No Lift Suspension Upgrade

I am sure this has been discussed before, but I lack the skill to locate it in the forums.

I have a 2012 4WD TRD Tacoma double cab with a bed cap. I find that my rear suspension seems to bottom out and I want to upgrade the rear suspension to make it ride better.

Is there a no lift option to accomplish this?

Thank you, and if you have the link to where this was previously discussed please send it!

 

I’m skeptical you are bottoming out; which means to me exceeding the travel of your suspension and making contact with the bump stops. I suspect you are just feeling the harshness of a solid axle leaf spring pickup truck suspension. Short of replacing that with a independent rear suspension, I don’t think you can significantly change its characteristics. It’s designed to be inexpensive and robust at the cost of ride comfort and handling.

 

Have you checked if your Tacoma falls under the leaf spring TSB? Toyota was replacing leaf springs on some 2nd gens for free.

Your truck is 10 years old, and it's very possible your leafs are sagging and cannot hold the weight of the truck plus a shell.

For minimal lift, I'd be looking for some 3rd gen Tacoma take off leaf springs. People sell them here often, since so many upgrade to aftermarket leafs. In addition to take off leafs try some bilstein 5100 shocks if you still have original shocks. Good luck.

 

@gudujarlson - thank you for the info

@Superdave1.0 - My truck had the springs replaced under the recall in 2016. My springs have 3 leaves, and the 3rd Gens have 4; if I can't locate those, would an add a leaf provide the additional support?

Would a moving to a multi-rate leaf pack (like the Icon Dynamics ones) create a better riding experience?

Thank you for the advice!

 

first question i have for you is would you describe the rear's ride harsh and/or jittery? this has been discussed many times and the first step in solving that would be Archive Hammer hangers for the rear shackle mounts. those will remove the harshness and jitteryness. that may not be complete, however, and your suspension may require more replacements depending on your truck's setup. here's a pic of mine with those and a mild 5/8" lift on 31.5" tires.

 

@su.b.rat - I wouldn't describe my rear suspension as harsh or jittery. It is fine during street driving until I hit a change in pavement height and then it feels soft. When going slow through bad washboard or dirt roads with deep pot holes it feels soft and any sudden drop results in a loud thud and what feels like it hitting a sudden stop.

I will read up on these hangers and see if they might help. Thank you for the recommendation.

 

you bet! what you describe sounds like it would benefit from those hangers, read up here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hammer-hangers-by-archive-garage.519625/

 

Sumo Springs? No lift or actual engagement until the suspension takes a hit or carries a load. Relatively cheap and easy to install. I’d venture you wouldn’t ever know they are there until you experience your bottoming scenario.

 

my personal experience with those on a Fox Pro suspension is they made my truck's rear buck on the highway and prevented the pricey Fox stuff from even working in the rear. when we removed the Sumos they were absolutely destroyed from all the bucking, and that day magically my Fox Pros started working in the rear. i really felt like a fool just blocking off my Foxes at that time. i don't haul or tow so i then realized I'll never need them. the best solution ended being the Hammer hangers and King 3.0s keeping the TRD Pro leafpack, just perfect for my truck and its use.

 

Hey, do you have weight added besides cap? I agree it does sound like you are hitting the stock bumpstops. We offer a Ubolt flip kit Option 3 that is particularly good for no/low lift applications, it engages softer and sooner to start slowing weight down in a progressive manner. Sounds like you are in need of rear shocks with better damping force as well, such as a Fox 2.0 performance series valved and tuned to your truck by AccuTune Offroad.

If you need cheap shocks, try KYB Gas-a-just shocks, do not get Bilstein 5100, they are garbage

 

@su.b.rat & @ARCHIVE - The hangers look like a well engineered piece of kit, however, they seem out of scope to correct my problem. Maybe getting my rear suspension sorted will prompt me to venture further and create a need for the hangers. I greatly appreciate the additional information which gave me other options to consider as well.

@gillies66 - Thanks for the sumo springs, bump stop replacement, idea. It could be a great addition.

Thank you for all of the responses, they provided a lot more avenues to explore and better keywords to search my issue. This thread ( https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ng-rear-end-on-my-truck.776586/#post-27764551 ) seems to better match what I am experiencing and solutions others used to correct it. My current plan is replace OEM leaf spring pack with a heavier duty one (ICON RXT or Deaver Stage 2/3), then consider Sumo Springs or the AG Speed Bumps as an additional augment. The other considerations I am aware of now is the chassis cross member support and bed channel stiffeners.