The PERFECT Amount of Lift for a Daily Driven Tacoma

We decide to lift our 2nd gen Tacoma with one of the most popular lift kits in this video. The lift kit we used is the Bilstein 6112 front shocks with 5160 rear shocks. The front Bilstein 6112 is a 2.5 diameter shock, and it provides up to 2.5 inches of lift using the adjustable clip settings. The rear is Bilstein 5160 has an external reservoir, so it is similar to a 2.5 diameter shock. The rear lift is provided by our R4T add-a-leaf. The amount of lift provided by our AAL is 1.5 inches. We believe 2.5 inches in front and 1.5 inches in the rear is the perfect amount of lift for a Toyota Tacoma used as a daily driver.

Bilstein Lift Kit for 2G & 3G Tacoma:

See all lift kits we recommend for a Tacoma here:

[Michael-pplz]

I have a 1.5 inch lift all around on 265/75s w/ fox 2.0s. Still maintain a decent MPG, can still go offroad, feels very smooth, and I retained the factory rake so I can still tow stuff w/o squatting.

[saychow]

I plan on doing the exact same setup for my 3rd generation taco. Are new upper control arms needed?

[ericosornia]

I’ve got this exact same setup on my 2008 Tacoma and man have they settled quite a bit. Running my front 6112 600# springs on the 3rd notch which yielded 2-1/4” of lift, and the 5160’s in the rear paired with a 1.5” AAL. After 8 months and 6k miles, they’ve settled down about 1/4” front and rear. I do not have any added weight other than the 30 lb grille guard up front. They ride very well and handle nasty washboard roads quite nicely. Currently running 265/75/16 E rated KO2’s which do stiffen up the ride drastically. Going to swap out my wheels and get 265/70/17 C rated KO2’s within the next year or so.

[nova]

I have same height on my Tundra, perfect stance in my opinion! 2.5" in front with bilstein 5100 and 1.5" block in rear. 👌

[thrimebolt]

This was the most helpful lift vid Ives seen. Great job guys!

[michaelm]

I went 2 inch lift I have the rear reservoir in rear. 265/75/r16. Duratrec. Love my setup for daily.

[Darth_Smittious]

Looks good. I like seeing the gen 2’s being worked on. I went 275/70/17 on tires. This is the lift I wanted. But the craziness of last year made them unavailable and I’ve 6months to get the foxes I ordered.

[jamesglass]

Did you need to add the “taco lean” spacer to driver side to compensate the weight of the driver, battery and gas tank? I have read multiple post about people needing the spacer for that. Sometimes people set the driver side on #5 and the passenger side on #4. Just curious if you had to do this….

Thanks

[sg]

Oh man! Makes me miss my Tacoma. Looks good as is!

[the_bearded_firefighter]

Looking forward to seeing the 33s on this truck it'll give me an idea what my truck will look like once 33s goes on my taco.

[braunpaynter]

It looked like you used the factory uca’s? Did you have to lengthen the break lines or is this just enough of a lift where that’s not necessary?

[rightcoastermtb]

great video - I'm in the market to have something similar done to my truck but not sure if I trust the local shops to do it.

[gailmaplesden]

Do you really need that heavy a shock for a daily driver Tacoma. I've heard that the 5100 series is more than adequate for a 265 70 r17 tire. This will avoid the basketball effect of the bigger tire and stabilize the ride with a 2 inch lift in the front and 1 inch in the rear. Diff and carrier drops are recommended to help medigate vibration and needle bearing noise. The best is just upgrading the shocks and staying with a 31 inch tire and perhaps a 1 inch leveling adjustment on the front shock to maintain your warranty and fuel economy.

[ddddd]

Do you need to drill into frame to mount bracket for reservoirs? Also, I noticed the passenger side reservoir is towards the front and driver side is towards the rear? Please answer this.

[ERS]

Sorry if I haven't looked well, do you have the link to the 285s that you installed? Thanks

[youtubecensorship]

Got a 3'' rear and front lift many years ago and so far no problem at all.

[jgoverland]

Been super happy with that same setup on my 3rd Gen daily driver. What tire brand you going with? Assuming an AT or HT of some kind?

[grone]

Does the upper control arms need to be upgrade? For a daily driving truck?

[jonathansanford]

With this lift, Can you go 33" without any trimming or a body chop?

[marossrs]

Very nice setup. I had the almost exact setup on my Taco but I had to let it go, It's extremely underpowered. I wish Toyota would put the small 4.7 V8 in it then it would be untouchable in the midsize segment.