Beginning LT unanswered questions

Looking for all the LT gurus on this one. I am new to Tacoma world as a member but I have been tuned into threads for a few years now. I have been obsessed with the idea of a truck I can jump and despite all my research through this forum I still have many questions. I have a 2001 Tacoma 4x4 Manual V6 and am considering an LT dd. I love driving a manual my truck is an absolute monster for trails it has handled everything I've thrown at it.

But....


I want to know is this a good or poor choice to go LT in a manual 4x4?

All the 2wd offer race kits but I have yet to see a 4wd race kit why is that?

Will a 4x4 LT Kit allow me to get big air and hold up? I'm no huck fest contender but I would like to get some decent jumps and not worry about destroying my truck.

For all the 2wd LT guys have you ever been stuck? Everyone says you need 4wd for that one bad situation, but if you have huge travel do you ever really need 4wd to get through anything?

I notice most trucks getting nice air have like 20 in travel in front and 30 in back. I have seen tacomas like this before but never a kit like this. As most people I have a desire for a trophy truck and a hot wheels car budget. I have about $4500 as of now and am putting away about $1000 a month. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I don't need the warnings of don't go LT it's expensive. It's one of those things if I don't just try it out I'll always regret it more than doing it. But I do want to do it right so with that being said hello everyone leave me you're advice below. Thank You!

 

I think you have a great platform to start with but I'm biased since I have a 2000 Tacoma, 5 speed, 4x4. I'm running leafs out and and not links so my rear suspension is the limiting factor on my truck. That and my driving skills

I ran a Total Chaos LT kit for a year or so with their 4x4 axles and the truck ran great once I added bypasses. I wanted more though and now my truck is at Solo Motorsports getting their 4x4 race kit installed. You have more race kit options if you ditch your 4x4 but i wouldn't if I were you.

Solo Motorsports is the only shop that I know of that offers a 1st Gen 4x4 race kit and they haven't released it yet. They are doing the R/D on my truck. It's a 4.5" over kit and wil pull between 17-19" inches of travel with Currie axles.

 

Yeah I had some doubts about the kits out there they just didn't look droopy enough for me lol. That will be one seriously filthy truck pulling that kind of travel with 4x4. I'm guessing that won't be a bolt on kit and will require some fab work? Any ideas on release date or cost? Thanks for reply 06HAOLE.

 

Sending PM

 

If you want to do sick jumps all day you're going to need a custom rig. Trophy "trucks" are really just buggies with truck shaped plastics. As far as bolt on kits go 2wd and 4wd share most of the same geometry with the exception of 2wd not having to work around front axle shafts and can get 1-2" more travel.

1. I can't think of any differences standard and automatic stock trucks wouldn't share with a standard and automatic LT.
2. 4wd is just a lot more expensive. The Solo kit is like $8,000 all said and done so you can see why it would be hard for many companies to green light that product for mass production. IFS + 4x4 is at the dawn of it's rise in my opinion. It's just a really new concept. Expect to see a lot more in the future.
3. The amount of force your truck can with stand is directly proportional to the amount of cash you throw at it. There is a huge discrepancy between all LT trucks you see.
2. In a front engine mount truck the rear wheels get roughly(out of my ass) 30% as much traction as the fronts. You will get stuck all the time.

 

Thanks for reply clay good to know how easy it is to get stuck I was heavily considering selling my truck for more cash flow and a 2wd rig. But after you and Haole I'm pretty set with 4wd. I like the idea of the solo kit. It's very expensive but there seems to be ways to save some money perhaps a welding friend and self install. Could you run the front done and the rear stock for awhile or would this be bad. Heard not upgrading rear could cause it to come around on you. However buddy of mine had 20 in travel control arms in front and ran his hard for a year until the engine started rolling around while Driving. His was 06 Tacoma single cab.

 

The truck's only going to be as fast as it's weakest link so you'll definitely know you're on a stock rear. Most people are in the same boat as you though and upgrade in stages so it's not like it's advised against. Just know that you won't really see huge gains until you've upgraded your entire suspension package.