If you could do it over again, would you still have lifted your truck?

My build is similar and I’ve noticed a significant increase in clearance (axle clearance, approach angle, departure angle, breakover angle), ability to roll over obstacles, traction in mud, and the difficulty for friends entering and exciting the truck.

I was rather skeptical that a 2” lift and 33” mud terrains were going to make much of a difference, but they have mostly exceeded my expectations. The king shocks on the other hand haven’t been as impressive. I feel like I have to get up some serious speed and really beat on the truck to appreciate them; whereas the lift allows me to crawl over stuff with less risk to the truck.

I can understand going back to less aggressive tires for the road (I have two sets), but why go back to stock ride height? I haven’t noticed any downside to that.

I think the wear and tear debate is a bit silly. Maybe some modifications decrease longevity of the truck and maybe some don’t. I don’t think any of us really know because there are too many factors involved and too few controlled experiments. Either way, I’m willing to accept the cost.

 

No prob! And agreed, maybe in a few years when it comes time to replace components make the move, just throw some ATs on there and call her good.

 

So you’re saying the Tacoma can’t handle an extra 80lbs lol. All you mentioned are just performance factors. Not wear and tear factors. In other words going up 1 tire size is not going to kill a truck as much as putting say a 4-6” lift. In all my life of truck ownership going up 1 tire size has never affected my trucks longetivity.

 

OMG!!!!

 

To the OP I ask myself the same question every time before I buy a vehicle. It goes like this-

-For this one I'm going to keep it stock?

maybe two weeks later, who am I kidding I have never been able to keep anything stock. That scenario plays out with every vehicle purchase.
it has worked out the same for all my past cars from civics, to jeeps, to SRT8s, it does not change.

As far as lifting/suspension and mods, there are two fine lines to keep in mind. One is in terms of lift and suspension there is a line where it will become more work and upkeep, that means time. The parts continue to get more expensive and require more maintenance the further you go away from stock. Also, if you are installing it's more work for you. Longevity depends on your level of thrashing. And I know someone will argue -get junkyard parts. Look, I love the junkyards, its like a candy shop for me. But, don't kid yourself, pulling/dragging/loading a rear end by yourself from a vehicle that's sitting on spare tires in 3 foot weeds while its 95 outside is no easy task. Sometimes, just getting the tools you need to it in order to remove it is enough to make people say, ya no.

The other line I call the Full Douchebag line. You see it more in jeeps, but it is slowly creeping its way into the Tacoma world. It's easy to point out. It looks like the owner of the vehicle picked up a catalog and bought every single bolt on part possible with absolutely no regard for performance or purpose. But, people say it looks cool. The sales people love him, the installers hate him.


I still can't roll stock. I enjoy the lego aspect of it, figuring stuff out, making this work, and doing it with my hands. But, that's been me since I was like six trying to figure out how my Bigfoot power wheels worked. For me it creeps into other aspects of my life as well. I'm embarrassed to say, but I have a vintage sewing machine in my garage that I have had for years, which at some point I would love to take apart and get working again. Mind you, for no reason. I can't sew anything, and have never used a freaking sewing machine in my life.

 

I think Minimal lift 1-2.5” shouldn't cause any issues

 

After 7 problem free years I agree.

 

im 4 years on a ome kit
I drive a lot and offroad quite a bit
Great so far

 

I agree with you. I've got some 'secret spots' we go camping in Montana & Idaho ... Rough roads getting to them.. But, if my stock suspension 3/4 ton 2WD van can get there ... A stock 4x4 Taco should be noooo problem

 

going back to stock height to put less pre load on the Kings (hoping for a smoother ride) I also have a gfc so if I drop down to stock I’ll feel less anxiety entering garages...and I’m going smaller tire but sticking with all-terrains.

 

Yup. Needed 33s for what I use the truck for and the lift makes it happen. A properly done lift isn't a concern for a reliability.

 

I think lifts in general get a bad rap b/c they either go super cheap and they hate the ride "why does my spacer lift ride like shit"Or they go top of the line and still hate the ride "i spent all this money on kings with 700# coils and 3" of preload and the ride is harsher than stock"

They lift, add wheels, bigger tires etc and mpg drops. Ie..."my lift ruined my gas mileage"

Or the classic.."i lifted my truck and now my feet dont touch the ground when im using my bumper dumper on the side of the road b/c i dont want my bike stolen"

Lifts arent what kill a truck. Its everything that comes after a lift that cause damage and wear and tear.

 

I weighed the complete stock wheel and tire on my Limited and it was 65lbs. This is consistent (within one or 2 lbs) with the weight that got from somewhere else on the Off Road or Sport wheel/tire setup. This puts the stock wheel at about 26 lbs

There are definitely great looking wheels out there that are well above 30 lbs and then you pair them with an E rated tire and you can easily be 25+ lbs heavier at each wheel. As you said, that is not insignificant in terms of how it is going to feel during acceleration and braking. IMO it is worth the extra money and effort to find a lightweight wheel and tire set up that you like the look of and go with that. Unless you need the E rated tires, go with the C rated ones. If the whole thing is mostly cosmetic, you can sometimes get P rated All Terrain tires and save even more weight vs an E or C rated LT tire.

 

If I had it to do over...
I'd of ordered my lift a couple months sooner.
Waiting on leaves from icon.

 

Why do you think less preload is going to improve the suspension performance? Preload by itself does not change the spring rate, the suspension travel, nor the shock dampening. It does however change the ride height and if you increase that too much you can end up with to little down travel and that could cause issues.

EDIT: preload also changes the compression in the spring at full droop and thus increases the force applied to the ground at full droop. This could effect suspension performance. I’ve never really experimented with that.

EDIT2: For what it’s worth, my truck rides better on the road after my suspension upgrade. King 2.5 RR, 600lb springs, OME standard leafs, 2” lift. CAVEAT: only when the stock tires are mounted. The mud terrains make for a harsher ride. I have 2 sets of wheels/tires.

 

I got 650lb springs and about 10-12 threads showing...I’m hoping the shocks will perform better on the bumpy roads since they won’t be as extended. On road they seem to ride just as good as stock which works for me.

 

Done right, I have no regrets. Buy a high quality lift and get high quality results. If I didn't use the truck for off-road, I'd buy a TRD Pro suspension off someone and put 32's. Similar look, great results with a suspension tuned specifically for this truck.

 

As far as I know, the amount of dampening is the same over the length of the king 2.5 RR non-bypass shock, so I wouldn't expect ride height to make any difference in their performance. The main things that change when you adjust ride height are the amount of up travel and the amount of down travel and this could affect suspension performance in complicated ways. For example, with a higher ride height one might find that the suspension better absorbs a large bump like a rock, ledge, speed bump, curb etc. because of the greater up travel (the energy absorbed by the shock is proportional to the displacement), but it might not perform optimally in whoops because of the decreased down travel limiting contact with the ground. I doubt this will come into play on a bumpy road. In any case, if you lower your ride height, I'd love to hear your results.

 

This is such a common progression - I've done it myself. Grinding around on your sliders looks fun but really it's scary and expensive and all you really want to do is sit around the fire. Or maybe after you've done it a few times, you're like - "okay - checked that box." I guess this is why all the "extreme" offroad stuff is obviously marketed to 20 year olds with that same 1990 death metal soundtrack.