAME, as others are doing! You can either mod the bushings, or buy different bushings. I didnt even have to take the wheels off. Don't ask me for part numbers of alternative bushings as I just modded the 5th gen ones. The verdict? a hundred times better than the tacoma yellow ones. The back end feels in control again! I think now I can stop thinking about suspension for a while.

Thanks for the review and the update. I might end up going with the Tokico's instead as I found some locally. I wonder if the linear Tokico's will be better than the progressive TRD Off Road. I'll start with the TRD Off Road all the way around and a 1/2" spacer in the front for some preload and if I don't like it, I'll swap over to the Tokico's. I'll be running FJ's coils in the rear.

 

[Elan750]

Thanks for the review and the update. I might end up going with the Tokico's instead as I found some locally. I wonder if the linear Tokico's will be better than the progressive TRD Off Road. I'll start with the TRD Off Road all the way around and a 1/2" spacer in the front for some preload and if I don't like it, I'll swap over to the Tokico's. I'll be running FJ's coils in the rear.

By 5th gen tokicos I'm talking about 5th gen 4Runner. I'll update the post to make that clear