howardfine13
New member
2nd Gen. Tacoma – OME 883/N140S Front Strut – OME N182 Rear/Wheeler Progressive AAL – Owner Experience.
In August of 2015 I decided to replace all 4 stock struts and front coils on my 2011 Base Model DCSB Tacoma 4X4. I also decided to lift the rear of the truck to get more rake. After many hours of research and pouring through forums, I decided that I would put the suspension on myself. This task seemed daunting at first because I didn’t have much experience with working on vehicles. The more research I did, the more comfortable I began to feel about doing the work myself. I set aside a weekend, during which I would only work on the truck. Because my Taco is the only vehicle I own, I figured I’d give myself the whole weekend just in case something happened and I needed the extra time to fix any mistakes. I didn’t want to have to walk to work in the middle of the Texas summer.
Philosophy of Use:
As I stated before, my 2011 Taco is the only vehicle I own. It is my daily driver, road-trippin’ vehicle, and play rig. I wanted a mild lift for two reasons, I wanted to maintain as much of the stock geometry as I could while attempting to improve the ride and ground clearance of the vehicle. Most of the driving I do in my vehicle is on the highway. With that being said, I take my vehicle out on camping trips as much as I possibly can. I probably average about 1 to 2 camping trips a month. In order to get to any place worth visiting I have to drive for at least 2 hours on the interstate. These camping trips usually entail mild off-roading, a lot of forest roads, and a lot of beach driving. I don’t use my vehicle for any hardcore rock crawling. Because this vehicle is used for every day commuting along with some mild off-roading and adventuring, I couldn’t justify throwing a large lift under my rig.
Why I bought OME 883’s:
During the time I was considering my lift, I was still running the stock tire size of 245/75/16. My goal was to only lift the vehicle slightly, about 1” to 2” and put 265/75/R16’s on the truck. I was on the fence about getting the adjustable Bilstein 5100’s. It seemed like an economic choice, but I didn’t want my quality of ride to suffer. In some reviews that I read, people talked about their ride quality diminishing somewhat due to the 5100’s pre-loading the stock strings. I continued researching and found that some people were installing OME 883 coils in the 2nd Gen Tacos for a very mild lift. Most people were posting that they were quite happy with the setup. I called Wheeler’s Off-Road and talked with a rep about running the OME 883’s. They told me that it was completely doable, although it didn’t appear like it was all that common. I discussed with the rep from Wheeler’s Off-Road about my options for raising the rear of the vehicle. He recommended the Wheeler Progressive Add-a-Leaf. After I did a little more research on the Wheeler Prog. AAL, I called them back and ordered my kit.
Installation and First Experience:
Wheelers Off-Road offers a great service where they assemble your coilovers for you before shipping them. Since I didn’t want to mess with a spring compressor in my apartment, I decided to get the struts assembled by the guys at Wheelers. Installation was a success. I kept the overload spring when installing the Wheeler’s AAL. I then bought new shoes (265/75/R16 Cooper Discoverers) for the Taco and got her realigned. It felt like a brand new rig after that. The quality of the ride improved significantly.
Stock Measurements from the bottom of the fender to center of the wheel hub:
Front-Driver: 20”
Front-Pass: 20”
Rear-Driver: 21”
Rear-Pass: 21”
Measurements immediately after OME and AAL installation:
Front- Driver: 22”
Front-Pass: 22”
Rear-Driver: 24”
Rear-Pass: 24”
Measurements 9 months after install:
Front- Driver: 21”
Front-Pass: 21.25”
Rear-Driver: 23”
Rear-Pass: 23”
9 Months After Installation:
The whole setup sagged about 1” after 9 months. The ride quality is still much better than what it was with the stock suspension. I have not noticed a change in the ride quality of the OME 883’s after these 9 months. With the bigger tires I have about 35.5” from the bottom of the fender to the ground in the front of the vehicle. It’s about 37.5” from the bottom of the fender to the ground in the rear of the vehicle. I like having the extra height for ground clearance.
On the road, the OME 883’s are great. After the lift and up-sizing my tires I noticed that I lost around 1.5 miles/gal. My speedometer seems to be MORE accurate with the larger tires. The handling of the vehicle is very solid on the highway. There is no wobble to the steering at all while moving at highway speeds. Off-road, I have noticed a big difference in the way the suspension feels. Bumps are absorbed with greater easy. I have also found that I can make it over washouts and large beached trees without bottoming out. While on a camping trip in Arkansas, the OME suspension handled the washed out forest roads like a champ.
Conclusion:
Overall, this OME setup has been perfect for my needs. Because the Taco is a daily driver but it is also my play rig, I am happy with the compromise that the 883’s and Wheeler Prog. AAL’s was able to provide. I’ve taken this setup on several road trips and camping trips. I don’t have any complaints with how it has performed for me. If anybody is looking for a very mild lift for your 2nd Gen, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this setup.
[/url]IMG_1013 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
Stock suspension and 245/75/R16
[/url]IMG_1376 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]IMG_1381 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
How she sits today
[/url]IMG_0036 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
Putting in the suspension up front
[/url]IMG_1387 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
What the front looks like after 9 months
[/url]IMG_1395 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
What the progressive AAL looks like after 9 months
[/url]IMG_1392 by howardfine13, on Flickr[/IMG]
Just a picture of what lives in my truck 24/7
In August of 2015 I decided to replace all 4 stock struts and front coils on my 2011 Base Model DCSB Tacoma 4X4. I also decided to lift the rear of the truck to get more rake. After many hours of research and pouring through forums, I decided that I would put the suspension on myself. This task seemed daunting at first because I didn’t have much experience with working on vehicles. The more research I did, the more comfortable I began to feel about doing the work myself. I set aside a weekend, during which I would only work on the truck. Because my Taco is the only vehicle I own, I figured I’d give myself the whole weekend just in case something happened and I needed the extra time to fix any mistakes. I didn’t want to have to walk to work in the middle of the Texas summer.
Philosophy of Use:
As I stated before, my 2011 Taco is the only vehicle I own. It is my daily driver, road-trippin’ vehicle, and play rig. I wanted a mild lift for two reasons, I wanted to maintain as much of the stock geometry as I could while attempting to improve the ride and ground clearance of the vehicle. Most of the driving I do in my vehicle is on the highway. With that being said, I take my vehicle out on camping trips as much as I possibly can. I probably average about 1 to 2 camping trips a month. In order to get to any place worth visiting I have to drive for at least 2 hours on the interstate. These camping trips usually entail mild off-roading, a lot of forest roads, and a lot of beach driving. I don’t use my vehicle for any hardcore rock crawling. Because this vehicle is used for every day commuting along with some mild off-roading and adventuring, I couldn’t justify throwing a large lift under my rig.
Why I bought OME 883’s:
During the time I was considering my lift, I was still running the stock tire size of 245/75/16. My goal was to only lift the vehicle slightly, about 1” to 2” and put 265/75/R16’s on the truck. I was on the fence about getting the adjustable Bilstein 5100’s. It seemed like an economic choice, but I didn’t want my quality of ride to suffer. In some reviews that I read, people talked about their ride quality diminishing somewhat due to the 5100’s pre-loading the stock strings. I continued researching and found that some people were installing OME 883 coils in the 2nd Gen Tacos for a very mild lift. Most people were posting that they were quite happy with the setup. I called Wheeler’s Off-Road and talked with a rep about running the OME 883’s. They told me that it was completely doable, although it didn’t appear like it was all that common. I discussed with the rep from Wheeler’s Off-Road about my options for raising the rear of the vehicle. He recommended the Wheeler Progressive Add-a-Leaf. After I did a little more research on the Wheeler Prog. AAL, I called them back and ordered my kit.
Installation and First Experience:
Wheelers Off-Road offers a great service where they assemble your coilovers for you before shipping them. Since I didn’t want to mess with a spring compressor in my apartment, I decided to get the struts assembled by the guys at Wheelers. Installation was a success. I kept the overload spring when installing the Wheeler’s AAL. I then bought new shoes (265/75/R16 Cooper Discoverers) for the Taco and got her realigned. It felt like a brand new rig after that. The quality of the ride improved significantly.
Stock Measurements from the bottom of the fender to center of the wheel hub:
Front-Driver: 20”
Front-Pass: 20”
Rear-Driver: 21”
Rear-Pass: 21”
Measurements immediately after OME and AAL installation:
Front- Driver: 22”
Front-Pass: 22”
Rear-Driver: 24”
Rear-Pass: 24”
Measurements 9 months after install:
Front- Driver: 21”
Front-Pass: 21.25”
Rear-Driver: 23”
Rear-Pass: 23”
9 Months After Installation:
The whole setup sagged about 1” after 9 months. The ride quality is still much better than what it was with the stock suspension. I have not noticed a change in the ride quality of the OME 883’s after these 9 months. With the bigger tires I have about 35.5” from the bottom of the fender to the ground in the front of the vehicle. It’s about 37.5” from the bottom of the fender to the ground in the rear of the vehicle. I like having the extra height for ground clearance.
On the road, the OME 883’s are great. After the lift and up-sizing my tires I noticed that I lost around 1.5 miles/gal. My speedometer seems to be MORE accurate with the larger tires. The handling of the vehicle is very solid on the highway. There is no wobble to the steering at all while moving at highway speeds. Off-road, I have noticed a big difference in the way the suspension feels. Bumps are absorbed with greater easy. I have also found that I can make it over washouts and large beached trees without bottoming out. While on a camping trip in Arkansas, the OME suspension handled the washed out forest roads like a champ.
Conclusion:
Overall, this OME setup has been perfect for my needs. Because the Taco is a daily driver but it is also my play rig, I am happy with the compromise that the 883’s and Wheeler Prog. AAL’s was able to provide. I’ve taken this setup on several road trips and camping trips. I don’t have any complaints with how it has performed for me. If anybody is looking for a very mild lift for your 2nd Gen, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this setup.
Stock suspension and 245/75/R16
How she sits today
Putting in the suspension up front
What the front looks like after 9 months
What the progressive AAL looks like after 9 months
Just a picture of what lives in my truck 24/7