Looking to start modifying my tacoma

I don't even know where to begin but i am hoping you guys can shed some light on my situation from self experience. I am going to be doing a fair bit to it over the next 6 months but i wanted to know the difference in brands and cost is always key. I don't plan on doing crazy off-roading because it is my daily driver but i go into some tight camping spots often and that's about it.

If you didn't check my profile it's a 2006 TRD sport, double cab, 4.0L V6

I want to start with my suspension lift, some of my buddies say don't go with a 6 inch, just to get a 4 inch (i want 33's and don't know if that's capable) i also don't want to have to cut any of my body up to do it either. I've done some research online as to cost-wise and i know you get what you pay for but would a cheaper suspension lift suffice for mostly road use? The cheapest lift was rough country so i'm gonna assume it's not that great, didn't want to spend 3 grand on a skyjacker lift though, alternatives?
I might not need a lift but i really want to beef up my truck, i see tacos everywhere and they look wicked with a lift and bigger tires!

I am also looking into:

Performance chip (what kind do you find the best?)
Cold air intake (is AFE better than K&N?)
Exhaust (stuck on this one, dual exhaust worth it or upgrade the single pipe?)

I was also told after getting a lift my driveshaft will be on a crazy angle and my u-joint could possibly start binding and i would need a slip yoke eliminator with a double cardan cv shaft (i think that's what he said)

I am gonna be honest, i don't know much about new age trucks, i've always driven my 81 chev but it was time to upgrade and now i want to make this thing beautiful. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, the most performance on a cheaper budget is what i would like but i don't mind upgrading it a little slower to make it nice and proper.

Thanks guys!

 

If you are considering a good 4" lift you can look at the following

RCD, bds, zone, rough country

You can also run a 3" but most people end up doing some slight trimmimg. When I went for my lift I didn't want to do any of the trimmimg or cab mount chop either which is why I went the route I did. When you lift you can also get a beefed taco carrier bearing drop to help keep your driveshaft in line and help eliminate vibes.


I personally like the db lifts over the 3" kits due to the the ride it gives you and your cv, tierod angles etc are kept like stock. The 3" isn't a bad way to go but I just and some good kits out there but thye just don't give the look or ride I was after.


On exhaust I would stay with a single and a lot of good ones out there too. If you want a milder tone you can look at the trd or borla.

On a chip wouldn't even waste my time on that and cold air kit if you are wanting to go that route you can look at airaid or Volant but I have been more than happy with just changing my drop in filter with an afe dry one.

If you really want to wake up the performance just spend the coin on a supercharger.

 

I'm no expert, just have some experience. Some folks will probably bock at this but, f$% it:

I had the same truck as you brand new in 09, same color and everything. I've since replaced it with an 09 TRD OR Access Cab. 4" lift kits weren't around when I got my first 09, but I see now they offer them, but I've only seen them for 2WD models. 3" seems to be the standard for 4x4 Tacos without getting into minor surgery lifts.

I bought a $300 3" leveling lift kit off ebay that came with front strut spacers and a rear add-a-leaf spring to lift the rear 1.5". I put 33s on that truck and had to cut parts of the front inner fender liner out and remove the front mud flaps for the front tires to rub less. It was easy to do and pretty painless. Done, and I never changed anything for the rest of the time I owned it. I off-roaded pretty hard in that truck and never had any big issues with the suspension, or anything else for that matter other than destroying the skid plates and bumpers once in a while. The rear shocks would top out of I went over a lip too fast and make a "BANG" when the shocks extended to the bottom of their travel. But that was because I didn't bother putting extended travel shocks on. I didn't spend much money on that truck because I had a few other vehicles at the time taking priority.

I never installed a front diff drop spacer, never messed with the rear drive shaft, and it was always as smooth as the next tacoma with 33s on the street. Was fine for the 60,000 miles that I owned it. I think the only way to fit bigger tires on and not rub anything at all would be to put a 6" lift on. But then it would look silly, all jacked up high with 33" tires on it with a great big drop bracket in front sticking out and looking you in the eye every time you approach your truck... Even with 35" tires they look too high to me with the 6" lift kits. Around here, none of the tacos with 6" lifts have ever seen gravel lol.

I just got my current truck a few weeks ago after having left the 4x4 world for a while. This time I'm going for a long travel suspension kit because it's the right thing to do for someone like me who puts hundreds of miles on in a weekend off pavement. But just so you know, success can be had with an el-cheapo leveling lift kit, especially if you mostly drive on the street.

The popular reccommendation though is to go with the good ol Toytec ultimate lift or Old Man emu (OME) setup, especially with the dakar rear leaf springs for a decent setup. That's going to cost you $1300 something.

Do what your budget allows.

 

The 4" will work on both 4wd and 2wd prerunners

 

Rough country is made by skyjacker. It's just like their house brand. I've never had a problem with any of their lifts on my previous trucks. Had a 6in on a 94 f150. A 6in on a 94 f250 with 3in blocks

 

Didn't even think supercharger because I figured they were deadly expensive and it might be a bit much. So the chips are totally useless? Also are you saying a cold air intake is pointless as well? Like how much difference in HP would you say it makes?

Also would a 4 inch lift give me the clearance I need to avoid any kind of rubbing? I may consider 31's even I am not even sure the tire size I have on now. They are 270/75/r17

Basically if I can get a decent lift for cheap i'd be extremely happy. As mentioned in the post below at $1300 is no problem at all.

Also I wanted to put wheel spacers on to make it look beefier I love the look. What brand/size do you guys reccomend?

Thanks for touching base with me guys, anymore input is appreciated

 

blowers do vary in price.... I think I was around 4k installed
ZERO mileage change, theres a bypass valve when ur not in a high load situation.


chips are useless...............
u can try the URD maf calibrator............or something high end like the x-1 or uconn.

Aftermarket intakes are not a waste............the stock intake housing is constrictive with all the bends and baffles.... Sometimes people make assumptions, post it, and it becomes "truth". Others dont know better, and continue the cycle and its not their fault.

there is some room to make more HP on an n/a 1grfe....................boosting is def the faster/easier route tho.

heres some n/a fact

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/performance-tuning/229882-n-power-gains-dynos-w-mods.html

Torspd is a great asset and we are lucky to have him here

 

On your tire size above think you meant to put 275/70r17 which is a 32" tire

Yes the 4" lift will give you enough lift to clear those tires. On wheels spacer I am not to big of those but if you get any get the hubcentric ones.
I prefer going with a lil wider wheel versus a 1.25 wheel spacer. I run a 18 x 10 wheels w 4.5bs and a 285/65r18 (33) on my truck and looks good to me w/o any rubbing. I also have my lift adjusted to 5" front and 4" rear and haven't have to do any trimming at all . All I did was take off the front mud flaps.

 

Yeah I was just thinking it would avoid any rubbing compared to a wheel spacer. Where do you find the odd sized lift kits? Majority of thr brands I looked at ranged from 2" to 3" or 6".
I would have no problem removing my mud flaps, just dead set on not cutting any of thr body up

 

Mine is a 4" kit and I just added bilstein 5100's up front and set to .85 for the extra inch in lift. You can google the distributers kits below. On the rcd I believe wheelers offroad has the lowest cost on it.

RCD, bds, zone, rough country

 

Rough country is not made by skyjacker where did you get your info

 

What size lift and tire size are you running now?Truck looks great like it is..

 

You got a 4 inch lift kit and added the bilsteins after? There is a local shop here offering the bilstein 5100's installed for 900$ and it gives a 2.5" lift with a spacer block in the rear but i wanted bigger

I stand corrected, i just got to look at em finally and they are 265/70r17
They are 31's and i would like at least 33's, i wanted 35's at first but everyone seems to be saying they are overkill

I bought the truck like it is, i believe it's stock suspension and no lift.
I wanted a 6 inch lift at first but realizing it might be overboard. As stated above it's sitting on 31's, i want it beefier. If i can get away with a 4 inch and 33's that might satisfy me.

edit: http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/Ultimate-lift-kit-for-2005-UP-Tacoma_p_15.html

Is that the one you are talking about? It says 2" rear with 1-3" front

 

I would not spend 900 on 5100's installed. I have seen it too many times on here people go with a 2 or 3 inch lift and then later on aren't happy and want something a lil taller. If you are set on a 4" then that's what you should go with.
Yes I went and bought 5100's and added it to my kit along with getting longer brakelines and also a new leaf pack. Of course I didn't have to but I wanted to do it right and also have the ability to adjust my lift up a lil higher later on if I ever wanted to.

 

Yeah i know, if the local auto parts chain (lordco) can get stuff i need in i get a wicked discount through a family trucking business (40%) so i figure get what i can from them then buy the rest online.

For some reason this kit stood out to me, double the price of the rough country but it looks like way better quality : http://bds-suspension.com/product?kid=815F and go with the fox 2.0 series shocks?

Also there is no chance of me installing this on my own, any idea of what a decent shop would charge to install?

I know nothing about any of this so if i sound stupid just let me know, lol

 

Screw the carrier bearing drop. I'm running basically the equal to a 3" lift all around and I have not had any driveshaft vibration problems whatsoever. That being that I wheel the living HELL out of my truck. I have done all but jump it... YET.. lol. Get a mild lift, Bilstein 5100's up front which will bring your Taco up about 2.5" and get an AAL (add a leaf) from Deaver's, Icon, or Wheelers which will bring you up 1.5" in the rear, retain the overload spring and you will get 2.25" out of the lift in the rear. I recommend getting the 3 leaf AAL, and not the single. Get some Fox 2.0's for the rear with the remote reservoirs. Not to mention you won't have to mess with extending things. That being said, you may have to cut a couple rivets and retainers off of your stock leaf pack to make the 3 leaf work, but it is well worth it!







I think I put together my current setup for a little over $900.. however, if you want to stay around that amount be prepared to do your own work. It's pretty straight forward, you just gotta patient. Air tools are HIGHLY recommended!

If you want more information about all of what you see in the pictures do yourself a favor and visit my thread:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/289215-fox-2-0-deavers-1-5-aal-gm-bump-stops.html

 

Skyjacker does not own and has nothing to do with rough country

 

I'll check it out shortly, i've been addicted to this forum since i signed up and seems the possibilities are endless. I don't know if i can do the work myself and assume it would probably cost the same amount in labour as it does parts if i take it into a shop. Thanks for posting a possible, cheaper alternative!

 

That's what it's all about! Finding cheaper solutions and obtaining equal results for half the price!

I am definitely a bargain shopper, but I still do things full steam!

Welcome to the forums BTW, you are going to get sucked into the fatal funnel that is TW..! Once you modify one thing, you will want to do another, it's like a virus.. lol.

 

That's what I've always heard. Think my brother even had skyjacker tell him that