Lifting the Rear

It appears there are only two simple ways to increase the ride height of the rear of the 3rd gen Tacoma: 1) blocks and 2) higher spring rate leaf springs. The 2nd gen could apparently also be lifted by replacing the shackles with longer ones, but that is apparently not possible with the 3rd gen because the shackle bracket is inverted.

Blocks are a non-starter for me because I think the truck has too much axle hop as it is. I would not want to increase it. Many of the high performance lift kits come with lower spring rate coil springs to (AFAIK) increase suspension articulation and thus improve off-road performance. These are often combined with higher spring rate leaf springs to lift the rear.

Are the higher spring rate leaf springs not counter active to the goal of increasing articulation?

Are there any other options?

How does it feel to drive a Tacoma with softer front coils and harder rear leaf springs? Any complaints?

How are desert race Tacomas and the like built in the rear?

 

What kind of off roading do you do?

 

most LT trucks are spring under. completely different feel/setup. what are you trying to do here. Just lift it? race in the baja 1000? grocery getter?

 

Wherever I can. Last weekend I did some forest roads, logging trails, and an OHV park during a 500 mile quasi-overlanding trip. I plan to return the OHV park and also hopefully attend some wheeling events in my area after the spring thaw. The wheeling events can get quite extreme (purpose built buggies climbing up rocky gullies, etc.) and I would like to do all the hard trails, but my truck is still brand new so I still baby it a bit. I do have some nice sliders installed, a hi-lift jack with winching kit, traction boards, and a nice shovel.

 

I'm hoping to improve off-road performance by increasing ride height, increasing suspension travel, increasing suspension articulation, improving dampening, etc., without sacrificing its other duties drastically: daily driving, towing my boat, and occasionally hauling my friend's furniture. I do not plan to race it, but I do plan to take it off-road.

I am also simply interested out of curiosity. There's not much else to do right now with the covid19 lockdown and the spring thaw here in Minnesota. lol

 

Not necessarily high spring rate, just a higher arch

 

That's interesting. I haven't read that, nor have I been able to find much info on leaf springs. Everyone seemed to be obsessed with lifting the front. I assume a higher arch is obtained by making the leafs longer, yes? I notice the stock leafs on my 2020 OR are basically straight at ride height.

 

Front coils arent necessarily lower coil rates, many of us have increased coil rates in addition to extra preload providing the lift for the front. IFS have terrible articulation regardless of coil rate however most remove the swaybar to help.

For the rear, there are several options from blocks AAL, and leaf packs. Leaf packs are all different, they are arched differently to achieve lift and also combine several layers of different thicknesses to compensate for various loads. Typically a base leaf pack is designed for stock loads and they go up from their. Some call their heavy leaf packs expedition packs or overland packs. Some leaf packs like the Deaver J66 offer lift but are exceptionally soft.

Leaf packs are also not normally the limiting factor with rear lift, the shocks are. To increase articulation you would need a longer shock which can only be achieve with a full shock relocation. After the relocation the leaf pack becomes the limiting factor but requires a 12-14" travel shock

You'll have to look across vendors to find a pack you like

 

This is all great information! Thanks! It leads directly into some of my other questions I posted in this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ome-coil-and-leaf-spring-questions.659704/

Based on what you said, I might have been wrong about the OME Dakar leaf pack having a greater spring rate than stock, but I have no been unable to find any actual specs.

 

So looking at that thread, 590 is pretty low, I think most people are running 650+ but it also depends on how the shocks are tuned and what they are trying to achieve.

I think it's most important to figure out what you want in the end, create a list of stuff you want for the truck then determine the suspension needed to support it.

You dont want to buy a suspension then have to start swapping everything out as you add items.

 

Spring rate has nothing to do with lift in the rear. It’s the arch of the spring. You can get identical spring rate to stock with a higher arch and get the lift you want and not sacrifice ride. Plenty of custom spring makers out there.

 

The 886 OME coil is 660 lbs/in according this page:

https://www.headstrongoffroad.com/s...-__Various_Lift_Heights_Available_(PAIR).html

 

I'm skeptical that "Spring rate has nothing to do with lift in the rear", but point taken about longer leaf springs with a greater arch. I hadn't heard that until this thread.

 

It might be because 99% of us also increase for loads. Adding skids, sliders and bumpers requires an increase in spring capacity. Fully loaded I have about 800-1000 pounds in the rear not including slider and skid weight

 

Ya, I'm coming to that conclusion. I know little about bumpers yet; more research to come. I likely won't pull the trigger until this summer after I have done more wheeling in stock form to learn more about what I really need. Sliders were a no-brainer for me based on my past experience, but the other things are more ambiguous.

 

?? for you about progressive aal. I've asked a few times to vendors about the need for adding shims (3 degree) when going down the aal path. None of them have responded - as if they simply ignore the question. What is your experience and opinion? I don't need a heavy duty leaf pack - just a little more lift to go with the 5160's and Sumo's I currently run.

 

Shims are really only needed to correct driveline vibrations. However, there is usually an underlying cause aside from just pinion angle.

How much lift are you looking for?

 

the HS new redesigned 3 leaf progressive AAL's yield 1.5"

 

I don’t run an AAL myself but lots of people like them. I would take a progressive pack over a single leaf option. AAL can make the rear ride a little harsher but a progressive AAL should help.

 

General rule of thumb is 1* per inch of lift in the rear.