New 2017 Tacoma! Lift ideas?

Hi Everyone,

Finally took delivery yesterday of my 2017 TRD Offroad DB long bed with premium package. I've been dreaming of owning a tacoma again for the past 5 years and finally got the wife on board with the new redesign. This thing is such an upgrade compared to my old 98 SR5 Tacoma that I had right out of college. Man it feels good to have a truck again! We are taking it on our first big family road trip next Friday from Mass down to the outer-banks in NC.

I plan to lift it and put some 285s or 295s on it. I negotiated a set of 16" TRD rims with the purchase and am debating between the BFG K02s, Nitto Terra Grappler or Toyo Open Country AT/IIs. Also planning to put a Leer or ARE cap on it as we have a dog and I'm a big kiteboarder with tons of gear that I take to the beach.

My main question is what's a good 3" recommended lift package for ~$2,000? My main use is going to be on-road with occasional off road adventures. Suggestions?

Also - parked next to my buddy's limited below. Is the TRD stock suspension taller than the limited?

Thanks,
Tim

 

Nobody ever wants to use the search feature for lifts suggestions when there's dozens of lift kit questions posted daily

Welcome to the forum

 

Personally I'd leave it alone until you use it enough to know you need a lift to solve a functional issue.

That said, whether you choose to proceed now or later, just call Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and tell her your goals, then enjoy the results.

 

OME makes a great complete lift for around $1300 or so.

 

Keep the lift 2" or less. Don't use blocks or spacers. You get what you pay for. Expect with parts and labor to spend about 2 grand if you want a lif the that actually improves quality of ride and performance.

 

Lift and big off road tires for a brand new truck that will mostly drive on the road makes no sense at all, but it does look rad!

 

Congratulations on the new truck, hope you enjoy it. I also would suggest calling Marie, people seem to be happy with her suggestions.
Hope you enjoy your trip to the Outer Banks, that's where I live. Have a good time.

 

Marie at headstrong or Dan at Wheelers offroad both good POCs

 

Neither does own a 3rd vehicle! It's not my daily driver, so I'm trying to balance bad ass looks with some practicality.

 

Thanks. I will call her on Monday. Hoping for some warm weather & good wind in OBX! I'm a big kiteboarder and this is our annual pilgrimage to the kite mecca.

 

Recommend sticking to tire size of 265/70/17 or 265/75/16 if you want to keep from putting a major dent in fuel economy and not cutting or trimming cab mounts etc. Looks good with 1.5 to 2" of lift IMO too.

Also keep in mind IF you decide to go over 2" you'll need to buy aftermarket upper control arms which run about $400-$500 on the low end.

Also your driver side front diff needle bearing will eventually need to be replaced if you search for ECGS bushing on the forums you will see what that entails. But bottom line plan for another two to three hundred dollars on that even if you do a mild lift

 

Thanks Smitty. I did see some of the threads on the needle bearing issue.

If I keep the lift sub 2", is that the magic # where I don't need to worry about the bearing, control arms, etc?

What's the biggest tire size I could fit with a 2" lift?

 

Yes on control arms but No on bushing because I only did 1.5" and my needle bearing failed right away. Immediately after I lifted and drove out of the driveway the vibes and noise was present. Some guys put 3" lifts on and don't have the issue for 10s of thousands of miles some have 1" level and it does it right away. The bitch is that you do all the labor to put on front suspension then have to take the drivers side off again to do the bushing which is why maybe better to play it safe and do it all at same time.

 

haven't installed my lift yet but I have 255/75/17 and another guy I know is running 255/85/16 w/out rubbing, even offroad. just be aware. biggest tire with XX" lift depends not only on the tire but also the wheel. Offset, backspacing and such.

 

Here's a great lift that a lot of people run and are very happy with and will run you sub 2k.

http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/st...mu_Kit_w/_Dakar_Leaf_Pack_-_2016__Tacoma.html

888 coils will net you about 2.5" of lift, and the dakars in the rear will be able to support all of your gear and your topper. Needing the ECGS needle bearing replacement is hit or miss. I didn't need it on mine.

 

Difficult to say what you can or can't fit. A lot of variables. The safe sizes I listed above. Anything beyond that may require trimming or cutting and alignment can get tricky. If you go over 2" there's a high chance youll be out of spec on alignment most likely without installing UCAs. 2" is the rule of thumb. Lift doesn't really increase wheel well size this is the problem when you start going to 275 and 285 size tires. What may not rub on the street will rub as soon as you go offroad. People have a lot of opinions and experiences on this that differ. Also each and every truck is slightly different. Proceed at your own risk when you start doing these kind of mods.

Needle bearing will fail. Just a matter of WHEN not if...read the threads on it and you'll see. If you dump the truck in 2 years you may never have a problem. It's just a random thing.

 

Smitty - I really appreciate your input. You're giving me 2nd thoughts on lifting. I may just start with some BFG 265/75/16s with some wheel spacers to start.

 

Needle bearing a must. I have 887's with 1/2" spacer netting me a total of 2.75" of lift with stock uca's and my alignment is in spec.

 

That certainly would seem to be an exception. Based on others feedback I've seen here and in talking with folks at wheelers as well as headstrong and getting their recommendations the 2" Mark seems to be the threshold for UCAs but as stated earlier it seems there are exceptions and varying experiences for many people here. Are you actually at 2.75" or is that the advertised lift amount based on product specs? because that can be a variable too.

 

That is exact measurements. 887's granted me 2" of lift and then added 1/2" spacers after the fact which gave me a grand total of 2 3/4" to match my dakars in the rear. Very happy with the outcome and the shop that did my alignment is top notch. The guy even said when I paid, the caster came right in no issue.