New Truck Lift Questions

Hi Folks! New Taco owner here, and I’m super overwhelmed with what’s probably basic knowledge on suspension. I bought a 2019 TRD OR LB yesterday, and I want it lifted along with some rims and beefier tires. I don’t want to sacrifice a lot of fuel economy, so I’m looking at 3” or less lift/level with probably 18” Fuel Mavericks or similar and unsure about tires. I also don’t want to skimp on money and end up lessening OR performance on the horizon.

What would you all do? It has less than 100 miles on it so far, so Spacers? Bilstein 5100s and sell the originals? Upgrade to FOX?

Tire suggestions are cool too—but my biggest concern is the lift.

I can google acronyms, but try not to overwhelm the few brain cells I’m working with too much.

Thanks in advance!

 

5100’s up front with OME 888 coils, and medium duty dakars in the rear, and extended length 5100’s for the rear shocks. I would also look into getting UCA’s like the JBA’s or SPC, I prefer JBA.

This will give you 3” all around, and the UCA’s are needed to correct your alignment.

As for tires, I absolutely love my Cooper AT3 XLT’s, they are very smooth and look aggressive while still being amazing on road and off road. Others have had great experiences with the Nitto Ridge Grapplers.

 

Just get a complete system from Accutune so you know everything will work well together. Check out their videos on their page and you'll be confident they know what they're talking about. It's not cheap to do it right I will forewarn.

 

This was very helpful. Took me a bit to read up on everything. Both seem like good solution, and just so I understand...the lifts settle afterward, so I’m looking at closer to a 2.5” with Bilstein and 2” with Fox 2.5s? Probably wrong. Still need to read about stages, and what all that means for me. I assume I only need stage 1 suspension, since I’m trying to be the Tacoma equivalent of Tacti-Cool, with nice gear and trying to figure out how to use it. Thanks for the help, back to reading!

 

I wouldn't do anything to a brand new truck. I'd wait a few months to make sure it's a good one first. If you lift it and have problems, the dealer will definitely try to stick it to you.

I waited 34k miles to get install my lift (Dakar HD and second gen pro suspension). Mostly because I'm lazy though.

 

Went Tough Country 4" with spacer UCA and otherwise stock....may go to 5100 rear shocks but for now seems fine. Did the cab mount chop and went 285\70\17 on Pro Comps. My wheeling is mostly trail and sand and I drive 20K a year freeway for work. Pro Comp tires have a 60K treadwear guarantee but I'm a big fan of Falken Wildpeaks as well.....All Terrain for both. Also did the ECGS bearing swap.....only necessary on 4x4.....I can upgrade if needed but feel this will be my best on road\off road combo for my purposes.

 

I would agree. At least wait 10k miles before making big changes.

 

I agree with you both but still did it at 600 miles.....F it.....it's a Toyo.....it's a good one!

 

That's not been my experience lol. Mines been ok at best. 100% gaurantee the dealer would have blamed my rear diff whine on my lift or tires, and that didn't show up until 15k miles or so. I can only imagine the fight I would have had on my hands regarding the funky shifting if I was modded. They tried to blame the rust in all 4 of my door sills on my rack for crying out loud.

OP do as you wish, just be prepared.

 

goodbye warranty

 

Rust in door sills? Where exactly?

 

You mean the 36K warranty? Psshhhhh…..be by that in 15 months.....

 

Pretty much see about one guy a week show up here describing leaving the dealer and driving to a shop to replace half the parts on the truck. I understand that modding is a big part of the Taco ethos and mine has plenty of mods.

The first argument will be that you can sell the takeoffs to defray the costs. That is true but thanks to everyone else doing that the market is saturated and prices are falling.

Break the truck in. Make sure there are no major problems. Take some time to decide what you like and don’t like as well as what you do with the truck then you will have a better understanding of what you want to accomplish. You may also consider some extra payments to reduce your loan balance.

You mentioned off road performance and mpg. I did my mods over a fairly long period so I have a good handle on the fuel economy impact of each. I first added skids (150 lbs) with little change then added sliders (150 lbs) which combined dropped my average about 1 mpg. The suspension was next (6112, 5160, medium Dakars) and I noticed very little change. Finally the tires, Wildpeaks. That dropped the average 2 mpg and I went with P load in the stock size.

Tires will hurt you the most (more so if you insist on bigger and/or heavier than stock) but I agree the stock tires aren’t really tough looking. The stock wheels are pretty good though; replacing those with anything but a true beadlocker (which may not be street legal) seems silly.

Nice truck, btw. Welcome and have fun!

 

Check out Dobinsons for a complete suspension system that was designed for your truck. You can also dial in exactly what you want from 2” to 3” of lift.

With the right wheel offset or wheel spacer, you can run up to a 33” tire with only a little bit of trimming.

Have fun looking around, lots of good options out there. Congrats on the new Taco!

 

Went with the Fox 3" ultimate lift kit and installed it at 5000 miles. Quality parts and convenient to have everything included. Happy with the lift so far. If you have it professionally installed it won't jeopardize your warranty.

https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...JAfl8PMD1gMOcrkPfSQ3eJwoaMH5vfhxoClYkQAvD_BwE

 

Underneath the rubber weather stripping and sill protectors.

 

Take your lifted truck to the dealer with any kind of issue that they could tie to your mods and report back... The dealer absolutely will fght you.

 

Depends on what you’re going to use it for. I bought mine as is. 3” toytec spacer lift, 18” fuel rims and 285, 75 with 18” fuel rims. She’s a pavement princess, but I’ve heard for light off-roading this will do just fine.

 

Looks great! I think I’m going to hold off on tires/rims until mine actually need replacing. I will most likely have a pavement princess as well with light trips into the mountains for camping, but I really think a minor lift makes a big difference in the look. My issue is trying to find a lift that A.) isn’t more than I’ll ever need B.) doesn’t break anything or cause issues and C.) is good for SHTF scenarios/crisises where lane departure is a must (yes, I’m that lunatic with a go-bag). Lots of advice to slow down and wait 10K+ miles before doing anything; so I’m trying to do that but it’s not easy. All these trucks look so good and I just spent 75% of the last decade overseas. I need me some ‘Merica.