Longer travel shocks?

2015 Tacoma Sport. 3"x2" leveling puck kit. Rides very rough. Is longer shocks that way to go if I just want to keep the pucks for now? Would that give me a somewhat more "colon" friendly ride? TIA

 

Mostly daily driving. It will live it's life, mostly, on the road. Mostly got it for snow and such. I know....such a waste of a truck.....I get it....but I love the truck. Just want a more comfy ride. So mid travel?

 

Getting rid of the pucks is the best way to be friendly for your colon but you might lose Instagram points. Longer shocks will likely only make things worse and you'll start blowing up things like CV axles and wheel bearings on the regular.

Buying a real suspension instead of crappy pucks would give you best colon health, functionality, and Bro points.

Choosing the correct suspension for your needs usually comes from a decision about budget, actual usage, and load carrying needs. Best bang for buck is usually Bilsten 5100s and add-a-leaf. Better would be some bigger front coilovers and a full aftermarket leaf pack. $$$ adds up quick.

If it's just a pavement princess you don't need much, but if you plan to offroad in the future it's best to buy once cry once.

 

^ What these two guys said.

 

If I tried I couldnt care less about the "gram"....LOL!! Pucks were/are a short term fix but would love to get something better/more comfortable. Sounds like, for a pavement princess, the Bilstien's would be the way to go....Thanks

 

I'm a little confused by the answers here so far... If the OP has spacers front and rear then the ride should be identical to stock since the spring rates and shock valving has remained unchanged.

The ride may not be as good as it was before but I'd suspect that's due to limiting the suspension travel a bit and possibly some issues with the rear block causing it to feel odd. But, the spacer lifts shouldn't have made it feel any stiffer or hurt ride quality in the normal way you'd expect from a change in suspension (e.g. shocks + springs).

@mose1117 is this your first Tacoma? did you have it before the spacer lift was installed? I'm wondering if you're just not used to this type of vehicle. I know I wasn't. I was blown away at how stiff of a ride my truck was on stock springs/shocks. It's just a rough ride and not much that can be done about it without buying expensive suspension. And even then, you're not going to have much luck since the aftermarket stuff is designed for offroad performance, not comfort.

 

Yes, the harshness is a direct result of this mod. Lifting the vehicle in this manner means your shocks are riding at the extreme end of their full travel. This results in a bumpy ride. The easiest solution is a lift spindle. It gives you the lift you want while maintaining stock suspension geometry.

 

Spacer lifts will absolutely change the ride quality, especially a 2" or 3" spacer (like, wow). That is basically all the travel on OE shocks so you have zero downtravel left. Anyone saying large spacer lifts won't change ride quality have no idea how this stuff works.

 

Spacer that increases preload would cause it to be a more rough ride, but spacers on top of the shock act differently. Perhaps we need to clarify which the OP has. Yes, downtravel goes away but you're not using that part of the travel all that often if he's just on the highway and mall crawling. I alluded to this in my post but didn't go into detail figuring it may just confuse the OP.

I had a 3"/1" spacer lift on my Tacoma when I got it. It was the first thing I removed as soon as I got it. Everyday, on road, ride quality was exactly the same once it was removed.

If this guy removes his spacer lift and replaces it with 5100's set to the same 2-3" lift height he's gonna be in a for a huge surprise when his ride quality gets worse due to all the preload he didn't have before.

 

I agree that we need to see what OP has before making any judgements. @mose1117 if you can take pictures of your front shocks and rear shocks/leaf packs it would be helpful to see.

On the opposite side I disagree that having a 3" spacer lift in front will ride the same as OE. If it did for you congrats, you were the anomaly. Watch the video below (and many others) to understand why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tTelhdEiM&t=751s

 

I'm guessing that extra inch is costing you comfort. A 2" x 1" would probably be quite improved.

The majority of the rough ride is coming from the front and not the 2" block in the back. Add-a-leaf or airbags aren't a grand solution to ride quality in my experience as AAL (even progressive 3 leaf) or air-bags ride rougher when the truck is unloaded/empty than a 2" block in the rear.

 

Will answer some questions as soon as I can. I’m back at work now. Thanks for the help guys

 

That video doesn't back up your claim. He says right in the video that top out spacers only effect where the shock bottoms out. The spacers aren't changing the spring rate. Yes 3" top spacer is a lot (looks like OP only has 2" spacers), but as long as OP isn't hitting huge dips that fully collapse the suspension, he shouldn't notice a difference in ride quality from stock geometry.



OP you need all new suspension for a softer ride. The shocks don't really matter as much as the coils you get, but you kinda need new shocks to run new coils anyway. As someone with the same gen and model of truck that also sees mainly pavement with very little heavy wheeling, you want 600lb 14" coils on the front. 620lb could work too (I've ran both). The cheapest option for the rear leafs is probably going with a medium duty OME Dakar leaf pack and either running 200lbs in the box at all times (if you plan on hauling heavier loads ever), or just remove the 3rd leaf and have a softer ride at the expense of payload capacity. If your budget can support it, get adjustable compression shocks so you can soften them up in winter time when the temps drop and turns your shock oil into molasses. And if you really want to do it right, replace the rear shackle mounts with Hammer Hangers. They make a big difference on reducing the fast double bounce in the rear end that persists no matter what suspension you go with.

 

I live in the same region OP and I like having adjustable shocks so I can soften them up during the winter months. They cost a few dollars more but it's worth the $$$ for adjustability if you daily the truck and take it offroad.

 

That's the problem with talking about spacers, you never know if someone is talking about the amount of lift or the actual thickness of the spacers. Looks like the OP has a 3"/2" lift kit which would have a 1.5" front spacer and 2" rear spacer. In the front, you receive twice as much lift as the spacer thickness due to the suspension geometry. In the rear it's a 1:1 ratio.

 

This is the leveling kit I have.....

$100 3"F + 2"R Leveling Lift Kit for 2005-2023 Tacoma, 3" Front Strut Spacers and 2" Rear Black Leveling Lift Block Kit Extended Square U-Bolts, 3"+2" Height for 2005-2023 Tacoma 2WD/4WD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H1KZW5J?ie=UTF8

 

This is my first Tacoma. I'm coming off of owning an '02 Tundra 2wd that was as comfy as any car I've ever owned. I realize that I won't ever get that smooth of a ride with the Tacoma. I did notice that the ride was way more stiff than the Tundra when I first bought it. But it did seem like the addition of the spacers made it a stiffer ride.

 

What did you expect for $83... at least ditch those sketchy rear blocks for a single add-a-leaf in the rear. Eliminate the axle wrap those blocks cause and go on from there if needed.

"leveling" the truck with the nose up even with the back is actually less desirable as far as handling and load bearing is concerned, so maybe that is contributing as well.

I'm probably wrong though.

 

The only thing I wanted was to get it lifted so I could get the rims/tires on. Knowing that I'd have to spend a cople bucks, down the line, to get something better. That's where I find myself now. Trying to figure it out! Thanks for the feedback!