Want to switch from 33's to 35's

Anyone know what all I'll need to do to get these on my rig? I've got a full KING setup with Dakars on the rear. Still need to put on the AAL though. Any thoughts or gotchas? I need tires on the front and really just want to go a different route from the BFG's on there now. I'll be selling off the rear's as they are barely at 5k on them.

 

CMC is you haven’t already
I’d regear- 4.56 if you’re manual, 4.88 if auto.
Trim fenders and fender flares
Hammer pinch weld back

 

Lots of threads on here about it. Most people chop 2 inches from the flares and fenders. And you'll need the usual cab mount chop and smashing the pinch weld. Then, depending on how much you wheel, you'll be beating the firewall with a hammer.

 

Gears and cut all of this

 

Wow. That's not as bad as I thought but still some work to be done. Anyone out there willing to lend a brotha a hand on these things? I'm good with working on my rig, but never done this before and really don't want to jack it all up. Do we have a mod day coming up soon or something?

 

Yeah, I've been searching but seems most info is buried in long threads. So I thought I would ask my local Tacomaworld guys. Thanks for the info and ideas fellas. The gearing is def the next thing I'll be doing. The truck hunts for gears constantly as it is so I just manual shift the Auto as much as possible.

 

I did all that except regearing. I have a v6 auto, and it runs ok for me. I commute 95% on a bike, so it's not a big deal for me. If you drive a lot people consider it pretty important. For the trimming I did about 1.5 inches on the front fenders, trimmed a big chunk of the flare in the front of the rear wheel well (but not the fender at all) and hammer pinch weld for days. I'm also running a 1-inch body lift (toytec) which made a HUGE difference. Some don't like body lifts; but I've had it for 1.5 years and no problems so far. BUT, you'll need to modify any armour you already have, or it will sit 1 inch too low (since).

It looks like you have stock wheels, which is probably fine, but some advise you use a wider wheel with a much more aggressive offset. I ran stock TRD sport wheels with 35s for a while and it was fine. I had 2.5-inch spacers back then. Again, something people frown on. Now I'm running 17X8.5 -10 offset, approx. 4.30 BS (VTX Vipers) and 1.5 inch spacers (spidertrax). Without the spacers they rubbed bad on my JBA UCAs and cab mount. With the spacers, it's only slightly on the cab mount, and that's with a pretty aggressive chop (chopped, plated, then hammered inward - it's so ugly I'm almost embarrassed to show it) and 3.0 caster. It's going to be a squeeze no matter what unless you go with a cab mount relocate.

For the lift - Front: Icon extended travel at 2.75 and JBA UCA, Rear: TSB leaf, toytec AAL, 1.5 inch block, Bilstein 5125s for 3-4 inch lift.

Pics are below. Ignore the mess, I was installing sliders. I hope that helps.

 

After the regearing of both diffs it will become the most expensive 1" of lift you'll ever have.

 

So true.

 

So after much thought, maybe I should look at the next size up I can go from my current 255/85's 16's without having to hack or regear. I could be ok with the hacking if needed though. What are your thoughts guys? I suck at tire sizing...

 

This is a simple answer: don't do it. The Tacoma is not designed for 35s... or 33s for that matter. Moving to 33s is enough work, but 35s or anything in between will require cutting, welding, and significant modifications with almost unnoticeable performance gains. You will only get an inch lift out of this, and you will spend thousands of dollars doing it and run the risk of seriously messing with your truck.

What would be worth your time, is starting with a v8 engine swap to turn big tires. This will require a new transmission and transfercase. Then re-do the front and rear axles and drive shaft to handle the torque. Then cut all of your side panels to give you truly big tire clearance, add extended travel shocks on the front and rear (custom housing needed for both of these). Finally, add a proper tire, like a 40" maxxis on a bead lock. The point I'm making is that once you get to a tire size that is going to stress your drive train and your engine (35s, and arguably 33s), you need to strengthen the whole truck before you just put bigger tires on a rig. Probably more than you want to do at this time... This is why guys buy a first gen with 300k on it (dont pay much for it) and then have fun rebuilding the old LSX engine and some dana 60s. What are you are wanting to do will destroy your current power train and everything attached to it, over a couple years mind you, and leave you with a junk truck. So get a project truck, learn to weld, and make a hobby out of it.

 

do you have 33's or 35's?

 

Not on my Tacoma (for reasons listed in my post). I have on 06 chevy colorado that is my current project truck. I can tell you from working on friends trucks that I don't see second gens top 250k, or 200k, with anything much larger than stock tires. Head gaskets, timing chain components, cam shaft bearings, transmissions and drive shafts all wear significantly by 150k on every truck with 35" tires in my experiences (and most of the 33s). Big tires are touch on little trucks. Ive personally worked on 8 second gens, usually all tire mods, similar to the discussion in this post. So, clearly not a mechanic level of accomplishment, but enough that I hesitate to recommend doing it without a clear intention to make other mods simultaneously.

 

Wtf does head gaskets, timing chain, and cam shaft bearing have to do with bigger tires. The only wear item on a driveshaft is the u-joints.
After 200k it's anybody guess what will fail big tires or not.

for the record I have had 33's on mine for 8 years. I have 135k miles and 100k of those miles are with 33's and mine is fine. I just stepped up to 35's about 6 months ago but after the re gear i don't have to drive it any harder than normal on the street. Yes ball joints, steering racks,and wheel bearing may need to be replaced early but those wouldn't junk a truck

 

You did re-gear? That mitigates a lot of the stress on the power train, which is in part why you do it. As you have noted, you had to drive the truck harder until you re-geared... driving the truck harder puts excessive wear on the engine to produce the power to turn your tires, and excessive wear on everything between the engine and your tires (transmission, transfer case, drive train, etc). Hence my comment - you really should plan to do a major over haul of your rig if you are planning to put some big meats on the axles (re-gearing is the minimal version of this). And if going bigger and bigger is your thing, then consider getting a project truck and starting from the ground-up (engine, axles, etc).

Because you have driven your truck hard for about 100k to turn your tires, you have put excess wear on everything from the engine to your tires. You will notice this when you hit... oh say... maybe 150-160k (particularity if you have lots of miles on the highway). A slight rattle is going to happen on startup from your engine, often perceived as a rough idle at first. You will also notice a decrease in power and fuel economy - more than usual. The timing chain is going to be shot, and the head gasket is going to go shortly there after. Without modifications like huge tires, these trucks will not have these issues until 200/250k, easy drivers often get to 300/350k. Anyone who is savvy enough to redo their suspension and chop the cab would be able to makes these repairs themselves, but take these to a dealer and you are looking at 3-4k of work for each job (or totaled by many people's standards).

Like you, I like big tires. I happen to have a truck that I ran into the ground running a similar setup to yours, and now that truck is my project truck (the ol' chevy, which died at 139k, RIP). I plan to start on my tacoma once my chevy is in tip-top shape, so I have no complaints. Its up to you, and the OP, to decide if this is worth it. I personally happen to think it is as long as the potential deficits are appreciated.

Does that clarify my position? No intention of dissing your rig - my intention is to provide the valuable information the OP is looking for.

 

I see what your saying but 2 inches of tire doesn’t do a whole lot. It’s not like I had to floor it every time I took off. What I’m saying is after 200k miles with any car or truck anything is liable to fail and you can’t say the tires did it.

I would rather have a 200k mile truck with 33’s driven by grandma than a stock tire truck driven by Dave that burns rubber at every stoplight

I do agree with you. You can build an older trail rig with big tires cheaper that trying to make one out of a daily driver tacoma.

And yes with all the mods I have done to my truck it’s way easier to replace a motor than start over with a different truck.

 

So..... when your engine does crap out are you gonna drop a v8 in and toss some 40"s in it or what?! Come on now, you know you lay awake at night thinking about it. Is it socially acceptable to admit that I was a little excited when my chevy died, knowing how bad I wanted to drop a v8 in? I couldn't hide the huge shitty grin on my face when I told my wife it died.

Now something a little more provocative. If you put 33s on it, why not do some burn outs or drive it hard? I don't see the purpose in making these mods unless you are going to enjoy them beyond the looks. Getting 150k out of an engine is a choice as long as you are informed. Clearly you like this truck, surly you like to drive it too?

 

I bet you did have a big grin I would have too

I wish i could but a v8 and 40's in it but at that point it's just easier to just fully build a trail rig. 35's and lockers get me anywhere i want to go.

Oh, I didn't say I don't drive it hard because I beat the crap out of it. my motto is, hold my beer if it breaks I will fix it with better parts

side story my tacoma was supposed to stay stock.
9 years ago I had the money saved to build trail rig on 40's. my wife got pregant and truck fund was gone so i just built my truck as i had the money.
about 7 months ago she told me she was pregant again and the first thing i said is "now i will never get anymore truck parts"

 

That is heart breaking. Truly. My heart goes out to your family (you are a good man for putting them first) ... and it breaks a little for the truck you don't have. My wife strictly prohibits more than one vehicle being on jack stands in the driveway at any given time, hence my predicament. I keep telling her that the little honda accord she drives would look great with a 6" lift and some ATs on it. Teeheehee. Drive that truck softly my friend, best of luck with your family (keep your dream alive, there is always retirement).

 

for sure it would look good with a 6 inch lift.

we are not hurting for money especially now compared to 9 years ago. but I already have my truck built and it does what i need it to so it's really not a dream anymore