suspension lift: old man emu vs dobinson's

Hey Tundra Forumers-
I am new to this, just purchased a used 04 Tundra Doublecab 4x4 w/V8. It had a large ass ARB bumper w/bull nose and area for a winch (thankfully not on it). On the front, I replaced the LCAs (had to cut them off of course) w/NAPA brand, end links w/OReilly's brand, and the front coilovers w/NAPA brand (because they swapped them for free cause that's what was on them (but had to cut those off too)). I had it aligned at auto mechanic's shop while they did the timing belt/tensioner stuff. Although the alignment is fine, there is barely any travel in the front and the load seems to heavy.
A local shop owner wants to bring it into his Toyota off-road shop to "assess" if any damage & to give me an estimate (plus he noticed a bent frame from previous owner hauling too heavy of loads either in the back or towing). He installs OME pretty much exclusively for front rebuild/replacements. I don't know if I have that kind of money (don't know estimate yet) or if the truck is worth using OME on at this point. It's not a daily driver, mostly will be using it for farm/ranch work and hauling materials for home remodel projects. A friend suggested Dobinson's b/c that is what's on his Tacoma and it rides like the clouds he says. That also looks expensive.
Let me know your suggestions guys. By the way- I went to this local Toyota off road shop for an estimate on replacing the rear leaf springs cause one leaf on passenger side is snapped and held in with bailing wire and zip ties. This off-road shop is recommended by several co-workers and friends but others say he is an egotistical, greedy owner. He does sound like he knows toyota lifts and has many years of experience. but once again, I don't know if i can afford it.

 

Check out https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/#/ for all kinds of options for suspension kits and parts. The owner is very knowledgeable, if you have any questions he can point in the right direction better then I can. Check out https://www.autoandtrucksprings.com/toyota-truck-leaf-springs/ for leaf springs. They have a stock lift option or an HD pack for extra weight and will give you maybe an inch of lift. I have heard good things about them from other guys on here. they are hard to beat for the price.

 

I've had both OME nitro and Dobinsons IMS on a 1st Gen Tundra DoubleCab, so I have a little bit of experience here regarding those.

First, OME does not manufacture nor assemble any kit for a 1st Gen Tundra. Anyone telling you otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about. No strut, nor shock, nor spring from OME for the 1G Tundra at all, ever. Not for the front end, not for the rear end. Nothing.

There have been some vendors that have pieced together a kit for 1G Tundra, but it is using parts engineered for the 1st and 2nd Gen Tacoma.

Being a longtime fan of OME and having had their kits on LandCruisers, Tacomas, and 4Runners, I figured it would be awesome on the 1G Tundra as well, so I installed one of these vendor's OME kits for 1GT on my old 2005 Tundra DoubleCab. It was horrible. The shocks were very over powered by the big body and weight of thr DoubleCab Tundra. Very squishy and sloppy. But I was stuck as money was tight and couldn't afford to change it out. Ran it for about a year and then sold the truck. Would never do an OME "kit" again on a 1GT.

Fast-forward a few years from that 2005 DoubleCab and I then bought a 2006 Tundra DoubleCab. Knew I wasn't going OME, so started looking into other options. Lots of folks run the Billstein stuff, but I had a bad experience with them years ago so I try to avoid them. Ended up settling on giving the Dobinsons IMS kit a go. They use the same shock bodies on the Tundra as they do on other vehicles (front 1G Tacoma, rear 2G Tacoma) but they supposedly adjust them differently internally. No clue if they actually do that though.

I had a helluva time getting the fronts squared away. Mostly due to poly top spring isolators-- if you go Dobinsons make sure you use the RUBBER top isolators from KYB. The poly ones will just squish out.

I've now been on the Dobinsons for about 4 months. Not a ton of offroad on them yet as work has been crazy busy for me. But the setup is pretty damn stiff. I'm still hoping they'll wear in a bit more with more offroad miles on them, but we'll see. I have a hidden winch up front and roof tent out back. Tent isnt always on, and def feels a bit better when the tent is on.

That all being said, I don't think I'd do either of these kits again. I'd prob end up trying the Billsteins since there seem to be so many good experiences around here with them on these trucks.

-Ferg

 

Following for anyone else's experience with ATS leaf springs on a DC

 

I ran OME in my Landcruiser & Taco. OME worked great, many wheeling trips with no issues (I play with my toys lil ruff sometimes) When I found out I could not get an OME kit specifically for the Tundra, I asked a friend at Polly Performance, this was his quote "I would do a nice fox or king coilover and some icon ucas and be done" This is just a friends recommendation, no first hand knowledge (Yet)

 

There's great advice above. I also recommend checking out this thread which covers a lot of important problems, info, and upgrades advice you may not get from online vendors: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Hopefully when you did those LCAs you used fresh bolts, and if you replaced the LBJs you used OEM.

For your reported travel issues, were you seeing the same travel limitations with the sway bar links off? Are you running extended links?

As far as Dobinsons vs OME, they're both good quality options. There are a number of options out there. If you're looking to do front and rear, you should budget for $800-$1,500 if you intend to do the work yourself. You can still get Toytec Aluma Boss front coilovers (i.e. Elka) for around $950 on the fronts, which is a steal for Elka quality coilovers.

 

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I'm wondering if you ever found shocks for your 06 DC. I have an 05 DC that I'm looking to upgrade from 5100s. Thanks

 

Holler at @memario1214. He can get you what you need.

 

But seriously, @scooter980, before you buy anything, you really need to take a minute to read the "Suspension, wheel and tires ..." section of our community info thread.

It'll give you a breakdown on options, considerations you need to make based on height you choose, any quirks we've found with misc. products (like the crazy typo mistake in Bilstein's 6112 product literature, and mixing/matching etc.)

I'm sure your 5100s ride pretty rough running OEM springs 4th notch. You'd probably benefit extraordinarily in ride quality and handling just by moving to a lifted spring like the OME 2885 on your 5100s, running bottom notch.

 

Can’t believe I’m the first in here to bring it up, but you had to cut the front suspension off and the rear is broken and held on with baling wire? What’s the rust situation here? Pics?

 

Another fly-by-night'er. Hasn't been seen since his 1st post, over 2yrs ago. Follows the usual trend: 1st post is a problem/request rather than an introduction or contribution.

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