Looking to do leveling kit with 5100’s, advise?

quicksandman91

quicksandman91

Member
Hello all, new to the site and fairly new owner of my first tacoma. I have a 2017 TRD SPORT quicksand. I’m not big into off-road driving or anything. I use my truck to get around town and work. I love my truck but want to add bigger tires and a small lift. At first I was told to just throw some blocks on back and leveling spacers up front. I read that this can do damage to my truck. So I looked into buying bilistein 5100 struts that are adjustable to level out the front. If I go this route does anyone have advise on how to go about it? Should I do 5100’s all around and ad a small level spacer up front? And what size tire would you guys recommend??

IMG_5869.jpg
 
Welcome to the forum.
There are plenty of people here who will give you good advice on lifts.
 
Welcome to the site. That’s a good looking truck. I leveled mine with 5100s. I’ve just done the front as of now but looking to add a leaf and put 5100s on the rear soon. I set mine at the 2nd to highest setting and it sits good. I would recommend the spacer. I didn’t do it to mine but wish I would have as mine leans a bit. As far as tires go, the biggest you’ll get is 266/75R16. I still have stock tires on mine.

Hope this helps.

View attachment 14754
 
Last edited:
quicksandman91 said:
Hello all, new to the site and fairly new owner of my first tacoma. I have a 2017 TRD SPORT quicksand. I’m not big into off-road driving or anything. I use my truck to get around town and work. I love my truck but want to add bigger tires and a small lift. At first I was told to just throw some blocks on back and leveling spacers up front. I read that this can do damage to my truck. So I looked into buying bilistein 5100 struts that are adjustable to level out the front. If I go this route does anyone have advise on how to go about it? Should I do 5100’s all around and ad a small level spacer up front? And what size tire would you guys recommend??

View attachment 14752
Click to expand...
Nice. Congrats on the new Tacoma. Welcome to the forum.
The 5100’s are adjustable and you only need them in the front and adjusted to level like @msouthall said he’s got. With the truck level the biggest tires you can fit on the sport wheels are 265/70/17.
 
OR17TRD said:
Nice. Congrats on the new Tacoma. Welcome to the forum.
The 5100’s are adjustable and you only need them in the front and adjusted to level like @msouthall said he’s got. With the truck level the biggest tires you can fit on the sport wheels are 265/70/17.
Click to expand...

Ok so if I did the 5100’s up front and added like a 1” leveling spacer up front and added a leaf in back would I be okay??
 
The spacer is 1/4 inch. Headstrong Offroad makes a good one. You might check them out.

You could go that route. If you would want it level after adding a leaf spring, you might try to put the front 5100s on the top notch.
 
whippersnapper02 said:
You might as well just set the 5100s to their max setting or changing thr coils out instead of combining lifts.

Do you want to level the front to match the rear or lift all around?
Click to expand...
I thought he was just asking about leveling but now it sounds like he wants to lift it.
So what is it OP?
Level?
Or
Lift?
 
OR17TRD said:
I thought he was just asking about leveling but now it sounds like he wants to lift it.
So what is it OP?
Level?
Or
Lift?
Click to expand...

Well I’m not 100% sure which is the best way to go. Do you guys think that just the bilstein 5100 adjusted will give me enough lift to look good? Anyone have a leveled out front end with bigger tires?? And maybe someone with pics of a 1” rear and leveled front with the 1” rear?
 
quicksandman91 said:
Well I’m not 100% sure which is the best way to go. Do you guys think that just the bilstein 5100 adjusted will give me enough lift to look good? Anyone have a leveled out front end with bigger tires?? And maybe someone with pics of a 1” rear and leveled front with the 1” rear?
Click to expand...

You really need 3 inches of lift to fit larger than 265/75/16 or 265/70/17s because Tacomas just don’t like taking big tires easily.
 
quicksandman91 said:
Well I’m not 100% sure which is the best way to go. Do you guys think that just the bilstein 5100 adjusted will give me enough lift to look good? Anyone have a leveled out front end with bigger tires?? And maybe someone with pics of a 1” rear and leveled front with the 1” rear?
Click to expand...
a lot of what you are asking depends on your budget and what you are trying to accomplish. If you want the truck level bilstein 5100’s up front leveled with 265/70/17 will look good. If you don’t like it and want it a little taller get 5100’s in the back with a 1” Add a leaf and raise the front bilstein to level.
 
I’m sure someone can correct me if it’s different on a Tacoma, (not my current ride) but I have the 5100 adj and have tried them on all the settings. The .5” and 1” rides like stock and 1.5” is ok too with a slightly stiffer ride which you can feel and the 2” was considerably stiffer, enough for me to take it apart immediately after a short test ride. I’m in a frontier which is similar in size and weight for comparison.
My recommendation is if you want to level your truck at 1” or 1.5” and leave the back stock, or add a 1” block or AAL to keep a stock rake then go with the 5100 adj. but if you want 2-3” forget the Bils/spacer combo and get a nice coilover - icon or king, if you’re going to have the truck a while you’ll appreciate it in the long run..
If you have to pay someone for assembly or install with the cost of the shock you’re about half the cost(or more) of a good coilover..... I think Icons are about 1100$ and the few people I spoke to about them said their Tacoma’s rode way better than stock. I’m sure the same for the kings but I don’t know anyone with them. Good investment if you plan to keep the truck a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top