First Tacoma, and It needs a little help

Hi everyone. Figured since I’ve been scouring this Forum for the past week, I might as well join. Just bought a wrecked 2007 Tacoma TRD. Obviously I will be working on front suspension and all the shocks are crap so they will need replaced. Seems like a good time to think about a lift…2” or less. There is so much info on here. Any quick recommendations?

 

Jesus.. Op

 

No Recommendations but best of luck to you and enjoy your project!

 

Kings, dakars, methods, k02s. That order.

 

Thank you. I will check out that stuff now.

 

Depends what you want to do. If you’re not planning on offroad and just want a better ride on the streets then get some Bilstein shocks and a new leaf pack. They will ride pretty smooth, although I’m not sure about lift in the front

if you want to offroad then there are plenty of brands to choose from. The big names for coil overs are King, ADS, Icon, and Fox. Various pricing across each brand, a coil over up front with bypasses from any of these would be a fantastic start

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW.
You might find this helpful.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-torque-spec-guide.318116/

I’d go to the bottom of the fist post, then download the whole section.
It’s easier to navigate.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Thank you TNShooter and Black Dog! Those threads will be very helpful. To narrow down my use of this truck…This will not be an off-roader unless I slide off the road in the winter (Ohio). I buy Toyota’s for the reliability. I bought a truck to be used as a truck and a daily driver; But the Tacoma can look so cool. I would like some cool factor too, which is why I was thinking a small lift and good tires. I’m pretty frugal (look at the truck I bought…at salvage auction), but I also believe “buy once cry once”. Just want to find most bang for my buck suspension. I hope to be able to navigate this forum better and find other “cool” modifications in the future. Right now I just want to get it on the road with decent parts.

 

Not to rain on your parade but that frame looks pretty rusty and the picture is not even from the area that is known for serious issues.

 

I’m hoping the frame can be saved. Previous owner had Toyota apply their goop on it. It is rusty but feels solid with no holes or breaks. I will know better after laying under it for a couple days. BlackDog shared a thread about rust so I plan on spending time on frame doing some cleaning and applying A rust preventer. Title of truck is “clean” (not salvage) so I asked Toyota if they would inspect truck. They told me that since they coated frame in 2016 they won’t do anything else for me.

 

Enjoy your project. Beilstein 5100 would be good for you since you have work to do fixing her up. Wheels Methods no one mentions the MR316 but they are solid wheels. Tires not sure if you want aggressive or mild but I have owned KO2 and not super impressed by them. I now have a set of General Grabber x3 and love them they are an MT but they feel great drive great and road noise is not bad at all for an MT. They have an AT version as well but have not tried those out. Keep us posted on your progress!

 

TRD4X4 since you have experience with tires…In Ohio we have a cycle of rain, freezing weather and snow, rain again, then 4months of hot. Most important is that tires stick in wet, and cold. I prefer the beefiest tread that sticks when taking curves in the rain.

 

Welcome to TW..

I wish you the best with that project. Certainly some potential there..

 

I've never brought a front damaged Taco back to life. Both of mine were rear end damage, one from the side and one rear-ended. Some people here might give you some flak for rebuilding a truck. Pay them no mind.

It never fails to amaze me when I see pics of frames from the eastern states. We get snow out west and we don't use salt to kill our vehicles prematurely. Still, maybe it's not as bad as it looks, so I hope you can resurrect it.

As far as a lift... One of mine is a Baja Series and has a 2" factory lift. as far as I can tell the lift is in the shocks. As said, I repaired both truck's rear end and they have identical spring hangers, identical positioning of spring mounts, identical leaf springs and all hardware... and only the shocks are different. I didn't tear into the front, but it looks like the only thing different there is the shocks, so there again the lift seems to only be from shocks. The lifted truck has a better ride, but it leans in turns more than the lower truck.

I run LT Yokahoma Geolandars because they have better traction than anything else I've found, and they are quiet and wear forever.

 

The General Grabbers are snow rated they are excellent in the rain and mud. As far as cold in my are we do not experience super cold weather but I know others who have same tire as me and they agree they handle well in the conditions you are inquiring about.

 

Thanks guys! I have the Geolanders on a Honda Pilot and they have been great in bad weather. Good to know the grabbers are an option. I had previously ruled them out as I assumed they were not good in snow. (Without even researching)

 

Suggest to make the repairs, do the 100 Kmile maintenance list, drive it for a few months, then decide what you want to do.

You could do the mods first, but mods ain't worth much if the truck runs like crap or frequent breakdowns or won't run.

 

Excellent advice!