lifting 3rd gen trd pro tacoma

I have been back and forth with shocksurplus all day on what is would take to lift my tacoma 3" as if it did not have the fox stock shocks. im told 1-2 for the front and 2-3 for the rear but i am replacing the leaf packs so that would be more than 2-3 in the rear and 1/2 inch to none in the front. any advice?

 

I am confused. Replacing rear stock leafs with 2-3" inch lifted leafs is a 2 to 3 inch rear suspension lift
Up front, 3 inches of lift can be done by a big, crappy tophat spacer, and risk the other component damage from the coilover assembly being too long. Or a big money adjustable coilover, high spring rate, setup. Or call Rough Country with up to 3.5" front lift coilovers and springs. I don't think shocksurplus carries RC.

 

Just call Colton @memario1214 at Hotshot Off-road and tell him what you want to do and he’ll set you straight.

if you’re upgrading to Kings, give @AccuTune Offroad a call.

You can’t go wrong with either and they’re both pretty active on TW.

You’ll get people recommending not to lift more than 2.5” in the front, otherwise you can run into issues, like cv boots ripping, needing new UCAs and then trying to shove 35” tires in there. That’s what no one will really tell you and it comes out of nowhere… the urge to put on 35s

 

The Pro's already have a slight lift in the front. Like 1" or 1.5" or something. So you won't be able to gain 3" on top of that. You can only go 3" total.

 

Are you lifting for off-road performance, to fit bigger tires, or just for show? They're all good enough reasons for me, I'm just curious.

For off-road performance you probably don't want to lift your truck any more than it is at current ride height. Trust me the amount of clearance you get isn't worth the loss of articulation. TRD Pro gets a nice set of Fox shocks that give you an inch lift over other models. The front suspension can only handle about 8 inches of travel, give or take. If you lift it too much, you won't have any down travel. And the preload you put on a spring to get it at that height will prevent the wheel from achieving full up travel. Generally what this means is your ride will be rougher on and off road. I learned this from experience.

For bigger tires, a lift won't technically give you more clearance unless you never take the truck off road. Any time you find yourself tucking your tires into the wheel-wells, they'll rub again unless you get a CMC (cab mount chop). Get a CMC and you won't need a lift at all to fit 33's. I ride in a stock height Tacoma with 33 inch KO2s and I don't get any rubbing even at full lock with the wheel tucked. Cab mount chop will get you the tires without sacrificing the performance.

If you're lifting for the aesthetics then go ham!! More lift the better, and you could probably get some lights for the wheel wells also. I've seen some really cool deep dish setups. Horrible for off-roading, and on-roading, but it looks badass and you can see over the top of other people's Tacomas.

Hopefully this was helpful though. More lift means worst performance. The Tacoma suspe sion geometry just isn't conducive to extreme changes. Unless you go long travel. Long travel is da bomb. And quite expensive.

 

i go camping with my truck and offroad where i can as it is usually just me going so i want to go further. the reason for the question is i want a bolt-on rear bumper with swing arm. at times my bed is packed down and carrying a RTT. i am all ok with the suspension i have now as it has cleared everything i have tried to cross. so i guess the real question is would a new leaf pack be what i need to compensate for the weight? roughly 300- 450lbs in the back without bumper and added another 180 with bumper.

 

Read up about Deaver Stage 1 and Stage 2 leaf packs.

 

Put some Firestone airbags if you’re not loaded down every day. Super easy. When you load up your gear air up rear air bags and you’re good to go.

 

I did bags and the downside is that they limit downward travel if you don't use the Daystar cradles which slap

I'm so much happier with my Stage 2 Deaver leaf pack for superior ride quality versus air bags.

 

A new leaf pack designed to handle more weight is the best solution, but I use an Icon 3-leaf AAL in the back, and I kept the overload springs. I have a high clearance rear bumper and a Yakima bed rack and a large rooftop tent sitting on it that equates to about 400-500 pounds and my truck sits at stock ride height in the back. I haven't overloading the bed, but for 400-500 pounds the Icon AAL work perfectly and don't break the bank for me.

The front is a little lower due to the driveway angle, but I have about 4 inches of up travel and 4 inches of down travel in the front, so it works as intended.

 

Thanks!

We're happy to help clear up any questions you may have. If you're adding roughly 300- 450lbs in the back without bumper and added another 180 with bumper, you will definitely want to consider a new leaf pack to support the added weight, new shocks to accommodate the added lift height and control the extra weight. If you were to just change leaf packs, your stock shocks would be too short (top out often) and not valved to support the weight. Although it would technically work, you will likely suffer with ride quality and stability. Add a leaf might be an option, but I think you would be over that weight range.

We are big fans of Deaver leaf springs and we have a variety of options that will suit your needs. If your budget allows for it, we can also custom tune some shocks to go along with them. We offer the complete package, so happy to help point you in the right direction. Feel free to send us a message if you have any specific questions!