I have got a 97 sr5 t100 and want to get a 4 inch lift and some 33x12.50 for it. I called around to the local shops and they said that I could get a Trailmaster lift and install for $1300. does that sound like a good deal???

also where is the cheapest place to get wheels and tires I want the black rock crawlers and some mud terrain style tires. but am curious to know where I can find the best prices?? thanks for your help

 

I believe Trailmaster, Pro Comp and maybe Superlift are the only companies that offer a suspension lift for the T100. You'll find a real lack of support for the T100 from the aftermarket companies. $1300, give or take $100, sounds about right for a 4" lift kit, installed.

You might be able to work a good package deal on a lift, wheels and tires from 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers . If one of their stores is in your area, they could do the install for you too. I think they are running a "Buy 3 Pro Comp tires, get the fourth Free" special right now.

Other good sources for tires and wheels are -
National Tire & Wheel
Tire Rack
Discount Tire
Desert Rat

 

shreddin, another option to consider is to find a T100 like yours that is already built up and either sell yours or trade it for one with a lift. I built mine up about 4 years ago and since I moved to a different state I don't do much off-roading anymore and having the lift and larger tires doesn't do me a lot of good right now. I have thought about selling it, but since it is still a great truck I don't want to part with it unless the new truck is another great Toyota. I bought 33" BFG's when I had the lift put on and recently bought some 32"BFG's because the 33's are worn out.
As Bagger mentioned, the aftermarket support is very small and some of the lifts are not offered anymore. Bumpers are hard or impossible to find and a lot of T100 owners fabricate their own parts to get a custom fit for their vehicles.
I'll try to post a link with some pics of my truck. The T100 is in the background and this is the best non winter pic I have right now.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sdelth...FNA4BBF2i81kvG

 

thanks for both of your responses! I have only owned my truck for 5 months so selling it and buying a already modified one is not really a option. Although I have alot of thinking to do if I am only lifting it and putting tires on it for ashtetics. I saw some 33x12.50 with rockcrawlers in a mailorder ad for 899.00 shipped. Would you trust these mailorder companys or go stait to discount tire co? I definatley want to shop around to find the best prices, and I definately want black wheels. any more responses are appreciated!!

 

Shreddin, I bought my wheels and tires from a local Discount Tire when I was living in Albuquerque. I'm sure some of the mail order places are fine, I wanted a local shop just in case there were any issues with the wheels or with balancing on the tires. It is easier to run down the street to get something fixed and if you had to ship something it might take a while for a solution. Do you have Les Schwab in your area? I've heard good things about them.
If you lift your T you need to get wheels in either 15" or 16" with 3.75" backspacing. The superlift and others use a new steering knuckle that is larger so the stock wheels won't fit with the lift, you probably already know this. I bought 15" Eagle 589's that were about $100 each and have been fine, plenty of clearance.
Any tires larger than 31" will rub without a lift and even with the 4" lift the 33x12.5's will rub at max turning at slow speed. I like the BFG/AT's they have a decent tread and are not too loud. I run some mud tires as spares and they have large lugs- they are Hi-tech retreads. The mud tires really howl on the highway.
You can buy some Warn manual hubs and install them without using any kind of kit to adapt them. They bolt right on and are a good addition to your front end. I had a friend of mine install the lift and the hubs, he was a Toyota mechanic, so he knew what to do and the process tool the majority of one day, and half of another to finish everything up.
Have you been to the 4x4wire site? They have some experienced T100 owners there and I found a lot of answers regarding the lift there before I had my truck lifted. One of the guys on the site, Erik B, is a T100 moderator and he posts links to his own site with pics and info on his lifted 4runner and T. Another guy, Roger Brown, posts in the 4wheelin forum and he is an engineer who makes and sells parts for modifying the trucks. He is very knowledgable and these are only 2 examples of resources for specific toyota modification questions.
The reason I mentioned trading the truck was that if you were on the East coast and wanted to build up your T, I would want to meet with you to see about trading trucks. Mine has a lift, tires, etc, and I would rather have a stock truck now. If I found someone to make a deal with and we were both happy with the other's truck, we could trade and get what we both wanted. A 97 T is almost 8 years old so the support is getting thin and it is almost better to start with a different truck unless you have a lot of fabrication skills. It is not impossible to build one up, but it takes money and most people never get the money back once they start modifying. I've owned my truck for 5 years and if I still lived in Albuquerque where I could wheel it I would probably still be adding to it, but here I don't have the need for it and due to some health problems a lifted truck is just harder to deal with.
So... what color is your truck? Reg cab or x-cab? miles?