3" lift limiting travel?

I've been calling different shops looking for a 2.5" to 3" suspension lift. I called the one closest to me, and the guy said that anything above 1" would begin to severely limit your travel. Even by replacing the UCA, he claimed with a 3" lift, you would barely have any travel. He then claimed anyone telling me different was just trying to sell me something expensive. Obviously though, lifts are incredibly popular with Tacoma's to improve off-road performance. Has anyone else had this problem? No other shop that I talked to mentioned anything like this.

 

Lift height and total wheel travel will be limited, yes, but that is mainly based on the shocks/suspension you are looking into and the Tacomas stock front suspension/steering. Done correctly, you can get more than 1" of lift on a Tacoma without any issues. The limitations of Tacomas (steering, sway bar, balljoints, axles etc..) have been figure out long ago so Manufactures like Fox and King have designed their shocks to be within those limits and function properly. Other manufactures have designed upper control arms to also go along with these limitations. Feel free to shoot us a message for any specifics if you would like.

 

I don't know if "severely" is the right word, but 1" is ideal with a correctly engineered shock with the geometry of the front suspension.

Aftermarket arms are needed to utilize travel of a large lift. But not many push their trucks to that limit, arms are always suggested above 1" for drivability.

Are you planning on fairly serious off roading or just curious about pros and cons?

 

I've been doing some decent off-roading with the stock set-up. I live in the mountains, so there's more aggressive stuff that I want to do that I'm holding off on until I feel the rig is a bit more capable. Ideally I think I'd want a 2.5" to 3" lift with 33s to start. I was planning on getting the UCA replaced as well, but that's why I'm a bit confused, as this guy said that even replacing the UCA won't help the travel with a 3" lift.

 

What year Tacoma? Hate to say it, but don't have your heart set on getting exactly 3" of lift, especially if you want it to perform well on and off-road. UCA is mainly for alignment purposes, but also allow the suspension to droop further without binding. So far it sounds like you are doing the right thing getting other opinions vs relying on that shop to be accurate.

 

That shops opinion about limited travel would be accurate for a spacer lift right?

 

2021 TRD OR. I'm not going to be devastated if I can't get a 3" lift. I was hoping to clear 33s though which I've been told needs a 3" lift. I don't mind spending a bit more on a quality suspension lift as I definitely intend to use it, and would rather not run into more unnecessary maintenance in the future.

 

I just cleared 285/70/17 on stock suspension with 8.5 inch -10 offset. Requires CMC and some plastic trimming. I have some pictures in my build thread if you want to go that way

 

A suspension lift does nothing to clear larger tires. The limiting factor is the size of the wheel well. A suspension lift does not change the path the wheel takes when you cycle the suspension so when you stuff that 33" tire it isn't going to matter if your running the stock suspension or a 3" lift.

 

Correct, spacer lift would not gain any additional suspension travel. May be what they were referring to.

Right on. Maintenance on these shocks are roughly every 50-70k miles. Really depends on use and abuse. Quality tuned suspension is pretty nice to have, and its not for just off-road use.

 

I believe the problem with 285’s isn’t the diameter, it’s the width. You can probably get away with a 2.5” lift with a CMC, and specific wheels.

 

The lift won’t help you clear the 285s. You need to bring your tire further out to clear your UCA. Either by wheels with 0 to -10 offset or by spacers (preferably hub and wheel centric.).

I’m at 2” of lift, -6 offset, 285/75r16 and all I had to do was a little trimming. Every truck is different though.

 

Lift by itself won’t clear 285’s, but it definitely helps.

 

I clear 35s with with a 2.5 inch lift...just requires finesses with a hammer, a grinder, and a jigsaw..

 

A suspension lift will make you less likely to rub around town, but it won’t do anything for you if you’re actually compressing the suspension all the way. If the goal is wheel well clearance without cutting anything, running a small body lift and maxing out the caster at the lower control arms is the only real option. The other solutions are hit or miss depending on each truck’s tolerances. Aftermarket UCAs will add caster, but they do it by moving the upper ball joint backwards, which reduces clearance at the cab mount. Larger offset wheels will clear the UCAs, but they also reduce clearance at the cab mount.