EMU Suspension all corners

[oxi]

Planning ahead for suspension mods.

Right now I have Bilstein 5100's up front set at 1.75 inches on my 2010 AC Tacoma and that's it running 265/75 on factory wheels.

Looking to run 255/85 on my stock rims and looking into EMU front and rear setup. I plan on carrying weight in the bed with a topper down the road and adding a winch to my front bumper. So I want the system that would handle the weight.

I have a custom front bumper from CBI and swing door rear bumper right now, much heavier than stock junk.

The 265/75 do not rub on or off-road so when I move to 255/85 they should be 0.4 inches narrower and about 1.4 inches taller giving me an additional .7 inches or so of ground clearance. The rear tires go into the wheel well perfectly under full suspension travel.

The EMU gives 2.5 inches of clearance, would it work out with 886 coils and rear Dakar springs? What is the benefit for the add a leaf in the rear with Dakar's?

Will I need new upper control arms for clearance? The issue is I live in Wisconsin so winters are brutal with salt and sand so long term maint. is always in the picture.

This will be an expedition build, not a mudder or desert runner. Slow and steady with the weight I plan to run.

 

[Dave Bennett]

If I were you, I'd go with OME 886's up front and the Dakar's with the extra leaf in the back and their Nitrocharger shocks (that's what I have on the rear). With your rear bumper and the added weight of gear the add a leaf is a no brainer - go with their heaviest stuff for best results - you will regret it if you don't IMO. For UCA's and rims, I've been running stockers with 255/85R16's since 2005 and it's been fine

.02

 

[mattafact]

The benefit of upper control arms, aside from the extra clearance is they increase caster which is lost as the suspension droops (is lifted). At least the Camburg arms do.

 

[oxi]

If I were you, I'd go with OME 886's up front and the Dakar's with the extra leaf in the back and their Nitrocharger shocks (that's what I have on the rear). With your rear bumper and the added weight of gear the add a leaf is a no brainer - go with their heaviest stuff for best results - you will regret it if you don't IMO. For UCA's and rims, I've been running stockers with 255/85R16's since 2005 and it's been fine

.02

Does EMU have the add a leaf or another source?

 

[oxi]

The benefit of upper control arms, aside from the extra clearance is they increase caster which is lost as the suspension droops (is lifted). At least the Camburg arms do.

I will look into this option, benefits/concerns.

 

[oxi]

The benefit of upper control arms, aside from the extra clearance is they increase caster which is lost as the suspension droops (is lifted). At least the Camburg arms do.

http://www.camburg.com/whats-new/ball-joint-upper-a-arms/

Are these the upper arms you were referring to?

 

[oxi]

If I were you, I'd go with OME 886's up front and the Dakar's with the extra leaf in the back and their Nitrocharger shocks (that's what I have on the rear). With your rear bumper and the added weight of gear the add a leaf is a no brainer - go with their heaviest stuff for best results - you will regret it if you don't IMO. For UCA's and rims, I've been running stockers with 255/85R16's since 2005 and it's been fine

.02

Now they have a 2 inch or 2.5 inch clearance (I do not like to use the term lift), which is ideal and do the add a leafs had to rear height?

Right now I measured with 265/75 and front Bilstein's set at 1.75 inches and the rear has 180 lbs. of sand tubes in back with tires dead on straight:

3 inches to the front mudflap...

3 inches to the rear mudflap and the low point on the rear fender towards the front and about 4 inches to the top of the rear wheel well...

Just wondering if 2 inches across the board or 2.5 inches front and only 2 inches rear (do not know how much add a leafs will raise rear)...

 

[oxi]

The benefit of upper control arms, aside from the extra clearance is they increase caster which is lost as the suspension droops (is lifted). At least the Camburg arms do.

I looked up Total Chaos and All-Lift and they have the uniball so I will pass with Wisconsin winters. I do not recall we got above freezing at all this month of December so the salt will pile on until it is warm enough to wash again.

I like the factory ball joints for Camburg, plenty of them around.

They claim to angle the ball joint to get better alignment and more wheel travel, what does that imply? I get the old image of when you crank the torsion bars it angles the arms and you get more clearance, is that what they mean? With just these UCA's, will it provide more clearance because more ground clearance would be ideal overall as it should be top priority of any off-road vehicle.

 

[Tim A]

Nice truck man, love that color. I don't have any advice or guidance to add but wanted to ask if you lost use of your backup camera with that rear tire carrier.

 

[oxi]

Nice truck man, love that color. I don't have any advice or guidance to add but wanted to ask if you lost use of your backup camera with that rear tire carrier.

Sure did, I have a little spot I can see when backing into the garage but is useless.

In a few years when this becomes mandatory on all vehicles, I will be a felon, awesome!

 

[Applejack]

Just wondering if 2 inches across the board or 2.5 inches front and only 2 inches rear (do not know how much add a leafs will raise rear)...

I had an Alcan AAL in my '05 Taco DC SB. I got about 2 inches of lift from it on the stock 3 leaf pack. After awhile it settled to about 1.5 inches
I switched to the OME Dakar heavy pack and got about 2.75 inches initially and it settled to around 2.5 after about 6 months and 10k of various kinds of driving (unloaded DD and heavily loaded trail duty)
I highly recommend the OME heavy pack.
So just remember that what ever you go with is going to settle a bit over time and you will lose lif..........errr uh clearance so plan your height requirements accordingly.

 

[TangoBlue]

Although I don't have your generation Tacoma I can attest to the value I got from my all OME/Dakar suspension with addition of the Dakar AAL. Another under-rated addition I made was reinforcing the rear frame (weld-on reinforcement plates) for added weight of my rear tire carrier and 2 Jerry cans. Naturally, loaded for a trip it helps with the additional weight but the intangible for me was the rigidity it gave my frame and what I claim as "Lexus-level" ride comfort; travelling on rough terrain there is no rear-end stuttering -- it allows the suspension to do its job and it soaks up the bumps. However, I don't know if this is a factor with your generation Tacoma frame so you might want to do some research on that modification. I can't help but think that in adition to a loaded bed and perhaps 300# or more of a loaded rear bumper is something Toyota engineers didn't count on.

One other option to consider for IFS is long travel. Another member of this forum, Freeze, from Canada has LT on your generation truck and has amazing mobility on all manner and season of terrain. Check out their forum and excellent videos to see his truck in action... http://www.ct4wd.com/forum/

Good luck!

 

[WASURF63]

If I were you, I'd go with OME 886's up front and the Dakar's with the extra leaf in the back and their Nitrocharger shocks (that's what I have on the rear). With your rear bumper and the added weight of gear the add a leaf is a no brainer - go with their heaviest stuff for best results - you will regret it if you don't IMO.

oxi,

:iagree: on the above statement. I carry 600-700lbs in my rig full time. If you plan on carrying the weight that you stated you will be very happy with the simplicity, capacity, and performance of the full OME 886/Dakar HD setup.

 

[tomesd]

oxi,

:iagree: on the above statement. I carry 600-700lbs in my rig full time. If you plan on carrying the weight that you stated you will be very happy with the simplicity, capacity, and performance of the full OME 886/Dakar HD setup.

x3, I have the same setup and would do it again in a second

 

[Overland Hadley]

x3, I have the same setup and would do it again in a second

x4