Posted: 2/4/2010 5:15:08 PM EDT
My new BOV: 2009 Tacoma
Mud tires and a lift are next! |
If not the frames are pretty inexpensive and they probably stock them.
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Can't say that a lift is helpful, but it is your truck.... Are those your stickers in the box? How is increasing your ground clearance NOT helpful. How is being able to fit bigger tires...NOT helpful? You're not one of those "i don't like anything unless it's made here is the USA are you....it's okay if you are because i am too....My tacoma was made in CA right in the USA!! |
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Can't say that a lift is helpful, but it is your truck.... Are those your stickers in the box? How is increasing your ground clearance NOT helpful. How is being able to fit bigger tires...NOT helpful? You're not one of those "i don't like anything unless it's made here is the USA are you....it's okay if you are because i am too....My tacoma was made in CA right in the USA!! Increasing ground clearance is generally good. You are gonna get about 1 inch of ground clearance from each 2 inches of tire diameter increase that you install. Lift kits often include some assemblies that are installed below the frame to hold the A arms, this sub frame is now where your frame was before. Ooops say byby to that inch of ground clearance, because you just stuck something into that space. Now if you just do a body lift you didn’t even get the frame out of the way. My informal observation has been that adding tire will add ground clearance, but at the point(tire size) that you add a lift kit no more useful ground clearance is available. So if you want ground clearance get the largest tires that you can fit. If you want attention get the lift kit. Other things to be thoughtful about Your truck was designed and built as a complete system. In any engineering project the designer get stuck with some issues because something was chosen elsewhere. A simple example would be the cooling. Air cooling saves weight. Liquid cooling allows for heater/defroster and stable cylinder head temperatures. Each part of your truck affects other parts. If you go BIG with the tires then other things will show much more rapid wear. The brake system, clutch, steering system, u-joints, and front suspension are some of the areas that may wear rapidly, that I can think of. These areas require time and tools to fix. Replacing a clutch is not a job done at Jiffy Lube in 10 minutes. When your vehicle is pimped out so that it screams LOOK AT ME then everybody looks at you they see your driving style. Cops look too, and because there are thousands of laws in effect you will probably break one or two. Do you want law enforcement always focusing on you in the crowd? Lift kits have a maintenance cost beyond the purchase price. If you want a lift kit and want to bear the cost, well it is your truck—enjoy. |
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Congrats, awesome truck.........throw some big meats on there.........maybe some BFG A/T 33".....I have them on my 73 Bronco and they are great all around.....ENJOY! I had BFG All Terrains (or as we jokingly call them in our Jeep club, MALL Terrains) and they were fine on my '01 Wrangler in everything except deep snow and thick mud. That is why I took the AT's off my '06 Wrangler and went with Mud Terrain KM2's. They are a huge improvement if you find yourself in a deep snow or deep mud environment as the lugs clean themself out and don't pack up like AT's. However the tradeoff is on packed snow and in the rain MT's suck. I solved that problem by having them siped at Discount tire and they are 9/10ths the tire on packed snow and wet pavement that my AT's were but are 1000 times better in the deep snow and mud in the areas I frequent. They are slightly louder than my AT's on the highway and wear a little faster but the tradeoff is worth it if you need the extra traction. |
Nice looking truck.
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Can't say that a lift is helpful, but it is your truck.... Are those your stickers in the box? How is increasing your ground clearance NOT helpful. How is being able to fit bigger tires...NOT helpful? You're not one of those "i don't like anything unless it's made here is the USA are you....it's okay if you are because i am too....My tacoma was made in CA right in the USA!! of all the trucks Ive seen pics of in afganastan driven by SF folks....they all looked stock. If a stock Taco is the ticket over there think it would be fine here. Im not much on lifts just my opinion so not looking for a wiz contest just sayin......nice truck by the way, they dont haul enough stuff for me but they are a great truck |
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Congrats, awesome truck.........throw some big meats on there.........maybe some BFG A/T 33".....I have them on my 73 Bronco and they are great all around.....ENJOY! I had BFG All Terrains (or as we jokingly call them in our Jeep club, MALL Terrains) and they were fine on my '01 Wrangler in everything except deep snow and thick mud. That is why I took the AT's off my '06 Wrangler and went with Mud Terrain KM2's. They are a huge improvement if you find yourself in a deep snow or deep mud environment as the lugs clean themself out and don't pack up like AT's. However the tradeoff is on packed snow and in the rain MT's suck. I solved that problem by having them siped at Discount tire and they are 9/10ths the tire on packed snow and wet pavement that my AT's were but are 1000 times better in the deep snow and mud in the areas I frequent. They are slightly louder than my AT's on the highway and wear a little faster but the tradeoff is worth it if you need the extra traction. I hear ya, I had some friends that bought the KM2's and they were next to impossible to balance...(maybe a bad group), but one guy had to send them back, the other had to load them with beads. I do mainly on road, and some beach which is why the AT's are good for my rig....I do like the pro-comp xtreme at's though.....(maybe after I hit the lottery)... 
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How is increasing your ground clearance NOT helpful. How is being able to fit bigger tires...NOT helpful? I think that getting larger tires is a good idea. I am sorta leery that a lift would bring any tangible benefit, because your pumpkin clearance is dictated by the tires. I think that you may want to consider a lift only when you need the turning radius decreased in the front. Still, if it was mine; I'd stuff the biggest tires that i could that wont affect the turning so much- and skip the lift Nice truck. 
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It is your vehicle and as long as you are happy with where you wind up then that is all that matters after mods. My jeep grand cherokee might get a slight lift later in life but I mostly want the higher spring rate springs so the vehicle can carry more weight with less settling. I won't mess with it right now since I don't have it fully paid for. And I am talking 1 or 2 inches and probably I will leave it at stock height to blend with all the other ones out there. Another thing about lifting my jeep is the independant front suspension, keeping things in the stock range of movement tends to allow stuff to last longer. While a lift kit offers some options I am not interested in shortening the life span of the front axle shafts or cv joints or whatever it has up front. There are some companies out there making complete suspension kits, something like what kore offers for the 3/4 and 1 ton dodge would be something I would consider. But a lift kit just for some height might have other implications, on my jeep I run into clearance issues with bigger rubber on the stock rims so I am comfortable sticking to the stock rubber size because I don't feel like going to aftermarket rims as well. Plus I have not looking into what it would take to correct the odometer and if the other stuff would have issues from different tire sizes or not. I am not about to pick on the choices you make for your vehicle, but to me a bug out vehicle is simply to get me out of town and headed elsewhere and I won't be doing any serious off roading to do that because it puts the vehicle at too high a risk for damage. But everyone's situation is different so have at it. |
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Nice truck ––––- 3" lift is pretty mild –– go for it and have some fun. One of the other posters mentioned engineering issues and that is a valid point––- depends on how radical you get with the tire size, but a 3" lift is not going to allow 37" Mickey's or anything –––– Most guys simply get the trucks to fit bigger meats and call it good, without paying a bit of attention to the brakes or gears –––– Oversize front rotors is not a bad idea at all to complement the lift, and if your going up more than a few sizes, re-gearing the diff's will make your life easier (but it depends on how deep the stock gears are too). The truck would look real nice rollin some 33's on 18's and would still look like a capable truck, not a poser mobile you need a step ladder to get into
I dont really worry about SHTF scenarios with my daily driver, i like it to look good and make me happy, because i spend a lot of time in it , |
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Lift kit is going to be great...........didnt read the whole thread but give us the break down again 4x4? rear locker? ATRAC?
I love my FJ, have been building it up for a while now and its super easy to work on......3in OME lift, new bumper coming this week along with my winch. Next is snorkel and roof rack and I am finished. Its a 4x4 model with ATRAC and rear locking diff........this FJ has seen some good offroading and has never let me down. Highly recommend them. Heres some pics of my last outing and where I flooded it. I was so deep I thought for sure I was going to hydrolock it......she made it through no prob. I own the Blue FJ.......scrool all the way down to see all pics. http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/trail-report-photo-section-gps-coordinates/94115-screaming-woods-9-19-2009-a.html |
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Lift kit is going to be great...........didnt read the whole thread but give us the break down again 4x4? rear locker? ATRAC? I love my FJ, have been building it up for a while now and its super easy to work on......3in OME lift, new bumper coming this week along with my winch. Next is snorkel and roof rack and I am finished. Its a 4x4 model with ATRAC and rear locking diff........this FJ has seen some good offroading and has never let me down. Highly recommend them. Heres some pics of my last outing and where I flooded it. I was so deep I thought for sure I was going to hydrolock it......she made it through no prob. I own the Blue FJ.......scrool all the way down to see all pics. http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/trail-report-photo-section-gps-coordinates/94115-screaming-woods-9-19-2009-a.html Have you had any of that frame flex or what ever it is that's causing the cracking of the inner fenders ? |
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here is what it came with
4.0 v6 Manual 6 speed trans 4x4 245/75/16 tires VSC stability control auto limited slip rear diff backup cam clutchless start fogs not going too big on the tires...only up to 265/75/16 so i don't think messing up the engineering is going to be an issue....only going to 2" lift as well |
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Lift kit is going to be great...........didnt read the whole thread but give us the break down again 4x4? rear locker? ATRAC? I love my FJ, have been building it up for a while now and its super easy to work on......3in OME lift, new bumper coming this week along with my winch. Next is snorkel and roof rack and I am finished. Its a 4x4 model with ATRAC and rear locking diff........this FJ has seen some good offroading and has never let me down. Highly recommend them. Heres some pics of my last outing and where I flooded it. I was so deep I thought for sure I was going to hydrolock it......she made it through no prob. I own the Blue FJ.......scrool all the way down to see all pics. http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/trail-report-photo-section-gps-coordinates/94115-screaming-woods-9-19-2009-a.html Have you had any of that frame flex or what ever it is that's causing the cracking of the inner fenders ? nope..........and from what I have read toyota has addressed the issue. |
| A lift kit might not help your differentials or suspension components clear rough terrain, but it might help keep you from high-centering your vehicle. Having to cross a ditch or hill with a sharp shoulder on the other side would make clearance in the center of the wheelbase very beneficial. Body lifts don't help ground clearance, but they help tire clearance, which allows you to use larger tires in some cases. Which equals more ground clearance. |
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Congrats on the Taco. I have an '08 TRD 6 spd. You will need a bit more clearance if you decide to wheel the thing....I drug mine on just about everything doing trails in the Huachuca MTNs, AZ. PA422 is right, to an extent. Changing anything within a given system carries consequences. However, don't believe for an instant your Tacoma is more capable stock than with some wise modding. Check out TTORA for some well built Tacos. Of course, your bugout might not include Moab or Fordyce....
Is that a 4.0 or 2.7? On lifting- please do not cheap it with spacers and blocks, or get a drop bracket and hack it up. These really will not help you and will increase the chance of breakage. Spacer and drop bracket lifts are for mall crawling. Do it right with Old Man Emu coils/shocks or Icon, Toytec, Donahoe, etc adjustable coilovers in front with an add a leaf or OME dakars in back. Don't go more than 2.5" in front so that your cv's dont bind and the boots don't wear too fast. If you have to go cheap, Bilstien 5100 preload shocks in front. You can clear new tires even without any lift. 265/75/16s and 235/85/16s are both 1-2" taller than stock and don't require a change in backspacing or any lift. Cooper Discoverer S/Ts are the only A/T or M/T 255/85/16s that will fit without changing the backspacing. My 08: In AZ right after I bought it: 
A little accident involving overdriving an icy road: 
As it sits now, on 255/85/16s with 1.75" lift in front and 2.5" in back. 
When you get new tires, go thin, like 235s or 255s. Unless you need flotation on sand or snow, they're great. They also weigh less for a given height, netting you better mileage and lower part wear over thicker tires. The 255s made for a 100% improvement in how my truck handled in winter. The stock tires were downright treacherous. ETA: I see that you have a 6 spd. There are no documented instances of MT tacos 'running away.' All that I have heard of were AT trucks that 'surged' due to ECU programming issues that came up at idle with accessories running. The 6spd has it's own problems.....like an aluminum pilot shaft that will get eaten by your release bearing over time.....toyota has had many complaints and is working to mitigate the issue. Unfortunately they have bigger fish to fry as of now. |
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Hi nihilsum, how did it go with the repairs?
You made my point. The OP can get all the practical ground clearance he's gonna get without a lift. Yes maybe a lift will reduce the chance of high centering, if you drive where that is relevant. I see many lifted rigs with stock springs, 6 inch spacer blocks, 26 inch bling wheels, and 35 inch tires(some size like 325-50-26?). Now you gonna tell me that is a lift that makes the rig a more useful tool? Only if you're using the rig for advertising. |
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I have an 05 with 255/85/16s on stock TRD wheels. They fit without any lift and I have not rubbed at all. I would like a little more lift and tire but I do a crapload of highway driving so I probably wont do it any time soon.
I have 135k on mine with no major problems yet. The 6speed has been reliable and I'm still on the stock clutch. |
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Hi nihilsum, how did it go with the repairs? Very good. All the damage was sheet metal. Didn't even touch the condensor, frame, or throw the alignment out. It did pooch the hood, grill, headlight, bumper, bumper crush block, left front fender, tailgate, rear bumper, and left rear bedside. the body shop had it all done in a week. I asked them to not put the badging back on and use the base model black bumpers. That alone took $800 off the bill and the body shop told me to forget about the deductible. You made my point. The OP can get all the practical ground clearance he's gonna get without a lift. Yes maybe a lift will reduce the chance of high centering, if you drive where that is relevant.
I see many lifted rigs with stock springs, 6 inch spacer blocks, 26 inch bling wheels, and 35 inch tires(some size like 325-50-26?). Now you gonna tell me that is a lift that makes the rig a more useful tool? Only if you're using the rig for advertising. Yes and no. It is true that no matter how much you lift a vehicle, absolute ground clearance will not change unless you intall larger tires. It does help prevent high centering but also moves the vulnerable parts under the vehicle further from harm. Oil pan, t case, trans, gas tank, etc. You can drag a rear diff or u bolt plates over rocks with less chance of harm. It also moves your rockers up and away from rocks. Sure ideal scenario is that you mitigate those issues with skids and sliders, but trail armor costs money and is very heavy. There are few to no real disadvantages in a 2"-2.5" (max) well executed suspension lift. This means at least Old Man Emu coils/shocks or aftermarket adjustable coilovers. It may even mean aftermarket UCAs to keep the suspension geometry in line. With a new front end, you can take a heavy aftermarket bumper, plates, winch, etc, without sagging. You can also pull the sway bar and have the ride stiff enough to keep body roll down. The new shocks will also be tougher and UCAs tougher (and if you get uniballs, servicable/rebuildable). In back, throwing in another leaf or an entirely new leaf pack will gain you load capacity or articulation in addition to lift. Altering anything in the system does have consequences. Example: I had the rear leaf TSB done by the dealer and then added a leaf below that. Before, my truck bottomed out over bumps with 400lb in the bed. Since, I have hauled 700+ without that problem. Raising the rear end 2.5" messed up my driveline angle though, and the carrier bearing crossmember vibrated wildly when the truck was takiing off from a stop. I had to get 1/2" machined steel spacers and grade 10 bolts to lower the carrier bearing and get my driveline back to the correct operating angle. No sacrifice in durability/reliability, but it illustrates how messing with one part of a system ripples to other components. |
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Yeah, I'd want to bug out of OOB too. (During tourist season!)
Since its a Maine truck lift options are limited, especially if ABS brakes. You're limited to suspension lifts only and OEM tire sizes. If its disc brakes you can go up a couple tire sizes but forget about anything larger then 33, maybe only 32s....but work that out with your inspection station. Not that any of that matters in SHTF. Nice truck! |