Lift Kit Setup For My SR5 V4 2wd?

Hello, I have a 1998 SR5 2WD 4cyl. and I am looking to lift it and put some new wheels and tires on it. I don't want it be too lifted but I want a pretty wide wheel base. Since it is 2WD and not a prerunner or a 4X4, it is at the lowest stock height. Would a 3 inch lift be enough? Also, would Series 51 Procomp steelies be good wheels ? I am not looking to put a whole ton of money into the truck, but I want to give it a bit more clearance and improve its overall appearance. The first picture is the same model of the truck I have and the second photo is the ultimate look I want. Any ideas?

 

Thats a levelled 6 lug. Youl never get to that height with your 5 lugger. Best option is to sell and get a 6 lugger.

 

Good to know. Is it possible to get CLOSE to that height? Thanks.

 

Not without stacking suspension and spindle lifts with a body lift. The only suspension lifts available are very poor spacer lifts. The spindles are quite expensive. The 3" body lifts are ugly and unsafe.


Check out the 5 lug threads here.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/5-lug.114/

 

You can get this with a Spindle Lift in Front, rear shackles, and bigger tires:

@crazywin hasn't been on in a while, but his build is here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/97-5lug-build.195038/

The spindles will already bring the front about 1" wider, so you'll need to add spacers in the back to match width, but with that pic above he's already got the nice wide stance.

Adding a body lift (not a great option), this is the best you can do (same build referenced):

 

he needed a body lift and fiberglass fenders to clear those 31s.

 

That first picture is just the rear shackles and front spindles on 30" tires. With 29" tires, spindles, AAL, and Shackles, you could get almost that same look without any rubbing.

The fenders and body lift were cool looking, but not necessary to get 29" tires or 30" tires with a bit of trimming. If OP wants to go with 31s, then yeah, there's a lot more involved.

Honestly though, once you're looking at going bigger, it might be cheaper to sell the 5-lug and buy a regular. I'm going to be lifting my 5-lug by 3" with spindles, shackles, and AAL because I'm perfectly happy with how @crazywin's build looked before additional lifting.

 

Is it possible to put stock prerunner/4x4 suspension onto a 5-lug frame? That'd give decent lift from the 5 lug stock configuration, especially if the leaf springs are sagging at all from being nearly 20 years old... You might need to change the driveshaft as well since the higher stance might involve a longer shaft.

Problem with putting lift kits onto a 5-lug is that the amount of lift they're listing is referenced to the 4x4/prerunner ride height, so a 3" lift on a 5-lug would actually lift it much more than that.

 

AFAIK, the suspensions are completely different and incompatible. The Factech spindles are definitely 3" exact, as it increases spindle length and has no effect on suspension travel. Shackles are similar in that regard.

I suppose if you knew how to weld reasonably well, you could take a rear axle from a prerunner and then modify the front for prerunner suspension, but if you're doing that, might as well cut/weld some more and go long-travel. Of course I'm a tacoma newbie, so all of this is coming from research for planning my own build, and not actually completing my own build... So take with a cup or two of salt as needed.

 

There's no need to replace the axle, unless you want the locking differential from the of road package (which would also require some wiring modification).

If the leaf spring attach points to the frame and the mount points for the forward control arms and coilovers have the same geometry between the 5lug and 6lug trucks, it'd be possible to just put stock 6 lug suspension onto the 5 lug frame/body. After that, swapping a driveshaft is relatively simple if it's necessary.

You are correct that a spindle lift would provide just the specified amount of lift from whatever the starting point is, but that only handles the front end. I can't remember if the 5 lugs have the rear axle on top or on the bottom of the leaf springs, though so it's tough to say what the best/easiest way to match that in the rear would be.

 

Thanks for all of the helpful input! I am pretty new to the Tacoma scene (actually truck/car scene in general) and do not know much of the lift and tire options that you speak of but I am very interested. I think @crazywin's build looks great considering the degree of difficulty I am realizing lifting a 5 lug is. I, like @mathematical's idea of just sticking with the @crazywin build as a guide. Selling the 5 lug for a 6 lug is not an option, I want to keep it and do what I can lift wise. I do have one question: Would these procomps fit on a build like @crazywin's and be somewhat practical? http://www.procompusa.com/wheels-product-details.aspx?pt=101508&lc=PCW&pqq=2336-1558&pqa=13689-8275

 

Looks like they'd work.

 

6 lug stuff is completely different even geometry/mounting wise. Swapping in a 8.4" axle would give about 4" lift because of the spring over axle setup. Its also a more beefy axle altogether with better gearing for the bigger tires.

 

cool! What would be a good 30 inch tire for it? I don't want anything too knobby and not incredibly expensive.

 

OK, thanks.

I had a '97 five-lug then sold it to get a car in 2003, and then picked up my current prerunner in 2009. With the several year gap and the change from 1st to 2nd gen, I never had any reason to try to compare the two (and couldn't really infer much from a comparison anyway since it'd be imposssible to really know which changes were due to the 6 lug vs the generational changes).

Also, the only two changes I ever made on my 5 lug were to the stereo and adding some fog/driving lights (I also replaced a rear window and bondo'd a dent after a break in once), and only got under it to change the oil otherwise; as opposed to my current truck, which I've replaced all of the springs and shocks and mounted a winch along with a bunch of wiring for lights and winch controls.