Best way to fit bigger tires

I'm sure there are lots of threads on this, and I've read many but I have what I would consider above average fabrication ability so I would like to run some ideas through you guys and maybe get some ideas back.

So the most obvious first step is a lift. Should I drop or angle the diff to maintain down travel and pinion angle?

I'm going to build custom upper and lower control arms. Is there any reason not to move the axle forward an inch? How much angle can the CV joints handle?

Body lifts are easy. Are they worth it?

I'm going for sort of a mid travel setup. I want to get as much travel as I can without extending the tires outside of the fenders. I just don't really like the look and I don't want to change out the rear axle. I also really don't want it where the bottom of the cab sits at the top of the tires.

I'm considering keeping the suspension more towards top of travel to be less top heavy on the road, with airbags to bring it up for off road. Is this stupid?

I have an entire salvage T100 for parts, and I will be regearing and putting in lockers.

And my biggest consideration: torque. I'm not really concerned about the torque from the engine, but the binding torque from lockers concerns me. What typically fails first and are there aftermarket options to beef them up? And what do I need to do with brakes to get them up to snuff? I'm not opposed to swapping brake boosters for more pressure into upgraded calipers if that's an option. Heat dissipation isn't a major concern as the total energy to stop the truck remains the same.

The bed is junk on my truck (as is the engine currently) so I'm building a flatbed which can accommodate whatever I want for tires in the rear. Not totally opposed to clearancing the front fenders a bit either.

 

Body lift will give you more clearance for larger tires, but a suspension lift won't; all has to do with geometry, since a suspension lift only affects where the truck sits in the suspension range at rest.

Here's a good overview of what comes into play with various wheel/tire combos on a 1st gen. Take a read through and by all means ask questions!

What size tires fit my (lifted) Tacoma?

Moving the control arms forward will give you more clearance, but if you move both forward, you will run into issues at the front and/or lose your caster. Moving the bottom forward is really the best way to get more clearance (and better caster) and is what happens with the aftermarket LCAs you get from Solo.

 

With a locked front CVs are your weakest link. The 7.5" open diff carrier is not very strong and deflection can lead to ring and pinion failure but running an ARB, Harrop, or Detroit fixes that issue and shifts the failure focus back to the CV axles themselves.

You have to do the same amount of firewall tubbing for 35s whether you're running 0 or 3" of lift. Less is better. A lot of people land in the 2-3" range. The less angled the CVs are the less strain on the joints there is. You can still break the actual shafts at either splined end or in the center even if the joints hold up.

RCV makes beefed up CVs -- they are very strong but the caveat is that makes the front ring and pinion the next weakest link. I'd rather run OEM CVs and carry spares than have to worry about carrying a whole spare diff.

Brakes are relative, some people find them to be a huge issue. With clean fluid and OEM calipers I have no issue stopping 35s with stock brakes. Pedal feel and stopping distance are both fine to me but I drive it like a truck and expect the same braking performance. FWIW I have disk brakes on the rear and didn't notice the huge increase in stopping power or decrease in braking distance that people lust after -- the fronts still do 70% of the work.

Reading through this thread should give you some idea of the work involved https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fitting-35s-on-3-suspension-lift.307596/


Keep in mind you're not just putting torque on the drivetrain. Your spindles, ball joints, CV bushings, tie rods, steering rack, steering rack bushings, and power steering pump all suffer additional abuse and may need to be replaced or be updated.

 

I've considered doing a body lift, on top of the new OME Kit.
Sitting in the drivers seat, looking at the console shifter, it looks like I could get away with 1"-1.50" without problems extending anything.
Can anyone elaborate?

 

Of coarse I'm about to overcomplicate things again and will probably swap in a straight axle. Any reason not to go bigger than 37s? This is my truck for offroad stuff only, and really only needs to handle on the road well enough for me to make it to whatever trail.

With the freedom of a straight axle with upgraded birfields and upgraded power steering I think I can fit whatever I want.

A coworker has 40s on his old pickup, though I think I can fit them a bit cleaner than he did.

 

Remove the air.

 

You're kind of all over the board with your questions, and I'm honestly wondering how much off-roading you've actually done with this truck. Are you fully aware if your truck's shortcomings based on your driving style and experience, or are you just thinking about stuff you've seen on other rigs?

 

The truck doesn't have an engine, so not much off roading, no. I work in an off road shop and have built a lot of things, but never been the one to spec out what I was doing, and I don't really work on my own vehicles.

Also, this truck is supposed to be a cheaper version of my T100 project, so I'm going back and forth between what's easy and what's ideal.

 

My ideas always swing rapidly from one way to the other before settling on something more reasonable. (I almost bought a helicopter engine for a different project once, but couldn't find a transmission that could handle the torque).

I am sticking with the IFS, and designing the bed for 35s. I will probably run 33s until I deal with gearing or get more offroad experience.

I think I have enough info on how to manage that pretty easily.

 

I wouldn't go bigger than 35s on IFS but some guys on here have...I think @Wulf laid it all out best. With 35s+ you start putting a lot more strain on more than just the axles and cutting to fit the tires is just one small consideration for making it all work.

You can do a lot with these trucks on 33s with a locker

 

33s it is then. Probably an ARB lift unless there is a better option, and bodylift/clearancing as needed.

Thank you all for your help.

I need to remember that I don't actually even like working on trucks.

 

You can do a lot more with 35's, dual cases and dual locked.

 

Good point, 40s and a straight axle it is.

 

@jbrandt

This guy gets it