Hello all!

vwgtiturbo

vwgtiturbo

Well-Known Member
New member here, currently in northern California. I migrated here from Tacoma World, as I couldn't seem to find answers to questions and the structure of their forum is atrocious (almost seems like the areas of division were an afterthought, versus being thought of during the design process); I'm not sure if TW is just so busy that new artistic getting buried quickly, or...? There is a lot of knowledge there, but if you can't find it, it's useless.

My Taco is an '05 Prerunner TRD OR. She has 150k miles currently; have owned her since new, when she had 13.

I never really did much with her, focusing only on the stereo (which I do really love LOL) and UBS tool box, until I recently came to the conclusion that, while a new Taco would be awesome, I really like not having a payment, so... I ended up putting TRD Pro wheels on her, along with ICI Magnum steps (which are a bit odd looking, until future upgrades are done).

I did put air bags on 7ish years ago, to compensate for the weak pre-TSB leaf springs, in addition to Bilstein 5100s (currently at 0"; I forgot about it and always wondered why the front end looks so low...). Not a real fan of the 5100s, as 75 percent of my driving is on-road (super stiff ride).

Future plans: OME kit, rear plate bumper (despise chrome, trying to remove any of it!).

Maybe I'll get lucky and get some feedback here in the forums, then I can move forward!

Thanks in advance for putting up with any noob questions; she's my first truck (of 13 years)!15216432280120.jpg
 
The only chrome I see is the rear bumper. There is a few options, replace it with an aftermarket one, paint it, or plasti dip it.
It’s probbaly the stock coils that are making the ride stiff, replace them with OME and keep the 5100’s see how that feels and if you don’t like it then replace the shocks with some OME shocks.
 
Yeah the only chrome is the rear bumper and front grille. The plastic step part of the bumper and the original side steps were also pretty annoying (another reason I replaced the nerf bars I put on when I bought it, as they were pretty useless at the height they sat), so I'll likely just go aftermarket with the bumper.

Great idea with just replacing the coils; I hadn't even entertained that idea. Is there an accepted lifespan on the 5100s? I've had them for about 75k; I've read that they last "a long time", but no idea how long that is hahaha.
 
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vwgtiturbo said:
Yeah the only chrome is the rear bumper and front grille. The plastic step part of the bumper and the original side steps were also pretty annoying (another reason I replaced the nerf bars I put on when I bought it, as they were pretty useless at the height they sat), so I'll likely just go aftermarket with the bumper.

Great idea with just replacing the coils; I hadn't even entertained that idea. Is there an accepted lifespan on the 5100s? I've had them for about 75k; I've read that they last "a long time", but no idea how long that is hahaha.
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The life of a shock is subjective. There are lots of variables that can shorten the span. They should easily be good for 150k miles or more if they are not beat up. Most shocks will last the life of a vehicle. The coil and leaf springs do the majority of the work.
 
OR17TRD said:
The life of a shock is subjective. There are lots of variables that can shorten the span. They should easily be good for 150k miles or more if they are not beat up. Most shocks will last the life of a vehicle. The coil and leaf springs do the majority of the work.
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Good to know! In "the old days", I don't think I ever went over 50k on a set LOL.
 
vwgtiturbo said:
Good to know! In "the old days", I don't think I ever went over 50k on a set LOL.
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I’m sure you could ruin the 5100’s in 50k if you had them maxed out and beat them up driving 40 down washboard roads in the middle of nowhere. They should be good for 100k+ with moderate driving habits. I had bilsteins on my Tundra and they had about 128k miles on them. They where still doing their job when I sold it. Easy test is push down on the vehicle at each corner and if it doesn’t come up and settle in one or two recoils then the shocks aren’t doing their job.
 
Oh yeah, they should still be good then. I have to wonder if my overzealous shock replacements in the past have been simply chasing a better ride LOL.
 
vwgtiturbo said:
New member here, currently in northern California. I migrated here from Tacoma World, as I couldn't seem to find answers to questions and the structure of their forum is atrocious (almost seems like the areas of division were an afterthought, versus being thought of during the design process); I'm not sure if TW is just so busy that new artistic getting buried quickly, or...? There is a lot of knowledge there, but if you can't find it, it's useless.

My Taco is an '05 Prerunner TRD OR. She has 150k miles currently; have owned her since new, when she had 13.

I never really did much with her, focusing only on the stereo (which I do really love LOL) and UBS tool box, until I recently came to the conclusion that, while a new Taco would be awesome, I really like not having a payment, so... I ended up putting TRD Pro wheels on her, along with ICI Magnum steps (which are a bit odd looking, until future upgrades are done).

I did put air bags on 7ish years ago, to compensate for the weak pre-TSB leaf springs, in addition to Bilstein 5100s (currently at 0"; I forgot about it and always wondered why the front end looks so low...). Not a real fan of the 5100s, as 75 percent of my driving is on-road (super stiff ride).

Future plans: OME kit, rear plate bumper (despise chrome, trying to remove any of it!).

Maybe I'll get lucky and get some feedback here in the forums, then I can move forward!

Thanks in advance for putting up with any noob questions; she's my first truck (of 13 years)!View attachment 16167
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Forum!
 
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