Taco floats around the road, makes me motion sick

I just bought a '15 taco and I know this may sound like a sacrilegious question, but how can I reduce the sway and bouncy ride (esp highway) and make it ride more like a car. I bought this to be used as a commuter vehicle and it will likely never see off-road conditions. The bouncing is making me car/motion sick. Does anyone know of any suspension mods to reduce the floating, bouncing, swaying while on the highway?

BTW, I've already lowered the tire pressure to 29lbs.

 

I've had 2 previous Tacomas and have had a shell on both.
Waiting for the shell for my 2015 to come in and I think that will smooth things out again.
Once you get used to the way it rides with a shell it feels harsh without one.
So add some weight to the rear and see if that makes things better.
If so buy a shell.

 

What package truck?

My 4x4 sr5 doesn't exhibit anything you are talking about. My wife gets motion sick super easy and we went on a long test drive before I bought.

 

Four-banger basic prerunner.

 

I need it for doing some light work, but most of the time this will be on the highway. Would I need some stiffer shocks?

 

Part of the problem was that they were actually the "original" BFG TAs from late 2001 that were on this low mileage 2002 TRD I just scored but it was quite splashy on the H/W, wandered badly, and just really did NOT handle at all. I've gone to 18 inch wheels with "better" lower profile tires and it not only rides better but handles night and day better too.

Now I still want to do some suspension work on mine too [partly because I just ain't happy unless I'm tinkering] because it dives and rolls badly in higher speed maneuvers and you can actually lose control on country road washboards so I will likely be going to aftermarket coil overs and shocks/leaf springs before long but better "driving" tires make a world of difference. Probably even a better driving "stock size" tire you could go to.

Of course, as others have said, a truck is a truck and I've always driven trucks but there's no reason a '15 PreRunner shouldn't be great to drive.

 

Hard to understand what feeling you're talking about. If you have a bottle of water sitting on the dash, does the water inside slosh around a lot?

My '15 Tacoma rides amazingly smooth for a truck, but it is on the factory BFG Rugged Terrain tires and is a double cab short bed. The truck prior to this was an early 2000s F150 short wheel base so anything at this point is an improvement for me.

Maybe you can take a video while driving so we can see if there's anything unusual?

 

Dramamine.

http://www.dramamine.com/

 

Riding like a car is not always a good thing. My tacoma is less harsh than my camry. I've had a BMW that would beat the crap out of you.

Trucks like weight. Get a fat girl friend or put some weight in the back and see if that helps.

 

Have you thought about lowering your truck?

 

Trade it in for a car with a big trunk or a suv.

 

Doubt it'd ride any better unless it's bagged.

 

I added a Hellwig rear sway bar to mine and it makes a difference. I can lay into corners harder than before and the truck feels more responsive turning. I felt like it was a good investment for around $200. It might help your situation. Or maybe try a few sandbags in the back. Mine is always smoother when I'm moving things with it.

 

i think stiffer shocks will help your problem,

i used to have the basic black tokico shocks, then upgraded to the yellow trd bilstein shocks, could def tell a difference, it was stiffer, I believe the bilstein 5100's are even stiffer, maybe someone will correct me if i'm wrong

 

The swaying and floating feeling is due to soft suspension. You can do the following, but be aware, these firm up the ride, which should reduce the floaty feeling.

o get the TSB rear springs, or a firmer spring pack
o upgrade the front shocks to firmer shocks, even get a set where you can pre-load the springs some (5100s)
o upgrade the front springs to a firmer set

Also, most of the above will affect your ride height to, whether that's good or bad is up to you.

One last thing that I had done, was once you have changed all the suspension that you want get it aligned and tell them you want it aligned to 0/0/2.0. Specifying these settings will make them work towards a good setting instead of just the recommended ranges.

 

keep those 5100s lower than 1.75 or you won't get 0/0/2. I'm at 0/0/1.6

 

Depending on my works schedule between home and work, I may spend 10+ hours a week in my truck commuting. Doesn't bother me one bit. I enjoy driving it much more than my Camry.

 

You probably need a Ridgeline. They ride more refined and very car like.

 

I'm confused as to how making an already stiff, "bouncy" truck stiffer will make it more car-like? Are you saying it feels too mushy as in you can't feel the bumps as much as you'd like? If so, I'd say you want to make it stiffer and feel more truck like. Or do you mean it's kinda like a pogo stick and you feel them too much? If that's it, you need it softer and hence, more car like.

My '14 regular cab 4x4 rides pretty stiff, there's not much give at all on bumps, especially in the back. I'm going to remove my from sway bar when I do my first tire rotation this weekend to see if it's better.

 

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