Lift kit ride quality help??

hey everyone im new here and looking for some help..

i just bought a 09 trd sport 4x4..i want to put a 3'' suspension lift on it very soon..i dont really plan on going off road but love the look...i would like to maintain as close to stock ride comfort..that way my wife wont complain to much

i do realize that its going to be diffrent..lifting it changes all the dynamics of the truck.

im sure this has been asked before...sorry

thanks everyone

 

Yes, this gets asked 100 times a day. First, I recommend you get handy with the search feature in each category: suspension, 2nd gen, etc., for example. There is enough info on this website to make your head spin, and then spin again.

But, for the time being, I would probably start you down the road of getting Bilstein 5100 setup for the front (search) and probably and add-a-leaf (AAL) for the rear.

Your other consideration is how you want your truck to sit: level, raked (rear higher, like it is right now), or 'SoCal' which means nose high. If you lift the front and back 3" then it will have the same rake, but be 3" higher. If you just want it level you'll want to lift the front about 1.5 to 2" more in the front than in the rear. Socal, just lift the front 3".

In general, you don't want to lift these trucks more than 3" or you start loosing ride quality and suspension down travel; unless you want to go with a 4.5" or 6" lift, which come with different components and change the geometry/configuration of your current suspension.

Plan on doing 2-3 hrs of research. Focus on the 'suspension' and '2nd generation' section. If you come across some of the members trucks that you like, many of them have a 'build page' that will document all the modifications they've done to get there truck where it is.

I'll tell you right now, a body lift is cheapest, but in my and many others opinion its a complete disgrace to the Tacoma... There are so many options out for these trucks now, it really comes down to 1- your needs/wants and 2-your billfold.

And welcome to TW

 

Good info ^^

What is your budget??

Beings your not into offroading if stay away from high dollar/performance coilovers if your never going to use them to their potential.

And beings you want to maintain a nice ride on the road, I'd stay away from any spacer lifts.

Your best bet would be to order something from here: Anything but the spacer lifts. Im partial to the eibach/bilstein 5100 lift. I have my front 5100's set to .85. So I have about 2.5 inches of front lift. And a 2 inch AAL in back. Ride is awesome. Alignment is good. I also didn't hafta worry about new upper control arms. You lift more towards the 3 inch range new UCAs are pretty reccomended.

The OME lift listed in that link is also very well liked here.

Search the site and see what appeals best to u.

 

I tried looking back..way to much info and I always had sports cars before..none of the brands are the same..and are designed for different uses also...I'm very lost.

So reading back isn't helping much..a for a budget around $1500...i know its alot more expensive than normal but with cars for the same stuff you can drop 2k quick for kits I'm seeing that are 650

 

Rcd nothing but good thing about it ... I was in same boat about 3 to 4 mouths ago. And I wanted Same as you want nice ride but looks good. 1,799 ship for rcd lift

 

for a little more you can go wrong with this kit
http://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/...=05%2dUp-Tacoma-Suspension-System-%2d-Stage-2

 

A quick suggestion.

Check out the regional threads and look for any upcoming meets. I'm sure one of the guys would let you test drive their truck.

 

Oh I never thought that ^^ good idea

 

Closest to stock ride quality would be RCD 4.5" drop bracket lift and 33" all terrain tires.

 

thank you all for the advice...just need to save up some cash and RCD here we come!!

 

x2

 

I was gonna suggest something similar but it seems like a little overkill if hes not gonna wheel very much.

It is always nice to know you have the capability though