Suspension: 2006 Double Cab

My front, driver's side shock is leaking, and it's time for new front and rear suspenders.

2006 DoubeCab SR5 with ~95k

I've had the truck for 11 months and put 10.5k miles on it. I commute with an old crv or two-wheels as appropriate. The truck is a part-time daily driver and my go-to fishing, hiking, hunting, out of doors ride. My truck will see Denver's traffic and poor roads and washboard forest service roads. Additionally, I will carry my enduro occasionally. I will be on some rocky two track, but mostly it will be Colorado and Wyoming forest service roads when off pavement.

I currently have ~2.5" of rake and I would like to decrease that with out being nose high when I carry ~400 lbs of bike and stuff. Currently I am not thinking add-a-leaf or new leaves (leafs?). I haven't measured the rake with the bike in the back, but I will do so.

I don't have a hard and fast budget. I like to spend the amount of money that gets me the most. Generally, not the least expensive or the balls-out best.

Wants:
comfortable road manners;
comfort and stability on washboard dirt roads;
~1-2" front level/lift; and
value.

Options:
Bilstein 5100s: ~$450
Negatives: I think the reported firm ride and digressive valving would leave me wanting more with both the on road ride and washboard roads.
I would probably have some one else pull my springs and put them on the 5100s, so that would add to the cost.
Positive: Price

Eibach Front Coilovers: ~$530 As suggested by Mustanley. Anybody else have them or care to comment?
Decent price. What would you pair with them in the back?


Bilstein 6112s & 5160s: ~$1300 That price is with the front coil-over pre-assembled with 700 lbs King Springs.
People seem to like these, and they are very popular with the newer tundras. I can't find as much info regarding the ride; more often I see people just say "they're great."
I don't think I really need a remote rear reservoir. it seems to complicate things. Maybe a 5100 on the rear?

OME 2.5" kit: ~950 Positive: OME has been on the radar for a long time. Good reviews. Seems like a good value.
Negative: I don't really care about the add-a leaf or want to raise the rear. I'm not crazy about it being a pre-set lift. At 2.5" I should add a diff drop.

Toytec Ultimate: ~1200 Negative: don't care about add-a-leaf or rear lift.
Positive: fully adjustable, local company
I have read almost nothing about how these ride. I would love some feedback.

King fronts: ~1250 People love the ride. Progressive.
Overkill. What goes on the back?

I'm not really considering Fox and Icon. Fox didn't (still don't?) fit right upfront. Icon is a firmer ride. If I'm spending that much, I am going with King.

What would you guys do?
Also, what wear parts should be replaced while I'm in there?

Thanks in advance.

 

I recently got Toytecs. They ride alright, but I wouldn't recommend them unless you want to do some extra work. They recently (about a year ago) changed the top hat design and as you can see here, there's not a lot of thread for one of the three bolts, especially in aluminum. I ended up stripping my first one somewhere around 20-25 ft-lbs (service manual says 47). They were nice and sent me a replacement, but it obviously stripped as well. What's annoying is they could put it in a vice and try a bolt in it and see that the design doesn't work, but they just told me they haven't heard of anybody else having problems. There's three mount positions (4runner, Tacoma, Tundra/Sequoia) and only the Tundra has the stubby hole. I'm guessing most everyone else who's bought the top hat has used it in one of the other vehicles since Tundras seem to be modded less.

You pretty much have two options. You can try to torque that specific bolt less, maybe with some loctite, and try to stop before it strips. Or do what I did and drill a hole all the way through the mounting plate, and put a longer bolt up through it. You'll need a punch and a vice/press to push the pin out so you can get the top hat on a drill press.

 

There is an Eibach spring and shock combo that's more on the affordable side and it's pre-assembled.

 

I just did the OME but I bought 886 springs as I have a steel bumper and eventually skid plates and winch but the lift was 4" in the front. The back has a 1" block. Still probably needs to settle a little.

Rides so much better than the old kyb shocks stock springs and spacer 2.5 lift.

I considered coil overs but the reality is I'm not going to adjust them and I feel the durability of the OME is more in line with what I want out of my build.

I do have diff drop and uca's which I believe is recommended on 3"+.

 

Thanks for the run-down. That seems like a pretty weak design, and I am generally un-willing to modify something when it is brand new. Especially when I am using it as intended. I think for now the Toytecs are off the table.

I missed those the first time through. How do you use them and how do you like them? What did you pair them with in the rear? Did it really give you 2.5" of lift in the front? Thanks!

I hear you. I do like their reliability record. I just spent a while over on tacomaworld and it looks like a bunch of the 2nd gen tacoma guys pair 5100s with the OME Springs. I guess that is an option, too.

Thanks for chiming in guys.

 

I asked about the same thing a while back. There should be some good info in here too.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/another-suspension-thread.56390/

 

Thanks. I Remember reading that sometime over the winter, but had forgotten about it. So did you get the Eibachs?

 

Check out options on 1stgentundras.com. I recently bought the OME with the 2885 coils and rear shocks from them. Free shipping and cheaper than toytec, though not assembled. I got a deal on the freedom off-road uniball UCA too. Haven’t installed it all yet.

 

I haven't done anything yet, but that's the way I'm leaning. Only because I need new springs too though. That's my big factor. But like you, I dont wanna lift the rear.

 

I was in the same boat as you with a leaking front OEM shock. I also drive 98% of the time on paved roads commuting for work, the other 2% being gravel and forest roads, some in very rough shape. I feel that the Eibachs are fine for this and I'm satisfied with them. One other reviewer on Bilsteinlifts.com complained that lower rubber bushings were wearing out after a year or two but I haven't had that issue yet though I've only had them on for about 9 months.
My DC still has a rake though not as pronounced as before. I'd estimate they lifted the front end an inch to 1-1/2". Unfortunately I didn't measure beforehand.
I've got the matching Eibach pro truck shocks for the back but haven't installed them yet. Hopefully I'll get around to it in the next couple of weeks.

 

Cool. I'll check their prices before I do anything.

 

Thanks for the write-up.

I guess it's about time for me to make a decision.

 

I currently have the toytec shocks in the front (I also stripped out the bolt). I love they way they ride though! On pavement they feel like a normal shock, but off road they soak up everything without feeling soft. I bought my truck in August and it came with horrible monroe shocks that were destroyed. I didn't have OEM coils to use so I bought the Old Man EMU from toytec. Rode great, but it got me almost 3.5 of lift, so I sold those to buy the toytec. I still have the OME in the back though. The OME were definitely stiffer than the toytec, but not in a bad way. They both rode great. Another thing with OME is you can use a slightly shorter coil to not get as much lift. The 2884 will work and possibly the 2883. In hindsight that's what I wish I had done since it would have cost me less than selling my shocks and buying new ones.

If I were you I'd look at it as far as how much serious off roading you'll be doing. If it's truly just fire roads I think you'd be very happy with the Bilstein 5100 or Eibach. (I had bilsteins on my previous T100 and they were very good too, but I didn't off road that truck much). If you're looking to just level the truck and not lift, that's the cheapest way to go, especially if you reuse your OEM coils)

I think everyone will say you can't go wrong with kings and I'm sure they are amazing, but I personally wouldn't spend that much unless you are serious about off roading and then you're looking at a rear lift, UCA's, etc and the cost goes up alot.

I would absolutely recommend toytec though especially since you're local. They've been great helping me through this process. I did the install myself and drove there a few times to have them look at what I did and give me advice.

If you want, you're welcome to drive my truck and see what you think of the toytec shocks. I'm also happy to help with the install since I've done it too many times now

Last thing, I'd definitely restrap your cv axles before you do the lift. (I have the torque tool thing)

 

Awesome! Those are both very generous offers. Where in CO are you?

I am not doing much serious off-roading; however, I do spend a sometime in the summer on dirt roads and some two track, and I want to be comfortable there.

I had KYBs on my T100 and they felt great at speed, but around town were too stiff at slower speeds. They would soak up big hits but transmit little stuff. Thats part of what I'm trying to avoid now. Eibachs, OME, or 6112/5160 are probably where I'll end up.

 

Too funny that we both had t100's. I'm in Arvada. PM me if you want to test or want my help.

When I put the bilsteins on my T100 they were actually a little too soft so I stiffened up my torsion bars a little bit. The T100 is stiffer in general because of the torsion bar design. I don't think you'll have to worry with the tundra, the coil design seems to be nicer at slower speeds. When I had the OME shocks on my truck they were pretty stiff when I'd come down of something like the back end of a speed bump or a curb, could have been due to the high lift though. I really liked the way they rode, even with the little bit of stiffness. I may actually go with a heavier springs on my toytec shocks because I kind of miss the OME ride.

 

Thanks man. I work up that way, so I might take you up on the ride.

 

I realize I gave the wrong link before. https://www.1stgenoffroad.com
Though it sounds like toytec is local for you which may be a better option.

I am a little concerned that the 885 coils will lift my front too much and I don’t really want to add to the back. Like you I just want to level things out a bit but I don’t want the bro lean. Maybe I should look at the 884 coils a little more. Does anyone have a sense of how much of a difference the lift would be with the 883 or 884 coils on a double cab? The coil length difference of 5-10 mm doesn’t seem like much and I am not sure how that would translate to compressed height. My axle to fender is currently 20” in the front and 22” in the back (with cap) so I really only want at most 2” of lift from the coils.

 

I'm way too anal and spent so much time researching this I didn't ever find an exact ratio but it's around 1.815 to 2.74 meaning a 5mm difference in coil length results in somewhere around 8.75 to 10 mm change in ride height or a 1/3rd to 1/2 inch.

With all that said, since your truck is the DC you'll get less lift than I did.

Just to throw another option into the mix, the Dobinson C59-300 is 385mm in length

 

I might be late to the game here if you have already made a purchase but thought I'd chime in since I seem to be one of the only guys running OME 883s on a double cab.

I put the 883s one for the same reason as you: I wanted to level the truck with improved ride quality, but did not want to mess with the rear or the upper control arms.

I'd estimate that I got around 1-1.5 inches of lift out of the 883s, though I did not measure beforehand. This left me with a slight rake, if any, with the topper on - see photo below. I found that I was still getting a bro lean with a moderate load and the topper. Also, the difference in stiffness between the front and the rear was really bugging me. For these reasons, I ended up putting on the add-a-leaf anyways. I now have a stance similar to the factory rake, but about 1-1.5 inches higher. I'm okay with this since the ride quality is great and I can carry a load without sagging.

I've seen a lot of guys running around town (I live in Denver area too) with the big yellow shocks and what appears to be 885s and an add-a-leaf. Those without toppers seem to be perfectly level, but those with toppers usually seem to have a bro lean.

In summary - If you do 885s without lifting the rear, you will definitely have a bro lean. If you do 883 or 884 without lifting the rear, you might appear to be level while parked in the driveway but will probably get a bro lean with a load, a topper, or leaf spring sag over time. If you go with OME or a spring with a similar stiffness, you may want to consider an add-a-leaf anyways to more closely match the stiffness between the front and rear - they are cheap and easy to install.

 

This is super helpful. I really appreciate you providing these details as it is exactly the information and experience I was looking for. I have the 885 coils but everything is still in the boxes since I haven’t had the time to put it all on and keep questioning the coil choice. Sounds like the 883 with an add a leaf is more what I need based on your experience. Did you leave the overload spring in when you installed the leaf? Thanks again!

 

Which add a leaf did you end up putting on?

 

To be honest, I'm not sure which leaf I used. I bought it from Slee Offroad (see link below), as they are local. This was a single leaf, you keep the existing overload in.
https://sleeoffroad.com/product/add-a-leaf-spring-for-00-06-tundra-pair/

I'm not saying you should send your 885s back, but I think you'd get more lift than you want if you put them on with the factory leafs. I wouldn't personally run 885s with a single add-a-leaf and a topper/load either, but it seems like a lot of people do. Personally if I had 885s I would look into other leaf options.

Note that with the 883s and my add-a-leaf I have a factory-like rake, so you might not want to go this route if you are looking for a level stance. Don't be fooled by the picture, the truck didn't always look that cool - its an illusion created by the bikes and the desert. If you want, I can take a side-view picture of the truck in its current state (with the add-a-leaf) on level ground.

The moral of my story was that my 883 "leveling kit" ended up being a failed experiment because I didn't like the rear end so low and soft. If I had to do it again, I might consider running 884 with the single add-a-leaf, or... go for the 885 with some other leaf option. One of the big reasons I stuck with the low lift was to save on UCAs, but it looks like you already have those, so maybe just go big?

 

Thanks for the details. At first I was fine with the go big plan. But I also would like to reduce the list of items that will wear out faster due to the lift. And my wife and kids have trouble climbing in right now and I don’t want to add steps if I can avoid it. I’m curious what your center of hub to fender height is with the 883. If you have a moment to measure it I would appreciate it. My stock height is 20”. Assuming your stock was similar and your estimate of 1-1.5” is right, I would predict you are about 21-21.5”. I’m not sure how saggy my rear springs are, but I anticipate replacing them at some point and may just hold off on the leaf. I’ll have to give some thought to the 883 vs 884. I guess it depends on what height you have with the 883. Based on rock climbers conversion the 884 would be and extra 1/2” over the 883.

 

@Darkness started a thread with hub to fender measurements that may be useful for you. Forgot the name of the thread so maybe do a search.

 

Here ya go

https://www.tundras.com/threads/how-big-is-yours-measure-up.46186/

 

I put 5100’s on all corners about a year ago. I think they wore out my tie rod ends, but its to be expected with almost 200k on them. Outside of that, they ride pretty good with the 20” XSP enkei’s with 295/45/20 tires on them. Best bang for the buck IMO.