What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

When did spline drive lug nuts become so popular? I hated those things 13 years years ago and still hate them today. I had to bite the bullet and order lug nuts for the real world to be used in real situations out side the mall which was conveniently located next to an America's Tire and a Arby's so you can nom while you wait.

 

What Zane said.

I love my Kings up front, but my Expos and 5125s in the stock rear locations just don’t do them justice. The damping (especially on compression) is weak AF, so I blow through what little uptravel I have and then I’m eating my bumps. I can’t wait to get my 10” rear Kings on and dialed in after cycling the Expos to locate the mounts and the bumps. Should be night and day.

On the subject of cycling, like Mike and Brett have mentioned, you want to determine the limits of your leaf springs in order to find the shock lengths and mounting points that work best. Typically, that means breaking down the pack to just the main leaf and making a spacer block that is the same thickness as the remaining leaves in order to properly locate the axle. Then you stuff the axle to flat or just slightly negative arch to find your max bump travel and then droop it out to find your max droop travel. Be sure to take into account the compression of your bump stop for your bump limit and also save about 1/2” of shock travel on droop so that your shocks don’t become your limit straps.

Once you have those numbers, you can find a shock that has the appropriate compression and extension lengths, burn in your mounts, and install the shocks and bumps. It’s a lot of work, but after seeing the results in person on @Squeaky Penguin ‘s truck, it’s SO worth it.

 

alot of alloy wheels dont give you enough room to fit a big lug nut in there. alot of times you HAVE to use the splines ones on aftermarket wheels.

 

Most wheels don't fit them anymore. That said they have never given me issue and I rotate regularly and torque to spec, maybe just user error.

 

Nope in the heat of battle no one can find the f-ing key to get the sons of bitches off or the key splits in half like the fine crap that it is

 

Keep in mind the superbumps compress to less than half their regular height.

As for shocks, see below.

The correct way to do this is break down your leaf pack to the main leaf. That allows you to cycle the pack from full bump to droop and measure.





If you want it good enough using the stock mounts and without doing this, what I would recommend is getting the axle to full droop while on jackstands, then measure the eye to eye lengths of the stock mounts, and match that to the extended length of a shock. Your leaf pack will cycle about 10" of travel, so if you find a shock that matches at full extension you should be close enough.

 

I keep a spare in my OSK and one in my garage and one in each glove box. Never had an issue, most of the time I just use the glove box one. They're like $4 a piece for spares

 

Toyota jewelry.

 

I've used a 6pt 17mm when I didn't have my key. Wouldn't recommend doing it all the time but in a pinch it worked.

 

Finally got this done, and I love the sound improvement!

 

when you dont have a holesaw or dremel lololo.

 

I run the super bumps with my shocks. The reason I went with the Fox is because they have a longer extended length that I needed with my setup. All setups are different like everyone is telling you, measure the distance between your shock mounts. Measure at full droop and at full collapse. You may have to pick a shock that is too long or you may get lucky and find one that will work both ways. If you have to use one that the body is too long make sure your bump stop hits before the shock bottoms out and make sure it is long enough so when it is at full droop the shock is not extended all the way out. That is why I run the super bumps. When you run the stock mounts it is hard to find one that works both ways. That is why people relocate their shock mounts so they can run a shock that works both ways.
With all that being said I love the ride and the flex I have on my truck and I use the stock mounts, just have to run super bumps to keep them from bottoming out. You can ask 20 different people and you can get 20 different answers, just measure and buy what works for you no one else will have to live with your decision so get what works for you. If you have any questions there are a lot of great guys in this thread that will help, just ask. If I can help in any way I will.

 

im not even an official tw member yet since i haven't done this.

 

Same, this mod has single-handedly made the price of stock 5VZ airboxes skyrocket.

 

should sell mine off for top dollar since the turbo wont work with it. or wait... will it not? il have to find out. i want a snorkel

 

Oooooo I want a snorkel to dang it lol if my list wasn't long enough someone has to mention another awesome project to do

 

So from what you and Brett are saying, I can put the truck on stands high enough so that the rear and droop as much as it can. Then put a jack under the axle and let it down until full droop. And as for its collapsed length, I will just put something on the jack so I can raise it high enough to collapse. And the number I am looking for are based around what? Just the difference between the two measurements, regardless of where it is in relation to the vehicle, or from a center point of some sort?