Suspension questions over 9000!!!!!

Hey gang sorry if this is a silly group of questions but I’ve currently got a 2” leveling kit on what I believe to be the stock springs and Bilstein 4600s that came from factory for my 06 DC 4wd with 163k miles on it. I don’t particularly have an issue with that but I’ve noticed the back starting to sag after a couple years of having the camper shell on full time and whatever junk I keep back there. I want to upgrade the leaf springs in the back to get back to level but am concerned that I’ll have a stink bug rake afterwards. Currently the truck is used for my daily 3 miles to the train station and hunting/fishing/camping (sleeping in the bed)…with a big trip coming up in September that will take me through canyonlands…where I MAY try to do some easier trails to take a break from the highway….now I’ll hurry up and get to the question.


Would you all recommend reusing the stock springs after unknown mileage (at least 50k that I’ve owned it) with a puck in there or should I just do new springs as well? I want to do a 2” lift so eyeballing the Bilstein 5100s front and rear from 1stgenoffroad. Trying to keep it under 1500 but the cheaper the better while maintaining decent quality.
For the rear I was also going to do the icon add a leaf kit from 1stgen

The tires are currently 265/70/17 but I’d like to upgrade them to 275 or 285 when they need to be replaced. I want to keep the lift at 2” so I don’t have to start replacing more components like upper control arms etc as I believe that’ll start making it outside my desired budget. I don’t camp as much as I’d like to right now but in the next couple years the kids will be old enough to start going more frequently.
Sorry for the essay! Please poke holes in my logic for me! I found quite a bit of information in the search bar but was curious about reusing the current springs vs buying new. I do plan to assemble myself to save a couple bucks.

 

Didn’t want to jump in on someone else’s thread to ask my rando questions and become a threadjacker

 

I’ve seen most here recommend 5100s set at the lowest setting with longer OME 88x springs for comfort. You should get rid of the puck for better suspension travel and a more comfortable ride. A greater number of leafs with HD springs would help your weight issue in back.

 

Ditch the pucks. You don't want to mix pucks/spacers with lifts in most cases.

A lot of suspension-related info that may be a decent Q&A for you is in this thread, in the suspension/wheel/tires section.

At 2", you may still want to consider UCA, and get extended swaybar links. I wouldn't re-use your stock springs, honestly. If you have an option between leafs and AAL, I'd go with leafs. @Tundra2 and others seem to be happy with their Alcans and no stinkbug action yet.

With pricing... Under $1500 isn't difficult until you add UCA. In fact, what most vendors won't tell you, there are a few ways to save hundreds or thousands by buying higher-end stuff that's simply rebadged. For example...

If you're considering SPC UCA, you can get the exact same SPC arms sold by Eibach for under $700. During Black Friday, I got mine for $484, basically half SPC's price.

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Hell, with their 15% off Valentine's coupon last week, you could do what I did, pay ~$1,200 shipped for Toytec's Aluma Boss coilovers, made by Elka (it's basically Elka's $3k 2.0 IFP setup) with 5100s out back. It'd come with new front springs, assembled coilovers so no extra $$ 1st Gen charges to preassemble 5100s. You'd get ultimate front ride height flexibility for around what Josh @1stGen charges for 5100s. Call Edgar or someone else @ Toytec and see if they have another 15% off coupon coming up in the next few weeks for the Aluma Boss kits. They seem to toss a 10%-20% off coupon out every 8-10 weeks lately. He may just be able to hook you up, dunno.

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Or just get the whole damn kit with the AAL and PV drop? If you can't get a 15% off coupon and just use the Tundras.com coupon it's around $1,750ish:

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Keep in mind if you end up higher in the rear Than you wanna be after your suspension settles. Total chaos makes a drop shackle for the rear that lowers you 3/4 inch. @alb1k is running them with archive garage springs.

 

You really want higher than you want because it all settles. I pulled my chaos drop springs and sold them. I’m at a good height after settle and would actually be good with more rake under weight. Still hold rake loaded, but it’s almost level.

 

nice, thanks for weighing in. You’re the only one I knew of with first hand experience with that setup. You go back to oem shackles or what are you running now?

 

I put the Road Active Suspension from etrailer.com on my truck to help with the rear end sag and I'm pleased with it.. The ride is virtually the same, and is adjustable for how much you want to help your suspension. I thought I'd throw out another option.

 

Oem length archive garage shackes. 4” if I recall.

 

This is all really awesome feedback thank you all so much for chiming in! @shifty` those Eibach UCAs are out of stock but I’ll keep an eye out for them.

These look like an awesome option to replace the rear leaf.

I’ll keep the Toytecs in mind for the fronts and the Bilstein 5100s for the back.

 

Place I ordered them from has them in stock: https://eliteracefab.com/products/eibach-pro-alignment-front-kit-for-00-06-toyota-tundra

If you add them to your cart and go to checkout, put in your address and email, thenwait 12-24 hours they'll email you a coupon, usually 5-10% off.

Only cheaper price I found from a solid vendor was $610. Redline360 has them in stock for $564, and IIRC they do the same leave-in-checkout-we-email-coupon thing

 

Well there goes my tax return hahaha but thank you though!!! I’m going to be investigating an oil leak but piecing this suspension together in the near future, will update everyone as soon as I have something in the mail!

 

This forum is good at helping you spend money.

But seriously, you can probaby knock about $300-500 of pain off what I'm seeing there if you use coupons. There are coupons for everything and you'd be shocked at how much you can save by picking up a phone, calling a vendor and asking if (A) they're running any current specials, (B) if they've got any coupons, and (C) if they price-match with online vendors.

Likewise, you can often times get 5-10% off coupons by hitting the vendor's website, and either looking at banner ads on the home page for codes, signing up for their newsletter, or adding something to their cart, then starting the checkout process to the point just before submitting the order (i.e. inputting your address/phone/email and submitting at least one time so it's saved in the cart session) and waiting anywhere from 12-48 hours - many will email you a code and a link to resume your cart session to use said coupon.

YMMV, but I saved easily 20-25% on my suspension this way, and on past vehicles, I've saved upwards of 50% or more.

Whatever you do, try to avoid shopping directly at the manufacturer's website, they'll always charge MSRP. And if you want authentic parts AND full warranty, avoid shopping at scAmazon and/or similar non-authorized vendors, if possible. A lot of the popular 4-wheel supply places online (4wheelparts, , etc.) also have good deals and coupons, but don't always index at popular shopping search areas like https://shopping.google.com

 

Well…I think I’ve got something here….thinking of going with Bilstein 5100s front and rear with OME 2887(2.5 for 4wd double cab)(assembled for $771) Icon Add a leaf for $182 coming out to $953 giving me enough wiggle room to pull off the Eibach UCAs for $650 completing my suspension refresh for $1603 just barely over my $1500 mark… anyone have suggestions for smarter ways to upgrade? @shifty` are those Toytec AlumaBoss that much better? I emailed Toytec to see if they were running another promo soon but still waiting on a response

 

Toytec isn't getting back with me either and I'm getting kinda pissed off about it. I emailed Edgar since he helped with my order, no response. Called in left vmail on the support line early yesterday with my ph# and explanation, no call back. I don't know how to get through to them, but it's aggravating knowing I spent 4-digits of hard earned cash with them and I can't reach a human.

Don't forget extended links. These are what you'll want.

 

PS - "are they much better?"

A coilover will always be superior because you can precisely dial-in the ride height. With 5100s or any other similar adjustable strut, you can only dial in at 3/8"-1/2" notches, not so granular.

 

@shifty` yessir already ordered those and don’t count them against the “upgrade” cost because the ones that are on the truck (installed a year ago) are already bad so they’re a repair and don’t count as upgrades….I should probably remove the add a leaf and rear shocks as cost of upgrades and place them in the repair section as well