Lift and Suspension Questions for a Newbie

Hey guys,

I've been quietly consuming on here for the past couple weeks trying to figure out how I am going to upgrade my Tundras suspension. I want to throw out there what I think I am doing with my plan and see if anyone can help me fine tune my decision making.

Some background:
My Tundra is a 2008 Double Cab, Short Bed, TRD Off Road 4WD. I bought it in 2012 with ~ 60,000 miles on it. I've since put another 210,000 miles on it totaling about 272,000. I believe the suspension is all stock to this point. I have used the truck for towing/hauling a lot over the years as well as daily driving for most of it. I don't need to daily drive it anymore, though, and would like to replace and upgrade my suspension to make it last another 200,000 miles. My intention isn't to lift the truck, but to beef it up and if it lifts in the process, so be it.

Rear: Since I tow/haul mostly with it now, I decided to upgrade the rear leaf springs with the Icon Add A Leaf (AAL) and also bought an extra Torch AAL. The OE top leaf will get reused. The original leaf springs were almost flat prior to me pulling them out. With the ICON AAL and Torch AAL, I estimate I'll get about 1.5-2.5 inches of lift, so just in case, I am replacing the shocks with a pair of Old Man Emu 60100 (OME 60100) shocks. From what I read, these can help anywhere from 0-3 inches of lift and I think they'll work great for shock absorption with heavy loads. Just in case, I also purchased SUMO Springs (the middle grade). I'm not sure if they'll be necessary with the added leaf springs, but if I ever have enough on the back, I think they'll help occasionally. I'm using OE replacement shackles so there's no extra lift there. I don't plan on doing anything additional with the tires. I use 10 ply highway tires and pump them up for big loads.

Front: This is where I am undecided. I plan on waiting until the rear is fully installed to see how much potential lift I should add in the front, but I don't really want to add lift unless I have to. I considered getting the Old Man Emu Front Coilovers (OME-FR07-TUN) with the OME-612 Coils because I don't plan on adding any weight to the front, but I'm wondering if that might be overkill since I'm not going to be off-roading and I'm not looking for a 2 inch lift. I was wondering if anyone could point me towards a good deal on a loaded Bilstein 5100 coilover that I can adjust to whichever height makes the most sense after measuring the rear height. The other options I've considered solely because of price is the Rough Country 2" Leveling Kit Loaded Struts (https://www.roughcountry.com/premium-n3-lifted-strut-501090.html?find=2008-toyota-tundra-4wd-737100). I wasn't sure if this would be the best option based on my towing/hauling, though.

So to summarize, rear parts are already ordered and it is partially assembled (waiting on Leaf Spring Bushing and OE Shackle). I need advise/help with the front suspension. My thought process on the front is it shouldn't need anything beefy or excessive since all the weight will be on the back. The front can be almost stock with a little upgrade to improve long term ride quality.

Any advise from you guys is super appreciated!!

-Patrick aka starfish.pat

P.S: I'll add pics as I get them and hopefully get my profile looking less n00b soon

 

This is the best image I have of it, but it's about 4 years old. So picture a little more droop in the back.

 

I would just stick with the OME, 2 inch lift isn't all that much. However since your truck suspension is "worn" it will seem like a bit more. Add a Toytec add-a-leaf and have fun.

 

Any idea how the OME Coilovers (OME-FR07-TUN) with the OME-612 Coils ride without any extra weight on the front?

 

I have run OME on a few vehicles. The 612s would be what you want. Even those are about 10% higher spring rate than stock. OME rides firmer, as do most lifted suspensions but they are very HD components and will last a really long time. No adjustments, just install and ride vs some of the other coilsovers out there. OME often does run a bit higher lift than advertised, if it lists 2 inches, expect 2.25 or so, if shows 2.5, expect 2.75 lift.

Currently have OME suspension on my 06 4runner, been installed for many years and about 70k miles, still riding well and no issues.

 

Oh, one other thing- if you think OME may be a bit much for you as it is a off road suspension, you may want to check out Eibach Pro truck lift, stage2. Adjustable for lift, will still be a little firmer but should ride easier on the road and will be at the same price point or less than OME. Eibach also has a lower priced lift which uses clip settings like 5100s or 6112.

protruck lift with clip setting is about $655, protruck 2.0 stage 2 adjustable coilovers are 1100,

 

I'll definitely look in to the Eibach kits as well. With the OME front coilovers with the 612 coils...do you think I'm gonna need to worry about UCAs and diff drops? That's the other reason I wasn't too sure about a front lift. I do like the idea of the OME's on the front for long lasting durability and the option of off-roading. A stiff ride wasn't a worry of mine because I'm sure it will be better than my original struts.
I was also leaning towards Bilstein 5100s with an Eibach coil. Any thoughts on those?

Edit: I looked at the Eibach options and I like that they're adjustable. I'm trying to just buy the front at this point cuz I already have the rear set up purchased and partially installed. The stage 1 looks good for Eibach. Any experience with the Rough Country front struts?

 

I have Bilsteins with a Eibach coil right now (waiting for Ironman to fix my springs) and I like the ride. I got about 2.5 inches of lift on the stock settings and the ride was firm but nice, my wife didn't even mind.

I kept the upper control arms stock and didn't have any issue with alignment.

 

I kept the stock UCAs on my 4runner and I have never had any issues. However, since OME is on the high side of lift, I am sure the truck would drive and track better and have better alignment with adjustable UCAs like the SPC ones. So, if it is in our budget I would recommend them. If not, the truck should be ok and maybe that would be a future upgrade.

No experience with the RC setup, but if you search for it in the suspension forum, there are some threads about them.

 

Did you have to change the UCAs or do a diff drop?

 

I did not, was able to get it into spec. just fine.

 

So ended up liking the lifted look a lot and went a bit further than I originally anticipated. OME's in the front and back. The two AAL's lifted it about 3-4 inches over stock, and then I bought adjustable shackles and put it on the lowest of 3 positions to lift it another inch in the back. Total rear lift is around 4-5 inches. I had to rig up some rear shock extenders originally made for Chevy/GMC and was able to add it to the bottom mount so my OMEs wouldn't bottom out. So far, working great! I added coachbuilder 1 inch shims to the front for a total of 3.5 inches of lift up front. After that, I added the wheels and tires which are roughly 34.5 inches in diameter. Eventually, I am going to replace the front spacers with 1.5 inch spacers (already have them, just don't need to put them on yet) so I can have a little less rake and more room to add 37's when these tires are worn. So many future upgrades to come and I have this forum to thank!