New coil springs for 2007 Tundra Limited with TRD Off Road package

Hello everyone. I have been reading a few posts about the the subject, but I feel I need a bit more assistance to make an educated decision.
I have been working on my Tundra, and one of the upgrades/updates I am doing is replacing all four shocks for Bilstein 5100.
Thing is, the rear is about 4.25/4.50 inches higher than front, and as far as I can see, there is no lift kit in the rear, which makes me think front coils are shot.
I did change the rear shocks, but still have same difference. With this being said, I do not want to reuse the front coils with the 5100 shocks, so I am shopping for new coils, but I am not sure what I should get being that it is the TRD Off Road.
I found a couple of options, but not sure if either one would do.
Found some coils that state have a 2" lift on them, and I found some Old Man Emu, but no indication if the are for regular lift, or TRD Off Road equivalent.
What are my options?
Sorry for lengthy post, but trying to give as much info as possible.

Thank you.

 

How many miles on the truck / front coils?

You may want to consider hanging the rear leaf springs under the axle to bring the rear end down and level with the front.

 

@Toytec Lifts

 

132k
Bought it @ 122k, and I'm thinking all struts and shocks are original.
However, just looking at back again, I'm think they might have added a spring at bottom?

 

I replaced the coils on my '07 @ about 270,000, but they were still good. The rear leaf springs were toast, so I replaced them with a new set of Alcans and relocated them to under the axle.

 

Do you have to run air bags
And if so do you have an compressor onboard . Did your bed hit the drive shaft? Maybe on double cab and crewmax might be different when it comes to bed hitting the driveshaft. Whats the min lowering you can do in the rear. I heard 3.25 was the min.

 

The Firestone bags prevent the drive shaft from striking the cross-member, and they prevent the suspension from sagging when hauling a load and / or towing. I use a bicycle pump to air up the bags, but the onboard system is a better option. 3.25" is the minimum drop.

I have not read about the drive shaft striking the cross member on any model except the RCSB...

 

To be honest, I like the height I have in the back, so trying to bring front up a bit too.
Now, waiting to hear from seller if the Old Man Emu are compatible with my year/make/model and Off Road package.

Thanks for the responses!

 

So, ended up going with some Eibach springs that are used with Bilstein 5100s. The springs give me two inches lift, so I do not have to use the highest setting in the shocks themselves.
Cannot wait to install those puppies in.

 

Are you completely sure you measured the Tundra on level ground? My factory rake is about 3" differential from front to rear (and from what I have read other people on forums post the same 3" differential) - but if I park it on even a slight angle that measurement changes a lot.

Not sure what model coils your talking about, but I looked at these Eibachs before; however, the description said they were to only be used with Eibach sport shocks - did you confirm they will work with a 5100? The lowest 5100 setting still provides .8" of lift - so You'll be pushing either a 3" lift using those springs OR maybe only a .8" lift - not sure, kind of confusing using lift springs in combination with a perch lift coilover... maybe someone can comment. My guess is that you may actually want to use a basic Bilstein 4600 with any kind of "lift" spring - and not a raised-perch type coilover.

 

Yes, same ones. I had two companies tell me that they work with the 5100s, and doing research I see many have used that same combination. However, they strongly advice either lowest or mid setting only to avoid any damage to the strut.
Also, talked to a cool guy at Discount Tire who had done the same combo on his Taco and he really liked them.

Yes, measured it while parked in my garage. Have not measured again since I changed the rears for the 5100 JIC, but I am sure they (previous owner) might have put regular/base front struts in front and left TRD Off Road in back. Either that or spring/struts are shot in front, which either way is the reason I am adding new coils.

 

Since you're putting on aftermarket springs, you may end up with a slight driver's side lean. The recommendation is to throw a shim on that side to help correct it. Coachbuilder and Toytec both have shims that would work.

 

Then I think that would work perfectly because I have been troubleshooting an almost constant pull to the right side, which got slightly corrected when I rotated my tires this past weekend hahaha!
Thanks for the heads up though, I had no idea that this was a possibility.
I guess I can always install and see how it drives, then look into the shims if needed.
Much appreciated.

 

Here's a little info on the 5100/Eibach combo.
Posts 7-10. @dcsleeper408 can probably give you some incite, he's installed this setup in the past. If I'm not mistaken the Eibach springs with 5100's should give you about 2.8" of lift on bottom setting.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/bilstein-5100-breaking.42423/

 

It's probably best to only take advice from Bilstein. The 5100 coilover was designed for a maximum lift of 2.28" - so your really talking about modifying the 5100 to run a near 3" lift that is really going to limit your down-travel. You have to think that the engineers at Bilstein put the max height at 2.28" for a reason - personally I would just buy a pair of stock height springs and run them on top perch setting - done.

In addition if you were to add a small shim (usually 1/4" height) as you're talking about - that would come out to about 2.8" of lift - plus around .3-4" more lift height from that shim - almost 3.2" of lift on stock control arms! Not sure thats a good idea.

 

The problem is that anything over the 2.28" lift top perch setting means you are severely limiting your down-travel beyond what Bilstein designed the coilover for. If they felt you had enough safe down travel or that the stock control arms would be sufficient at 2.8" - then you have to assume they would have added a 4th top perch setting for 2.8", but their engineers must have felt 2.28" was the maximum for effective handling and safety.

 

I'm just giving him information from my research. To your point though there a companies selling their own coilover kits with 5100's that lift to 3"(Toytech/Fat Bob's Garage). If this was an issue I don't think they would manufacture these kits. I am running Fat Bob's Garage 5100 kit but I am only at 2.5" as I didn't want any possible issues going the full 3".

 

True. I understand. However, my plan is to leave 5100 at lowest setting and let the coils do the lifting.
Bilstein lifts dot com is where I bought them, and they themselves advise about going over mid setting, and prefer for it to be left at lowest.

I'll test them out. If at some point I feel this config ain't right, then I'll look into other options.
I do appreciate your concern and input, that is the reason why I post here, to get different opinions.
I think a bunch of failures and negative reviews come from people who have little to no clue what they are doing and expect top performance from lower parts.
Personally, some light dirt roading and trails are the only thing in sight.
I would have gone with the 6112s, but that required UCAs and I don't have that kinda cash now.
I think this combo should be fine.
Also dropping dif with kit to save CVs.

 

The Toytech Ultimate 5100-Based Coilovers do provide up to 3" of lift; however, it looks like they have basically built in a 1/2-3/4" top plate spacer - so at 3" you would still have the shock down-travel of a 5100 set at the 2.5" setting - at least that would be my guess on their engineering theory, I could be wrong.

 

Yes, I am sure exceeding specs by 1/2" isn't the end of the world - but my point was more along the lines of why experiment? You can buy factory Toyota coil springs directly from the dealership for about $170 a piece - although if your on a budget then yes the Eibachs are much cheaper so I understand.

But in addition, if your buying the 2" lift Eibachs, why not use a non-lift shock like the 4600? It just seems to me that would make more sense rather than stacking the .8 lift of the 5100 on top of the 2" lift coils - but I am no expert on stock shocks either - maybe you can't add lift springs to the 4600? may be worth asking Bilstein Lifts about though.

I have 5100's myself and getting ready to raise them to top perch setting in the next week - plus I am gong to run a .25" height top plate shim on top of it - so I will end up with a similar lift height to your 5100 with 2" springs - but I will have the proper shock down-travel that the 5100 provides at the top setting. If that makes sense.

 

I noticed that. My FBG are built a little different, they have a standard top hat. Not trying to argue with you just throwing this out there. If I was off roading I would definitely go a different route.
https://4x4.fatbobsgarage.com/toyot...lovers-w-bilstein-5100s-2007-2019-p33926.aspx

 

No, I hear you - those Fat Bob's look really nice for the money and yes I see what you mean, guess they aren't worried about the 1/2" either. Like I said the 1/2" difference may mean nothing, my only point to the OP was basically why take chances experimenting; but you also make a good point in that these companies have apparently done the homework and are selling these kits.

 

I got the set of four 5100 really cheap, and I was planning on using the factory coils, but because of the steep difference between rear and front height, something tells me that front config ain't right.
I was looking for base/regular height coils, but I could not find something within my budget, and had recommendations to with Eibachs. Then doing research, some people do use the Bilstein/Eibach combo.

I figured instead of doing the lift via shock, I'd put the coil to do that work for me. Also, if in the future I wanna upgrade, I think the coils could remain.
Not really experimenting; I've done my homework. Also, dirtroads and some light off-roading is about as I will be doing, and at a safe speed.
Don't have the money to do all the stuff I'd rather do. Also, I am doing all the work myself, so I am operating within my know-how-to limits.

I appreciate yall's input!

 

Ok, so... I called Eibach and told them my situation. The rep says that yes, the 5100s will work just fine and that their own shocks have basically same specs.
So I'm happy with this setup.
Wish I had known about Eibach before cause I'd bought the whole set from them, but oh well, gathering knowledge as I go.
Have a fantastic weekend, y'all, and thanks for all the useful input.

 

Their own shocks may have similar valving specs - but they don't have a .87" lift height perch - that is the big difference. I get what you are doing and honestly you may end up with a really good ride - I just ran my 5100's on top perch and was not happy at all with ride stiffness - you are going to get most of your lift from the new coils themselves rather than shock perch/preload - and I believe the Eibachs are sprung 50-pounds softer than stock, so it could be a really plush ride - you'll just have to experiment and see. You are limiting a 1/2" or so of down-travel - compared to how the 5100 was designed, but the more I think about it - it's such a small fraction of total down-travel that perhaps it won't matter in the real world.

I would also mention again not to use shims with this setup - as your going to have 2.87" of estimated lift - any more and you will likely need new upper control arms.

Here are the install instructions when used with Eibach shocks - its interesting as the sport shocks have a top notch setting well over 3"! They say not to go over the middle notch or 3" lift setting due to ride quality degredation: Maybe you can post back here once installed and let us know how the ride is and if it's improved over stock, kind of curious to know now.

Have fun with that setup, I'm sure it will be better than whatever you have on the truck now!

 

Well, well, well... finally got around to getting this little experiment completed.
Took all parts to a shop nearby and for the price, $300, I got the struts put together by the shop (I ain't dealing with compressed springs), the drop diff kit, new UCA, and the struts installed.
Went with the setup described earlier and used the second perch. I got a bit over 3" lift on the front, which is perfect for the 3.5" difference I had with the rear.
Now weird noises, the steering wheel side to side rocking went away, it does not pull right anymore, and the quality of the suspension has been greatly improved.
Overall I am VERY happy with how it came out.
I wouldn't do anything too crazy with it, but it can take rough terrain just fine.