First Mod - Looking for Suspension Advice

Hey everyone! I bought a 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road back in 2019 and I am finally looking into upgrading it to take it off-roading.

The one item I am having some issues figuring out is what kind of suspension work I need to put in. Ideally I would like to get a 2" lift and put my tires to 33" or 35". Trying to shop around for things that make sense to a reasonable price point hasn't gotten me very far.

Is there a good thread that talks about this or could anyone point me in some directions based on what they have done?

 

Have you tried Off-roading in the Stock configuration?????

You may discover the truck will handle anything you can manage as currently equipped.

 

Welcome to Tacomaworld sir. the first thing that you have to understand about the aspect of a lift, is how much work and how much money you want to put into it, as well as what exactly you want to do with it off roading wise. with your specific vehicle, moving up to a 33 inch tire is doable but moving up to a 35 inch tire is going to take a lot of money and a lot of work. What would be your ideal budget for the overall lift and installation?

 

That's totally possible, I basically can't tell just by digging around online if bumping my tires to 33" and putting a 2" lift in requires suspension work. If it doesn't that would be awesome, I'm just trying to work out how much all of my modifications will cost.

 

Appreciate the response! I'm not looking to run dunes or climb rock walls, just medium to the low end of high level off road trails (if that makes sense, very new to how trails are rated). All said and done I'd like to keep it under 8k (thats including replacing both front and rear bumpers, any gearing work, etc....) and would be completely happy with a 33" tire.

What would be the difference in scope of work going from a 33" to a 35"?

 

$8000 is a very large budget and you can do a unbelievable lift, tires, and comfortable ride to go either on road or off-road for a lot less than that. Since you have a TRD Offroad, you will not need to re-gear if you want to move to 33 inch tires. The aspect of adding front or rear bumpers will affect the aspect of the lift yes, so it might be a good idea to figure out exactly what bumpers you would like on your truck first, find out what the weight is going to be, any armor that you might be adding i.e. skid plates, sliders, or a winch, and then once you have the weight that you are going to be adding to the truck, and what all of those things might add up to for pricewise, then you will have a better idea of exactly what type of suspension will be able to handle the weight of the vehicle after that. putting on a lift and then adding weight after the fact, will affect the aspect of the lift itself.

 

Welcome to TW!

You mentioned you’re trying to figure out a rough cost so:

Most bumpers front and rear are $1500 to $1800 (unless you go with ugly shit from ebay) each so that leaves you with $4700 for shocks, springs and gears (if you chose to regear. Regearing costs somehwere around $2200 i believe.

you can get amazing coilovers for the front like fox 2.5 wirh remote reservoirs for $1700

rear smoothie shocks are a bit cheaper
Then you’ll need a heavy duty leaf pack with that rear bumper so it’d be about $500 from old man emu or dobinson and about $900 from Deaver

New upper control arms will run you about $500 and are needed to correct alignment for tacomas lifted above 2”

You’ll also want a cab mount chop (cmc) to fit 33” tires and up

 

I would think you are looking at a lift of three or more inches, a cab mount chop, regearing. The suspension set up will be expensive. I'm not sure you can go 35s without getting into a long travel set up. 285s are pretty common and easy to set up. You should really think about what you want to use the truck for and if you want the trade offs (reduced mileage, increased component wear, loss of power and braking, etc.) of a tire that size. The Tacoma is pretty capable in stock and lightly modified form. If you just want the look of the bigger tires and lift, that's a different matter.

 

That makes sense, I had budgeted 8000 for if I needed to completely regear/change the suspension. I was looking at the Warn Ascent Rear Bumper, Body Armor 4x4 Pro Series Front Bumper, Smittybilt Gen2 X2O 10,000 lb. Winch, and CBI Offroad Classic Bolt-On Rock Sliders. I am just doing some more research on what skid plates I should purchase and what kind of bed rack I want.

 

I am not one to go for things solely for looks, I'm just trying to make the necessary mods so I can offroad well and not break the truck in half. I am starting to get a better scope of what that all entails thanks to ya'll. I'll most likely go with 33" tires and slight lift/suspension work to support the new bumpers/winch/skidplates/bed rack.

 

for the aspect of the weight up in front (with that bumper and winch), you are either going to need a front suspension that can be dialed in to handle the weight or a heavier duty spring. for the rear, I would recommend you go with a Icon RXT leaf pack because it can be changed depending upon how much weight you wanted to add in the rear. Depending upon where you live, whether in the salt belt or not, that also plays a factor on what you should get for a suspension. I live in New England, and getting anything that is not going to handle the salt or brine it will cause a lot of rust and wear out quicker if you do not take care of them. Here is something that you should look at to educate yourself especially regarding the aspect of the front suspension. After you choose what suspension you want to go with in the front, you can just get the matching suspension for the rear with the added leaf pack. https://youtu.be/QKXj0jBenIk

 

This person has a very valid point. Try it first and see what you need. Winch is the most important in my opinion. Ive used mine quite a bit. If i had to choose it would a winch over bigger tires first.

 

Agreed, my thought process overall was that adding bumpers and winch/skids would add weight which would require at minimum a suspension change to address that. I figured if I could bump the tires without doing a full regear I might as well.

 

Hey OP, I was in the same boat as you not too long ago. Been running through options on this forum and in my head for the last couple of years. During this time though I’ve done a TON of off-roading with the truck in stock form and it will blow your mind on what these trucks can do in TRD OR form right off the lot. Doing that gave me a better idea on what I really need first and decided to start with wheels and slightly bigger tires (31.6” vs the stock 30.6”). Next will be suspension down the road but as someone else mentioned, added weight is going to make a difference in your decision so decide on how much weight you’re going to be adding to the truck before deciding on suspension bits.

 

Welcome! Accutune has some great articles on suspension, https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/ and they will setup your suspension - no charge - for what you want to do and any extra weight you might have.

 

I think you will be better off going that route. I only ask the question because when it comes down to it, some people are primarily after a certain look (i.e. baja truck, mudder, et. al.) and not as focused on utility or the give and take of modifications. There are tons of product that support the route you want to go. With your budget, your biggest problems might be choosing the manufacturers you want to go with. should be a fun ride though.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld
Leave it stock
Thank me later

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW!