Just bought 2011 Tacoma Trd sport. Can anyone tell me if this is a strut spacer installed ?

Picture attached…
looks like a spacer is installed to me but want to be sure. Thanks for your help.

 

Yep.

 

Should I remove it? Or will it allow me to run 275/70/17 tires? Is so is there a down side to having it ?

 

Up to you if you want to remove it. The spacer provides lift so if you remove it, your truck will sit lower up front. (Looks like 1.5-2” lift spacer). A 275 tire will be a tight fit on stock suspension depending on other variables.
Spacer lifts get a bad rap around here but as long as you understand that it is a cosmetic lift as opposed to a performance lift and drive the truck accordingly, there’s no harm in leaving it in place.

spacer lifts place stock shocks at the edge of their operating range so if you try to wheel or off-road with a spacer lift, you run the risk of overextending the shock and breaking stuff.

 

so the 75/70/17 tires should not be a problem?

 

If you take it out make sure to get an alignment. Lowering the front will increase camber which will also throw off your toe (increasee toe out, I think). Bad toe alignment kills tires.

Are there blocks on the rear leafs or is it just a front leveling kit?

 

Lift is not what gives you clearance for tires bigger. Wheel offset, wheel width, tire width, tire diameter, and alignment are where you should be focusing if tire clearance is your question.

That tire size in question is just a tiny bit bigger than the 265/75R16 or 265/70R17 which is commonly seen as “the largest tire you can fit on a Tacoma without having to cut or clearance anything”. So you’re right on the edge. Every truck is a little different too, so realize that just because one person said it worked for them does not mean 100% it’ll work for you.

If you're on stock or similar wheels you're likely to make it work but may need some minor clearancing (e.g. trimming of the mud flaps). If you’re using some wide and/or aggressive offset wheels then your chances of issues goes up significantly.

 

I ran 275/70/17 on stock sport rims and stock suspension. They fit, but you will get a slight amount of rub on the UCAs with or without a lift. Adding UCAs will give you a ton of tire clearance. Same 17” sport rims and BFGs but you can see the clearance of the tire and UCA. The bottom pic shows where the tire rubs the UCA.

 

I was planning on getting method double standards 17” with the package from discount tire. The gentleman that works there said he would be willing to try out both tire sizes on my truck to check for clearance issues.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Are this the fox 2.0’s in the second photo?