Suspension lift (Under $4k with parts/labor)

Hey everyone, I’ve been reading tons of TW posts on different suspension lifts, but I’m struggling to decide what to do. I’ll be going with 285-70R17 on my 2019 TRD OFF-ROAD. I’ll be doing lots of mall crawling, and plenty of off roading. No serious rock crawling though. I guess what I’m looking for is the best suspension lift for under $4k. I got a quote on bilstein 5100s with SPC UCAs to give a 3 inch lift in the front, with spacers in the rear to level it out ($3k with install). Are there better options for under $4k? This is also my daily driver, so I’d like to have good on road performance still, but also get better performance off-road. Located in northern Utah. Thanks for your input!

 

That’s expensive for 5100s. I would look into the bilsteins 6112s fronts and 5160 rears + add a leaf in the rears.

 

That quote is $1k worth of parts and paying $2k to have them put on. It’s a 4 hour job on the long end for a shop. I’d shop around.

The 6112, 5160’s combo would be much better ride overall. if you have any desire at all to do it yourself, you can knock it out in a day. Pretty simple stuff.

 

I should also mention, this includes the CMC.

 

Vated 3” Adjustable Coilovers ($805), U-bolts ($40), SPC UCAs ($700), Labor for lift kit install and UCAs installed ($875), CMC ($275), Alignment ($110), Tax ($203). Total: $3000

 

I would consider asking in your state's threads for options for shops that aren't fucking you over on a $900 install bill, or find a group of people that'll help you out for pizza, beer, gift cards, and having a great time bullshitting about life.

5100s are the staple for a cheaper lift but check Old Man Emu for a relatively close in price option (1200-1300 USD?) but softer ride, requires no spacers (except for a 1/4" driver's side spacer to account for Taco-lean), includes coilovers, ubolts, Taco-lean spacer, and some proper leafs - Dakars - instead of rear blocks for your truck. Rides softer than Billies and the leaf springs are better quality than stock.

edit: Shops aren't too cheap for labour up here, but even then an install on a full suspension set up doesn't cap $600.

 

If you say you’re going to do plenty of off-roading, 5100s may not be what you’re looking for either. Like everyone else mentioned, that price quote is pretty steep considering it’s mostly priced in labor.

Could you be a little more specific with your requirement? “Plenty of off roading but no rock crawling” is way too vague to recommend anything. What kind of terrain, and for how long? How much weight are you carrying in the bed? How much lift, if any are you looking to get? What kind of ride quality are you looking for? Are you willing or able to do any of the work/installation yourself or are you definitely taking it to a shop?

 

My thoughts exactly. Need more info!

 

Buy the parts yourself (new). Then find someone willing to install for a reasonable price. When you buy parts/labor all together from a shop, you are usually getting screwed.

6112 fronts are much better than 5100.

Skip the rear spacer, go for at least an add a leaf. ICON rxt leaf pack is a great option as well for not too much money.

 

I really appreciate everyone’s input.
As far as what I plan to do with my truck, I’d like to go to Moab this year, do Fins and Things, maybe a lot of white rim trail as well. There would be camping equipment in the back, probably no more than a 300 lbs. I may go for an aluminum front bumper with a winch eventually. Usually 2 people in the vehicle, and occasionally 4 people, all weighing less than 800 lbs combined. I also want to play around at 5 mile near salt lake, and check out Tintic tunnel. It’d be cool to go fast off road, and have reservoirs, but would $4k buy that? Again, this is also my daily driver, so I would say I would prioritize on road comfort over off road comfort. Hopefully these are the kinds of details you guys are looking for. I’m not completely opposed to doing the install myself, but I also don’t want to tie up my truck and my time for 2 or 3 full days. I don’t have a lift, only a 3 ton jack.

 

I’m by no means an expert on this stuff and am myself piecing together suspension components for my truck, I wanted to get those answers out of you for this exact reason.

I’m at ~$2700 so far, and I’ve got fox 2.5 remote resi front coilovers, JBA ucas and the icon 1.5” aal taken care of. That leaves me with rear shocks (toss some 2.0 resi’s in there ~$580) and other knick knacks (upgraded bump stops, new u-bolts, needle bearing if needed, etc). However, I’ll be doing all the work myself and therefore how I’m keeping my costs below that 4K mark. You don’t need a lift, a Jack and Jack stands will do fine.

Those components smoke 5100s and would give you a much better experience.

 

If you have a Jack and tools you could easily get the work done in a day or two. There are tons of great install videos online and plenty of great write ups here.

 

How much is your time worth? $900 labor for just the suspension install is a lot. If you are capable and have the tools DIY. For the same install I'd charge you $450 tops. I lift Tacomas every week. Have done 2 full lifts in one day by myself.

I'd really look around for some local guys or smaller shops. Spend your money on better parts, not labor.

 

I would save my money till yiu can get what you really want cus youre not gonna be happy with it

 

I’ll look into some DIY videos to see what tools are required, the time commitment, and difficulty. My truck has 26k miles, so hopefully nothing is too seized. If anyone has any recommended videos that give a good in-depth process for a recommended lift (i.e

), then please share. Thanks.

 

You don’t think $4k is enough to get me something I’d be happy with? That’s just a limit that I set myself to try to keep a budget. What’s your recommendation and estimated total cost?

 

I got kings front and rear with external resis w/ adjustables front and read and got an ome emu dakar leaf pack. It was a 2” lift all around oh and it has TC uca’s w/ greasable shackles. I didnt cheap out, my ride is great. For all of this I think it was over $5500, but I did all the labor myself. Like yiu can put spacers and blocks but ik eventually youre gonna upgrade from that, so youre really throwing money away oh and itll ride crappy with a block. But do whatever makes you happy, gl.

 

U cant get 3" of lift with the 5100s. 2" max but that will still be enough to fit the 285s depending on the wheels u install

 

4 grand USD is plenty to get a phenomenal set up. Keep that comment you quoted from @ilyace as a guideline. Fox makes phenomenal suspension products. However for you I wouldn't add an add a leaf (AAL) if you'll be putting weight in the bed - just buy a new leaf pack - Medium duty OME Dakars, HD Dakars if you'll keep weight in the bed frequently, or Icon RXT Leafs. The medium Dakars are prone to sagging but you can pull a leaf out of the HD Dakars to make them Medium duty and swap in and out depending on the weight capacity you need. You should also air down your tires for a softer ride off road, even to just reduce the chance of a puncture or blowout.

I wouldn't listen to someone that has Kings as a good deciding factor on what suspension to buy. Most people don't need Kings, they're insanely expensive and they'll benefit the person doing significant off road trips frequently, rock crawls, rough trails, and hitting rough trails numerous times a week, not some backroads every weekend or three, or Moab once a year. They ride like a dream sure but the cost of buying doesn't make a lot of sense if you aren't constantly out in rough terrain with them.

I know buy once cry once, but if you're just going down dirt tracks every weekend a $5500+ King setup isn't really necessary.

 

I bought my Fox 2.5 coilovers and 2.5 rears both with reserviors for $1800+ fronts, $1100+rear. Install was $900. But I also included Dirtking UCA's ($599) and Icon 1.5" AAL for $214

So total without the UCA's would be $4,014.00 including labor. But the shocks I got are a little on the pricier side. If you go the 2.0 route it should be cheaper.