Temporary fixes for DB lift

I own a 2003 Tacoma that I purchased when I was 16, it had some work done to it and was very well maintained so I went ahead and bought it. Since then I have put a lot of sweat and tears into the truck. The truck has 236,000 miles and going strong. The previous owner put a 6" fabtech lift on it which I never would have done myself (I know they suck). Ive thrown extensive suspension at it and it still is not viable at all to even drive on a forest service road. My last temporary fix I am going to try is switch to a C rated tire rather than the current E rated tires I have on it. In the future I know I will eventually do a SAS swap (Already have an axle from an FJ80). But at the moment I am in college and can't afford to have my truck down for several months. If anyone has any advice or other ideas to make the truck ride better given the circumstances please let me know. Thank you!

 

^Not viable in what way, too jarring? What shocks and springs do you have on there now? What tire pressures are you running on forest roads?

 

Yes, simply too jarring. I have bilstein 5120's front and rear with Eibach springs in the front. I run around 15 PSI on forest roads, but still get minimal sidewall flex which is why I am assuming switching to a C rated tire may help.

 

I assume it’s a prerunner, hence 80 axle. Or are you going to do a gear case swap to maintain the p drop shaft?

 

@02hilux it is a 4WD, I would be planning to re-gear the case in order to maintain the pinion drop.

 

@02hilux main reason for the SAS is rather than find a donor for a new rear cross member. I might as well take all that time and money to do something cool rather than go back to stock.

 

How are you running 5120s. I have the same DB lift and I'm running the Fabtech kit shocks. Seems to me your ride should be pretty good with Bilsteins and the Fabtech kits geometry. Should ride smoother than a 3" lifted truck on Bilsteins. Are you way overdamped?

Pics of your setup please.

 

@TimPall13 was selling some custom Bilstein coilovers that are supposed to work with the Fabtech 6" lift.

 

@Dare Devil Diablo Here are pictures of my setup, it is just not making sensing to me how rough it rides.

 

that’s what I mean, you’re going to do a gear driven case instead

 

Those look really nice! Probably wrong spring/damping...

 

stacking lift is a no bueno

 

You have almost no or ZERO uptravel left in your suspension with where the UCA is resting at ride height. Wrong spring, wrong shock, or both. Stacking lifts is no good either. Throwing a SAS at the problem may fix it by removing all that is wrong.. or you could fix what is wrong.

 

Generally lower spring rate and longer travel is best for a cushy ride. Also you could consider a P rated tire over a C or an E. In many cases P rated tires actually have higher load rating than C tires, which I think is why C rated tires are difficult to find

 

Post more photos from different angles. Include both sides. I want to see what else I can find.

 

Is that shock made for the 6" lift? If it is, in fact, long enough for the lift then he can remove the spacer and tighten up the coilovers to get proper ride height.

If the shock is too short it may require the spacer for proper travel. I know Rough Country's 6" lift comes with a spacer so you can use standard shocks with their lift. Their suspension geometry is different than Fabtech's and is not compatible.

 

@JasonLee Here are some additional pictures for you to take a look at.

 

@Dare Devil Diablo The coilovers are made specifically for the tacoma with the 6" fabtech lift. They are from TopNotch.

 

hopefully cool man link and not leaf. Its definitely not cool to be leaf, that’s just lame and boring

 

Looks like they came with the puck spacers.

I think you have a spring rate problem and possibly a damping problem.

You should adjust your coilovers so your lower control arms are slightly lower on the outboard side. Looks like you might be sitting opposite of that. You could be hitting your bump stops causing a rough ride if your ride height is set too low.