So you lifted your Taco - did it create a "lean?"

I'm interested to know if this lean is universal on all Tacomas when lifted or if it's isolated to different models or different heights in lift?

What's ur experience?

 

Pretty universal I’d say. I got adjustable coils, was easy fix for me. Some guys get spacers to make up for lean if that’s not an option.

 

Leaning suspension has plagued Toyotas since before Moses bought his first FJ25. No one really knows why, just an accepted truth. I have theories like everyone else.

 

Mine leans on stock suspension.

 

My truck leaned before and after the lift.

I can't seem to isolate it.

The running myth is due to weight from fuel and the driver on the same side but if you think about it, its total BS.

 

Are you asking about the "taco lean" where the driver's side sits a little lower?

If so there are shims to raise only the drivers side slightly to compensate, or options like adjustable coilovers to add a little extra preload to lift the drivers side.

It's caused by the additional weight on the drivers side of the truck (Driver, fuel tank, battery) and applies to all tacomas. Dependent on how the truck has been used over the course of its life some may lean more than others.

 

Never heard of it.

Below is my stock truck on race scales. I have an 1 1/4" rear lean to the driver side. I still have it with Dakers same as when stock.

Doesn't seem like that big of a variance for such a lean

 

I had a minor lean both before and after lift. With the lift, I ended up cranking my C/O on the driver's side just a bit higher to compensate. As others have mentioned, it results from weight distribution issues from having the full fuel tank on the same side as the driver and can easily be compensated for in one way or another. Additional preload is the best option outside of having two different sized and individually rated coils for both sides.

For a strict race setup you could move the gas tank to either above or sunk into the bed for optimal weight distribution.

You could also add a small (think 1/2" or 1/4" polyurethane) puck on top of your coil on the driver's side potentially, but that will not make up for the different spring rates required to control the loads on both sides. It would make the truck 'look' level though if that is all you are after.

 

Agreed which is why the whole, fuel tank, driver weight myth is just a myth.

Even in stock form, how does a new truck with an empty tank and no driver still lean an inch or so. How after upgraded to a heavier duty suspension and increased coilovers, empty tank and no driver still produce a lean.

 

Was this taken with a full tank of gas and a driver sitting in the car? If not then thats gonna mess up the numbers quite a bit.

 

It’s a damn truck and I use mine that way. I haven’t ever once thought of measuring anything lol.

Waste of time imho. If they came like that from the factory, then I guess that’s how it needs to be.

Anyone who adds a spacer, wouldn’t ur truck then be taller on that corner when u have an empty tank?

 

That is what you would think but it doesnt quite work out that way. The suspension gets worn out more on the side with more weight over time so the lean becomes a part of how it rides after a while. I ran mine with an extra 1/2" poly puck on driver's side for a few thousand miles before I purchased my C/Os and that did fix the lean but with fox C/Os I opted against putting any sort of additional spacer on and instead went with a little more preload. This has been the ticket for me and I have been riding level and cruising through corners since! There are many ways that the lean can be compensated for its just a matter of choosing the right one for your setup really. Or if youre happy with the truck as delivered then thats great too! Its all a matter of personal preference

 

It's no myth.

Fuel tank, battery, driver column, and driver. Add all that up and you balance is way off.

but even with all that it still doesn't explain my lean issues lol

 

Ya that’s awesome!!

But yeah I have more important things in life to worry about than a “lean” on my truck lol.

But that’s great people are figuring stuff out \m/

 

Yes, and I fixed with preload, but found the 700# springs loaded more was considerably harsher. Installed from and rear spacer and rides great now.

 

Haha your lean issues are a different story. Thats probably the best lean ive seen in a while!

The problem with the myth is that if you remove the battery, have an empty fuel tnk and no driver, there is still lean. I have 700# coils, an upgraded Deaver rear pack. With no battery, empty tank and me standing outside the vehicle, it still leans.

The other problem with the myth, is no one has ever provided empirical evidence that these factors are the absolute cause to the lean, because we do have evidence that if you remove those factors, the lean still exists.

 

That's a sweet lean problem right there.

 

Yeah I found that once I got the springs preloaded properly so that I got to about 2" of the 3" lift I have available I had to reset my low speed valving to smooth the ride out, it was a little bouncy after upping the preload but adding a bit more shock dampening on the front helps with that

 

Like I said thats because the wear on the springs happens while its being DRIVEN, not while it sits. The springs get worn in while theres a bunch of extra weight on one side and that side leans a little because of it, sitting for any amount of time won't reverse that

 

Not to mention that the Hilux we got before the Tacoma also leaned, as well as Cruisers over the years. In the case of the 79-95 trucks the fuel tank was on the right side, had the diff on the right side.

Same with older 40 and 60 series trucks, fuel tank on the right. Those were perhaps because Toyota having originally designed for a right hand drive had under spec left hand springs. But the reality is all trucks lean to some degree, it's not unique to Toyota. Just the nature of springs and suspension.

One theory I particularly like is the reason U.S. trucks lean towards the left is the body mount pucks on that side of the cab sag more, so it's not in the suspension at all but rather the constant extra weight of a driver, fuel tank, battery that causes them to collapse faster than the right.