Leveling Kits, Larger Tires and Fuel Mileage??

Hey guys! I am a newbie on here and I have a few questions. I just bought a 2012 Double Cab 4x4 with the extended bed. I want to put on a leveling kit and some larger tires. For you guys that have done this, did effect your fuel mileage positively or negatively?

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the welcome and quick response! Do you have yours leveled? What did you use? Do you like it or wish you did something different?

Thanks again!

 

I just had mine leveled with Bilstein 5100's all around and the fronts set at 1.75'' in the front. They are what most people run with leveling kits on here. It improves the ride and makes it look awesome. Whole kit with four Bilstein 5100's will run you about $300. Most order them from Downsouth Motorsports (where I ordered them) because they have free shipping and good customer service.

Bilstein 5100 Leveling Kit

Good luck!

 

Negatively of course! Went from 18-19MPG to a solid 15-16MPG.
Thats the price you pay for aerodynamics and gearing.

 

I was just looking at those. Can't you get more than 1.75" out of them? I would want at least 3" so I can put on a 33" tire.

 

Check out Toytec.com too. They have kits you may want to look into. DSM has the best 5100 prices hands down though. You can add some OME 885 springs to those Billy's to get 3" out of them.

 

You can set them at 0'', 0.85'', 1.75'', and 2.5''. If you set them at 2.5'' on stock springs, I would recommend aftermarket UCA's to help with your alignment. Even if you do this, tt is usually considered not the ideal way because it will wear the shocks faster at that height. But like Kidd said, you can put some OME 885 or Eibach's in addition to the Bilstein's and maybe an AAL to get around 3''.

GL

 

FYI, lifting with shocks is the wrong way to do things.

But Back to your question. I lifted my truck roughly two inches and I'm running 265-75 Goodyear Duratracs (approx. 1" larger than stock tires). My gas mileage sucks! I average 15-16mpg. This last tank though.... Its even worse.

 

The biggest thing is the odometer is way off just going from a 265/70 to a 265/75. I've been using my gps to track milage and at 238 on odometer i've went 265 on gps. So your milage might noght be as bad as you think. And the speedometer is off by 2 mph.

 

I get a solid 11.5 with 285's Mud terrains. Aggressive tread rolling resistance makes a difference.

 

Bro, check the link on my sig and thank me later.

 

Just lifted mine 2.5 in the front and 1.5 in the rear with a step up in tires to 265-75-16 it dropped the mileage about 1-2 miles to the gallon, last tank with mixed highway and city was 19 which is acceptable my ultra guage really helps with the mileage. One more thing you go above 1.5" you will want to go with some UCA's otherwise it will drive like ass. If you go above a 265-75 it will really effect your mileage negatively Oh mine is a 2012 DCSB 4X4. Also if you do lift it above 1.5" you might have a vibration from the rear driveline hell I had one when it was stock lifting it just made it worse but I did figure a fix for it cheaply which I will do a separate post later after I drive it a little bit to see if the vibes are really gone.

 

Are you referring to the so called axle wrap? I have that with no lift.

 

fargin bastage!

 

Welcome to the forum...your from Jax I see. We have quite a few local members here from the area. Be sure and check the Florida section for info on meets or get togethers http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/florida/.

I was in the same boat as you when I bought my taco. I wanted to lift/level the truck but also didn't want to kill the mileage and horsepower. As others have suggested already, I chose to go with the adjustible Bilstein 5100's in the front set at 1.75" and upgraded the rear shocks to Billies also (the rears are not necessary though). For the rear springs I had Toyota upgrade the 3 leaf to the 4 leaf spring pack under warranty (search the site for "rear leaf TSB" for details). That basically provided the rear with an extra 3/4" of lift.
I also upgraded the tires to the 265/75/16 Toyo open country AT's. Once all was installed I had the front end aligned and was good to go. I keep them rotated/balanced regularly and the truck rides smooth and straight. As far as mileage I have always got around 19-20 mpg which isn't bad at all IMHO.

I do believe going any bigger would have robbed too much horsepower for my liking especially being an automatic trans.