[hartzpad]

I'm going to get a Cornfed lift for my manual hub '97 Taco Xtracab 2.7 4 cyl. I bought it a few months ago and it has 120,000 miles on it. It needs new front shocks as well as rear. The Bilsteins are a lot of money at $190 and the Ranchos are just moderately worse at $150, but I thought I saw KYB front shocks for $100. I just needs some basic shocks for the next 1-2 years, after which I plan to do an SAS (once I have a house and have graduated college). Will all 3 work just fine with the 3" Cornfed lift? My rear springs seen to be holding up fine so I was thinking about a shackle lift instead of the add a leaf because I'm worried it will make it too stiff and not flex at all. How do the Bilstein and Ranchos compare to the KYB shocks? Any suggestions?

I had a Fabtech add a leaf on my last Tacoma and it lifted it about 3.5", I'm worried if I do an add a leaf on this truck it will sit too high and not match the 3" front lift and be too stiff.

BTW, I'm not new around here, I'm just starting over. I used to hang around here a lot back in 2000-2001 when I had my '97 Taco reg cab 2.7 w/ Fabtech coilovers, exhaust, etc. Sold it in 2001. I just bought another Tacoma few months ago, this time an Xtracab. If I was planning on keeping the IFS, I would go coilovers again, but the cheap Cornfed lift is sort of temporary.

 

[4x4Dragon]

i'll be going with rough country nitro struts/heckethorn from hellcreeksuspensions.com here shortly. they're $90 for the pair

 

[spindleshanks]

I'm an amateur with Tacos but I'm a KYB factory rep and can tell you some shock basics. The KYB shocks and the Bilsteins are High-Pressure monotube type units, 280 to 320 psi depending on application. The ranchos (and most other shocks except for European performance car applications like Boge or Koni and the Edelbrock IAS monotubes) are low-pressure twintube types, in the 100 to 150 psi range of pressure; They work differently to provide a more comfortable, soft damping action. Some folks will tell you that monotube shocks are vulnerable when offroading because if the one and only tube of the shock is dented by a rock, it could prohibit the piston from moving inside the bore. This is b.s., the result of a Rancho marketing effort to hurt KYB back in the day before tenneco (Monroe) bought Rancho. The thickness of the KYB monomax/Gas-A-Just and Bilstein shock tubes is up to 1/4" thick and is extruded seamless steel, compared to twintubes made of seamed sheet metal (think thin like an oil filter can) Hope this helps.

 

[pportera]

Id go with bilsteins. Better in the long run.

Also i have heard(hesaidshesaidbullshit)that ranchos and kyb are crap-e-r then the rest. :2cents:

 

[04RedLobster]

bilsteins...
better resale value...at least more people would buy bilsteins than ranchos..

 

[shortbus]

I got Bilstein 5100's on my rig and love em. I have ridden in a rig with everything the same as mine but with Rancho 5000's and they were horrible.