Difference in ride quality/performance between off road and sport

I just got rid of my 06 TRD OFF ROAD... dbl sb. I've since been searching for new taco, therefore i've been test driving a lot of Taco's. Thus far, I have noticed a noticeable difference in the performance between the Off Road and Sport edition taco's. The Sport is a lot more responsive and rides a lot smoother. Can anyone explain why, or am i just looney tunes?

 

suspension is the same on both of them. the only things that i can think of that would cause you to feel a difference on road is that the sport has the limmited slip rear differential, and the fact that it has a 17in wheel vs a 16in lik the off road version means that the sidewall is slightly smaller. bith of these are things that would change cornering ability....but not by much (if any)

 

suspension is not the same, they have different springs, the off road has a progressive stiffer spring, the sport probably rides better on road i would assume.

 

^^^did not know that. i'm asuming this is just for the front though correct? rear leafs should be the same since there are not separate tsbs for sport and OR models?

 

correct, everything else is the same that I am aware of, you can tell the difference by looking at the springs, if you look at the off road the top couple of coils will be brown instead of black.

 

just me thinking out loud, but wouldn't the fact that the OR has a stiffer progressive spring mena that it would handle (not be smoother) better on road b/c it would mean less body roll?

 

ah, gotcha...i've seen that many times, but never made the connection

 

heres the off road coils



heres the sport

 

Ok, i understand the difference in the suspension, but as far as performance, any differnce there? What effect does the LSD have over the REAR LOCKING DIFF?

 

you could be right i dont really know the physics behind it, i just assumed that a softer spring would absorb the little bumps in the road more, and the off road springs would be better for hitting bumps at higher speeds.

 

for ride quality nothing, for performance the locking diff will always out perform the lsd, but the lsd is really good and should work well too.

 

I don't do much off roading, most of my riding is on the street. So what should i get, off road of sport?
I just want a truck that is really responsive, and a smooth ride.

 

i would go with the sport then, cause with the sport you get the nice color matched door handles, mirrors, grill and bumper as well you get the hood scoop.

 

That's exactly what i was thinking !

 

X2. Sport all the way!!

 

Fake hood scoop!!!! Yeahhhhhhhhh!


Get an X-runner and long travel it.

 

lol, was anyone on this site when some guy came on here and posted a thread about his hood scoop for like $400 dollars that was similar to the one that comes with the sport. man that was funny, that got got roasted.

 

found it

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/buy-sell-trade/51675-need-new-face-lift.html

 

Wow I just spent 20 minutes reading stuff from that thread. Fucking hilarious!

 

I test drove off road and sport double cabs and noticed a slight difference in ride quality, but not enough for that to be the deciding factor. I liked them both for different reasons but chose the sport because I got a better deal on it. And of course because of the bitchin' hood scoop!