2Runner

Yeahp, that shredded tire was on the front alright! The rear is very light on these trucks and does not wear tires anywhere near as fast and I am able to run 26 psi cold in the rear vs 32 psi on the fronts for track days.

After the 4/5 drop and adding some negative caster the fronts are wearing nice and evenly now, so this seems to be an issue of the past and I am going faster than ever now. With a 2/3 drop and before the caster change I was wearing out the outside edges of the front tires in just a couple events. I have hit 3 events already with my latest set and they are still looking poised for a few more rounds. Anyone looking to do this stuff in the Tacoma should likely take heed or be prepared to buy a LOT of tires while going slower!! Big fun for an event or two, but tires get pricey needless to say..

 

This is making sense now..

For comfort I found out going through so many sets of tires and wheels (stock steel 15", 17" cast aluminum, forged 18" aluminum) that more sidewall DOES NOT mean more comfort!! There are many factors including the actual tire make and model, some have softer sidewalls than others it seems even in the same load range and some "categories" (eg max summer, grand touring, etc) of tires are made to ride nice while some are made to handle better. I found getting the exact same tire in a lower load range also means a softer tire even with less sidewall, and feels much more compliant over rough bumps. Dont go too low on the load range if you plan to haul full loads and tow of course! Lower treadwear ratings also equates to a softer tire, so keep all this stuff in mind when shopping, not just sidewall height.

I was very stunned to find a lighter wheel does the most not only to get a bit more wheel speed on these little 4 cylinders, but they ride much nicer as the hits are not as hard and jarring as I believe the suspension is able to work much better with a light wheel "floating " over the bumps (my cast 17" 26 lbs definitely do not ride as nice as my forged 18" 19lbs with WAY less sidewall! ). Also your tire pressure is going to make a difference in the ride, so if you run a larger sidewall and want to take turns in an aggressive manner you will need to compensate the sidewall flex with more tire pressure which goes against your quest for a nicer ride.

As for the offset I dont know what you are running now and how wide a wheel you plan to go for, so my setup may not work for you since the end result is a combination of width of tire, width of rim, and offset. I measured the space I had from the actual rim to the outside fender well and took into consideration the extra width in the new wheels I wanted to try and get the rim flush with the outer fender well using the . This will tell you where your tire will end up with all the aforementioned measurements from your current setup and what you are shopping for. Also I suggest to go conservative since if it sticks out it may rub and you would be kind screwed, but you can always add a few mm of spacer to bring it out if need be, I am running spacers too at the moment just for this reason so my wheel offset becomes moot and would mislead you.

Hopefully you can glean from my experience and get the setup that works the best for your needs! As I too used to think them 17's with more sidewall was going to ride superior, and this is simply not the case at all. This is my daily driver too and the roads and highways out here are pure crap falling apart and potholes everywhere - worse than some trails I have been on for sure! Trudy is my daily driver and not just a track truck so I put a ton of effort into building the truck accordingly. So of course 17's are fine, just make sure you consider all the factors when shopping to get the most for your bucks. I'd advise if you dont need the full load range (who maxes out the gvwr and tows with a 4 cylinder anyways?) , drop down a step in load range and get a tire that is rated for comfort and a nice ride (eg grand touring all season with lower treadwear).

Here is one more super cheap tip for these trucks to ride nicer and look better (subject to opinion), throw a 1 inch drop block in the rear! There is no weight back there unloaded and these things are meant to carry 1500 lbs back there so the springs are pretty rough when unloaded. The rear drop actually puts some of the truck weight back there and changes the ride for the better as it doe not get as jolted when hitting the bumps, and oh yeah it will handle the curves better too as a bonus! Hope this stuff helps, I drive this truck super hard but am an older feller that could barely stand the ride of this truck stock!! Now I can cruise in her for hours on end with a smile on my face...

 

Thanks for the info, i appreciate you putting the time into it. the comments on load rating make a lot of sense, however i did leave out the bit about towing, which i plan to do. Which is why i added a few more cylinders and cc to cope with this.

i'm going to grab a block now that you mention it too, i dont understand leaf spring geometry/loads as well, so i was going to swap them out. but i'll try that first!

at the moment the options are to go with a 255/45/17 or step up to an 18 with a 245/40/18 F and 275/40/18 rear as i have flat tray and have loads of room. anyway, i dont want to bang on about my options in your thread, but thanks again.

 

Speaking of smiles..

I was able to get her out and do some autocrossing yesterday. I got her all shined up the day before as I like to do this as I also go over everything like retorquing wheels, rear leafs, adjust my pressures, and looking for any issues that could pop up before I get out there. Take a gander at the old girl if you will!











Trudy is getting to the point to where she is really dialed in, not only does she ride like a dream taking me to the track she is handling better than ever as well! Feel like I am getting more comfortable with the new capabilities and found myself having a blast pushing her right to the limits and perhaps a bit beyond once or twice.. noted by some sideways action that I was able to recover from nicely instead of spinning out!!

Here are a couple videos from inside the cab, hop on in!







Ahh Trudy... economical yet comfy daily driver, award winning race truck, light duty pickup, and even my show truck.. life sure is good when you are living in Tacomaworld!!

 

i removed the pics to not clutter your thread, but is this without any suspension changes at all?

recently i picked up a completely stock 2001 and have been looking for a nice wheel setup. those lexus wheels look really good and if i can just slap em on without modifying the truck itself, that'd be ideal.
i did see you brought em to a machine shop for some work. is there any chance you would name them so i can try to get the proper machining measurements off of them?

keep up the good work on your truck, thing looks super nice even now. wish i could get myself to go that far with mine lol

 

Hey "2Runner",

I am Jason and a new member here. I just purchased a 2002 Tacoma w/ 60K miles in great shape.

just wanted to CONGRATULATE you on a GREAT BUILD thus far and say you inspired me to spiff up mine myself. I am a novice to all this and would love your blessing on trying to duplicate your your rims and stance for truck.

take care,
Jason

 

Hey "2Runner",

I am Jason and a new member here. I just purchased a 2002 Tacoma w/ 60K miles in great shape.

just wanted to CONGRATULATE you on a GREAT BUILD thus far and say you inspired me to spiff up mine myself. I am a novice to all this and would love your blessing on trying to duplicate your your rims and stance for truck.

take care,
Jason

 

Thanks for the kind words @Taco_SC, you certainly have my blessing to do whatever you like with your truck and I am glad to have inspired you here! The thread is old as you saw, but Trudy is still here holding up great in the same shape as you last saw her.

Sorry @dr. errl, missed your note. Lexus wheels do not fit without machine work to clear the front hubs on the Tacoma. Pro Tires and Wheels in Norwalk did the work to perfection for Trudy!

I am thinking about old Trudy and missing her a bit, and may be doing a bit of work on her again this year..