Author: Andrew

Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit (Stage 1) for 16+ Tacoma Review

I did quite a bit of researching on TacomaWorld forums on lift kits for my Tacoma and the Bilstein 5100 seemed like the most common upgrade people were doing, but I came across the Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit and it seemed like a pretty good alternative to the Bilsteins. There wasn't a whole lot of information out there so I contacted Eibach and spoke to Mark who was very knowledgeable and is a super cool dude. He owns a Magnuson supercharged Tacoma as well! After speaking with him he offered to give me a tour of the Eibach facility here in Corona, CA where they manufacture the parts. Yeah, they manufacture right here in Southern California. Along with the tour offering, he gave me a break down of the product and explained the differences between the Eibach kit and their competitors such as Bilstein. Oh and if you're interested I'll be posting photos from the tour to get a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacturing process from raw metal to coilover. Follow us to read more on that article.

Why Do I Want A Tacoma Lift Kit?

In simple answer: clearance. When it comes to off-road, clearance is probably the most important upgrade because of the functionality and experience you can get with a little more chassis clearance. I upgraded to a 33" tire for more clearance, however it must be paired with a lift kit or else you'll start rubbing around the fender area. This is a common problem for those that upgrade to a bigger tire and retain the stock suspension.

Which Lift Kit Should I Get?

There are tons of lift kits out there. You can get external reservoir coilovers from King or Icon and shell out a few thousand bucks or you can get kits that serve the function of just getting the desired height for clearance and improved ride quality. For me personally, I just want to get a lift for tire clearance and still retain the comfort. For most of us, we probably can't justify spending $5,000 on a set of Kings because we probably won't utilize anywhere near the full potential of those shocks.

So while I was researching for Tacoma lift kits I kept coming across the Bilstein 5100 paired with leaf packs, but then I came across these Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit which includes both front and rear shocks with front springs for $595 on Wheeler's Off Road. I ended up going with Eibach because of the value. When I say value, I am considering what's included in the product and the performance I can get out of it. The maximum height adjustability and Upper Control Arms (UCA) requirements were also a big factor. Usually when you lift your truck to around 3" you're going to need UCA to set your caster alignment to the correct specs. Although it varies per truck, the magic number seems to be 2.5" lift before you need UCA. This is according to research on TacomaWorld.

What is a Leaf Spring?

The leaf spring is simply a truck spring for the rear of the vehicle. Leaf's are usually not part of the shock kit, although some shock kits come with springs. There are two different types: add-a-leaf and an entire leaf pack. Add-a-lead is an extension or add-on to existing leaf packs which are known to have a rougher ride. I ended up getting the OME Dakar HD leaf packs which should give me another 2.5" lift in the rear. Leaf packs are responsible for height increase/decrease in the rear.

Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit Features and Specs

Although this kit is advertised as +2.0 in front and +0-1 in rear height adjustability, you can get more. Read to the bottom to see my final results. Here are the additional specs for the Eibach kit. Look at this big red box!

• 2.0 - 3.0" of lift or leveling
• Fits 2016-18 Toyota Tacoma
• Includes Pro-Truck Lift Springs and Pro-Truck Sport Shocks
• Million-Mile Warranty
• Made In U.S.A.

The front shock and spring components are taller than the OEM Bilstein TRD Off Road suspension. It comes with a new spring collar and a lock ring to adjust the height.


An up-close view of the spring will show micro blasting texture which helps to strengthen the springs. The proper name for this procedure is called shot-peening. You can learn more about this process on this Wikipedia article.

The height can be set to 3 different positions by switching the lock ring to one of the 3 slots. The higher the lock placements, the more lift. I decided to set it to the middle or second clip. I was advised this was the best setting for my vehicle and other's that don't have a front bumper kit or heavy front end.

The photo reference below has the spring collar upside down to show the clip and how the collar sits on top of it. They guys at Eibach said it is very important to make sure the spring collar is seated the correct orientation or else you will damage your suspension. Scroll down towards the end to see the picture showing how the spring seat should be properly installed.


The bottom of the shock is definitely thicker than the OEM TRD Off Road shocks.

Top mount bushings are thicker than the OEM.

The rear shocks are reverse mounted to the OEM Bilsteins. On the left is the rear shock. The other side is the front shock.


The Pro-Truck kit was recently updated with strong lower shock mounts.

The bushings looks to be a little bigger than OEM, but has similar durometer or hardness as OEM.

Here is a side-by-side picture of the OEM Bilstein TRD Off Road front shock and Eibach Pro-Truck on the right. Notice the thicker shock tube housing.

Here is a side-by-side shot of the rear shocks. You can see how there are reverse mounted. I also like how the dust boot is sealed on the Eibach shock.

Here is the lock collar on the Eibach kit.

The spring collar on the OEM Bilstein is a lot thinner.

Installing the Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit

I actually did my install at Eibach HQ. They offer installation services to Eibach products so it was a very cool experience getting to see the shop, show room and seeing them install it. Here is the spring compressor to install the top mount.

Here is the front shock/spring installed on the truck. Besides the front shock/spring do you see anything else that's not stock?

These! The kit also includes a sway bar bracket to space out the front sway bar so it doesn't hit the shock.

And here is another angle of the installed shock.



The rear shocks only took about 15 minutes to do both sides. The tire didn't need to come off at all. Just loosen the top and bottom mount. 2 bolts total!

Do I Need UCA? Alignment Time!

Alright so here's the nervous part. I decided not to install the UCA I had bought because the Eibach guys told me they designed it to work without them. So onto the alignment rack I went.
 
Boom! Perfect alignment. No UCA necessary and the caster was adjusted within OEM spec.

Here are the before and after measurements. The rear measurement didn't change because I didn't install the leaf pack yet, but I was able to get 2.75" raise in the fronts on the middle clip. That means 3" is definitely achievable for those that want it.

Visit the Eibach Pro-Truck-Lift Performance Systems page to learn more.

by Andrew