2nd Gen Approach Angle. (Why is front most subframe dropped two inches?)

It seems to me that the far front piece of sub frame is dropped two inches for no damn reason at all. Govt regulation to keep trucks from ramping cars in collisions? See attached pics.

Either way I want this gone so I can work on my approach angle. Anyone make bumpers where cutting this crap off is required? It's got to be a lot more work but this thing is just aggravating me.

 

Subed

 

Cut first, ask questions later

 

you're subed.

nailed it

 

For real does anyone know? Everything that would be in the way seems movable. Sway bar is the only thing I'm concerned about. Not taking that guy off.

 

maybe it's just support for skid plates at a reasonable angle?

 

I think I saw that being modified on a setup Eric at @RelentlessFab was working on when I got my bumper or skids.

 

If you're keeping your sway bar on, I highly doubt you're doing anything off-road that would require that much of an approach angle.

 

You may be on to something that was completely overlooked during the vehicle engineering phase.

 

We love deleting that cross member to gain clearance on the prerunner style bumpers we build. I'm thinking of doing an 05-11 front with the chop too on the front of my '08 project rig since it's already been chopped out

 

The bar is there to reduce the angle of the skid plate. If it was more vertical, 3 things would happen.
1. More angle means you need heavier metal. Less mileage
2. More angle means more air being pushed at highway speeds, less mileage.
3. The more angle, the less skidding effect the skid plate will have, instead of hitting a ruts and sliding up and over it, it will be more like a bulldozer blade and smack it, bend (which will sharpen the angle even more), and stop forward momentum.
Remember when you hit a bump, your sway bar flexes downward, not upward. I took my sway bar off and threw it away the day i put my lift on. It's not a sports car. Plus I am single cab so not much body roll anyway

 

I agree, everything is moveable. If you move something and it doesn’t work, just move the sucker back.

 

Desert Toy Fabs prerunner bumpers require cutting that slag off.

 

I'm not a crawler, so I left mine attached. At the time I wasn't sure if it helped keep the front part of the frame from shifting. I did unbolt the end caps though.
Then I built a ramp to get some air off cars...

 

Solid axle swap it and position the axle forward. @Skorfab's 84 truggy is close to 9
80/85* after a front stretch and flipping the springs around. But on an ifs rig not much point you will run into your lcas

 

With the bumper in the picture there is zero loss of approach angle. With my ARB bumper there is zero loss. In fact the cross member makes a great mid span support for a skid plate. The only way that cross member would be a detriment, is if you are building a rock crawler with a super tight bumper, like 2" off the grill. Such a bumper would give you more approach angle, but provide next to nothing in protection from real world situations like hitting a snow bank, a dirt bank, or a deer. As Bell214B said, the shallower angle has benefits for deep snow, or high centering on a rutted muddy road. Much less resistance to forward movement. Cutting it would ONLY be an advantage for rock crawling if you have an equally high angle bumper. Mine is staying right where it is.

 

I'm happy to have that cross member to bolt my skid to.

The approach angle doesn't bother me at all. The break over and departure angles are where I hang up.

 

Gotta have room for the rad and ac condenser

 

A good number of plate bumpers rely on that piece to help counteract the torsional force winching would have. Every winch plate I've seen on a Tacoma is placed fairly high in front of the radiators. When you pull from that spot, the bumper is not only being pulled on but there is a lot of force trying to twist the bumper top forward. That crossmember provides additional support against that force. Without it, there really isn't much for a bumper with a winch to mount to prevent being twisted off.

 

This guy cut his off and just used the swaybar mounts to add a new crossmember. After I removed my swaybar I felt embarrassed about how long I drove with it prior. The extra articulation made a world of difference off road.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-tacoma-tube-bumper-build.187662/

I agree with @Capt. Obvious. If you're off-roading with your sway bar then you probably don't need greater approach angle. If you just want it to look like you're doing something where you need it then you should do it!