Welcome back to another community poll. This is a column interview Q&A with independent owner-submitted feedback from the overland community – centered around one topic. Each owner has thoroughly tested their products through off-roading or overlanding and gives us their honest opinion review of their set-up.
One of the biggest reasons to add aftermarket suspension is to gain additional ride height and/or wheel travel. Now yeah, this does allow your truck to look great for Instagram, but it can also assist with clearing larger tires (to a point). When you raise your ride height, you are also helping increase your approach and departure angles. I feel this is highly overlooked as a benefit. Nevertheless, it is a much-welcomed perk. Speaking of perks, the third benefit I wanted to touch on is increased ride quality both on and off-road. The degree of improvement will be subject to how much coin you’ll be spending on your new setup.
Now you don’t need to spend $5,000 to increase your ride quality, a Bilstein 5100 kit will be a much-welcomed gain of ride quality over your factory setup. Below, you will find a compilation of six owners who are benefiting from their new setups and why they think it was worth the upgrade. If you’re new to lift kits, we’ve got you covered. Check out Tacoma lift kits – you’ll also be able to educate yourself on the various components.
Table Of Contents
1. Jacob: King Shocks/OME/SPC
DETAILS
Front:
- King Shocks 2.5 Ext Travel w/ Remote Reservoirs
- 700lb Springs
- SPC UCAs
- Stock LCAs
- DuroBumps Front Bump Stops
Rear:
- King Shocks 2.5 Rear Shocks w/ Reservoirs
- OME Dakar Heavy Duty Leaf Springs
- Stock Rear Bump Stops
The King Shocks have been well worth the investment! I’ve run the Bilstein 6112 shocks and Rough Country lift kits in the past and these blew both setups out of the water!
Having the adjustable suspension for smoother or harder rides is a must-have. The previous setups didn’t have the adjustability that the King Shocks do. Plus, I now have a blue Tacoma with blue shocks… it doesn’t get better than that! The SPC UCAs help a ton with getting the alignment dialed in too.
2. Connor: Ironman 4×4 Foam Cell Pro
DETAILS
Front:
- Front 2.5” Lift Heavy Duty Load (110-220lbs Additional Payload)
- Ironman Pro Forged Front Upper Control Arms
Rear:
- Rear Heavy Load (440lbs – GVM Additional Payload)
My favorite feature that this setup brings to the table is the ride quality over stock. I expected the Ironman 4X4 suspension to make the truck ride sort of floaty, but it’s much stiffer when it needs to be versus being completely smooth.
It absorbs forces well on impacts but remains stiff when cornering to limit body roll. So far, nothing has made as big of an improvement on my truck’s performance both on and off-road as the Ironman Stage 2 Lift Kit.
3. Nick: Rough Country/King Shocks/Total Chaos
DETAILS
- Retrofitted Rough Country 6” Lift Kit (No Spacers)
- Full Length Custom King Shocks 2.5 w/ Adjusters
- Total Chaos UCAs
What I love most, is that I have the height of a 6” lift without sacrifice.
This retrofitted kit allows me to retain wheel travel and ride quality as opposed to the standard spacer lift. The truck handles extremely well off-road and on-road with this setup as well. The Total Chaos UCAs not only perform, but they look great too. Lastly, who doesn’t love those sexy blue King Shocks?
4. Joshua: ADS/Eibach/Send It
DETAILS
Front:
- 2.5 ADS Shocks w/ Adjustable Reservoirs
- 700lb Eibach Springs
- Send It Billet Heim Joint UCAs
- DuroBumps Bump Stops
Rear:
- 2.5 ADS Shocks Piggy Back Setup
- Dobinsons L59-111-R w/ Greaseable Bushings
Hands down the best part is the adjustability of the coil overs upfront. I’m generally about three to four clicks off of soft for daily driving and the opposite for road trips (three to four clicks off of firm). I typically drop the suspension down to full soft for whoops and rocky terrain.
The Heim joints on the UCAs are a plus too, allowing me to achieve better wheel alignment. I am currently running 700lb springs up front, but I will most likely change them out for 650lb springs once I relocate the which to the rear of the truck.
5. Josh: Locked Off-Road/Eibach/Dirt King
DETAILS
Front:
- Locked Off-Road 2.5″ Coilover Kit
- 14” 650lb Eibach springs.
- Dirt King Ball Joint LCAs
Rear:
- Deaver Stage 3 Leaf Packs
- BAMF Leaf Spring Hangers
I love the fact that not many people run the Locked Off-Road 2.5″ coilovers, or even know about it. What you’re getting from Locked Off-Road versus what you’re paying, is unbeatable, in my opinion. The Dirt King LCAs make a fine addition too.
I have had the Locked kit installed for over a year and have had zero issues with valves leaking or any manufacturer defects. The shocks are solid and can take a beating. They’re fully adjustable and have adjusters in the reservoirs as well for preload.
6. James: Dobinsons/JBA
DETAILS
Front:
- Dobinsons 3.0” MRR 3-Way Adjustable
- 700lb Coil Overs
- JBA HD High Caster Upper Control Arms
- SumoSprings Bump Stops
- Total Chaos Spindle Gussets & Total Chaos Cam Tab Gussets
Rear:
- Dobinsons 3.0” MRR 3-Way Adjustable Long Travel
- 800lb Constant Load Rear Leaf springs
- JBA HD High Caster Upper Control Arms
- SumoSprings Bump Stops with U-Bolt Flip Kit
- Total Chaos Spindle Gussets & Total Chaos Cam Tab Gussets
Hands down my favorite thing about my current setup is the adjustability of the Dobinsons shocks. There are few companies on the market that is putting out the same amount of adjustability as the Dobinsons MRRs.
Between the rebound, low & high-speed compression, you have over 35+ settings. The large range of adjustments has really allowed me to dial in my ride quality. I can make my ride firmer or softer depending on the terrain I’m on, or if I’m loading down my rig with extra weight. It’s freaking awesome!
7. Brenan: JD Fabrication
DETAILS
Front:
- JD Fabrication 2.25″ LT (2nd Gen)
- JD Fab Lower Arm Double Shear Pivots
- JD Fab Front Skid Plate
- Double Shear UCA Steering
- JD Fab 1/8″ and 3/16″ Chromoly Plate LCAs
- JD Fab DOM Chromoly tube; 1.5″ X .120″ wall UCAs
- Custom Alignment Cams w/ Machined Grade 8 Bolts
- FOX Race Series 8″ Stroke Coilovers
- FOX Race Series 8″ Stroke Tripple Bypass Secondary’s
- 934 Chromoly Caged CV Axles with 300M Shafts
- 200 Series Land Cruiser Steering Rack
- Chromoly Tie Rods connected to double shear knuckles
- Kartek Limit Straps
Rear:
- ARB Heavy Dakars
- ARB Bp-51 shocks with remote reservoirs
- SumoSprings Bump Stops with U-Bolt Flip Kit
Still building this rear end. Likley going with a dana 60 from ECGS. More to come.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell now, aftermarket suspension is so much more than just an appearance change for your Tacoma. As I said in the beginning, you don’t need to spend $5,000 to increase your ride quality, a Bilstein 5100 kit will be a much-welcomed gain of ride quality over stock.
The trucks you’ve seen this week are running all sorts of lift kits, varying in price and performance. At the end of the day, you really have to do your research, and the best experience comes from testing various setups. What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!
Thanks for reading guys!
