Half lift?

This taco NEEDS a lift. It just looks like a prius with a bed without one. Of course, my other truck is a full size and this is my first Toyota.

Im not sure how much of a lift to go with. I see a LOT of 3 inch lifts, but I hear that is where you start to have geometry problems and really take a hit on the MPG. This is my daily driver and I don't intend to do very serious offroading with it. Gravel roads, whoop de doo's, playing around in the river bed and that sort of thing. Fishing is my thing so I do what I need to do to get me there. If I do get into the serious end of things, I will probably buy an old tacoma and build that up.

How much lift can I get without impacting my MPG or my ride quality too much? Inch and a half? If you have done similar, please share your experience.

 

Lifting the truck decreases mpgs.
Either:
Leveling kit
Or
Raise the front with upgraded adjustable coil overs and match the rear with new leaf springs and longer shocks.

 

The lift itself hits the mpg's or the bigger tires that come along with it do? I like the idea of new coil overs.

 

Lifting a truck in an of itself shouldn't make a noticable difference in mpgs.

It's the added weight and drag from bigger tires that get added.

OP, if you stick with stock tires and lift 1"-1.5", your mpgs will be damn near the same.

 

I had a 1.5" lift (spacer) a few years ago and I was very disappointed, could barely tell it was up. I would say maybe add a little $200 1" lift but bump up to 33s. Shouldn't rub (too much) with the correct backspacing and my gas mileage from 31s to 33s went down maybe 2-3 MPGs (I have a 4" lift now) averaging about 18.5.

If the "geometry not matching up" is your only concern against the 1.5"+ lifts, it's really just getting the ECGS bushing and installing that in the front diff. Pretty routine thing any shop can do, and even intermediate mechanics work. The 3" is the sweet spot, that's why people go with it. I couldn't tell you numbers on MPGs but again, I average 18.5 with 33s and a 4" DB lift

 

Lifting any vehicle changes the airflow under causing a reduction in mpgs.

Yes, heavier wheels do affect mpgs negatively as does mud terrain treads and E rated 10ply tires.

Hell yeah, better dampers really make the truck drive better!

 

I would think that anything over 55mph would be where any mpgs might get affected by any airflow changes.

Better shocks are definitely a huge improvement in drive comfort and stability.

 

I installed an Eibach Pro-Truck Stage 2 coil over kit with a 1 inch block in back, and added 265-70R17's. My fuel mileage hasn't really changed too much. The kit gave my 1.8" in the front and the 1" in the rear. At a later date, I may install Icon RXT rear leafs and crank the front up to get a nice factory raked look. The nice thing about the coilovers... adjustability.

For me, I think my wheel choice offset the heavier tires... the wheels are quite a bit lighter than the factory Sport wheels.

 

Any lift or any tire upsize will cost you 20-30% efficiency. So, if you get 20 mpg you will now get 15-16 mpg, maybe 17.
Your truck does not need a lift. You want a lift and that's fine. Just be aware that your truck, in stock form, will take you places you didn't think it could.

 

No. Lifting makes the truck punch a bigger hole, creating more aerodynamic drag. Physics do not lie.

 

If you do the back half of the lift it will look like this...


(We were actually 1/2 done at this point, we'd done the rear suspension, but not the front).

 

Mine looked like that after doing heavy dakars in the rear and fox 2.5 (set at the preload they came with). Had to crank them down a good amount to get any sort of lift out of them.

 

I don't disagree. I just don't see it making a big change, especially under 55mph. Over 55+ and wind drag really plays a bigger role in the game.

I lifted my '17 Off Road 2.5" and added 33" tires, added a speedo correction unit for the new tire diameter and my mpgs barely changed. Maybe lost 1-2 mpg on average That is hardly significant to me. I don't travel over 55-60mph very often so that may be why.

Once I switched from 4:30 gears to 4:88 gears, my mpgs have pretty much been stable with what I saw when the truck was completely stock.

Mine is also manual, so autos may have a bigger problem with mpgs when modified.

 

I disagree on the % you posted here if driven under 55mph.

My truck averaged 16-18 mpg when it was stock. Lifted 2.5", 33s and 4:88 gears (manual trans), and speedo correction unit, I still average 16-18 mpg.

You might be right if your speeds are much higher in the 70-80mph range.

There is also the fact many many folks don't install speedo correction units, or do the math incuding the larger tire rotation offset.

So with larger diameter tires, they are not getting credit for miles actually covered. The head unit and the ODO are off.

 

MPG overall, not just under 55 mph. Most people get stuck in traffic, travel around town and travel the interstate.
You spent what, $6K in lift, tires and gears to get back to stock mpg? That's a lot of gas.

 

With the black wheel and what appears to be a bigger tire on in the back. It makes your truck look like it ready for the drag strip with slicks on in the back....

 

That is cool as all get out. Reminds me of the 1970's

 

Maybe a tad more than that. I didn't spend any of this $$ to recoup fuel economy. And I certainly didn't buy this vehicle for any touted mpg in the first place. Anyone that does, is fooling themselves. I have two Corollas for better fuel economy.

The $$ I spent to get my truck where I wanted it was a multi tier effort that fits my needs. Let me break it down for you.

Tires = 255/85R16 (skinny true 33").
This size was chosen for several reasons.
1. I didn't actually need a lift at all to run these tires.
2. No CMC or inner fender clearancing either.
3. The 33" tire would allow me to air down significantly while still having the same ground clearance I had with stock tires fully aired up.

Wheels = I just wanted to get something other than stock and different than what everyone else seems to gravitate to.

Suspension bits =
ICON adjustable billet UCAs. (Honestly no particular reason over steel tube UCAs. I like the look and feel of them better, so there's that.)

Front, ADS 2.5" extended length with remote reservoirs, and 650lb coils.

I don't change the weight of the front, so clickers were not needed.

The combo is adjusted to give me a 2.25" lift.

Rear, ADS 2.5" extended length with remote reservoirs and clickers. I change the weight of the rear so the clickers made sense.
ICON RXT rear leaf pack set on Stage 1 giving me a 3" lift unloaded, 2.25" loaded.

The suspension bits were chosen for the ride quality on and off road. It was insignificant money wise to go with a very reasonable lift with the same bits, verses staying with the stock height.

Gears were swapped to correct the torque to the ground, which actually added a slight improvement (+60rpm at 60mph) going from 4:30 ratio with a 30" tire to 4:88 and 33" tires.

While gears were swapped I had the ARB air locker added in the front (free install).
Probably won't actually need to use it any more than the rear e-locker any time soon. It's just money, and I plan to see 200k + miles or 20 + years like I have going with my '97 Taco. Who knows what I'll be into at that point.

Speedo correction = Rough Country speedo tweaker. I was able to dial my speed to exactly what radar scanners say, as well as what GPS units say. Perfect-O!

So, yes in a round about way I ended up with the same mpgs as before the truck left stock setup.

Do I care about that? Nope!
I certainly didn't factor fuel economy into any of my build.

What I care about is that I can hammer down pothole riddled forest roads at speed with zero bottoming out, bouncing around, with a butter smooth ride.

Rides even better on hours of desert washboard at speed. Again butter smooth! Money well spent IMO for my needs.

I don't rock crawl, mud bog or do deep snow runs, so I didn't build my truck to play in these environments, or look like it would.

I didn't even build it to impress anyone anywhere at anytime. I built my truck to fit my needs and my needs only regardless of fuel economy losses or gains as that means ziltch to me.

 

What wheels are those?