Let's talk lifts (2013 Tacoma)

[Fefrank]

So, I recently bought a 2013 Tacoma SR5 (non TRD). I am very much loving the truck and have taken it on a very light off road trail once so far. I was satisfied with the off-road performance of the truck and I think the 4x4 system with the standard TRAC feature worked surprisingly well. However I am conflicted about spending the money on a lift. On the trail I kept hearing what sounded like scraping on the rocks, on every larger than normal obstacle, something that didn't happen on my 2005 Mitsubishi Montero before. I feel like my ground clearance is not very good at the moment specially with the running boards "rock-sliders" (whatever they are called) that came with my Tacoma from the previous owner, although I like the way they look and they are functional for my kids to get on and off the truck.

So my questions are as follows:

1. I heard that people have problems after getting a lift on their Tacoma ( Vibrations, driveline issues, vehicle wonders and shakes on the highway etc.). Can someone expound on this? Does it depend on how much you lift? or How much you spend? If so what are some good lifts? Budget would be around $1500, ideally less.
2. Is a 3 inch lift the maximum lift I can plan on installing?
3. Do I have to re-gear?
4.Should I spend the money on other over-landing gear?
5. and lastly, how many people here wheel without a lift?




(sorry best pictures I have at the moment)
Some help on this would be truly appreciated.

 

[DaveInDenver]

What's what scraping? You have cosmetic bull bar and steps, neither are really trail protection. You'll gain clearance by removing them and reduce the chance of them causing damage (we generally call that stuff damage multipliers).

If you crawl under your truck you'll see where the rocks are scraping. It's probably nothing bad, under the front diff on the skid plates, under the rear axle. As long as nothing like the transfer case shows marks I wouldn't worry.

Generally speaking lifts don't give you clearance under the axles and even bigger tires only increase clearance by an inch or two. You really don't want to lift any more than you have to anyway. A good suspension won't clear bigger tires. The suspension still cycles the same up, so if a tire will rub stock it will rub with a lift under full compression.

I lifted my truck about 2 inches and that's because I went with extended travel front shocks, so I lifted enough for the static ride height to be in the middle of the travel window. I lifted the back about 2.5" to match and sit more or less level with the truck fully loaded.

I had to drop my carrier bearing to calm a vibration and I put on Camburg upper control arms that added caster to improve the alignment. Did the ECGS bushing in the front diff. I'm still nailing down the right rear axle shim to rotate my pinion and dial in the rear driveshaft angles.

My $0.02 is lift enough to achieve what you want but no more than necessary. What you will benefit from is better shocks. The stock shocks Toyota uses are biased for pavement so I find them underdamped on washboard and a little bouncy on technical rocks.

I also think money is well spent on an improved front skid plate, the one that goes from behind the bumper and under the front axle. That takes a lot of hits and protects a lot of important stuff. I have a 3/16" steel plate and it's heavy. A 1/4" aluminum can take a few hits but save a lot of weight.

 

[Fefrank]

Thanks, for replying back to me DaveinDenver! By chance do you have pictures of your truck?

I don't see any marks under the vehicle like anything scraping down there. I am not sure what was scraping but i'll pay better attention next time.

To be honest, I am not a looks guy, but more of a functionality type of guy. I don't really care how it looks as long as I can use it to my purpose (which will be over-landing and daily driving 24 miles total). So if you say those are really cosmetic parts, maybe I should toss them. The bull bar does have some LED lights that light up the trail really well, so I might keep that one or replace it with a winch bull bar so I can add functionality.

Now to answer my other questions;
1. I heard that people have problems after getting a lift on their Tacoma ( Vibrations, driveline issues, vehicle wonders and shakes on the highway etc.). Can someone expound on this? Does it depend on how much you lift? or How much you spend? If so what are some good lifts? Budget would be around $1500, ideally less.
2. Is a 3 inch lift the maximum lift I can plan on installing?
3. Do I have to re-gear?
4.Should I spend the money on other over-landing gear? I know DaveinDenver asnwered with his 2 cents, does anyone else have other recommendations?
5. and lastly, how many people here wheel without a lift? If any what is your experience?

 

[phsycle]

Thanks, for replying back to me DaveinDenver! By chance do you have pictures of your truck?

I don't see any marks under the vehicle like anything scraping down there. I am not sure what was scraping but i'll pay better attention next time.

To be honest, I am not a looks guy, but more of a functionality type of guy. I don't really care how it looks as long as I can use it to my purpose (which will be over-landing and daily driving 24 miles total). So if you say those are really cosmetic parts, maybe I should toss them. The bull bar does have some LED lights that light up the trail really well, so I might keep that one or replace it with a winch bull bar so I can add functionality.

Now to answer my other questions;
1. I heard that people have problems after getting a lift on their Tacoma ( Vibrations, driveline issues, vehicle wonders and shakes on the highway etc.). Can someone expound on this? Does it depend on how much you lift? or How much you spend? If so what are some good lifts? Budget would be around $1500, ideally less.
2. Is a 3 inch lift the maximum lift I can plan on installing?
3. Do I have to re-gear?
4.Should I spend the money on other over-landing gear? I know DaveinDenver asnwered with his 2 cents, does anyone else have other recommendations?
5. and lastly, how many people here wheel without a lift? If any what is your experience?

I 100% agree you need to get rid of that hideous chrome bull bar and side steps. After that, all I would do is get some AT tires in 265/75/16 and wheel it. I've been on a ton of trails completely stock and with the upsized tires. That said, trail difficulty and ruggedness will play a factor. Suffice to say, if you were taking a stock Montero on it, you will be just fine stock.

I throw up a bit on the inside whenever someone says "overland". Stupid marketing term used to sell stuff. Like "military-grade" and "tactical."
Here is all the gear you need without spending a ton of money like the cool kids.
Throw a tent, sleeping bags, lawn chairs, a cooler, and wood in the bed, and drive out to your favorite spot. Have a good time, rinse, and repeat. Stop worrying about what tactical overlanding gear you might need, and just go. It's how we used to do it before RTT's and Maxtrax were a thing.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A couple of photos.

2008 Access Cab
Front is FOX 2.5 IFP extended travel (no reservoirs), 650 lb/in springs
Rear is OME Dakar CS047R with an extra leaf added, FOX 2.0 IFP shocks (no reservoirs)
Tires on the black rims are 235/5R16 BFG KO2 on 16x7JJ stock Toyota steel wheels
The gray wheels are what I'm using currently, 16x7JJ 3rd gen 4Runner wheels with 265/75R16 Falken Wildpeaks AT/3W

I have Mobtown bolt-on sliders, ARB front bumper, All Pro basic rear bumper, Pelfreybilt front IFS skid

 

[Fefrank]

A couple of photos.

2008 Access Cab
Front is FOX 2.5 IFP extended travel (no reservoirs), 650 lb/in springs
Rear is OME Dakar CS047R with an extra leaf added, FOX 2.0 IFP shocks (no reservoirs)
Tires on the black rims are 235/5R16 BFG KO2 on 16x7JJ stock Toyota steel wheels
The gray wheels are what I'm using currently, 16x7JJ 3rd gen 4Runner wheels with 265/75R16 Falken Wildpeaks AT/3W

I have Mobtown bolt-on sliders, ARB front bumper, All Pro basic rear bumper, Pelfreybilt front IFS skid

View attachment 571726

View attachment 571727

Very nice truck, looks like Utah!

 

[DaveInDenver]

Very nice truck, looks like Utah!

Thanks. It photographs better than it really is. First one is Canyonlands in Utah, south of the Maze. Second is Kokopelli trailhead near our home here in Grand Junction, Colorado.

 

[Fefrank]

Both beautiful places! Thank you for sharing ?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Both beautiful places! Thank you for sharing ?

Well geez, you're not exactly in a bad place up there either!

 

[jmodz]

My Tacoma is lifted, with 2.5” shocks with reservoirs, but I am removing the lift this month and putting on a stock suspension again because the lift and shocks aren’t necessary anymore. Down the road if I feel like the stock shocks aren’t cutting it I’ll replace them with 5100’s with the stock springs.

For you I’d echo what phsycle and daveindenver said and get a good set of 265/75/16 all terrain tires, and a front skid plate. And maybe sliders if you feel like you are doing trails that need them. That should get you most places in the backcountry. If you are still having clearance issues, then I’d look into a mild lift, no more than 2”. I am giving this advice because it is exactly what I am doing with my Tacoma, except with a smaller tire since I have the 4 cylinder engine.

 

[dvdswan]

I know I comparing apples to oranges. I had an 89 Xcab Toy 4x4 that was stock with 32s and I took that truck everywhere. IMO, I would save the money and spend it on overland gear and recovery gear. Hi-lift jack and/or winch will save your butt many times over. I'm not to sure which trucks came with an e-locker in them that would work in 4LO only, I've heard you can by-pass that so you can use it in 2HI and 4HI then. If you don't have that you might look into some sort of traction device as well.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I had an 89 Xcab Toy 4x4 that was stock with 32s and I took that truck everywhere.

I like to show this photo, which is my 1991 a year or so after I got it back in 2000 going up to Wheeler Lake near Leadville, CO. Only mod at this point was 30x9.50 BFG ATs on SR5 wheels. Open diffs, stock suspension. I think you learn a whole lot taking a stock Toyota with experienced people to learn ya some skills. Stock trucks on decent tires are often more capable than the driver.

 

[cdthiker]

This is the way I look at it.
countless hours from toyota went into setting the tacoma up as it is stock. Anything that gets changed is going to have impacts on the rest of the truck. Lift is mostly cosmetic and I personally think over rated for what 99 percent of what most of us use the truck for. Think of it this way. You can spend hours on what might feel like gnarly dirt road and then you pass a stock subaru wagon 40 miles into the middle of nowhere on street tires. I see it alllllll the time.
Lift does not add increased off road prowess of and in itself.

I have a 2012 taco, reg cab five speed 4x4. That truck is about to hit 160k and the first 120k miles the only "over land mods" on that truck was a good set of AT tires in stock size and a ARE MX cap. Id wager I put 10 thousand miles of dirt roads on that truck all over the west coast from Yosmite to canada, colorado to moab to north idaho. Open diffs, no lift, just a simple stock 4x4. I got to a lot of amazing places and saved a lot of money by not modding it which meant more gas money for seeing cool places. Knowing when to turn around, picking a good line, and good tires is really the only things you need to get most places. I ran into highly modfied jeeps in moab on the same trails I was on, jacked toyotas in the back country of colorado, and everything in between.

I did end up with a " lift" around 120 k. But, I wasent looking for one. My stock suspension was clapped out. I use my truck to collect firewood, tow my dirt bike and SnoMo around, move lumber, dirt and other truck stuff. I had a local spring shop make a custom rear leaf back rated for the 1300 lbs of the truck payload. I had them put on blisten 5100 on all four sides. I went with them because they are simple, cheap, and rugged. I told them I wanted capacity, not lift. I was told that they could work with that but the new leafs might bring the rear of the truck up some. Hence the 5100's the fronts are adjustable. Ended up with roghly 2 inches that has settled a little bit over time. The front came up 1/2 inch to adjust the rake. The "kift" was so the truck could handle the capicty I was trying to work with. the height that came along with it was an afterthought
with the same stock tires on and very slight changes I lost about a mile per gallon. I guess you could argue that I postivly changed my approach and departure numbers for offroad. but in reality it changed nothing about the off road performance. the taller skinner tires I put on this year actually got my rear diff off the ground another inch or two which really is the low hanging fruit when off road.

Next steps are aftermarket bump stops front and rear , trailer brake controler and 7 pin harness, perhaps airbags ( floating) all of which would allow for better work performance on or off road.

what you hear dragging is most likely the nerf bars, the trailer hitch if you have one, or the dang factory crap mud flaps if they are still on the truck.


attached is before and after suspension upgrade and from 245/75/16 to 235/85/16 tires

 

[DaveInDenver]

countless hours from toyota went into setting the tacoma up as it is stock. Anything that gets changed is going to have impacts on the rest of the truck

That's logical but speaking as an engineer the argument for or against remaining completely stock is that Toyota made design assumptions. So as long as how you use the truck matches how they expected then it's set up ideally.

In fact Toyota makes assumptions through the whole range of Tacomas, the SR and SR5 suspension differs from TRD Sport (shocks tuned for higher performance) and TRD Offroad (progressive coils and yet a different shocks tuning). The TRD Pro has a pretty high end FOX suspension, which is actually not all that much different than the suspension I put on my truck.

So I don't think there's anything inherently right or wrong about changing from stock suspension. And I said the same thing, lift if it makes sense in context. My front lift is due to increased wheel travel and the amount is what it took to center the static ride height. Back lifted to match front and increase payload, same as you.

 

[Bdiddy11]

Plenty of people go off-road without a lifted Tacoma. Think about where you want to go and what the limitations may be. Sure, lofted Tacos with meatier tires looks great, but will it really get used like it should. You said you aren’t a looks guy though...

Figure out the terrain you’d like to conquer. Stock height with some 265/75/16 or 265/70/17 tires will be fine with little to no rubbing besides maybe on the mud flaps if you still have them. I’m running some 265/75/16 Cooper AT3 4S on my 08’ with no lift besides a little leveler in the front.

Before going with a lift, maybe go explore and see if you “need” something taller. With suspension over 2” on Tacos it’s highly suggested to do the ECGS and possibly other components that will need to help with vibes and angles etc.

When I bought my Taco I wanted to do the works... then I looked at cost vs reward and also payload issues with adding it all plus passengers.

You could still upgrade your suspension and make it “super stock” with front 6112 Bilsteins and either 5100 rear or something cushier.

Current plan is just some skids and then go from there.