Downsize Tires or Lift Kit

W hat's up guys! First time posting on here, but I've used the site a lot without an account. I've had my Tacoma for a little over 2 years and recently I've started to build it out. Before purchasing my Tacoma, I had very little mechanical knowledge on vehicles. I could change the oil and that's about it. That being said I've learned a ton from this site. I changed all the u joints and the carrier bearing on my Tacoma with the help of this site and my dad.
Unfortunately, I've hit a wall. A couple weeks ago, I bought new tires for my Tacoma. I went from 31s to 33s with no lift. Stupid I know, but I didn't know because they cleared the truck at the shop. It rubs in deep turns on the back of the wheel well towards the firewall. I even had to remove the mud flaps off the front and do a little trimming. Long story short, I'm tired of the rubbing and I know it's probably not good for the long term. I've heard the recommended lift for 33s is 2.5 to 3 inches. However, I don't know if I want to commit to a lift because of the cost and I've heard it puts a lot of stress on your drivetrain. I've been contemplating what to do ever since I bought the tires, and it's been bugging the hell out of me . It's gotten so bad I'm thinking of just buying 31s and throwing those back on.
I'm trying to build this truck to be very capable off-road while not sacrificing my ability to daily drive. I plan to travel to some trails and overland in my truck. That's maybe asking to much but I'm here to learn from the best! Let me know what you guys think

 

You'll need to do a CMC whether or not you do a lift or not by the looks of things. If you decide to lift, just go with the standard 2" and all will be fine.

 

A good alignment tech can potentially get you the additional clearance to stop rubbing there while you decide what you want to do.

 

So with the toyota IFS the lift does not contribute to fitting bigger tires. Only 4 things do.

1. Tire Width
2. Wheel offset
3. Alignment
4.Your favorite hammer and cutting tool. This hammering and cutting is not actually that scary especially if you do not plan to sell the truck.

 

This guy knows what he is talking about, since you’re interested in learning

https://youtu.be/LAYGdcKSA3o