Will you miss the leafs?

I know a guy who was hoping Nike would put out a shoe with leaf springs

 

I had high hopes for this thread, but it has not delivered.

 

Don't worry, plenty of time to bounce back

 

I say it’s about time. 4Runners have had rear coils/links for decades. I can’t see any reason for Tacomas to still have leaf springs in 2024.

 

The 4Runner is not a pickup. Apples and oranges. Albeit, Ironically, the 4Runner has a larger GVWR than the taco. Also, I think a 4Runner costs like 10k more last I checked.

 

Since 09

 

no wonder why my dog hangs out underneath those types of trucks!

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what other stuff can I use to lift my coils?

 

When the 4runner went to rear coils in the 2nd gens, it was still virtually identical to the leaf-sprung pickups of the same era, chassis-wise, except for coils. Same with 3rd gen 4runners and 1st gen Tacomas - the coils vs. leaves are the only real difference in the chassis. I don’t see how the body style makes any difference at all.

 

The use case makes the difference. The taco is marketed towards buyers that prefer cheap, simple, rugged, hauler, tower that doesn’t need to ride nice. It’s one of the cheapest pickups on the market. I Toyota also markets it as a off-road vehicle to appeal to younger buyers

 

Having a 1995 4unner, I never knew this. It was a great truck, but I am glad I got out when I did.

 

I really like mine, but I would not call them “rugged”. When you compare them to what Toyota used to build, they’re pretty delicate.

 

You don’t think a taco is rugged compared to a Camry?

 

why are you comparing a taco to a burrito, I’m talking about their trucks.

 

You misunderstood me. What I was saying is that a taco is on the bottom end of pickup trucks, but is still more rugged than your typical sedan or cross over SUV.

At the same time, it fits my use case very well. It tows my boat, isn’t terrible to park in the city, and cheap enough to pay cash for.

 

My comparison was to the newer ones vs the 80s style trucks with a 22R engine with many owner repairable components and a solid front axle and solid bed, like this:

 

I didn’t own a 80’s Toyota pickup, but I owned a 74 and 81 Datsun. I definitely prefer my 2020 taco.

 

Oh, I remember those! Almost flipped one on the pitchers mound doing doughnuts and slides in the rain on our HS baseball field!

as for coils on a 4th Gen, what will they do when they switch over to hybrids or plug-ins- does the Rivan have coils? I’d think that battery weight would require leafs.

 

Still not sure how coils change any of that. Coils work just as well as leaves (or even better) for being simple and rugged, for hauling and towing, for similar cost, and they ride nicer both on and off road.

 

Like I said previously, I don’t understand why pickup trucks continue to use leaf springs, but I trust that the automotive engineers know more than me. My best guesses are that they are simpler, more, rugged, have non-linear behavior suited to a vehicle whose payload varies, are compatible with a solid axle, cost less, and are sold to a customer that accepts a harsh ride quality or perhaps even likes it.