New Tacoma Owner- Couple questions about lifts

Hi everybody. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Recently purchased a 2020 Tacoma TRD Sport short bed. premium package, tech package and LED light package. I am looking into lifts and tires and the amount of information is a challenge to sort through for a novice like myself.

Wanting a 3 or 4 inch lift. Wanting it for aesthetics and some minor off-roading (at least to start). Hoping to not jeopardize the feel of the ride to drastically and want something quality.

What am I looking for in a good lift kit?
Any specific brand recommendations?
What price range should I expect to pay for the kit? (planning to install myself with a mechanic friends help)

Also, what tire brands do you recommend for a lot of road driving and some off-roading? Prefer something that looks mean with the lift but hoping to keep the standard 17 inch aluminum wheels that came with it, at least for now.

I am tinting the windows this month. I have predator tubes I picked up off of someone extremely cheap, they have a bent rear step and need small weld but for $150 it seemed worth it for what I hope is an easy fix. Any other upgrades or accessories that are a "must have"?

Thanks so much for helping me get this started.

 

Welcome. Tons of info in here and good people. If you are going to go off road people will instantly tell you to use sliders over steps as a start.

Also, there is a wheel and tires section that has tons of good information and you can see what brands of tires, tire size, lifts etc people are using.

Most of what you want to know depends on many variables to include price, capability, and overall vehicle daily function. I would suggest trying to look up some different topics in the meantime because based on all the info you mentioned you want to know, there will be a lot of unanswered questions in the end and many different opinions of each factor.

Always take the time to fully think about each purchase and many pros and cons will be found here I promise. Best of luck!

 

Welcome. I'm a newbie as well and just got a 2020 TRD Sport too. So far I love it. Right now, I've been doing some simple interior and exterior cosmetic mods. I did replace the grill with the Pro Grill and raptor lights. I really like that mod.

But, I'm in the same boat as you are in that I want to do something to make it look more aggressive. I'm not going to do any serious off-roading, but I want it look like it could. Wading through all of the topics and posts is overwhelming. Everybody has their own experience and opinions. I personally don't like the stock tires I got, so I think I'm going to get the BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2s and see what they look like on it. I do like the rims, so..... we'll see.

Sorry, I wasn't more help.

 

Research lifts. Bilstien Eibach etc. great budget lifts. Maybe get you close to 3”. Above 2” sometimes uca are necessary to get proper alignment etc.
Good luck

 

OP, also consider your tolerance for increased wear and replacement of parts. Some things you do to the suspension can cause extra wear and tear prematurely. Like Whitetail said, consider the implications of each change.

Trail patina like pinstripes in the clearcoat, the mud stains you don’t bother to clean off on your tire sidewalls, and actual camping/off-roading gear loaded in the bed always “presented” a more capable truck than a 3” lift in my book.

 

I hear ya RB 24. So much info it is a lot to sort through. The initial threads for newbie mods identified lifts and wheels as the first things to do. Looks like I need to do some more digging. Certainly want to minimize premature wear and tear and limit the impact on ride comfort. But I am also looking to beef up the truck. The stock tires are not great. I'll check out the KO2's. I want to lift before I buy tires so I can go with a larger tire as well.

Where did you get the pro-grill and raptor lights? How much did this cost you? I dig that look.

Happy hunting-

 

Thanks for the info. The initial threads for newbie mods identified lifts and wheels as the first things to do. Looks like I need to do some more digging. Certainly want to minimize premature wear and tear and limit the impact on ride comfort. But I am also looking to heighten the truck and "beef" it up.

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the info about the steps. I figured I would just take them off anytime I planned to go off road. If I start going frequently I will definitely look into sliders. I'll check out the wheel and tire section.

I certainly understand the variables and pro's and cons of making changes. There is so much info/opinions on the topics, hard to tell where to start when your a newbie. As I replied to others, the initial threads for newbie mods identified lifts and tires as the first things to do. Looks like I need to do some more digging. Certainly want to minimize premature wear and tear and limit the impact on ride comfort. But I am also looking to beef up the truck. Thanks for posting and looking forward to being a part of TW

 

Welcome Aboard!

 

I got the grill from the Taco Garage. I went with them because they had the black letters. Standard seemed to be silver but I wanted black. All in all it was $250.

 

Yeah man don’t rush it if you can stand it. Lifts will always be for sales. Tires will always be for sale etc. I haven’t lifted mine for a reason. I’ve read enough to know it isn’t the right move for me personally. I did upgrade wheels and tires but a lift isn’t something I am interested in. Maybe one day but I like the simple drivability and still have the wider footprint and good tires for now.

 

OP drive the truck for a while on and off road and then decide what what you want to do as far as a lift goes. I've been thinking about lifting mine for about 6 or 7 months. I finally decided to just upgrade my suspension and lift the front 1". That's all I need for the type of off roading that I do. Good luck and enjoy your new truck.

 

first you have to be honest with yourself will the truck really see any offroading or more like gravel and dirt. agressive tires will be louder on the road and will wear quicker, anything over 2.5 inches lift in the front will require upper control arms, anything aver 4 inches requires you to change the angle of the drive shafts because it will now be too acute and will eat parts.anything over 35 inch tires will kill your needle bearings and can fuck up your wheel studs. so it comes down to what you want to do, what you want to spend and how much your willing to replace and fix. also just know you will get no money back in resale for mods.

 

What's your wheel and tire setup? Looks really nice.

 

Thanks man! I got them from @Johnny77

TRD Pro Reps
Satin Black
17 x 8
0 Offset
265/70/17 BFG KO2’s

No rubbing
No lift

Here is the thread that originally got me wanting these. I love them and Johnny is super easy to work with and great pricing.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/matte-bronze-trd-pro-replica-wheels.608302/