Has anyone lowered a 3rd gen yet?

First pic is of my 275/70/17 and 2nd pic is 265/65/17
All I gotta say is im getting the itch to lower the truck a about 1 maaaaybe 2 inches. It will look so clean.

 

This seems to be the definitive thread here for lowered 3rd gen's. I'm seriously considering doing the SOS 2.5/3" kit myself, since I'm only 2wd & will never be off-roading in this truck.

I was wondering if anyone has done wider fender flares or even bulge fenders along with negative offset wheels on lowered Taco? I think it would look pretty sick being low & wide as a street truck.

P.S.: I'm not talking about the extreme versions that are tubbed & bagged, etc.

 

The problem with all of the bulge fenders out there is that they also have the wheel well opening cut higher for better off road clearance. At one point I was considering doing some and just re-glassing the wheel well opening but with the cost and then the additional time to re-work them I can just build a set of over fenders when I want to do it. Using some wider flares would work if you are just doing the SOS kit since it won't lower the truck a ton.

 

...and what are these over fenders of which you speak?

Sounds interesting! Let me know if you get serious about doing that. I know it's not for everybody, but i still think it would look really good.

 

Over fenders generally bolt over the stock fender and widen just the lip around the wheel well opening or a whole section of the fender. Bolt on fender flares are sometimes called over fenders in the JDM crowd but what I'm talking about is a full section widening or the fender. Something like the picture below but obviously designed for the sides of a Tacoma.

If/when I do them it would be specifically for my base model long bed so it may or may not fit other 2nd gens or the 3rd gen. Also I don't expect to be doing this anytime soon, I've got other projects to work on first.

 

Has anybody done the SOS kit while still under warranty and then had any denied warranty claims due to altering the suspension??

I sooo want to lower mine the 2/3.5" just cause I bought a rwd and think it looks a little stupid being so high with 245's on it... I don't plan on changing the wheels or tire size, but also don't want any negative affects cause of lowering it a little... Plus as I get older it will be harder to get in the truck, and my wife is short... lol

 

I could see a dealer voiding warranty on the shocks, ball joints, CV boots and the like because well yeah, lowering the truck does put extra stress on those components. Voiding the warranty on things like the AC, engine, electrical system and other non-affected parts of the truck wouldn't fly. If they tried I would just bring up the Magnuson-Moss warranty act and tell them to prove that the modifications affected the part in question. I've never had a issue with a dealership trying to void the warranty due to modifications and most of my vehicles have all been heavily modified , well within the initial warranty period. Then again I only take my vehicles to the dealer for TSB and recall work.

I've had to deal with it for customers when I used to do car stereo work for a living. Had a few times where the dealer tried to say the stereo work caused an issue they were having so I would go to the service department and tell them to show my how it caused the issue. They either couldn't or didn't understand how the install work was done and upon showing them that it couldn't cause the issue they would do the work under warranty.

 

I can see how something like this could be used for the desired look/ effect. Does anyone currently make a set for these trucks?

I did find some nice looking wider carbon fiber flares...

 

I was playing around with Grok (AI) for image generation for the first time & came up with these. This is pretty close to the direction I'm eventually headed...

 

Nope, no one makes anything like it for the Tacoma. If I do it I'll have to make my own. Fortunately I've done plenty of fiberglass work over the years so it's not difficult, just very, very tedious.

 

and the static vs. bags war coming to Tacoma World was not on my bingo card

 

Yeah, I like to stir the pot. LOL