Sport vs offroad Suspension capability

Have any of you guys or gals gone offroading in the Trd Sport stock Suspension? How has it held up? From what i have learned the sport is stiffer then the bilsteins that come on the offroad version, but does that necessarily make it less capable? Curiose to hear from sport owners.
3rd gen owners obviously.

 

More depends on what offroading your doing. Alot of people upgrade the sport and the offroad to better shocks anyway.

 

That is very true.

 

If your bombing through wash boards i highly recommend you get different shocks, if your a trail rider (easy trails) you would be fine, anything really more than easy trails i would reconsider shock choice.

 

Stock truck is gonna be a stock truck off road. The Off road is obviously more geared for off roading but it’s still stock suspension. My SR5 suspension isn’t as good as any of the TRD options and it handles off roading just fine. Just like any of the TRD models, it will also be better once suspension is upgraded. Don’t over think it.

 

I've driven both and honestly I've done the same trails w/ Sports as Off-Roads with stock shocks and all do fine. the off-roads have more flex which should perform marginally better off-road but both are similarly "capable." To most the biggest difference you'll feel is road feel. OR (to me) are softer, floatier ride on pavement and while I think my OR handles really really well, the stiffer suspension on the sport does allow for tighter turning at higher speeds with less body roll but you'll feel the bumps in the road more. my $.02

 

But the bilsteins will be better than the stock blue hitachi shocks. Thats a given but they both can fail offroading. Really depends on the demand you plan on putting them through.

 

Sport implies pavement/handling

OR implies what it says.

Neither are enthusiast perfect, but both will satisfy 90% of the buyers.

 

I expected as much tbh. Only reason i thought to ask is because they offer the Sport in the 4x4 so Toyota had to of built the Sport to go off roading to an extent of course

 

Sure it will.

But 'sporty' buyers like having 4wd for other things too, like snow, boat ramps, etc.

Yet have their more pavement oriented suspension. And that hood bulge.

These trucks are very capable for the average off road use out of the box. Capability blossoms with a bit of tire upgrade. (Maybe not bigger, but better). In the hands of a skilled driver, that capability is even greater.

Beyond that, functional mods specific to overcome shortcomings the truck has for how you use it should be considered.

But if the driver is still error prone, mods won't help much.

 

Both configurations will suit you fine, until you get to terrain where they won’t, and legit coil overs are recommended. So it’s either/or until you need something that has better cycle endurance. Stock, these things are beast to begin with. If you are “rock crawling” cycling isn’t gonna be an issue so much, invest in armor.

 

We have both, a '17 TRD Off Road and a '17 TRD Sport. Both in quicksand actually. As far as the ride in relation to suspension both on and offroad, I can't tell the difference. The Offroad's 16" wheels give a tad more body roll than the Sports 17s, but offroad the 16s are a little more forgiving. None of that will really matter if you go to 33s down the road, but... you really have to think about it, and drive both back to back.

I feel that the suspension should not be what sways your mind. The real difference is do you want a rear locker and crawl control with multi terrain select or not. We prefer air lockers, but the new Toyota e-locker is pretty great. A sport could easily have a rear locker put in it. So like all things, price is one of the major factors. But if you want to even do light trail riding, I would say the Off-road, not for the ride, but for the rear locker. Unless you plan to build it, then get the one you can get for cheaper, because if you can get a sport for $3,000 less, that will take care of adding a rear locker, and get you a compressor and gears with setup.

 

How could you score a "Sport" for 3 Grand less when they are the same price?
7543 - Double Cab Sport Manual - $34,485
7545 - Double Cab Off Road Manual - $34,485

7542 - Double Cab Sport Auto - $36,365
7544 - Double Cab Off Road Auto - $36,365

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-tacoma-model-package-option-costs-master-list.388345/

 

Sorry, should of clarified my thinking there, I was thinking a less optioned Sport versus a loaded Off Road at the same dealership. Larger dealers usually have a few different optioned sub models of tacoma. If the situation came up that you didn't want the technology package or bed cover.

Scenario: The dealer has a sport with nothing on it, and an off road with options that you don't really want, that was what I was getting at.

 

Thank you all for the info you have provided. I currently have a 2017 Tacoma Trd sport 4x4. I plan to upgrade the suspension in the future as i have been watching to many rock crawling videos on youtube and have now opened my self to the off road world. I have learned alot here on the forums. Looking forward to wheels/tires/Suspension upgrade in the very near future.

 

Idk how late this is but I have a 2016 TRD sport with 2 inch leveling kit and 32 in hybrid terrain tires with stock suspension. I took my truck through some large mud pits and some bumpy, rocky terrain and even some slight rock crawling nothing insane, but it handled perfectly. No issues whatsoever and did not get stuck once, gonna hang onto the stock suspension for a couple more years until I have the proper funds to upgrade and then do some real serious off roading. All I would say is get a lift and better tires for more clearance and traction.

 

About 3 years.

 

I've taken my 2019 DCLB 4x4 Sport on some rough roads, nothing crazy, not rock crawling, and I've not had any issues. The suspension on the Sport is tighter and stiffer, but this also means I get less of a boat feel when driving on pavement. And let's be honest, if this is your daily driver, then 90%+ of your driving is on pavement. This is mainly why I went with the Sport vs the OR (also wanted a DCLB and there wasn't an OR at the time with that).

I don't plan to do any serious wheeling for wheeling's sake, rather, the truck let's me get to places without worry (i.e. remote camping and trailheads in the mountains). I put on some Cooper Discoverer 4s tires, welded on some rock sliders and I'm ready to handle most anything. Air down your tires for a smoother ride on washboard roads and go slow over rocks and you will be great. Eventually, when my suspension wears out I'll upgrade. But even then I'll be trying to split the difference between road handling and a suspension that can eat up off road bumps. The OR suspension doesn't make the vehicle more capable, just more comfortable at higher speeds over bumps. With the Tacoma's stock clearance, some A/T tires, and 4x4, you are ready to handle almost anything Sport or OR edition.

 

If you delete the sway bar on the Sport, they are more or less equivalent.


Oops! Missed the date on the OP.