What would you do if you wanted to upgrade your suspension?

[Viper_00]

I have a dilemma on how I should move forward with getting a better on road ride. 90% on road driving, 10% off road, my payload never exceeds a 4 wheeler and I tow on occasion but nothing crazy heavy.

My current set up on my 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trd Off Road Hybrid are as follows. All OEM except for Wescott design pre collar lift (2.5” front/.75” rear), icon top re-enforcement plate, Nitto ridge grapplers 285/70/17, RRW wheels 17x8.5 +25 offset.

I love how my truck looks now and I wish to retain this look.

So do I keep my pre collar lift on and add new shocks, coils, rear springs and UCA’s?

Or should I get rid of the pre collar and start fresh?

My budget under $3k with install labor.

What would you suggest I do? What set up should I focus on?

Thx!

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[Ruckus]

Ditch the collars and get an Eibach Pro Truck 2R suspension. I would recommend installing it yourself if you have the ability, but you should have no problem getting the suspension and installation for under $3k.

You may be able to squeeze UCAs in that budget if you go with JBAs or the Rough Country Forged UCAs. I was able to get a decent alignment on the factory UCAs, but I just recently installed the RC control arms for peace of mind. People dog on Rough Country, but they seem to be pretty nice.

Eibach can put you at 2.5" front and 1" rear.

 

[tchyzzy]

I just ordered Bilstein 6112s for the front and 6100s for the rear. Also went pretty much the whole Dobinsons catalog for the rest of suspension. It all comes in a month. I figured this was the best bang for my buck when it came to what I need my truck to do.

 

[bigd9247]

What's making you want to change your current setup? I've owned a lot of different suspension setups over the years on other trucks and nothing rides as soft/smooth as my current OEM TRD OR shocks. I'm at stock height though.

With that said, aftermarket shocks can provide better handling/cornering and better control at speed off road. So it really depends on what you're trying to achieve.

 

[Viper_00]

What's making you want to change your current setup? I've owned a lot of different suspension setups over the years on other trucks and nothing rides as soft/smooth as my current OEM TRD OR shocks. I'm at stock height though.

With that said, aftermarket shocks can provide better handling/cornering and better control at speed off road. So it really depends on what you're trying to achieve.

I was okay with it as a 2nd vehicle but now that’s moved up to being my daily it’s just rough. Rough driving 1-2 hours a day that is. I think the pre collar lift has the factory bilsteins stretched out. When I purchased my truck I drove 7 hours straight home and it was fine. Now not so much.

 

[Viper_00]

Ditch the collars and get an Eibach Pro Truck 2R suspension. I would recommend installing it yourself if you have the ability, but you should have no problem getting the suspension and installation for under $3k.

You may be able to squeeze UCAs in that budget if you go with JBAs or the Rough Country Forged UCAs. I was able to get a decent alignment on the factory UCAs, but I just recently installed the RC control arms for peace of mind. People dog on Rough Country, but they seem to be pretty nice.

Eibach can put you at 2.5" front and 1" rear.

Yeah that’s one of my options. Have you heard of dirt king? Their R&D (at least from YouTube/tacomabeast) is rather impressive. They have a trail runner kit that comes with the UCA’S.

‘I definitely plan on ditching the pre collars and starting fresh.

 

[Viper_00]

I just ordered Bilstein 6112s for the front and 6100s for the rear. Also went pretty much the whole Dobinsons catalog for the rest of suspension. It all comes in a month. I figured this was the best bang for my buck when it came to what I need my truck to do.

I need to look into dobinsons. Send some pics / review when you get it all installed.

 

[Ruckus]

Yeah that’s one of my options. Have you heard of dirt king? Their R&D (at least from YouTube/tacomabeast) is rather impressive. They have a trail runner kit that comes with the UCA’S.

‘I definitely plan on ditching the pre collars and starting fresh.

Yea, absolutely. Dirt King has some nice stuff from what I've seen. I drool over their long travel kit.

No way you're getting into a DK suspension for under $3k installed though, right?

 

[Viper_00]

Yea, absolutely. Dirt King has some nice stuff from what I've seen. I drool over their long travel kit.

No way you're getting into a DK suspension for under $3k installed though, right?

The trail runner kit is $2800 and comes with uca’s. I saw it on sale around $2300-2400 on Black Friday but I wasn’t ready. Tacomabeast has it $2500 with a coupon. With install I’d be over $3k I’d imagine

Their long travel kit is the cats meow lol.

 

[Rmarin4272]

For under $3k I think the Bilstein 6112/6100 would be the best option along with the OME UCAs. Rear springs with the Dobinsons 819 vs the 327 as the 819 will handle added weight a little better but if you are mostly stock weight 90% of the time the 819 might be a bit stiff and harsh.

I dont know enough about the Eibach 2R to really comment but with the Bilsteins you will have a larger shock body and less points of failure. They'll run for 100,000 miles. The OME UCAs are maintenance free and will outlast the shocks. The Icon Delta Joint Pro requires some maintenance and from what I hear, are a bit noisy.

As for installation, that can be expensive. If you have some capability and friends that may help, invest in some good tools and do it yourself. With all the tools you'll spend 1/2 of what installation would be and you'll have those forever.

I've got the OME MT64 setup I'm waiting to put on the truck with the Dobinsons 819 springs and rear sway links (to help avoid the driver side lean once lifted). Opted to get the TRD lower knuckle and TRD tie rod ends to help with potential steering issues some have reported. Relatively cheap insurance/upgrade all things considered. If I have it in the air I might as well knock it out!

Whichever way you go, ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

[tchyzzy]

For under $3k I think the Bilstein 6112/6100 would be the best option along with the OME UCAs. Rear springs with the Dobinsons 819 vs the 327 as the 819 will handle added weight a little better but if you are mostly stock weight 90% of the time the 819 might be a bit stiff and harsh.

I dont know enough about the Eibach 2R to really comment but with the Bilsteins you will have a larger shock body and less points of failure. They'll run for 100,000 miles. The OME UCAs are maintenance free and will outlast the shocks. The Icon Delta Joint Pro requires some maintenance and from what I hear, are a bit noisy.

As for installation, that can be expensive. If you have some capability and friends that may help, invest in some good tools and do it yourself. With all the tools you'll spend 1/2 of what installation would be and you'll have those forever.

I've got the OME MT64 setup I'm waiting to put on the truck with the Dobinsons 819 springs and rear sway links (to help avoid the driver side lean once lifted). Opted to get the TRD lower knuckle and TRD tie rod ends to help with potential steering issues some have reported. Relatively cheap insurance/upgrade all things considered. If I have it in the air I might as well knock it out!

Whichever way you go, ENJOY THE RIDE!

How much weight are you carrying in the rear? I have the dobinson 817s on order and am concerned I went to light.

 

[Will721]

Idc what they wanna call it, preload collars are just spring spacers. They achieve lift by causing the spring to be under constant compression which always stiffens the ride.

That said, I do think the OR coilovers are a bit stiff. Living in the rust belt and therefore pothole central, it does get a little rough. Compared to my 3/4 ton of course it's a Cadillac. But not as soft and smooth as my Dakota or older Rangers of the past. My plan is to go with DKs midtravel. I like reservoir shocks and would like the adjustable aspect. Soften for the streets and stiffen them up for trail running. I plan to have roughly the same percentage as you for street vs offroad driving as well.


The reason I'm going with a kit over springs or other options? Most of the kits cover other issues. Getting rid of the weak front upper mounts, adding a bit of lift, and better UCAs that overall make things stronger and fit a larger tire comfortably. Doing springs or spacer lifts just puts more stress on that weak upper mount. Many of the popular bilstein options are not remote reservoir.

As for why DK over other kits or Kings? Most of the kits have a ton of R&D and tuning. All of the manufacturers claim to have the best tuning. Kings do have arguably the most experience in the game. So it came down for me to two factors; material and colors. I live in the rust belt, kings and several other options are steel. DKs and again, several other competitors are aluminum. Aluminum reguardless of protections used simply weather the....weather better. Last factor was frankly color. With everyone claiming they have the best product with most looking equal in quality and almost all of them having great reviews, I'm choosing from the narrowed down list by color. Black and gold goes better with bronze oxide.

 

[Rmarin4272]

How much weight are you carrying in the rear? I have the dobinson 817s on order and am concerned I went to light.

200lbs smartcap, 90lbs diy platform, considering building a drawer from 8020 aluminum that’ll weight probably 30lbs empty. That’s all constant weight. It it was over 400lbs I would have gone with the 821 springs.

Use ChatGPT to go over spring options. It’s really insightful. Call it out on the “facts” it gives you that you aren’t sure of. Double check though independent sources. It’s a great starting point to dial in your build. I even called Shock surplus and discussed my plans.

 

[tkrum015]

Have you checked out the OME TRD suspension lift kit. It can be ordered now and has new UCA, shocks, spring and if your paying to get it installed have Toyota do it you have no warranty issues.

 

[Viper_00]

Have you checked out the OME TRD suspension lift kit. It can be ordered now and has new UCA, shocks, spring and if your paying to get it installed have Toyota do it you have no warranty issues.

I have and from what I have been told (by several shops) the price of this Trd kit + labor is not worth it when you compare it to what is out there. The aftermarket kits are simply just better minus the official Toyota warranty.

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