Newbie: Needing Help With Lift Recommendation

Hi Guys,So I am new to everything when it comes to lifting. So be easy Doing all of my research for weeks, but could use some help. Ive read tons of articles but want to make one specific for the setup.

I want to do a very similar setup as the picture attached. Have an 18 Tacoma which is my daily driver.

95% is going to be spent on the road.
The other 5% is hunting, fishing, etc etc, basically light stuff. Just want something aesthetic and functions well that will treat the truck right.

So I need help deciding on a lift setup.

I want to stick with 3-4in and be able to pull off just a 33in tire and wheel setup similar to the image as an example. (Fuel Hostage 18x9 with 285/65/18 Nitto Trail Grapplers, Maxtrac 4" spindle, Fox Shocks, OME Dakar Leaf Springs.) Is what was listed.

Want to keep it around 1k for the lift itself.

Ive looked at the rough country: https://www.roughcountry.com/toyota...MI1OuxusuX3AIVhTuBCh1HWAzjEAQYAiABEgJu4fD_BwE

As well as the Toytec Ultimate : Which one should I go with, or any other recommendations?

Thanks!

 

Out of those two kits I would go with the ToyTec. I personally would not go over a 3" lift unless you are looking at a drop bracket kits. If you are looking into a DB (drop bracket) I would recommend BDS.

If you are looking at just trying to get a 33" tire, then look into a 255/85R16 tire or 255/80R17. Both are 33" tires and no lift needed. May need to remove mud flaps.

Another option would be to contact Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and tell her what you are trying to accomplish.

 

iIf you want to run 33s you will have to go 2.5-3inchs in the front and 1.5 in the rear. I believe you will still need to do some trimming but the following link is a good look. I'm not all that familiar with 3rd Gens.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...side-complete-with-poll.514755/#post-16236050

 

Ok. Would it make more sense just to go with a 6in then? And just stick with 33s? Which IMO dont look too bad

 

https://www.roughcountry.com/toyota-suspension-lift-kit-75820.html

 

If your truck is 2wd there's no easier way to get a lift than Maxtrac spindles!

That's what I run and couldn't be happier.

 

The 3-4 inch change is where the price point changes substantially. That's always something to think about considering your 1K budget. I just put a 3" in the front and a add a leaf in the rear (1.5") to level the truck and I'm sitting at $700-850 for the lift.

 

Ok. All this is new to me, especially the terminology. I just want to lift it 3-4in, but not half-ass it with shitty parts. If its a TRD sport, what exactly needs to go into in and be changed to get around 4in but still good quality.

 

Total budget I am looking at for wheels/tires/lift is 4k. Realistic
?

 

But TSS. You may have issues

 

I believe your budget is realistic if you were applying the lift yourself. Secondly, the Rough country lift you attached in the original comment is going to be a spacer lift. I'm not a fan due to previous experiences in parts failures but people put them on their trucks everyday. Budget: $800-1000 for wheels, $900-1300 tires, and $1700 for lift. I'm assuming a shop will be doing the work so they will charge a good amount for labor, sometimes the same amount of the lift. For my 3inch and add a leaf kit I was in the whole $1200 including the labor. Its my understanding that from 3-4" you have to start cutting cross members and buying more drop down brackets, ucas, and lcas along with several other parts. I prefer 3" because you can always go back to stock or close to stock without having issues. To each there own. Good luck with the Build.

 

What if I go with the RC and replace the shocks?

 

is it a 4wd truck?

 

If your truck is a 4x2 then your best option is the MaxTrac spindles, which will give you 4" of lift in the front with no need to change suspension. Then choose your option to lift the rear 3" to 4" (block, AAL, new leaf packs, etc.).

 

If you are this uncertain then you need to do way more research.

Tremendous difference in 3” and 6”.

Good gear vs junk gear.

 

95 percent on the road? do yourself a huge favor. and leave it as is. maybe put some lightly aggressive tires on it. save yourself thousands. save yourself repairs and odd wear and tear that isn't necessary. your truck is already capable out of the box to do all the things you want to do.

spend that extra money on gas to get to fun places and on beer to drink when you get there.

 

This.

Or do 2-3" lift with bilsteins.
Rough country is shit.

Best bang for buck budget lift is the 5100s.
Run a 265 70 17 or 265 75 16, you'll be more than capable and still reliable.

Anything 285 width you will very likely be doing a body mount chop.

 

Guy wants to lift it. Let him lift it!

 

I have been scouring the internet for something similar and trying to do as much research as possible. Having said that I would highly recommend not going above 3" and sticking to the 2"-3" range if you're on a $1K budget. Once you start getting to 3" and above you start getting into alignment issues. You will need to start looking into after market UCA's which add a minimum of $300 and you definitely need to consider changing the ECGS bushing. I would say if you stayed around 2.5" these extra items will not necessarily be needed. The ECGS bushing is not that expensive but needs a special tool to install.

I am in the camp of not using the spacer lift just because it adds zero performance to your very capable Tacoma when taking it off-road. I personally would not want to put that kind of money into my truck for looks alone and would love to gain the suspension performance that a true suspension lift gets you.

In the OP's defense there is soo much information to wade through when considering this upgrade and coming up with a plan is very difficult. I have been researching this for 2+ months and still am somewhat undecided. Having said that I think my plan is to use Headstrong and go with the Bilstein 5100's with OME 887 coils and the Dakar leaf packs. I'm hoping to gain around 2" all the way around with this setup as my truck sits pretty level with my camper shell.

I honestly think you are going to struggle to get the tires you want under your truck without having to trim your cab back, at least that's what I have read. I have no real world experience with any of this and am basing everything off some of the research i've done.

 

these trucks have no consistency because there's some running 285 70 17 without CMC and for me i had to cut a bunch.

so many things can change whether or not it fits.


the lift you're going with is bang on best bang for buck. and the dakars are great minus the every so fucking annoying squeak mine have that comes back as soon as they get dirty.