What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

It's not as big an issue if the vehicle is flexing appropriately, also the shackles I got are made out of 3/8 steel and mounted to spherical bearings, they'll be hard to hurt. The only real concern is that you make sure the portion of frame you weld your new shackle hanger to must have an internal gusset, the factory one could be cut and reused, but it's easier to extend it.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of the shackles/back of the leafs would catch coming down off an obstacle than about hurting the shackle or hanger.

Everything is a trade off. There are pluses to the 63s and definitely draw backs as well. They will use up travel on a 12 inch shock (one of their benefits) but I'm never going to run 12 inch shocks on this truck. I'm not cutting in to the bed, and I'm not running 2 inch spacers to outboard. So that plus is a wash for me. It's a bit cheaper to do than Alcan, but I'd rather have it more right than cheap. So that plus is also a wash for me.

I'd like to get more feedback from those who have 63s, but getting anyone who actually has 63s, on a 1st gen, is like pulling teeth around here.
That mod is more permanent than I want to do without actually picking someone's brain on it.
Unless you're running 12 inch (or more) shocks, I'm thinking it's more of a thing people do, so they can say they did it, than it actually being better.
If it was such a great alternative... More people would be willing to talk about how great it is.

We'll have to see... but I'm definitely leaning in the Alcan direction.

I can see where crawlers like it. If I were doing a SAS, (longer axles/and/or more room due to more lift) it would definitely be a much more likely option.

 

Got a busy weekend ahead of me. Just picked it up so getting some preventative maintenance done.

 

I don't think hanging up on them can be a concern, the angle and arc, they'll just slide off if they come down on anything. I'm not sure who you've been asking or where you have been researching, but I've had no issues getting lots of info on the swap. Hell I even got precise hangar placement maleasurments from a member which have been a major boon while doing this project. I'm lucky enough to wheel with someone who's done the swap. There's a large difference in the capability of that truck and the others in the pack with alcans. Ultimately with stock length springs you still can only cycle so much, the cap appears to be 10" or thereabouts as you've figured out already. The 63s can pull roughly 13-14 depending on shackle config and spherical bearing usage. I'll be going with 14" shocks. Anyhow, I'm in the middle of this project, but who better to let you know how much of a PITA this kinda work is, especially just to say you've done it. If you think that's other folks' motivating factor I'd say you haven't researched enough yet. I'm sure whatever you come up with will suit your need tho

 

I mean...is there? Not sure i've seen that in any way. Not in a way the leaf springs have merited.

Now..a difference in the driver capabilities. You betcha!

 

I dunno, I'll leave that up to folks to decide for themselves. I'm not too interested in extolling the virtues of having more wheel travel haha. But our mutual friends' driving skills certainly aren't in question that's for sure. I also don't think I've ever seen him lift a tire, not that it can't happen but in similar situations with other trucks at least I haven't seen it.

 

@drr

 

Think I may have once. But was in a rough ass spot haha anyone would have lifted.

 

It's a remarkably good setup, would a SUA setup with long custom leafs be better l... Sure. But that's a lot more scratch and fab, I think that's where the 63s get caught in the middle. Can't expect em to solve the energy crisis or world hunger, but they might make you feel a little less hungry... For travel that is lol

 

I 3D printed a cup holder insert.

 

Well that’s a coffee saver for sure

 

Dude... seriously... you need to stop taking things so personally.

None of what I said was to suggest you were doing anything for the sake of saying you did it. But let's not kid ourselves and pretend that a lot of what is done to a lot of these trucks isn't done for the sake of saying it was done.

And if one was going to NOT out board their shocks, and NOT cut their bed, and NOT run their rear shocks in such a /\configuration that they nearly touch each other at the top... they would find themselves at (roughly) 10 inch shocks... at which point, a case could be made that 63s are being done for the sake of saying they were being done.

That point was being made about me, and my truck. Not you, your truck, or your project.


But for me, in my estimation, I don't see a huge point in running 14 inch shocks in the rear when I'm limited to 8 inch shocks in the front, 10 inch if I LT or XLT. Wheel travel is great, but there is a balance where you have diminishing returns. Let's be real. If you can't get the front end of your truck through something the rear will never be there to give you the "wheel travel." THAT is where the idea that I can see the real point with solid axle swap. You are never going to get even roughly equal wheel travel in front with our IFS... even with XLT.

As far as the pain in the ass is concerned... sure, pulling the bed is a pain in the ass, cutting, measuring, welding, cycling suspension, etc is a pain in the ass. But everything that needs to be known is known. Leaf length, arch, shackle length, shock travel. The parts need to be collected. When the parts are there, there is nothing that needs to be known that a tape measure and a calculator wont tell you... and its not like 63s have never been done before. The task could be completed in a 3 day weekend, with a little help from someone that has little more than a general understanding of suspension design. It's not building a space shuttle.

 

I only replied cause you made it sound like it really was space travel and finding the info was too tough for you. It's okay, I'm not bothered. It's no secret neither of us like each other much. I don't care how you build your shit, and you don't care how I build mine, that's cool. But there are others that read this stuff and having this mis represented doesn't do them any favors. You could at least look things up before writing them, of course if you did you wouldnt have been waiting for more info about 63s. LT kits by the way, pull 13" of travel on our IFS front with 4wd and 18" with solos XLT 4wd ... You could have also looked that up. But have fun we don't have to respond to each other anymore. Not sure why you needed more information, did you forget you know it all?

 

Or kiss each other and get it out of the way

 

Fine Mom!

Maybe we already did, it's an abusive relationship and that's how we like it

 

I don’t wanna say hawt



but damn

 

The only two times I've seen him lift one...and it's not in the rear!

Whipsaw, when we all lifted. This was a deep ass rut.

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Boulder Basin, when he just plowed up through a route that several others winched up. Here's how I described his route at the time:

"Finally it was Dan's turn. And on 35's, Dan took the approach of "just go straight up; yeah, the line is a lot harder, but who cares when you're on 35's?" It was a sight to see - something the rest of us would never have attempted - and he plowed right through it, only getting hung up on his slider for a second before bumping up the 24"+ boulder."

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Nice driving sir!

 

No, actually, I didn't make it sound like space travel or (the build info) was too hard to find... I was pretty specific that I was looking for feedback from people who actually had done the swap and wheeled with it.

The actual swap is fairly simple and has been covered in write ups going back to when the beginning of the internet and videos on Youtube since nearly the begining as well.

And again, simple measuring tools will tell you what you need to know... however... none of those things tell you ride characteristics, payload characteristics, and trail behavior (namely opinions on departure angle).


You do realize there is a difference between a 14 inch shock, and 14 inches of shock travel? Right?

Like, a really big difference.



And BTW... literally nothing in my posts was wrong, or even "misrepresented."

 

I love watching that truck work, his changes over the past couple of years on it have been good inspiration.

 

And the point isn't that I don't care how you build your shit. That's not what I said at all. The point is I wasn't talking shit about your build.

There is a select group in this thread that has a monopoly on talking shit about other people's builds... I'm not a part of that club. (and don't want to be)