Article for Us Newbies

[mytacoma]

Hey alex, how about an article for us newbies with some suggestions on the first place to start with a buildup. I'm thinking a body lift and tires but, are there better things to do first that will  improve offroad performance?

[SD YODA]

Hey alex, how about an article for us newbies with some suggestions on the first place to start with a buildup. I'm thinking a body lift and tires but, are there better things to do first that will  improve offroad performance?

good call on that. i think you struck a good note on that to bring on a a good new article. hopefully rad, and evil will chime in on this idea as well.

as far as improving your off road performance and experience: what do YOU think you need? what do you do with your truck? do you need more traction? ground clearance? more power? do you wanna go slow? fast? both? these are a few questions you need to answer to improve the direction in where you are going with your build. some people love to crawl as myself, some people like to haul, then theres people that want to do both or more.  you have to start off on the issue that is the biggest obsticle to your truck. what hinders it from doing what you want the most? catch my drift? 

[mytacoma]

Good point. I like the dunes but, they can get boring. Being able to "haul" in the sand would definatly make that more fun but, I wouldn't want to lose any grund clearance as my favorite thing is to crawl over stuff that I shouln't be able to get over. Anybody can FLY over something. I want to DRIVE over or through it. My truck is a six cyl. so it has pretty good power but, I have thought about a supercharger although, I don't have unlimited funds so if I could boost performance with say a KN kit and maybe larger exhaust I could put my money elswhere. My trip to the Mounds made me want for more clearance cause thats what I needed to get thru the ruts the big trucks had made. So...I'm stuck cause I want it all. Maybe I just need to learn how to Wheel first and then the truck will tell me what it needs. So, I'm still thinking a 3" body lift, wheels, and better air delivery is the place to start.

[Matt]

Body Lift is NOT a good idea if you wanna fly over dunes though. That is about the only disadvantage to body lifts and that is you don't wanna jump the truck at all. Tires is everything when it comes to wheeling. With the right tires a stock truck will perform very well offroad. If you have the cash, get some Donahoe coilovers up front for 3" lift, a shackle in the back and some 32" BFG AT's and I think you'll be pretty happy with that setup Doug.

PM MikesDoubleCab, he has a setup pretty close to that. Only difference is he has a new leaf pack in the back which is a little more cash.

[mytacoma]

can I do better than 32s? I replaced my 225 75R 16 with 265 75R 16 which caused a little tire rub on the drivers side frame rail It would seem to me a little taller but narrower tire would get me a touch more clearance. I wondered if a susp. lift would be better than a body lift but leaned towards the body lift cause it sounded more SOLID. So, I appreciate the feedback on that. I do like the look and would consider doing it just for that as long as I didn't lose anything by doing it. Are there any other things that a lift will effect?

[Matt]

Wait, is your truck a TRD Doug? If so, it should have had 265/70 to start off with. If you're running 265/75 right now than you are running 32" tires. And they will rub on a stock setup. The next thing up from that is a 285/75/R16 which is what I'm running, a 33" tire. You will need at least 3" for that and it will still rub.

It seems like you're wanting more ground clearance more than anything else. If that's the case. You should definitely not go body lift. The suspension lift will raise the whole truck, while the body lift only raises the cab and bed, leaving the frame and engine in place.

[mytacoma]

I may be wrong on the original size but I am sure about the current size and yes, my truck is a TRD.  Yup, I've seen a few lifted Tacos around and really like the look but again, I didn't want to lose anything. And yes, around here clearance is everything. Thats why I have to pull my brothers Bronco around cause he doesn't have any.

[Shock]

Matt, you mentioned the DR coilovers for a 3" lift for the front, is it alright to crank them up that high, I have heard not to go over 2" but I have also heard that it is ok to go up to 3".  Are there or will there be any problems with 3" of lift in the front?  I myself have been thinking of what to lift my Taco with.  I would really like to fit some 32 x 11.50's, will a 2.5" spacer in the front work to clear with no rubbing, plus an add a leaf or shackles in the rear?  And, will the ride still be good, I'm only the weekend warrior type of off-roader, I go out with friends once in a while to the sand pits or in the woods.  I have also considered the Downey coilovers since they are only $650 or so if I remember correctly and Downey is a name I trust unless somebody has something bad to say about them 

[Matt]

mytacoma: The only thing you could "lose" is ride quality. But with coilovers and shackles you'll have an equal-to-stock or even better than stock ride quality.

shock: Well, I've never had coilovers so I have no personal experience with them. As far as I know, the more you crank them the worse the quality gets, which is why some people don't crank them all the way to 3". But if you want 32" x 11.50, you should be fine with 2.5" of lift or even 2" with the coilover. Keep in mind though that a spacer, although cheaper, will worsen ride quality.

I have a 2.5"  Downey add-a-leaf in the rear. It has served me well, but with an add-a-leaf the rear end does a lot of bouncing around, if I did it all over again, I'd probably just go with a 2" shackle. It also level the truck out a bit better than 2.5" in the rear.

http://www.revtek.com/product_sel.asp?makeid=4&modelid=7 I got the Revtek front only kit on my truck.
http://www.donahoeracing.com If you want the best quality but it is costly!
http://www.toyteclifts.com Quality but cheap spacers and the shackles are here as well.

[MikesDoubleCab]

someone page me?

here is the skinny from a fattie like me who has gone from coil spacers to full blown coilovers, etc, etc, etc...

If goin for the look of it all, save money and get the toytec 3" coil spacers if ur a prerunner... If a 4x4, I would stick to 2.5" coil spacers and make sure you get the diff drop with it... Running coil spacers up front, best combination are some shackles for the rear, unless you like the choppy ride of the AAL...

If you like to crawl and need the ground clearance and don't drive fast offroad, try something like the OME setup up front and again, shackles in the rear with some bilstein 5150s to give you that cadillac ride... In this instance, a 1" body lift is cool for additional clearance, but still relatively safe...

If you like to drive fast and/or hard and not have a care in the world, bust out the big bux for the high end coilovers up front and a whole 8 leaf pack in the rear with some 5150s... if 4x4, dont crank the fronts up too high... make your limit at 2 to 2.5 inches... if a prerunner, crank them suckers up to get the stance you want, but the higher you crank up, the stiffer the ride onroad, but either way, offroad, them suckers are pimp... i str8 drove my truck into a ditch and came out with no damage at all...

As for the wheels and tires, you may want to get outta stock and get some new wheels with a backspace range of 3.75 to 4 inches... At 4.25", certain MTs in 285-75 will rub on the upper arms... with coilovers, you can do the 32s or 265-75-16s, but going into 33s or 285s, you will rub on the pinch weld and if a doublecab, chances are good you will rub on the inner frame...

well, im getting sleepy, so thats all i have to say on this matter for now....