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Leaf Spring Comparison: All-Pro, Allcan, Icon, Dobinsons, Deavers, Archive, Dakars

Jetspeed said:
This is great Tyler. Appreciate you taking the time to make this in depth write up. As a newbie I'm starting to think I can build a suspension using the best from different manufactures rather than just buying an all-in-one complete suspension kit like an ICON Stage 9 kit for instance. Am I correct in thinking I can do this? Are there any advantages or disadvantages? What components should I be considering for a 3" suspension lift if I were spring no cost?

Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
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Alright, let’s talk.

Answering this type of question is one of the things I’ve written about the most on here. So I have the info but we need to make some decisions first.

Yes, you should typically use different manufacturers to get a “better” setup in most cases. However, that doesn’t imply a full kit from Icon is a bad thing at all (will elaborate later). This usually means shocks are one brand, leaf springs are a different brand because they do it better than your shock brand, and if you do any other related upgrades (upper/lower control arms, leaf spring hangers, etc), they’ll probably be a third brand.

To send you in the right direction, what is your budget? What kind of gear and weight do you expect to have on the truck? What kind of off road use to you expect the truck to see?

About the 3” — show an example photo or two of stances that you like on other trucks.

And then we can go from there.
 
Tyler said:
Goodbye squeakers. You’ll love not having them.
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Mine squeak when I hop out of the truck..... :( I think I should've given them a thorough cleaning before I sent them to the shop, because every time I power wash underneath the truck after a trip, they don't squeak for a couple days.
 
3cent.Taco said:
Mine squeak when I hop out of the truck..... :( I think I should've given them a thorough cleaning before I sent them to the shop, because every time I power wash underneath the truck after a trip, they don't squeak for a couple days.
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"For a couple of days"

not bad team GIF
 
Tyler said:
Alright, let’s talk.

Answering this type of question is one of the things I’ve written about the most on here. So I have the info but we need to make some decisions first.

Yes, you should typically use different manufacturers to get a “better” setup in most cases. However, that doesn’t imply a full kit from Icon is a bad thing at all (will elaborate later). This usually means shocks are one brand, leaf springs are a different brand because they do it better than your shock brand, and if you do any other related upgrades (upper/lower control arms, leaf spring hangers, etc), they’ll probably be a third brand.

To send you in the right direction, what is your budget? What kind of gear and weight do you expect to have on the truck? What kind of off road use to you expect the truck to see?

About the 3” — show an example photo or two of stances that you like on other trucks.

And then we can go from there.
Click to expand...
Excellent, thanks for the elaborate reply.

Here are examples of the stance I'm looking for. I think 2 of these might be 6" not sure. I'm not sure I want to go 6" because I'm not sure I can go that height without significantly affecting the ride quality for road driving. Also, it seems to me from my research that going over 3" you start to tax the driveline geometry and are asking for problems down the road. None of this is coming from me as though I'm an expert on the subject, I am NOT. Just trying to learn and regurgitating some of what I've read for people here to help me understand.

As far as application I'm looking for a happy compromise between mostly road driving and light to medium off road weekend warrior stuff. 2-3 day trips out in the boonies of Idaho where I will probably encounter some medium duty off road type situations, wherever that means 😂
 

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Jetspeed said:
Excellent, thanks for the elaborate reply.

Here are examples of the stance I'm looking for. I think 2 of these might be 6" not sure. I'm not sure I want to go 6" because I'm not sure I can go that height without significantly affecting the ride quality for road driving. Also, it seems to me from my research that going over 3" you start to tax the driveline geometry and are asking for problems down the road. None of this is coming from me as though I'm an expert on the subject, I am NOT. Just trying to learn and regurgitating some of what I've read for people here to help me understand.

As far as application I'm looking for a happy compromise between mostly road driving and light to medium off road weekend warrior stuff. 2-3 day trips out in the boonies of Idaho where I will probably encounter some medium duty off road type situations, wherever that means 😂
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I think you'll get strong recommendations for the budget, but capable, lift with Bilstein, although I think it'll only get you up to 2". Some of the other guys may be able to chime in directly on that setup. In my case, I didn't really hold on to a budget and went wayyyy above what I needed for being on pavement 90% of the year.
 
3cent.Taco said:
I think you'll get strong recommendations for the budget, but capable, lift with Bilstein, although I think it'll only get you up to 2". Some of the other guys may be able to chime in directly on that setup. In my case, I didn't really hold on to a budget and went wayyyy above what I needed for being on pavement 90% of the year.
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I'm not tied to a budget. I'll go all out to do it correctly and with the best parts and labor.
 
Jetspeed said:
I'm not tied to a budget. I'll go all out to do it correctly and with the best parts and labor.
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Welp. If it helps, I went with Fox 2.5 w/ Resi in the front and rear and Deaver Stage 1 for the leaf springs. It is enough for me, so far, as my daily driver and only a full loadout when I go on camping trips.
 
3cent.Taco said:
Welp. If it helps, I went with Fox 2.5 w/ Resi in the front and rear and Deaver Stage 1 for the leaf springs. It is enough for me, so far, as my daily driver and only a full loadout when I go on camping trips.
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Thanks, yes this helps. Good to get feedback from people with suspension and tire mods.
 
I just installed my lift a few days ago. 2.5 Inch
Did eibachs in the front and icon leaves in the back.
about 1800 in parts.
took about 10 hours total for me and the wife to install.
i had to buy some new tools too, but those are a business investment.
new floor jack, some new sockets, jack stands and a sweet dewalt cordless impact
 

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CBrob said:
I just installed my lift a few days ago. 2.5 Inch
Did eibachs in the front and icon leaves in the back.
about 1800 in parts.
took about 10 hours total for me and the wife to install.
i had to buy some new tools too, but those are a business investment.
new floor jack, some new sockets, jack stands and a sweet dewalt cordless impact
Click to expand...
Truck looks great!
 
CBrob said:
Props to @ARCHIVE
This post really helped me choose springs, and Tyler's gas tank issue saved me the problem of putting the bolts in the clips the wrong way
Thanks guys
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I second that prop on ARCHIVES! This has been an awesome forum with some serious Taco owners all willing to share their experience and knowledge. Thanks to Tyler and the gang. It's a lot of work running a forum like this so thanks to all of you.
 
Jetspeed said:
I'm not tied to a budget. I'll go all out to do it correctly and with the best parts and labor.
Click to expand...
If you don’t have a budget it makes it easy.

You can get higher end adjustable remote reservoir shocks from Icon or King and use heavy duty leaf springs in the rear to make sure you get the 3” you want. I would use @DobinsonsUSA or wait for @ARCHIVE for leaf springs but there are other options we can discuss as well.

For the front get “heavy duty” springs which will likely have a 730lb rating, which also kind of help with the 3” you want. Then, if you still have a rake and you want the truck higher, you can adjust the shock itself to get it level.

This comparison of mine might give you some insight on what 3” could look like?

CA318B8B-757A-4A78-B862-FCFAD1985F89.webp
 
@Jetspeed here’s the first lift I had, a budget lift. But now I don’t really remember the numbers, though I think it was 3” in the front. I didn’t keep the tires stock though.

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8E94CC25-8EA8-491C-9D3C-D4A256B4C060.webp
 
Tyler said:
If you don’t have a budget it makes it easy.

You can get higher end adjustable remote reservoir shocks from Icon or King and use heavy duty leaf springs in the rear to make sure you get the 3” you want. I would use @DobinsonsUSA or wait for @ARCHIVE for leaf springs but there are other options we can discuss as well.

For the front get “heavy duty” springs which will likely have a 730lb rating, which also kind of help with the 3” you want. Then, if you still have a rake and you want the truck higher, you can adjust the shock itself to get it level.

This comparison of mine might give you some insight on what 3” could look like?
Click to expand...

That's looking great! What kind of trimming did you have to do for that size tire with the lift?
 
I had to cut some of the inner fender (not visible) and do a large cab mount chop. The upper control arms are adjusted to move the tires forward a bit as well. And having the high clearance front bumper takes care of the trimming to the stock front bumper that I would’ve had to do.
 
Tyler said:
I had to cut some of the inner fender (not visible) and do a large cab mount chop. The upper control arms are adjusted to move the tires forward a bit as well. And having the high clearance front bumper takes care of the trimming to the stock front bumper that I would’ve had to do.
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Did you go with SPC UCA's?
 
Tyler said:
Yeah. They’re probably almost 3 years old now, pretty abused, and haven’t even had to replace the joints or boots yet. Highly recommend them.
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I hear nothing but great things about the SPC UCA's. Not sure which one I'll go with. Here are the two I'm looking at as my final competitors.

www.iconvehicledynamics.com

ICON 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma, Billet Front Upper Control Arm w/ Delta Joint Kit - Icon Vehicle Dynamics

Take the performance of your 2005-2023 Toyota Tacoma to new levels with the ICON Vehicle Dynamics <a href="/deltajoint" target="_blank"><strong><u>Delta Joint</u></strong></a></u></strong></a> billet aluminum upper control arm kit. All ICON billet upper control arms are constructed from CNC...
www.iconvehicledynamics.com www.iconvehicledynamics.com

vs

www.toyteclifts.com

25470 - SPC Adjustable Upper Control Arms (2005-2023 Tacoma)

Vehicle Fitment: 2005-2023 Tacoma
www.toyteclifts.com www.toyteclifts.com

Leaning towards the ICON. The patented Delta Joint looks very interesting to me.
 
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