Lift kit regrets

Ok, besides the obvious fact it looks badass, is there any real benefit to lifting your truck? I can't think of a time I've been offroad and wished for 3 more inches of clearance.

I whole heartedly wanted a lift for months, but the more I read about them, the more I find out afterwards you need shims, extensions, relocations, and then you have vibrations and noises. It just seems like paying alot of clams for potential problems down the road.

Am I looking to far into this? Or is a 3 inch lift really worth it? I'm still on the fence about it, but if anyone has any tips or advice about avoiding these problems I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,
Chris

 

I mean with all of this stuff it always depends on your needs. I've scraped my armor enough times even with a 3" lift to know it's absolutely worth it to me.

I'm running OME coils/shocks and a wheelrs AAL set up right now and only problem I have is a slight vibration on take off, not enough to bother me so I've ignored it. I'll be installing Icons front and back and dakar's next week so we'll see what happens.

And it looks bad ass.

 

Sounds like a solid set up man, post some pics up when you get it done!
I'm thinking as long as I stay < 3 inches, how bad can vibrations really be?

 

subbed

 

Only regret I have is all the clunking up front that a lot of people get with the OME stuff. I will eventually upgrade to a real set of coilovers.

 

The clunk doesn't go away even with coilovers dont ask me what it is cause it's been a year and I still don't know. My only regret is that I didn't lift my truck sooner it would have saved some carnage. Also I regret not going to 35s faster.

 

Don't forget the actual ground clearance you will gain from adding larger tires, which the 3" lift allows you to do.

 

With heavier coils and leaves, load carrying capacity goes up. Highway stability increases. Ground clearance is much improved.

Now, toss in the fact that the lift I went with did NOT cause vibrations. Handling is better on and off road. Did NOT cause premature wear issues (been on over 30K) Tires clear bodywork much better.

Use matched components, don't go nuts with lift, and get a GOOD alignment. It's not all that much of a challenge to get this right.

 

This^
Stay under 3" and drop some real coin on the upgrade if you are going to do it. Highly recommend Icon non-resi front and rear, 14"x700lb coils on the fronts, Dakar leafs in the back with the carrier bearing drop, no shims. Camburg balljoint upper arms, SuperBumps all around. Lose the sway bar. 32" tires so you don't have to do the cab mount chop or re-gear. It'll ride like a truck empty, but load it up and hit the trail and it shines. No rubbing, no vibes, and tracks like a freight train at speed.

 

I'd personally go bigger than 32s you won't need to regear with that size either cmc isn't crazy hard and most people will never notice if you're worried about selling it sometime

 

Yea go 33s

 

Solid points guys. I'm in touch with @HeadStrong Off-Road to put something together.
I just ordered a set of 17x7 trd matte black wheels, and 265/70/17 duratracs. So I'll have to wait in the tire upgrade, but I think it'll look and perform well for me.

 

If you stay at 3" or under you won't run into too many complications with lifting your Tacoma. Headstrong makes a variety of kits for that height that are relatively easy and straightforward to install. Although I too have the dreaded 'clunk' with my 5100s/OME coils up front, only on the driver's side though. Makes me wonder if it's because of the 1/4" spacer I put on that side to compensate for the lean, cause I don't hear any clunking at all on the passenger side

 

OR or...being the devils advocate here







Go long travel

 

Not worth the costs and negatives to me. I run 31.5" 265/75/16 tires with zero issues. I can even run tire chains on the rear which will do more in mud than any tire. The cost to lift and run 33" tires would be significant and net me 3/4" of ground clearance. You'd have to work really hard to find a spot where that 3/4' of ground clearance would make a difference. If you're going to lift, then go big or go home and run 35"-37" tires.

 

What about your up and down travel? Assuming you have stock suspension that is

 

well its done, i ordered the bilstein 5100's, OME 884 coils, Deaver AAL, and LR UCAs, so here in the next few weeks we'll see how it does. For me, the straw that broke the camels back was once i had wheels and tires installed I'd always wonder "what if" in regards to the lift. Thanks for the input from everyone though!

 

Pics after install!

 

Is it in yet?

 

Well I've got the wheels and tires installed, waiting on overtime at work to die down so I can get to the lift. But here it is minus the lift kit.