Feedback/Regrets on lift/no lift decision?

Holy cow those are big trucks. What’s your mpg on that?

 

I thought I had read on this site that it is more the weight and width of the tire you are running that affects gas mileage, than the lift or height of the truck. Drag should come into play with truck height, but the majority of the gas mileage decrease is due to the tires selected - wider and heavier = worse gas mileage.
Is this not correct?

 

I get 10 mpg on the highway and city (doesn't seem to matter), and around 8 mpg when I'm towing. Since I bought the truck to tow a race car, and I no longer race, I no longer need the truck for towing. I'm looking forward to doubling my gas mileage with the new Tacoma!

 

I had an old ram charger and the pig got about 14 mpg. Got a full 12-13 mpg towing.

 

If you want 33s, go 255/85/16 and you won’t have an issue at stock height. You can lift 2 inches and it’ll look fuckin awesome too.

 

My 2016 TRD OR is my 4th 4x4 in the past 37 years. Two older Fords and a Mazda, all great trucks for off road.

My only mods are the Pro skid plate (original was destroyed on trails), Bilstein 5100 (not lifted) and 265 75 16 BFG KO2. I did not like the bouncy off road ride with the stock shocks, and I need 10 ply tires for the terrain here.

Blowing a 4 ply tire on every trip is not my idea of fun. That is an almost sure thing on the trails I drive. Thousands of large sharp rocks on most trips. The Pro skid plate has a lot of grooves in it, but no holes like the stock one suffered.

I blew 2 of the stock Kevlar Wranglers on my first outing with my Taco, and both on the same day. Since that time, I have over 130 trips on the KO2s (my second set now) and no flats. That reliability is a great thing as I am solo remote on every trip. If I was not off road, I would stick with a 4 ply tire for comfort.

None of my past 4x4's have been lifted. I am a fisherman and a hunter. All my trucks were used extensively off road. My Tacoma is off road twice per week from April to November.

Here in BC, I drive terrible rutted deep pothole and washboard deactivated forest service roads before I even get to the 4x4 trails. I hate those roads. They are so punishing, slamming into deep potholes and brutal hopping on washboard. Like riding a bucking bull every trip but for hours and not just seconds.

Now the 4x4 roads are a pleasure to drive. Into 4-lo 1st gear and just crawl over some obstacles. None of that hammering like the FSRs.

Every trip I need 4x4 traction for mudholes, deep washouts, steep and loose rocky inclines, etc.

If you often drive terrain that requires a lift, then get one. Makes sense and a simple decision in that case. If it is for looks only but that makes you happy, go for it. Life is too short to be concerned about others BS. Sometimes my own BS concerns me, but that's a different topic...

So I am driving a lot of trails like in this pic. Truck width with no pullouts so you have to go over everything, but the stock ride height is still sufficient for me. It rides hard with the KO2's and the stiffer Bilstein 5100, but that works for the 4x4 trails. A softer 4 ply tire would be better for the washboard and pothole roads, but no good for the 4x4 trails to access my fishing lakes. A lot of sidewall rubbing on large rocks and the KO2s hold up well to that.

 

OME lift for me. 2.5” all around. I’m very happy with it so far. I was able to add 33” tires with no chop until I added 1.25” spacers, which created a rub and a subsequent cab mount chop. All told, I added load capacity and increased ground clearance and haven’t seen any negatives yet, save for a slight MPG loss.

But truthfully, the way I drive has a much bigger impact on MPG.

 

My truck doesn’t have a lift. Went with falken Wildpeak 255/85/16 mud tires. I don’t rock crawl and I just use it for hunting.

 

Keep it stock. Safety, MPG, bunch of things impacted and not worth it unless you REALLY want to do it (and zero judgment of those who do). Just my two cents if you’re not doing anything totally crazy. A stock OR is pretty fucking capable out of the box. I got a TRD PRO so I could have my cake and eat it too, keeping it stock. But I’ve driven stock ORs for thousands of miles and taken them into gnarly shit. Never had an issue.

 

For those that went up to 33's... is the power loss noticeable?

 

stock gearing? Yes

 

I have the TRD lift kit, which are trd branded bilstein 5100s all around. Also went with 17 trd pro wheels and biggest tire I could fit with absolutely 0 rub was 275-70-17 (Falken wildpeak at3w)

I have no regrets. I like that the truck feels heavier and less floaty. Slight mpg loss but that wasn't a surprise to me.

 

I'm staying with stock set-up. Very happy with the way she performs on a daily basis.

Next set of tires will be 265/70/R17s...I believe it's a 1 inch increase in height. (and the biggest I can go without changing anything)

 

I bought my 16 Tacoma new. I've left it pretty much stock (except for wheels & tires) and just enjoyed it.
Back in April which was 6 years that I've had it, I decided to finally lift it.
I didn't go nuts with it just about 2.5 inches. (maybe 3). I went with a Dobinsons MRA setup. Coils, leaf packs, SPC uca's.
All of the goodies to do the job right.
It's my daily driver but I wanted better capability off-road. So far after nearly 6 months, I'm happy with it.

 

22 TRD Sport I had the dealer do the TRD lift kit and one size taller nitto terra G2 tires, so I went from 265/65/R17 to 265/70/R17. I'm super happy with the way it looks and the way it drives,

 

I left mine stock and will probably leave it that way. I don't off road other than forest service roads and I like the way it rides. While I would consider a small lift of 1-2", I am concerned about vibrations or wear on components.

Also, so far I am averaging 22 MPG and do not want that to change.

 

I started with a small lift. 2” in the front with Bilstein 5100, rear Bilstein 5100 and an Icon AAL. KO2 265/75r16. It drove great. I averaged around 19 to 20 MPG.


Then I wanted more

Now I’m on OME PB51 at 2.8” of lift in the front. Fox 2.0 Resi, and OME Dakar medium
Pack 2.5” of lift. KO2 285/75r16 on a Black Rhino Staduim wheel with -12 offset. I average around 16 to 17 MPG.


I have no regrets on lifting besides I should have went 285 to begin with but still got a lot of use out of the 265.

I’ll be going 315/75r16 next. It never ends


I didn’t have to chop the cab mount. Before I got the front bumper all I have to do was trim a little plastic and I pushed the fender liner forward to make the 285 fit.

 

How many miles on it now, and what type of terrain for off roading and daily driving?

Curious as I have the 2016 TRD OR access cab. Same color, not that it makes a difference. Mine was used and so orange it was.

Any issues with the truck, meaning repairs, breakdowns?

I am at almost 70K miles, about 15K of that off road on pretty bad roads and trails. Truck only had 6K miles on it when I bought it, was a trade in for a Tundra. For city driving, I am also doing 5,000ft highway climbs many times per year, on the Coquihalla highway which sees cars, trucks and freight trucks burn up regularly trying to do that climb in hot weather. Engines overheat, and they set on fire and burn to the ground before any emerg crews can get to them. Mine has handled it well despite a 1,000 pound load in the back on each trip.

So far, I have changed my drivers side wheel hub, cv axle and inner needle bearing. A lot of hammering on bad off roads, and after I accidentally hit a 4 foot deep washout at 30mph, that was it for the drivers side. Truck just exploded, just about broke my jaw from grimacing so hard. Went through a bunch of washouts that day and in the sunlight did not see the next one until it was too late.

I figured I was stuck for the day and hiking out, but managed to drive out and get it repaired. That destroyed the stock skid plate, so at least it did the job that time.

Other than that, the truck has been solid. Just the typical issues everyone complains of, like the odd tranny shifting, some driveline vibration, and what have you. Nothing needing repair.

Wondering where others who off road stand with their 2016 Taco's.

 

I’m not anti-lift but I just don’t really see the point in doing it to a truck. So, unless the 235/80R17s I plan on installing onto my SEMA wheels end up rubbing the mud flaps, then I will not be lifting mine.

I will however end up doing pretty much everything else including gears and a bunch of other stuff though. I mainly like my truck to perform better but still look stock/unsuspecting.

My biggest reason to not lift is because it affects everything that is already properly setup. Driveshaft angles, alignment, control arms, etc. it just kind of opens a can of worms and unless for some reason I need to go down that road, I just don’t see why I would. I won’t ever run 33’s or larger so there’s just little benefit to me to tinker with suspension that I don’t need to tinker with.

 

I mean, you do you, but if you're not willing to lift because you think it changes the drive geometry in a way that would be undesirable _and_ you aren't going to be running 33's, I can't for the life of me imagine why you would pull your differentials apart and regear.