Sorry if asked before - TRD sport lift

Hey guys,

I got my first taco and said to myself that I was going to wait until 50k to change suspensions. Well, with 265/70r17 killer BFG tires, Nerf Step Bars, and diamondback cover it just seems like a little lift will make the ride much… cooler for the lack of better words.

The thing is that I am pretty impressed with the TRD Sport stock suspension. I don’t want to choose the wrong suspension and get a worst ride after spending money on a new shocks. What would you recommend for the budget of $1500 - $2000? Cheaper is better but I wonder if it will be an upgrade to the stock shocks. After installing some good shocks in my Harley I really believe in good shocks changing everything.

I use my taco as a daily driver. Lot’s of short highway travel (~1 hr one way). No hard core off-road but want to start camping on the trails with my taco. But even that might be maybe few times a year.

Do you think it’s good idea to go premium on fronts like fox or king and using 5160 on the rear? Should I get a control arm?

I don’t think I will go 285 tires but who knows.

Thank you for reading!

 

The shocks, or struts, don't provide any lift. That's all from your springs. Now, I come from the Tundra side of things, so apologies if things are a little different for a Taco. I wouldn't know as I plan to stay stock, however, I would point you toward Old Man Emu. They are generally cheaper than stuff like King, Fox, or Icon, but also are generally well reviewed. I don't know that you'll get a "worse ride" because that is purely subjective. Some people like a stiffer ride for better feel and cornering on road, while others want a softer, plush ride for soaking up bumps and playing a bit off the pavement. Only you know what you want it that aspect.

If your truck is 100% pavement, you could go with a small spacer lift and likely have a minimal impact on ride quality.

Upper control arms are only needed if you are lifting to the point that you can't get a proper alignment with the stock ones. If you are going with bigger tires (no idea when you only said "285 tires") you also need to be looking at wheel offset and if you will rub on anything. This all adds up to loads more money than your $1500-$2000 budget. Depending on all those factors you might have to look at a cab mount chop (taking off the corner of your frame) and other mods.

Bigger tires will also make your speedometer off, and that throws off the odometer and all your fuel economy stuff as well. You need to decide if you are ok ballparking that and accounting for it, or if you want to recalibrate the speedo to the larger tires. This is a big reason why I'll never buy a truck with oversize tires. 99% of the time the owner didn't know anything about this and has gone way more miles than they think. A tire that is 10% larger in diameter will throw all the numbers off by 10%, so that odometer that reads 150K miles could be short by nearly 15,000 miles if the big tires were put on early. That can also mean that the maintenance records are off.


All stuff you need to research and learn about. Not telling you not to do it, but best to know what you are doing before you drop money on it.

 

Bilstein 5100
AAL
UCA (not really needed)
aligned and installed for about 2k

 

6112/5160 with at the very least an AAL and yes you will need control arms. Shop around you should be able to find a set around your price range. I recommend doing the Dirt King ball joint arms if you’re looking for quality yet budget minded. But if you really wanna go cheap just get some blocks and call it a day. IMHO, not that you asked, the stock sport suspension is trash. Doesn’t soak up much off road, tosses you around a bunch. At least that’s been my experience in my region.

 

What TRD_jay said.. and look though this.. Tacoma Lift FAQ/Guide - READ THIS | Tacoma World

 

wow, thank you for all the info.
Yeah, I’ve been trying to research some of that information. That is why I am mainly staying away from 285s in my mind. It just that everytime I see one, I say to myself it might be worth it.

I will do alot more research. Thank you for all this info! I was mainly a motorcycle guy when it comes to mods so any info helps!

 

I was thinking about those suspensions too. Thanks for the info about the Control Arms!

 

Can't go wrong with 6112 and UCAs

 

Looks like @23MGM is pointing you to a good research resource. You'll get it all figured. These trucks get modded like crazy, so as long as you are willing to read up, you can learn just about anything you want to on them! Best of luck on your journey down the modding rabbit hole!

 

The UCAs are also needed if you’re doing a larger lift and plan to be aggressive off road (not forest roads or fire roads) as the stock UCAs can contact the spring…or so I’ve seen…

 

Exactly the route I’m going

 

Did you add another set of suspension on the rear or just the AAL? I wonder if this is even possible. Your setup looks great though!

 

This seems like a decent setup. Now it might be completely ignorant of me to ask this but after reading the lift FAQ it seems like I could skip the new suspension on the rear? Just upgrade front and add AAL for the height? Is it possible or should I get the 5100 on the back. Overall goal is to get 2.5” front and 1.5” on the back.

 

Your question seems legit to me. Hopefully someone with more expertise chimes in, but I think you need the new shocks in the rear because the AAL would "stretch" out the stock rear shock. Not sure, I'm probably the dummy.

 

This makes sense to me too. Thanks!

 

Coming from someone that's down the rabbit hole of lifting chopping and dealing with all the fun that comes with it. Take you budget and double it there are other aspects to keep in mind with a lift. 2 that are regularly over looked are the driveline related vibrations that can come along with it. Anticipate a clamshell bushing at some point as the lift puts additional strain on what's already a bad design. Rear pinion angle, you can get odd vibrations if you either put in angled shims on your leafs or spacers at your carrier to help compensate for the change in angle. Additional wear on cv boots. The increased angle will wear out cv boots faster.

Now those 3 won't necessarily show up immediately and may never be an issue but it is somthing to keep in mind.

Fuel economy takes a bit of a hit with a lift then takes a severe hit if you slap on 285's

Now having said all of that if I were to do it over again on a truck that wasn't going to carry much weight here's how I would go about it.

Up front elka 2.0 in the extended travel set to 1 maybe 1.5" no need for a uca at this lift or shock combo.
Rear elka 2.0 extended travel with a 1" block full leaf pack replacement if you intend on hauling or towing a fair bit.

I preffer a softer more plush ride which the elkas offered up compared to stock or any truck I have been in with fox.

There's a ton of options and alot of information out there. Just alot of aspects that are regularly over looked take your time with it and be ready for your budget to go well beyond what you expect.

 

wow, yeah those issues are something I can’t afford on my daily. You said no UCA needed for 1.5”. How about 2.5”? Am i pushing too much without UCA?

 

Skipping UCA’s is not a great idea. I did that and tore through a set of tires.

I scooped ELKA 2.5’s with Dirt King (Balljoint) UCA’s. Dirt king I think is on sale right now.

 

At 2.5 your going to start having issues with positive camber and caster settings in your alignment. With a 6112 you also risk the uca hitting the coil since it's a 2.5 body instead of a 2.0.

One of the main reasons I don't like lifts over 2" max is the amount of down travel you lose. Lost down travel can cause a shock to top out over bumps and really hurts any off road performance by reducing overall articulation.

I would recommend looking up tinkerers adventure on YouTube to really understand the function of components he does an incredible job breaking everything down.

 

Looking pretty similar over there. Been really happy with the dirt kings compared to my old spc's