Is a 6 inch lift worth it?

The answer is NO.

 

with the drop brackets you usually end up with less ground clearance than a 3" lift up front. my buddy had rough country kit on his truck and it was brutal. smashed into everything and threw itself out of alignment each time

 

Sounds more like his shocks (springs) were simply sacked out (that, or maybe he needs to hone his driving skills more/needs a better spotter). New (better) shocks (or springs) could've cured a lack of clearance issue.

13" of clearance under the front skid (11.5" under the diff) on a RC kit (4½" lift in this case, of course you'll get even more if you go higher).

 

Just a data point. My 1.75" lift and 32 tires yields almost 11" under the lowesr point of trd skid plate

 

i was driving front on same trail cruising through. my truck with 3" lift measures over 2" more clearance at the cam bolt area. he ended up trashing the 4" kit and went with vertex 3.5" kit. much better in just about every aspect

 

The 3.5" probably does beat that... But at what cost? (ride quality? CV joint & steering rack longevity?). 3.5" is a lot of lift if you don't have corrective drop-down crossmembers.

The 3.5" kit also uses diff drop spacers, so there's going to be some clearance lost to that as well.

 

I can tell you for certain that a 3.5 lift does not require cross member to be cut...anything over 3.5.....REQUIRES CROSS MEMBER TO BE CUT!

Imo 3.5" lift looks great on this midsize truck.

 

As a couple of the other guys from Wisconsin have mentioned here, 2.5-3” is plenty. We do off-road trips about every other month. some of the guys do Moab and other more extreme off-roading and have no issues with our moderate lifts. When you get over 3”, you’re already needing new UCAs, prolly going to need a new needle bearing and of course possibly cutting to cross member. 33s, a winch and some straps will go a long way to having a fun off-road experience.

 

^^
Judging by the looks of it, you were having issues there (the scratch marks in the dirt/mud in front of your rear tires, it packed into the tread of your tires, and your exiting the truck mid-climb (I assume) to survey the situation). Two more inches lift and you probably would've made it over that rock no problem (this is pretty much the same exact scenario I mentioned earlier that played out on GM trail in Big Bear last year).
While I do carry straps and other recovery equipment, my preference is not being a trail plug and having to use it all the time if I don't have to.

 

Not my truck, but he did make it over that rock with ease.

 

did anybody even say it had to be cut for a 3.5 tho? the 3.5" kit doesn't even give that much lift on a 3rd gen. ends up being more like 2.5 because they market the same kit for 2nd and 3rd gens and 3rd gens sit an inch higher from factory

 

A 3.5" lift leaves you about zero downtravel. It's a bad idea for many reasons.

 

But you didn't get to cut your frame...real off-roaders know you have to cut your frame.

 

What?

 

He is joking

 

Ok, whew.

@HHunterx4x4 take a look on Instagram at Tacomas running the hardest trails you can imagine yourself doing, and look at their rigs.

Try to unbrainwash yourself that the tallest truck = the best off road performance. It doesn’t. Leave the tallest truck contest for manboys who are compensating for insecurities.

You need to be focused on improving performance on a number of fronts, and approach/departure/breakover angles are only a tiny fraction of what you need to evaluate.

Suspension travel, for starters, is critically important, and drop bracket lifts often do absolutely nothing for travel.

Tacomas built for hard trails are also HEAVY, and the suspension must be improved to support that weight. Again, a drop bracket does nothing for that.

Tacomas that are purpose-built for the hardest trails come in two main varieties: 1.) Trucks with solid front axle swaps, which are becoming more rare, and 2.) trucks with long-travel IFS, which are becoming more of the standard.

If you ask the builders of these trucks how much lift they have, or what “lift kits” they bought, they will look at you funny, if they’re being charitable. They don’t target a lift number, and they might not even know how much lift they have.

Lift should not be your goal, but the byproduct of increasing suspension travel and supporting the additional weight of trail armor, a winch, and all the other things you will carry off-road. Let the lift numbers fall where they may.

You also don’t need a solid front axle swap or long travel IFS to do some really hard stuff. You can do most of the toughest trails with a 2.5” “mid-travel” suspension upgrade. You will find that is the most common suspension on Tacomas off-road because it goes the farthest for the money.

If you want to run 35’s, get some adjustable UCA’s and lower control arms that push your front wheels forward, so your tires clear the rear of the wheel wells without having to completely butcher your truck. Also plan on regearing, because you’ll need to do that too. And plan on installing a front locking differential because that’s more important off-road than stepping up from 33’s to 35’s or larger.

And plan on spending twice as much as you expect for your build on repairs, gas, and little invisible upgrades you never knew you needed before you completely changed your suspension geometry and increased the stresses on every part of the drivetrain and frame by running a heavy truck on larger tires in demanding situations that Toyota engineers never anticipated.

Off road driving is incredibly expensive, and you will only get a tiny fraction of what you put into your build when it’s time to sell.

 

I had a rough country 4 inch kit set up to be 5" of lift with no sway bar and loved it! Performed very well and I beat on it pretty good. Exercised the skid plates a lot. BDS would be the way to go if money wasn't an object with the Fox coil overs. A lot of 6 inch lifts are just cranked up 4" lifts so that's something to be aware of. People make the clearance argument but in my experience wheelin it's not a big deal, plus you've got more clearance everywhere else... and it looks SEXY lol. It is a mother to install though without a shop lift. Took me 5 days to install it by myself with 2 floor jacks.

 

majority of the users on here don’t like drop bracket lift kits bud. so in other words the users on here are very biased.

 

lol... Some of this is pretty funny

Not just Tacomas, but ALL rigs (doesn't matter Tacoma, Jeep, whatever). You will notice those with greater clearance will be the ones struggling less if rocks are involved.

Would that be men in Hawaii?
(no offense to those in Hawaii, I know some of you are reasonable with your trucks )

Yeah true...

Wrong. A bracket lift actually keeps your downtravel like would be stock, all while giving the clearance you need for those times you need it. Shock lifts trade away downtravel for lift (sure, a mid-travel can add back about an inch, maybe 1½", but at 2" lift still means you lost ½ - 1", and you'd still be draggin skid on the trails where I go).

Correct... It's heavier springs that do that... So what's your point?

Show me a SAS'ed Tacoma that isn't lifted 4" or more above stock height (most are 6" or more). The Tacoma IFS (since 2005 anyway) is plenty sturdy enough that a SAS isn't really needed unless you want to play on some of the trails that loop around Johnson Valley (not really my cup o' tea). Decades ago we saw lots of SASs because the earlier generations of IFS were quite weak. That isn't so much the case anymore.
Long travel certainly could be a viable option, although the extra width can be a potential liability on some trails (trails in the Sierras Mtns. that are tightly flanked by trees, for example).

I really doubt someone who knows a thing or 2 about their own truck would be ignorant of how high it sits.
I build trucks that work for the trails I travel on. Already did the 2-3" lift thing in the past... Got caught up too often, added a couple inches more lift, now it's good.

That may work fine for trails that don't have large rocks, but if you are catching your skids on things (as I was), then its obvious more clearance is needed (and I'm not talking just dragging the skid, but actually having it stop your progress).
I'm also diligent about weight that isn't necessary... I often see rigs going down the freeway overloaded with every accessory under the sun bolted to them and have to wonder how often do they even use some of that stuff (or even go offroad, for that matter).

Agreed that the stock IFS axle is plenty capable. But again, if one is dragging skid enough to get hung up, then what is so bad about a little more clearance for where you're going? I think your idea of "toughest trail" may be different than mine.

35s ain't gonna fit without butchering your truck, plain & simple. LCAs that push the caster forward do nothing for the tire to clear up at the top of the fender (bigger bumpstops would help, but who want's to restrict their travel?). To fit 35s, you have two options: Cut up your truck's body, or cut your crossmember for a lift.
Agreed on the locker & regearing.

Yep.
Although I'm sure the engineers already know damn well some people are going to be pushing these trucks well beyond what a normal person would... It's why they are built as tough as they are.

Again, agreed. So you might as well build it the way that works best for YOU... For me, that is having a rig that makes it through the rocky trails of the west coast mountains & deserts w/o having to pull out straps & winch lines all the time.

Indeed... It really is a curiosity how the emotions on this subject run so deep here. Like suddenly the whole world will end if one cuts just that one crossmember (forget that it gets replaced with something even sturdier), this all while any other crossmember is fair game it seems (still haven't figured that one out).

 

I don't have a fraction of the offroad experience a lot of these guys have..
But I do know an extra 2 inches of "clearance" isn't worth cutting my frame over. Maybe you just need a better spotter

"But what about your CVs?"

Those can be easily replaced. A cut frame severely devalues a truck no question