Help me not make a mistake!

what's up guys? i have been searching and lurking on this board for a while now and have not seen a answer to a few of my questions.
i have been looking for a 05 and up reg cab 4 cylinder for few months, i have driven 2 of them so far, one was entirely stock, and the other had the bilstein lift and i believe it was a add a leaf in the back, it was sitting on 33's. both of them road WAY to soft and too car like, i was instantly car sick..
i have these mods planned to help the truck out..is there anything better.
1. addco rear sway bar
2. bilstein 5100
3. bfg all terrain ta ( had these before, not much sidewall flx)
rear suspension?
I am also trying to figure out how to address the numb steering, does any one know if there is a poly urethane front swaybar endlink upgrade? maybe even a poly front swaybar bushing upgrade? maybe skip the tacoma all together?

 

It seems like maybe you have enough problems with a Tacoma that you might want to consider not getting one?

 

I was thinking the same thing, but it fits my criteria.. needs to be under 17k, MUST be a stick shift, and I need 4wd.. all the rangers i have been looking at are rotting, the s10/ Colorado are unreliable, and i dont really like Nissan.

 

REAR sway bar? Yuck.

 

You said that the bilstein lift was too soft, but one of your planned mods to "help the truck" is bilsteins. I'm not sure I understand.

If you want a rouger ride get Bilsteins at 0.85 and Eibach coils. 2.5" of lift and a little rougher than stock.

 

Buy a ford

 

Deaver AAL in the rear will get you bouncing.

 

You say "numb steering", What did you experience when driving both of them?

 

I agree with this. I know that doesn't help your questions. But maybe you need to expand your criteria to find a truck that fits your desire better?


The midsize market doesn't have many choices. I don't notice my SR5 with stock suspension being "car like" it drives like any other truck I've driven.

Now the brand new Colorado I test drove felt like I was driving a car.

 

You got motion sickness while driving? Have you ever seen a dr to see why that happens? Generally if you are controlling the motion and able to see what is happening its pretty rare to get motion sickness

 

^^^ this.

Its not the truck, its you. Car sickness is extremely rare in adults and has a medical, not mechanical, cause.

 

Idk what you mean by too soft, my regular cab is as stiff as a rock and its fully stock at the moment.

 

WTF?

 

X2. Driving on winter pothole streets is brutal!

 

Dude is a pussy.

 

Sounds like you're trying to turn a Tacoma into a road racer? Take a look at icon suspension packages. Probably the closest you could get to the best of both worlds.

 

My bad, I meant to say Bilstein HD's

The steering wheel had little to no feedback almost like the wheel was not connected to anything, it was just there. I was hoping some urethane part would help out, they did on my Ranger big time.

I really like the look of the Tacoma, and it does not come with too many inherent issues. All I am seeing is clutch and master cylinder problems which can easily be addressed. My truck choice would be much easier if I would give up and buy a automatic, I refuse to do that. IMO Automatics and DBW are the worst things ever created for vehicles.

It only happens with cars/trucks that have a floaty or "comfortable" ride. I usually have to upgrade the shocks to the stiffest ones I can find on anything I buy.

Lots of body roll and floaty. Any long sweeping turn showed those "flaws". Maybe both the trucks I have driven were on tired suspensions? I dont think the lifted tacoma was a good representation of what the truck should be like. The front end of that truck needed lots of help.

You may be onto something here

Thanks Ill check them out!

 

Motion sickness is often caused by you vestibular system (inner ear)Being out of whack. That's why kids get car sick because usually they are developing their sense of balance. There are ways to develop the inner are even at an old age.

 

Sounds like the M35A2, aka Deuce and a Half, is the right truck for you! 5 speed with 2 speed transfer case, 6x6 (4x4 if bobbed), and stiff as hell! Also, can be had under $17K.

Here's a bobbed one:


Trucks like this sell for $15-20K.

 

But I need ATRAC and a skewp

OP, you should just buy of those. They can run on veggie oil, motor oil, bio diesel and diesel. And I am sure the ride is as pleasant as an itchy butthole.