Toyota Best Tacoma lift (2003)?

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I'm looking for a nice lift. My front struts are shot and my rear springs sit crooked. So my suspension is going to be replaced anyways. I'm wanting a stock or near stock ride. I thought about an OME lift, but looking at their site it doesn't appear they offer a "kit" for the tacoma. I want to keep it around 2"-3" max, I'm at ~3" right now and I don't want to be any higher. So what are my options? This Toyota stuff is all new to me :D
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I was actually going to hit up Kurt but wanted to know what I was talking about atleast a little bit, that's why I went to the OME site...but when they didn't have any kits (only rear springs) for the Tacoma I decided to ask here.

I actually already have the diff drop, 5125 shocks in the rear, etc so those are covered.

Thanks for the link to sonoran steel, I'll check them out. :)
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I'm not looking for bang for the buck really...I actually already have a Toytec lift on it and,IMO, it's a piece of crap. ;)

EDIT: I just looked at their stuff and it looks like I don't have their ultimate kit, but rather just their spacer I think. When I bought my truck I was told it had a toytec lift on it.
 
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SLC97SR5

IDIesel
Location
Davis County
Something else I've been wondering, is a set of coilovers (SAW, etc) worth it for the front?


My opinion--No way.

However...If you want something that bolts on in about 15 minutes a side then sure. It's hard to beat the ease of install with coilovers, it also nice to be able to adjust the preload infinetly but for the money I'd much rather have my Tundra/OME setup, the full OME setup or one of Steve's kits from Sonoran Steel.

I get in trouble everytime I diss coilovers for our applications:greg:--They do look sweet though.
 

lewis

Fight Till You Die
Location
Hairyman
I had a downey adjustable using the bilsteins and the fabtech adjustable. The downey was a better ride and lasted longer. Don't know if that helps at all but thats what I have experienced besides SAS which I wouldn't do again.
 

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
I was actually going to hit up Kurt but wanted to know what I was talking about atleast a little bit, that's why I went to the OME site...but when they didn't have any kits (only rear springs) for the Tacoma I decided to ask here.

I actually already have the diff drop, 5125 shocks in the rear, etc so those are covered.

Thanks for the link to sonoran steel, I'll check them out. :)

The OME front springs are probably 880,881,or 882s (larger the number the more lift and stiffer the spring)
Here's some links for a complete OME kit
http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/ometaco.htm
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/sus_Tacoma.html
 

Paul R

Well-Known Member
Location
SLC
I picked up the OME Heavy kit from Kurt and I have loved it! I am definitely not easy on it and it has been great.

I thought about coilovers, but I hear the Utah salt will tear them up pretty quick.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
I've found quite a bit saying the Sonoran Steel are not worth it. Basically it's just a Bilstein 5125 strut (I have 5125s in the rear and I'm definitely not a fan of them) and a tundra spring. Yet the only ones that have said the OME setup is not a good setup is Sonoran Steel. IMO, OME is a solid proven setup that's been around for years while I've never heard a word about Sonoran Steel until this thread. I'm not set on anything yet (still researching) but the opinions I've found on Sonoran Steel so far are not pulling in their favor.
 

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
FWIW, Old Man Emu doesn't put together "kits", they provide all the parts, a suggested fitting list and rely on their vendors to assemble the best kits. :D

The Tacoma market it saturated with options, everything for cheap spacers to full-blown desert setups for the front IFS. The only caution I urge when shopping is keep in mind the Utah winters and road salt which wreaks absolute havoc on the threaded coil-over options, the adjustability is great when you install them, but the threads take quite a beating in the Utah winters and rebuilds and replacement become necissary even after just a few years. The Old Man Emu Tacoma offerings are no different then their Land Cruiser offerings that have been running strong for 20 years now... Solid. Not huge, not overly custom, just solid, proven and backed up by some serious engineering and tailored to the actual vehicle.

I've put nearly two hundred thousand miles on my OME equipped Tacomas, rock sold. These trucks were wheeled on a regular basis, front trails like Moab Rim & Pickle, to doing 100mph along the washboard of the Pony Express Road. In that time I've replaced one set of struts due that had nearly 60k on them at the time.
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Totally different animal, but I just installed a 3" OME suspension from Kurt on our FJ80 and it's a pretty impressive difference compared to stock. The suspension is more firm, really feels like the SUV is 'planted' both on and offroad. We actually jumped it tonight... :rofl: There's a perfect roller out past Glade Park, our tires barely left the ground, but we were weightless for a bit... the suspension felt very controlled as the 7k pound 4x4 came back down, it was honestly impressive.

Like Kurt said, you can pick out the optimal spring rate package based on how you use your vehicle and where you have added weight with winches, aftermarket bumpers, etc. The coils we picked out are built for added capacity, so even when loaded up for camping, it should ride well.

I also picked up a 2.5" OME suspension for Catherines '03 V8 4Runner, which the front suspension should be pretty similar to your Tacoma. I haven't had time to install it yet, but if I get mine done soon, I can post up the impressions of before and after.
 

Fester

Active Member
I'm also looking at doing something for a 07 V8 4Runner and I'd be interested in your results. I just put 265 70 17's on it and they rub a little in the front and are tight in the rear. I was about ready to order the Toytec kit, but hadn't considered the coilover maintanence issue. Are you doing new coils in the rear also?

I also picked up a 2.5" OME suspension for Catherines '03 V8 4Runner, which the front suspension should be pretty similar to your Tacoma. I haven't had time to install it yet, but if I get mine done soon, I can post up the impressions of before and after.
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
I'm also looking at doing something for a 07 V8 4Runner and I'd be interested in your results. I just put 265 70 17's on it and they rub a little in the front and are tight in the rear. I was about ready to order the Toytec kit, but hadn't considered the coilover maintanence issue. Are you doing new coils in the rear also?


Alright, I'll post up when I finally get it done. It may be a few more weeks though. I'm excited, should help our 4Runner handle much better. Yes, new coils in the rear. We're also running 265/70/17 BFG All-Terrains and they do rub just a tad on the front when turned to lock.

Coilovers are cool, but unless you're going to do some serious stuff in the desert at speed, I think they're overkill. We had a '99 4Runner with a OME suspension and it handled all kinds of stuff with ease. Dinking around on whoops in Baja, climbing the San Juans, playing in Moab, etc. That rig made me a fan of OME. :)
 
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