2017 Tacoma TRD OR with 2" Lift rides rough

I have a 2015 Tacoma TRD OR that has no mods and I love the way it rides. I have driven a 2017 Tacoma TRD OR with no mods and I also love the way it rides. I recently purchased a 2017 Tacoma TRD OR that has only 20k miles on it. I bought it from a friend who installed, an Old Man Emu 2” lift with their Nitrocharger shocks. OME has a light, medium and heavy kit and this truck has the medium. I do not know what springs this kit comes with...all I know is it's OME's medium. He also fitted some aftermarket 17” wheels and a set of Cooper Discoverer ST maxx tires, size 255/80R17, load range E, set to 32psi. Knowing little about lifted trucks, I was surprised to see how stiff/harsh the truck rides compared to a stock TRD OR. When hitting small/medium bumps on the highway the truck will sometimes jump to the side just a bit. It’s a bit unnerving. The steering is also overly sensitive compared to stock. To quantify this lets look at a scale from 1 to 10. 1 being super soft like a Cadilac and 10 being super firm like a sports car, Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche 911 etc. I feel like my 2015 TRD OR, which is stock, is probably a 4 or 5. The 2017 that has been lifted is more like a 7 or 8. Is it common to experience a very noticeable reduction in ride quality when lifting a Tacoma? Or is it just this specific lift kit and E range tires that I have? What can I do to soften the suspension to make it ride/handle more like a stock TRD OR while maintaining the lift? Thanks in advance!

 

Yeah, the stiff load range E tires are not going to help, had them on my 4runner. As far as the suspension, if the springs are too stiff add some weight. Basically suspension systems are set-up based on intended vehicle weight. Too stiff of springs might seem harsh on a stock truck, but add the weight of skid plates, armor and steel bumpers winch etc and it might be perfect whereas a softer coil would be sagging.

 

Ditch the old man emu stuff up front and get some Eibach front stuff. I had this on my 2018 and it was really smooth in comparison to the old man emu stuff i had on my previous Tacoma. As for the rear if it has the Dakar leaf springs ppl are taking one of the leafs out for a smoother ride, not sure which but search it on this site..

 

Do you know exactly which Eibach stuff you have/had on your 2018? Pretty sure they are the Dakar leaf springs and one has already been removed.

 

overly sensitive steering could be sign of misalignment. You loose caster on a lift which can increase bump steer and make your car move around more

 

The lift could be part of your problem, but the E rated tires are probably your biggest issue. I run them also, it was a big difference from stock, but after a few weeks you get used to them. Since you have 17in wheels you should be able to find some C rated tires. Swap out to Cs (or even better Ps) and I’m sure you will like the ride better.

 

I just ordered the OME light duty kit and it came with 887 springs. I had asked what springs came with the medium duty kit and I'm pretty sure I was told they came with 888 springs, which might be too much for your truck if you don't have any load on them.

 

I ordered the assembled front coil and shock set at the lowest height from toytec. They only make one system for Tacoma’s so if you check out their site you should find what i am referring to.

As for the tires play with your pressure to determine if it changes things much and go from there. In my experience quality E rated tires ride fantastic. There is way too much old school banter about tires from uninformed ppl online. If the tires are cheap low tier stuff than i could see them negatively affecting the ride

 

lol funny how when you mess with the specs that professional engineers designed the truck around things don't work as well...

 

Yeah miss matched parts will make it ride like total shit.

 

Love my C Load 265/75/16 Duratracs. Only wish they came in a 255/85/16 size!

30psi in Summer
32psi in Winter

 

I have 888 springs and nitrocharger in front
HD dakar and nitrocharger in rear
Rides so much better that stock
I have c rated tires

 

I'm not trying to be combative here, but you knowingly bought a used truck that rides like shit
Why not address before purchase

 

You nailed it. Any time you modify a vehicles factory suspension, tires, wheels, etc. there is a compromise. Toyota and it’s engineers allocate a lot of time and resources dialing in the ride on a vehicle and the Tacoma is no exception.

A good example are the 4+ pound lighter alloy wheels on the 2020 Pro. The chassis engineers recalibrated the Fox shocks ever so slightly to help compensate for the new wheels.

 

If you add permanent weight to the truck then you are going to have to modify the suspension. A winch and hidden style bumper with frame connectors will add 160 pounds easily. Add a second battery and there is another 40 pounds. Now add bolt on sliders. 150 pounds. You can get aluminum skid plates so they won't add much weight. Plate steel rear bumper---50 pounds more than the stock bumper. I didn't even get into stuff like roof top tents. You have to take all of that into account when you buy the lift kit. Obviously, OME kits are designed for applications where permanent weight is going to be added to the truck. Could be that the Eibach kit is for applications where you don't intend to add a lot of weight. And the E rated tires will make a huge difference. C rated probably best for occasional off road. I've been giving all of these things a lot of thought lately since I will be adding the weight of the items I listed and am struggling with which kit to get. Am seriously looking at the OME kit. I plan on getting 17" rims down the line. All of this to go on 2017 TRD Off Road 4X4 DCSB.