Drop Bracket lifts?

I'll agree the DB kits are heavy duty....yes. Spindles are straight up overkill on the Fabtech kit. Heavy as hell. Also will make trail CV axle swaps more difficult depending on the kit.

DB kits limit your "bolt on" aftermarket part capabilites. (I.E Skid plates) I'll never own another DB kit....Evenflow come back down to lower elevation...you will see the light!

 

y would u go back lol in my opinion dont do something unless your 100% you know thats what u want anyway

 

Things change...I was fine with a DB because I thought a 6" lift was cool and I didn't offroad much. Check the mid travel thread guys change lift components like their underwear. The DB kit SEVERELY limits part compatibility/performance. Unless you throw a SHIT ton of money at the DB kit and still have mediocre perfomance.

 

lol like underwear.. i agree... yea im not a heavy offroader mild to medium at best so db fits my needs. your lt looks sweet by the way. mad expensive tho i imagine.

 

Thx man, If I went straight to the LT kit - I wouldn't be in it much more than my Drop bracket set up Nothing wrong with the DB's but if you even think you might get the itch to get more out of your suspension its not the right path to take

 

That wouldn't be realistic IMHO because that's like sticking in a coilover that's extended 2-3" with a spring that never compresses from its decompressed state, so the suspension can't move because in that sense there is no weighing down the suspension when you jack it.

Considering these lifts don't give you the full amount of lift they say, and it's only that much more than stock the actual lift isn't that high. The coilover lifts are 2-2.5-3" because that's how much larger the coilover is than stock, then when you lower the truck back down the body is at most 1.75-2.5" higher than stock depending on the setup when the weight comes down and compresses the coil.

Even with the drop bracket kits you aren't getting a full 4" or 6" with just the kit unless add to it. A 4" comes out done and settled with about 3" higher than stock maybe a little less.

 

Who told you a 4" db settles to 3 and so on? A db lift is achieved by using crossmembers that lower your suspension so it isn't going to settle to 3".

 

when my 4x4 actuator went on me i did the repair myself and lifting the truck exactly how you explain was the reason my next upgrade was a 3" suspension lift. i fell in love with how it looked instantly hahaha.

 

So much good info here I better stop wheeling mine before it breaks

 

No shit lol

 

No no from the suspension compressing is what I meant. I parked my stock truck next to one they had just finished for a dealer at the shop I went to. The body wasn't raised a total of 4 inches. It was about 3. The guy that did all the work even said its not a true 4 inches after it comes off the lift and the springs compress.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

After I installed my lift ( zone / bds) it was actually 4.5" and the rcd actually lifts the front 5" even though it is labeled as a 4". I do agree after time it might settle a 1/2 or so but not right after install.

 

Fair enough, I thought using the stock suspension would probably compress a little more than that

 

Here is one thing that this thread overlooks. A Drob bracket lift allows clearance for larger tires which gives you more ground clearance. But what it also does is give you the same down travel that you had before. This it the main problem with ifs. When you lift a truck 3” you rob it of the down travel. You get about 1” afterwards. By dropping the lower control arms you get the body clearance, and conserve the down travel. A typical db lift is from 4-6” and the brackets drop the suspension 3” bolt to bolt. So the higher you go the less down travel. A 6” lift is the same as a 3” lift in flex. But a 4” db lift is the same as a 1” lift and gives you 4” of down travel and can clear 35’s as opposed to the stock 5” of down travel. Just food for thought and something I wish I knew before installing mine.

 

Holy necro post. Nice truck though

 

That's a very good point that most people miss or fail to mention. You can recover an inch or so of downtravel with extended-travel shocks and UCAs, but that still means you lost two inches of it on a 3" lift. Go too high without DBs (over 3", or even over 2½"), and you're also inviting CV joint problems and accelerated wear on your steering rack (forget about the decline in ride quality).

DB kits have their place... That downtravel along with the increased breakover clearance is very handy for rock (boulder) crawling. Where I would discourage a DB kit is on a go-fast build (prerunner, desert truck, etc.) where you typically are trying to balance a low CoG with having the most clearance under the axle. Long-travel is best here.

It actually varies a bit...
Some like Rough Country drop the mounts 3.25", others like BDS drop 4". There also may be other amounts, but ~4" seems to be pretty common.

 

DISCLAIMER: I am not a mechanic, just mechanically inclined.


To start this: I bought this truck in TN from a tall (6' sumthin) kid who slapped on a hodge podge Drop bracket lift. It used BDS and tuff country parts. (knock off rough country) It has 4" spacers blocks for the front and rear. Tuff country UCAs and BDS rear shocks. (Stock shocks on IFS) On top of mix matched 285/70/17s with Rockstar rims with a negative offset. (1-2" maybe) [ODM @ 170,000 miles]


Appearance: Tall, Aggressive, Barcelona Red, dirty girl, been a few places. (from what I saw, a Diamond in the rough)


Ride quality: It was a rough ride from the get-go. Not that I knew what good Tacoma suspension felt like but it def was very stiff and bumpy. It handled, "ok" on turns but it would squeal and moan on the tires. The drive shaft only vibrated once while the test drive and thought I hit something, so it went under the radar.


After getting it home: The main issue it was having at the time was drive shaft vibrations. (While coasting at high speeds, right when acceleration was applied) [60-80 MPH] When first diagnosed it was just the U-joint gone bad. Easy fix, slapped in a new u-joint and boom smoother driving. Fast forward a couple of weeks, it starts vibrating again but not as much as it used to, (Now at much lower speeds, off and on, still only when accelerating, especially up an incline) [25-35 MPH] So I let it slide and kept greasing it. At that time, I did start to notice on the tires that the outer edge of the tread of the tire was having much more wear than the rear tires. Went and got it aligned. Instantly was driving better. (I was at the time kind of wheeling her a bit with the off roading due to my hobbies and added more wight with a camper shell) [ODM @ 190,000 miles] {Around this time I did hit a pothole hard and bent a tie rod. I got both sides replaced and realigned. As well as ditching the rims and moved to the stock rims and tire size} [265/70/17] Did some long +300-mile trips and replaced the U joint two more times and I am still dealing with the vibration issue. I apparently let it slide too long and after an intensive off roading trip, on the way home, the drive shaft said, "I'm tired grand pa" and snapped at the knuckle. (Had to put it in 4WD hi and limp her home. Now repaired) I did some digging on here and learned about the axel wrap issue. (Will add this story to the threads about the drive shave vibrations and axel wrap) I took it to a couple of shops, and they all pointed to the carrier bearing and the leaf springs. I got a new carrier bearing and has been playing with the spacers and shims just to get those angles right.[ODM @ 200,000 miles] (Will follow up with the maths of all this on a later post) After plenty of trial and error to help the angles it calmed the vibrating drive shaft issue. (still minor vibrations) [35-45 MPH especially while applying acceleration] Sure enough of them rear leaf springs were also not happy. They were stressed and frowning. Surely, they are now the root to my affliction I am thinking. [Current ODM @ 224,000 miles]

NOW: I finally scrapped up the cash and bought a 2.5" lift OME leaf spring pair and some Bilstein 5100s for front and rear. My game plan is to remove the spacers and run the new lift as intended. Play with the carrier bearing a bit for adjustment of the angles. Hoping the new leaf springs completely stops that dang vibration due to axel wrap. Slap some new shocks in and call it a day. Smoother rides off into the sun set and many life fulfilling adventures to come.


MY questions/concerns moving forward: Due to the lowering of the LCA mounting point, I am wondering how it will affect the scrub radius. What should I consider adjusting to getting it closer to "factory" or "most efficient" geometry without having to remove the drop bracket. Bigger tires? Return to negative offset, adjust the caster and toe? I don’t know. (most will agree, RIP THE MF OFF/GET RID OF THAT HERESY, but I say naynay, I am too poor) (Actually I'm just in love with the truck and just trying to help her the way I can)


Will follow up with pics, math, and measurements.