Looking for advice concerning lifting and tires.

I know you guys aren't very fond of people posting threads before searching the forum, so I'll say I have read the lift sticky, but I still don't know what type of lift is best for me. Also, if I lift the truck, what tires do I need to get?? Stock? Or will it look too goofy and I'll need to get bigger ones?

I have a 2007 4x2 PreRunner 4.0L. It is slightly lowered by the previous owner which I strongly disagree with and I want to raise to at least to stock, maybe an inch or two more. It has low profile rims and tires that I want gone. What tires do I need to buy if I lift the truck? Also, I really want tires that are good for gas mileage.

The lift will be purely for looks. I don't go offroading.

I'm not very eager to lose mpg, so what type of lift is best for that? Also, I would like to do the work myself if at all possible, I don't like paying other people to do what I can do myself.

I'm a college student and I'm looking for advice from some more experienced drivers.

Thank you!

Edit:
Or should I even spend money on the truck and wait until I'm out of college to buy a new (less used) one? I would like to trade for a light blue Tacoma, given it's reasonably taken care of... But the odds of that happening or low.

 

Thanks for the help everybody

 

if all you want is an inch or two for looks, you don't offroad and your a poor college student then its either spacers and blocks or 5100's/aal. going higher means more cost.

if gas cost is a concern youll prolly just want to go with stock 265 tires and add maybe an inch of lift. no one does a lift for better gas mileage.

if this isint the truck your going to keep, I wouldn't put much $ into it.

 

Thanks for replying. No, I'm not getting a lift to improve MPG, I simply want to maintain some.

If I was in any other circumstance I wouldn't be putting money into a truck, but praise God I've been blessed with a full ride and an engineering internship for the summer.

I'm just looking for a lift that wont decrease the MPG too much. Also, I thought stock tires for a Tacoma were 245/75/16?? And it is most likely the truck I will keep until I have children.

Could you please give a brief review of what lifts are not a good idea and which ones are okay? I'm not sure I understand the difference between a body and suspension lift either... I've read up on it but most things I read seem circular and contradicting.

 

with a small lift and basically stock tires id be surprised if you lost more than 1 mpg. your fuel bill isint going to double or anything tho, so I wouldn't worry about it at all. a 2-3 mpg loss is what youd get with a lift like mine, and even then that's mostly relevant to highway driving. and yes, your mileage may vary =p

maximum stock tire size is 265, past that you have to get creative. I have no idea what your running now, but your getting rid of it so nevermind. you will be doing a suspension type lift.

well, with a lift, as with many things, you get what you pay for. so before I suggest an option to you, I need to know more about what you want and what you want to spend. like what rims are you looking at? stock or aftermarket? you want stock tires or tough looking offroad tires? etc etc,
be very specific with what you want to end up with, both looks-wise and price-wise.

and don't worry man, I read dozens of threads for weeks before I even decided to do a lift. tw is literally filled with them if you do some topic searches. its prolly why you didn't get a response.

 

I am looking at stock rims and tires. I would love to get new rims but they are just so expensive, so it's hard for me to justify even if I have the cash. So, stock.
I want stock tires, I don't need offroad tires. I'm going to lift the truck about 3 inches, which should only be 1 inch above stock (since its already lowered)

I've looked at trucks too high with stock tires and it looked bad to me, so do you think I can get away with one inch?

You're right about the research. I always think I've done enough until I post the thread. I'm now thinking I need a suspension lift (like you said), also what do I need to get in order to have a smooth ride? Its a bit rough as is, with the low profile tires. I don't mind spending the extra money for a good quality lift. Preferably around the $500 area though...

I also need to get decent advice on how to handle the lowering kit that was put on the truck. I don't know the correct terminology but the previous owner took something that was above the axle and flipped it around to be below the axle, if I understand correctly.