Review of the suspension TSB

Last week Sawdust asked if anyone with the TRD off-road pkg had done the suspension TSB and if they had any feedback. Well here it is....

I have an 07 Double Cab with the TRD off-road suspension. The TSB for the TRD versions include a whole new rear "spring assembly". I know this includes a new leaf pack with 4 leafs instead of 3, but i am not sure if the "spring assembly" as noted in the TSB included new coils or not, if anyone knows for sure please feel free to post in this thread and let us know what exactly is included in the rear "spring assembly". I do know that the TRD version does not get any of the shocks replaced in the front or the rear. Also, the TRD version has nothing done to the front suspension except for an alignment. Now that i have clarified what the TSB includes for TRD vehicles i will move on to my assesment.

In the past on this forum there have been many complaints about the stiffness of the ride in the TRD model trucks. I have never had such a complaint and have no problems at all with the "ride" of my truck. In my opinion my truck always rode more like a car than a truck and i never considered the TRD suspension stiff or uncomfortable. Having said that, after the TSB i definately noticed a change in my ride. I still would not consider the ride characteristics to be uncomfortable, but the ride is not quite as comfortable as it was before the TSB. I still enjoy driving my truck and will have no problems taking it on long trips. But if you get the TSB done expect to feel a noticable difference. If you notice a certain bump or pothole or traintrack on the way to work everyday, expect to notice it just a little bit more. To sum up, the ride will change but for me it was worth it since i am more concerned with functionality than comfort. If you do even a modest amount of heavy towing or hauling i would say that the upgrade is a must. However, if you one of those people that already thinks the TRD suspension is too stiff and uncomfortable, or you are currently happy with the ride of your truck and you dont plan on doing much hauling or towing, you may want to avoid this TSB. Personally i'm glad i did it and don't regret it.

Now on to appearance. Obviously since the front suspension was not upgraded the front stayed at its original stock height. However, the rear end now sits about 1 to 1.5 inches higher (depending on the surface im on). As i said, i got the truck back last night so everything is brand new. It is possible that in the future the suspension will "settle" and may drop back down, i dont know. Personally i like it since my pretty yellow shocks are much more visible and i think it gives it a meaner more aggresive truck look.

So, to sum up once again, you're rear end will sit a little higher,and your ride will become a little stiffer. I am happy with it but i wanted to give a detailed description of what to expect since i believe that there a some people out there that will not want to sacrifice their ride for a TSB they dont really need. But like i said, if you tow or haul alot (Maverick) you will definately want it despite the change in ride characteristics. Also, keep in mind that this review is for the TRD VERSION ONLY. I have no idea how the ride and appearance change on the non-TRD trucks. Maybe someone that has a non-TRD can review their truck for the members. Hopefully this answers everyone's concerns and questions. If anyone has a question that i did not cover or feels that i left something out, please feel free to post. Also, if anyone else has had the TSB done to a TRD truck feel free to throw in your two cents as well.

 

Great write up!... until I got to this sentence.

Then I lost it! ROTFLMAO!!

- M

 

yeah i kinda smiled when i wrote that sentance. I wondered if anyone would catch it or comment on it

 

can you post some pics of before and after..

 

Hey, ndcouch, thanks for the write up. I am glad that you made the clarification between the TRD and SR5 changes. According to what I have heard, the SR5 TSB should give the SR5 the TRD suspension.

Once I get my suspension replaced (SR5), I will add my review of the suspension TSB to this thread.

Thanks again.

 

That is more than we needed to know about your love life.

 

Oh god, it just gets funnier! LOL!!

 

Was that TSB for DC only or all TRD models? And how do you get it done, do you just tell them you want it done or what?

 

Hold the boat! As I understand the TSB, it does not matter whether you have a SR-5 package or not. The TSB covers TRD and Non-TRD (4x4 and Pre-Runner models excluding Standard cab. The 4x4 and Pre-Runners-Non TRD get the 4leaf-Spring pack and 4-new shocks.

 

Ok i need to correct something, i just realized the rear doesnt have coils so you can ignore what i said at the begining about the "spring assembly". Sometimes i just become retarded

 

i can put some pics in my Gallary but the difference is not huge so i dont know if you will be able to tell. It may be hard for me to get the same angle and distance as the pics i already have posted, which would be necessary to really compare. but i can give it a shot.

 

actually now that i think about it you have a point. anyone with a non-TRD truck that gets this TSB done should have the same suspension as i have now after the TSB. Is that right or am i missing something?

 

All TRD models qualify. i dont think any of the 5 lugs qualify but i'm not really sure.

 

Wow, I got mentioned by name, but I wasn't the first one with the wise crack (get it? crack? aw, nevermind. nobody bats 1000).

Thanks for the write up. I wouldn't call the pre-TSR ride car-like, but I don't mind how a truck rides. I'll be going for it since I do expect to haul heavy loads on a reasonable frequency. On the other hand, I did read somewhere that the TRD Sport's Bilsteins are adjusted to a softer ride than the TRD Off-road. I wonder if the shocks could be adjusted to soften up a bit and return to more of a pre-TSR ride without affecting hauling capacity.

 

I dunno about taht. I'm not sure if there is a way to soften the bilsteins that come with it. I would like to exactly how the sport and off-road are different suspension-wise. I know they use the same shocks but other than that i dont know whats the same and whats different. I'm gonna check my tire pressure when i get home, i may let a few psi out of the back tires to see if that changes anything. The truck still feels great, just not quite as fluid as before. i definately recomend it for most people.

 

I wish, i won the prize before last, and even though i'm awesome i doubt Bob would let me win again so soon. i dont think i will get it again for a LONG time.

 

The shocks are the same between an off-road and a sport . The front springs on the off-road are beefier than on the sport.The trd sport is more likely to have the infamous "Tacoma Lean" ,where the drivers side is about .5 inches lower than the passengers. I plan on getting the tsb then upgrading to Race Runner or Donahoe coilovers in the front to correct the lean and for the ability to go higher when new wheels are in order.

 

That was a great write up ND. Thanks. Though I have crawled under my truck and while I do only have 3 leafs on each side, I have also not noticed a bottoming problem either. Go figure. The other day I had 10 bags of concrete in the bed coming home from Home Depot, and while the truck was sitting only about a half an inch off the stops, it really felt ok considering that was 800lbs in the bed. Though now that I look it up that is a little more than 500lbs shy of capacity, and had I picked up the other two bags that I wound up needing I probably would have been on the stops at 400lbs less than capacity.

When I tow, the camper has a really high end weight distribution hitch set up on it, so I get very little rear end squat, so I am not sure I am a cantadate for needing this, but I'll keep watching this thread and talk to the dealer when I go in for the 5000 mile service.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

ok so how do we get this done. do we go in and complain about it bottoming out. Does a tsb mean they have to fix this problem if you bring it to their attention?