Selecting the Correct Coil or Leaf Springs for your Toyota 4x4

A very common question when deciding on your suspension is which spring is going to work best. Ultimately, it depends on the height you want, what extra weight you have, if any, and how you want the vehicle to ride. 

Factory Ride Heights

Before you can calculate how much lift you need, it is very important to understand how lift heights are measured and how the factory Toyota suspension sits. 

Lift heights from all major manufactures are going to be measured from a new, unmodified 4x4 vehicle unless otherwise noted.

Suspension for trucks will be measured off of a Crew Cab, Short Bed configuration. 

Vehicles that had an option for a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder engine will have the heights measured on the V6 version unless otherwise noted. For newer vehicles with optional hybrid powertrains, any differences in weight will be noted on the lift kit. 

**Note: For 4th Gen 4Runners (03-09) that had the optional V8 engine, coils will be noted with a V6 lift height and a V8 lift height. 

This information is vital if you have a 4x2, a smaller engine, an access cab or long bed truck, as these will change the weight of the springs you need. In general:

• 4x2 vehicles gain about an inch more lift in the front than a 4x4 would with the same coil spring. If you installed the same spring on both, it will feel stiffer on a 4x2 than a 4x4 due to the lower weight. 

• 4 cylinder engines typically gain about an inch more lift in the front verses a 6 Cylinder engine. Again, coils will feel stiffer on a 4cyl vehicle. 

• A smaller cab, like an access cab, will not affect the front weight - it will affect the rear. An access cab will gain about .5 of lift more than a double cab. 

• A long bed will typically decrease the rear lift height by .5in. Rear leaf springs  will also feel softer with a long bed due to the extra weight.

Finally, Toyota Trucks and SUVs come from the factory with suspension rake, which means that the rear sits higher than the front. The purpose of the rake is to allow the suspension room to compress for loading up the rear of the vehicle with cargo or passengers. 

The amount of rake varies, but generally;

• Toyota SUVs sit about 1 inch higher in the rear from the factory

• Toyota Trucks sit about 2 inches higher in the rear from the factory

Choosing Your Lift Height 

Now, let's talk heights. We'll get to weights in a moment. The mentioned heights are going off of the assumptions mentioned above - measured from an unmodified, 4x4 V6, Double Cab Short Bed truck or an unmodified 4x4 V6 4Runner. 

**Note: Older vehicles may have sagging suspension. Do not include that in your lift height calculations. Your springs will be new and un-saggy :)

Leveled

The most common choice is to level the vehicle. Based off what we now know about the stock suspension, to completely level the vehicle we would need to..

• Lift the front of an SUV 1 inch higher than the rear. Ex: 2inch front lift, 1inch rear lift (shown below)

• Lift the front of a truck 2 inches higher than the rear. Ex: 3in front lift, 1in rear lift (shown below)

We highly recommend to leave a little bit of rake in the suspension for adding occasional cargo. To maintain a slight bit of rake, you would want to...

• Lift the front of an SUV .5 inches higher than the rear. Ex: 2.5in front lift, 2in rear (shown below)

• Lift the front of a truck 1 inch higher than the rear. Ex: 3in front lift, 2in rear lift

 Maintain Factory Rake

The other common option for lift heights is to maintain the factory rake. This is easily done by matching the front and rear lift heights. An example is shown below.

Choosing the Right Spring Rates