Lift questions and concerns

I never said they were made in China however that doesn’t mean that they don’t use steel or other parts from China. In fact there is no substantiating evidence that says otherwise which makes it a moot debate. If it’s not USA stamped steel then it doesn’t matter what country your CNC machine is located.

That fact that your comparison to Oreillys and Autozone speaks for itself and I appreciate you proving my point.

 

Man I’m going to watch this thread I have a feeling this is going to turn out great

 

Okay OP I think you have enough info from here that you can pull the trigger on a lift kit.

 

To Spicy Fish Taco and Tush T:
I appreciate both of you alls guidance and concern regarding the integrity of my Taco. However, I am a little confused, as when I looked up both of these specific lifts the OME and the RC they were both specific fits for my truck. Are you all saying that the lifts are both bad lifts and that I should just leave it all alone? From what I have read and researched OME comes highly rated across multiple platforms and individuals, so, again I am a little confused.

Thanks again guys! Truly appreciated!

 

There's a lot of prejudice here when it comes to brands such as RC.
Not everyone can afford (nor needs) the likes of Fox, King or Bilstein... RC is a good option in these cases.
There is a lot of fear mongering over drop bracket type lifts (4" or 6" lifts) over a required frame modification to fit such kits, of which RC is a manufacturer of (which really makes no sense to me since you still have to cut your fenderwells all up if you want to fit a tire bigger than 33" or so, which people seem to be OK with). The RC 3.5" actually isn't a DB lift, but, again, prejudice seems to prevail here.

I don't think you can go wrong with either RC or OME, but I still would recommend the spindle lift I mentioned earlier over both since you're 2WD.

 

I'm running 4Runner pro wheels 17's with 255-80-17's

 

Hello everyone,
Seeing as it the holiday season and there are a bunch of deals on lifts, I was looking specifically at the lift from ironman 4x4: https://ironman4x4america.com/suspe...pension-lift-kit-for-toyota-tacoma-2005-2023/. I do not have any experience with them but watched a really in depth review on the cell foam pro series, which got a pretty good review, but I wanted to post this here to get everyone's input on if this brand is good quality or stay far away? Thanks in advance!

 

I have no opinion on the Ironman kit. But I would suggest a 5100 or 6112/5160 bilstein set up with a dobinsons leaf pack.
Other considerations with lifting is keep it under 2", having downtravel in your shock will increase your ride quality huge compared to a full 3"
Front clamshell bushing from ecgs to replace the needle bearing. Carrier bearing drop spacers and or angled axle shims. The highet you lift the higher the risk of odd vibrations.

Wheel specs- what wheel offset and width are you looking at to fit 295's? I have a 2" front and rear lift agressive cmc and pinchweld fold front fender liner tuck to fit a 295/70r17 on a 17x9 -38 even on a lower offset your going to need a cmc most likely my 285/70r17 was tight without a cmc on a 17x9 +1 wheel.

I don't daily my truck if I did i would change my set up a bit.

 

I’ve had the foam cells on for… over 4 years. It is a quality kit and for me has held up well. Though, that is with only 35k miles or so on them. Off roading, beach, local and highway driving. The big thing is that it’s a stiff ride. If you have weight up front it shouldn’t be too much an issue but it can be stiff and ride like a “truck.” I recently swapped the coil springs with a different brand and lower #. Have been pretty happy with the change but only paid $30 for the springs and did the swap myself.

If you want a full kit for a great price, it’s definitely worth checking out. I’m might have missed if you said your budget, but the Dobinson MRR that has adjusters might be worth looking into as well.

I started one of the IM threads- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ironman-4x4-suspension-mega-thread.739269/

And there are others-

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3-8-22-updated-ironman-foam-cell-pro-review.687891/


https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ironman-4x4-foam-cell-pro.427407/page-135#post-30269600

 

hey man, the wheels I have are 17x9 with a -12 offset and I’d probably go with a 285 instead of the 295. Wit the bilstein would that be 6112 all around with the Dobson leaf pack? And as far as lift height, 3 inch is too much you think? Would I have to re-gear?

 

3" is to high on these trucks in my experience. I had my front at 3" for a few months as I set it there anticipating some spring sag and the additional weight of my bumper/winch that I was waiting for. The problem with a lift that high is you have very little down travel so the shocks can easily top out which doesn't sound or feel good at all.

I only recommend the bilstein combos as they are the most tried and true suspension upgrade on here and the 5100's do not break the bank at all. The 5100 or 6112 have the same adjustability with the pre load collar either or will easily give you 2" of lift up front.

The dobinsons leaf pack I'm recommending over my experience with ome leaf packs. You can get different load ratings to hit a lift height based on how heavy your set up is.
Try to aim to match lift to retain some rake from the back to the front. So if you lift the front 2" lift the rear 2" to retain the factory rake. The trucks simply drives better especially if you ever intend on having any weight in the box.

Just remember lift does not clear tires on these trucks anywhere besides ride height as the second the suspension cycles the tires end up where all the obstructions would of originally been.

On a 17x9 -12 your best odds of clearing involve an accutune uca custom alignment and a 285/70r17. I hardly fit mine on a +1 but all trucks are a little different so you might get lucky and not need a cmc. But if you have to do a cmc for a 285 might aswell goto the 295 as it will fit at that point.

Definitely don't overlook the clamshell bushing, carrier bearing drop and or angled axle shims while planning this out. It will clean up all the odd vibes that can come with lifting these trucks.

Ypu can see some of the plastic moulding that was done to help clear my 285's but you can see there's no rubbing on the cab mount. That's at 2" lift 17x9 +1 and dirt king uca's custom alignment.

This is the clearencing that has been done to clear my 295's on 17x9 -25 and 17x9 -38. Cab mount chop, pinchweld fold and flare trim.

I dreaded the idea of a cmc for a long time and didn't want to do it. But knowing what I know now just do the chop early and don't fight with it especially if you intend of wheeling the truck at all.

To touch on re gearing I am not re geared on 295's and I'm a bit of a heavy build and tow. I can still get reasonable mileage and unless I intend on spending more time on tougher trails I don't forsee myself regearing for a bit.

If I can manage that on stock gears it's not 100% necessary

 

First off, that is an amazing looking truck you have! Secondly, I am mainly looking to lift my truck solely for the purposes of aesthetics as it is a 2wD and not a 4x4, this the fist Tacoma and truck I have had that his or a 4x4, and with that it is mainly for to and from and work and light highway driving and rarely sees off rod at all lol. I know it sounds silly, but I just want to make it look tougher. So if I am lifting just to try and fit tires, it sounds like from what I am hearing from you is that I might be better off sticking with the 265 on a 17x9 with a -12 offset and look at the bilstein’s 5100 or 6112 with a decent leaf pack.

Lastly,
Thank you for taking the time to respond and go r your experienced input to newbs like me, it is much appreciated!

 

The MaxTrac spindle lift I mentioned earlier (post #31) avoids any & all of this, and does allow fitting bigger tires because it's (what I consider to be) a true lift (not just simply repositioning the suspension downward via taller shocks/springs), all while providing a nice 4" of lift. Combine that with a good set of shocks (Bilstein 5100 set to stock height settings) to round out the package, I don't see what's not to want here.

OP, are you shying away from this kit for a reason? (unlike 4" lift on a 4x4, there is no frame cutting or other invasive modifications needed for it).

 

aal wont work with steel rear bumper. it will sag.
bilstein 5100 and ome 2885 will work perfectly but for rear i would like to recommend something different from AAL (i installed rxt)

 

pizza cutters are great with such setup

 

Yup RXT is a good pack to go.

 

So I missed that this is a 2wd. The spindle lift may avoid some of the issues but you will still have all the rear driveline issues with any lift so you can't say it gets rid of all issues.

I still believe 3+ lift is to much lift in pretty much any situation for a daily driver. Especially a 2wd street truck

 

3" lift on rwd truck will cause shaft vibration in some cases can be fixed with 3 degree shims(did it by myself) CB drop didn't work (actually worked but still there were some vibrations from 22 to 25 mph)