Tacoma 2.5" x 12-14" Shock Relocation 2005-2023 2nd 3rd gen Archive Garage

I know Eric is a busy guy so I’ll chime in case he doesn’t have time. Deavers appropriate for your weight are awesome. They use a bunch of thin leaves so ride soft but can hold a bunch of weight. Pair those with some 14” 2.5 Kings. If you know how to tune bypasses and what’s involved with them, go for it. For that I would talk to the LT guys as they’ll have a lot of good info on heavier weights and if they’re a good pairing, etc. I hope this reply was somewhat helpful and not a waste of your time.

 

Awesome reply, I was thinking deavers as well but was unsure if anyone had other suggestions. Would having a 14” limit up travel though? And I’m thinking of leaning more towards a 2.5 smoothie with an adjuster because bypasses usually only work well with static weight I’ve heard and I have an excess of 600+lbs in the back when hauling dirt bikes so the adjusters would be nice to stiffen up the shocks so the springs don’t get worn! Thanks so much for your advice!

 

Be weary as a lot of the LT guys are all about the SUA set up because they are go fast desert guys. So if you are sticking with SOA that's a little more popular on this side of the US. But as far as tuning the shocks man y'all got it made out there with the # of people and shops that are capable.

 

Hey Cameron,

For mid travel, I prefer staying with spring over axle. There are some compromises with SUA like ground clearance and more sway from rearend due to vertical height between hangers and new spring perch under the axle. Deaver U402 series is good, probably stage 1, so you get best compliance, I also like Dobinsons, and I will be testing a 100% Archive design spring in the future.

So the way I like to improve the spring over setup is modest improvements everywhere.
-Hammer hangers to improve ride quality, droop capability, and durability
-new lift springs that can droop better and hit ~12" travel (stock flatties are around 10")
-about 2-3" lift which increases clearance to the bumpstops, and around 6-7" total bump travel
-Do a U-bolt flip like the Archive version which conserves bump travel and fits a softer engaging bumpstop (Option 4, new Option 3 coming with Archive bumpstop)
-Shock relocation with a 2.5x12, matches springs, gives better ground clearance. 14" can fit but it is harder and most springs can't use it.
-I love the AccuTune'd 2.5 Foxes I have with DSC. They are great for adjusting for load, I once loaded my DCSB with 1400lbs of steel, and cranking the comp up made a big difference in control, pretty amazing.
-Bypasses require more wheel spacer, and I think you have to be careful with bypasses. If you need them, you need them but I have customers who probably didn't adjust the comp zones well, but I was disappointed in the performance, straight from King, looked to me like they were way to soft. There are the race boys who tell everyone you have to get bypasses, be careful who you believe. According to AccuTune, bypasses are valved different and thus don't have the same handling control at normal ride height, but I am not a shock tuner.

Eric

 

That was an awesome reply! I’ll probably do a deaver spring in the rear but I’m still stuck on the 14” vs 12” shock. I’m assuming that the 14” is better for those who want to flex and aren’t worried about up travel because those have to bottom out way before the 12s do right? I’ll probably get a couple different opinions from the LT guys on smoothies vs bypass too just for variety but I’d like to hear what you have to say about the 12 vs 14. I would assume the 12” would be better for up travel cause they wouldn’t almost be fully compressed at ride height like a couple pictures of the 14s I’ve seen?

 

What you're worried about isn't really the case.
The Archive towers put the upper shock eye as high as possible under the DCSB bed, which is which is why it can fit a 2.5x14 with no lift, but its at the limit for sure.
No matter what, you set axle tabs off full bump, so the 14 on SOA is just adding 2" more droop, which most springs can't access so it can be pointless.
If you run Kings, they offer a short body 2.5x14 that is 21.75 compressed vs 23.25 for standard 14
My recommendation is 12"

 

I’m going to read over this thread as well as the hammer hanger thread.
I’m exploring the option of going w/ an Accutune stage 5 kit which includes shock relocation in the rear.
Looking over specs, the one thing that concerned me was the wheel spacers.
What wheel, if any, can be used without spacers? Currently running SCS Ray 10. They are 16x8 w/ 4” bs and -12 offset.

 

Thanks for choosing Archive. If you could get by without a spacer, it would be a 3.5" BS wheel and probably only a 285. 315s would probably rub

 

SCS I think makes some pretty aggressive wheels that are offset enough but it may just be in the F5s.

I wouldn't worry about wheel spacers too much as long as you get a good quality one. I have BORAs and they have taken a licking pretty hard. Bent spindles, broken wheel bearings, bent tie rods, rack and pinion. The spacers still going strong.

I would highly recc. the archive kit. Biggest reason is how high the top mount is. You then pretty much can set the lower mount wherever you need it for your bump.

 

I second what Eric said. I had 3.6” BS and 295s and still rubbed. Had to add spacers to 3” BS to stop rubbing. Then went 315s and I rub again. Now I accept it. And that’s with a 2.0 body shock

 

You also have different relocates I think the AG get the shock a little closer to the frame.

 

Looks like SCS has 3.5 BS on this model w/ an aggressive negative offset too. My only worries is that this wheel is wider than mine (9” instead of 8”)

I guess spacers aren’t the end of the world, although I would like to avoid them.

 

True true. But I am still seconding what Eric says.

 

The back of the wheel and tire would be in the same area no matter the width with the same BS.

What I'm saying is a 17x8.5 wheel with a 0 offset is the same as a 17x9 with a -12 offset essentially. It just moves more of the wheel outward away from the shock etc

 

What size spacers are you running ? I’m leaning towards tall skinny tire route when I upgrade the suspension. Likely will stay close to 33s w/ 285. Did the spacers create clearance issues up front ?

 

Got it. I’m swapping wheels at some point to 17s anyway for better tire options and big brake upgrade.
Guess worst case is I’ll need spacers also. But all this input has made me fear them a little less. Thank you !

 

To chime in I run spacers both front and rear. 1.25 front and 2 rear. Larger in the rear to help clear shocks. I wheel hard and no issues either. The key is a quality brand and proper installation

 

Yep, I have 3.5” BS and 2.5 shocks with 315s and my tires kiss the shock body

 

anyone ever end up running 3.0’s in the rear? Possible overkill, but also could be solid for future rear camper set up

 

Still haven't heard of anyone doing 3.0 smoothies (Bypass definitely won't fit).

I personally have loaded my DCSB Tacoma with 1,400 lbs of steel with center of gravity about 2 feet behind the rear axle to test my AAL, and my rear AccuTuned Fox 2.5 DSC's handled it amazingly during on road driving. I first drove about 40 miles with the DSC only a few clicks above soft and it was still respectable, then I drove to a truck scale with knobs cranked all the way up and it was like the rear stopped moving and was super controlled. My rear shocks where valved for near stock weight. So 2.5 has plenty of valving capacity for all the control that you could ever need on a Tacoma rear leaf spring setup (~1:1 ratio). The only possible thing you could say is the 3.0 has more oil volume to run cooler longer. If you are worried about that, you can still get a finned reservoir for 2.5s