Comments Post 3" Lift

Hey guys,
here are my thoughts after having my lift about a week.

The ride is kinda rough. it is either due to the AAL or the tires, not the front spacer.... had the front spacers in and drove a few days before getting new tires or the AAL and the ride was fine.

got new tires on a Friday ( no allignment, had to wait til Monday) did the AAL on sunday, allignment on monday....

i didnt want to kill my new tires, so i didn't drive much over the weekend, but the little driving i did (maybe 40 miles) i did not notice a rough ride, after my allignment i did....

Soooooo, my thoughts on the AAL???? don't get one.... do the spacer block.... the guy that helped me said that is what i should have done, it would have left my ride quality alone.... i forget why toytec recomended the aal over the spcaers.....

Tires..... i love my tires, they look great... a little road noise, but not enough not to get them again.

Allignment, the shop said my truck could not be properly, i dont know the diff in camber and all that crap, but anyway, he said the tires were straight, and would wear evenly, that part of the allignment was ok, but it may drift or shake... said he did not have enough room to adjust anymore to get in spec.

does not shake, but it does drift a little, but more than that i have noticed loose steering i think, I'll hit a bump in the road or something and it seams to go of course some, not really happy about that.

i do like it tho.... i went by the dealership today and got next to a stock prerunner and took a comparison....

 

I wonder if they recommended the 3" lift because it costs about 150 more than the 2.5" bushings? The site I was looking at said those 2.5" bushings don't affect the ride quality as well, so guess it must be true.

Your truck still looks great though.

After reading this, I think when I get my Tacoma, I'm just going to run the 2.5" bushings up front and do nothing in the back, with 30x11.5" Swamper Thornbirds on a 8" Pro Comp, with 4.0" back space. The sidewall will stick out 2" past the fender but since the tire Dia. is basically the same as stock, it should clear ok.

On the other hand I keep changing my mid between this and another option about 10 times an hour

That size Thornbird is 12" wide overall, which I think would look sweet.

Man I wish my car was paid off right now!!!

By the way I will be getting a regular cab, 4 banger. I notice the 08's are available in white, hope the 09's will be available in white too, since they probably won't have any leftover 08's in Feb '09. Can't believe the 07's only came in red, black and blue. Horrible colors for a 4x4 to keep clean and scratches from forming.

 

i am shocked a the way it looks next to a stock truck. looks more then 3" actually. very nice. any rubbing issue what size tires?

 

the 2,5 bushings require you to take the struts apart (compress spring ) the its like a 3 hr process to do the lift... i like ez-lift from ebay i have bought 3 of their kits..1hr installs on ground working in my drive way.... BTW i have one of their kits on the way to me right now (front lift only) they use the add-a-leafs because if you use a block in the rear you can get wheel hop which can break stuff...they are basically trying to cover themselves by not giving you a lift that can damage your truck, now that said I have used blocks/aal/replacement springs/and finally shackles...obviously best would be replacment springs...but $$$$$ the best for me is the shackles...if you look at your springs from the factory they are kinda flat and tip up to the rear all the longer shackle does is make them sit flat..i think my truck rides better with them on....they are daystar shackles..you will have to check if they make them for 2nd gens but I bet they do. hope this helps

 

Posts like this scare me. Makes me nervous about adding a lift in the future...

 

i know i want to do a 3" lift or spacers for sure, i'm just not positive about what i want to use! procomp makes aluminum spaces for the front and also poly spacers, dont know what the difference in ride quality would be. after i get the tsb done it should sit plenty high enough in the back, so all i need is the front done. what route should i go in terms of leveling out the front as much as i can? i only have 2wd so i dont need to worry about the front diff being misaligned

 

So im confused now... I am looking at the 3" toytec lift as well, but which hsould i opt for? the AAL or the block? I had heard horror stories about blocks lessening the life of leafs and causing major damage? What are your guys thoughts?

 

i did the aal and i can say it is a rougher ride than i hoped for. i think the blocks keep the quality of the ride, but i don't know the problems with them.

 

I am also getting the TSB done soon and so if I lift the back more, I really have no choice but to go with blocks in the back. AFAIK, stiffening the rear suspension decreases the chance for axle wrap and wheel hop. I really don't understand how adding blocks can cause axle wrap, especially after the suspension TSB is done. Can someone please explain this to me?

 

I'm still wondering if you need to do anything to the rear if you are getting a 3" lift and have the TSB done. The toytec lift comes with an extra leaf, making the original tacoma a 4 leaf. Now if you already have a 4th leaf installed to you even need an AAL or block with your lift? nobody seems to have a good answer to this question yet

 

FYI. I bought the Toytec 3" lift and went back and forth about putting it in. I returned it and bought the 2" spacers. I had the TSB suspension done last week and had the dealer put in the spacers for $144 extra. I also upgraded tires to 265/75/16's. It changed the whole look and feel of my truck. I do notice that the ride is a bit rougher now, but nothing too harsh. The tires with the spacers and the TSB lifted my rig about 2.5". I am very happy with the results. Everybody has different expectations.

 

aal is the way to go yes it road hard at first now its better i have seen blocks break and its not good i have the alum spacer in the front from pro comp no prob would do this set up again

 

After having the TSB done, I know I will not be going with a 5th leaf. Apparently the ride is rough enough as it is with the Alcan AAL from Toytec, which seems to be stiffer than the one from the TSB.

From what I've read the Alcan raises the back 2", where the TSB only raises it around 1"-1.25". So from what I can tell (with the TSB + the block from the kit) the height difference from front to back should stay about the same, just 3" higher all around.

Still wondering about axle wrap. I am going to call Toytec to get their impression on the whole thing.

 

is 265/75/16 32 or 33 inch? any problems with rubbing?