Getting Cold Feet on 3" Lift

1978 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by NVATaco, Sep 5, 2010

bjmoose

Discussion Starter · Sep 2, 2010

OK Guys. I've looked thru the "BLACK TACO" photo thread and the "Standard Cab" photo thread, and I really like the look of the 3" lifted trucks running the 285/70R17 tires.

More importantly, I was poking around under the front of my (spankin' new, black, std cab) taco, and measuring with a tape measure. Now, I originally bought the truck expecting to keep the stock ride height and tire size - or maybe go just a little oversized on tires, 275/70R16.

But then, like I said, I got down underneath. The ground clearance is about 8.5" and ON PAPER is the same as my old stock '94 F150. But the F150 has that clearance at exactly two spots - under the front diff, and under the rear diff. Everywhere else under the axles, it's 10 or 11 inches.

The tacoma has that clearance side to side under the entire front axle and factory skid plates. So while I was able to roll over a 10 or 11" rock with my F150 as long as I steered to miss the pumpkins, I won't be able to do that with my new Tacoma.

So, now I'm thinking lift. I've got an installer lined up (Les Schwab) picked out a wheel and tire combo that I think'll look good, and enough room on my credit card.

But, I've read with fascinated horror the threads from guys who've lifted Tacomas and Tundras and had the VSC basically freak out, engage way too early, and render the truck unsafe/undrivable.

And, I've scoped out a couple lifted trucks since yesterday, and got up close and personal with the front suspension, and saw all the trimming that's required - both plastic and frame-body-mount. And I'm contemplating doing this on a shiney brand new truck with less than 500 miles on the clock.

So, I'm getting cold feet.

Help me out here guys. I want to hear from folks who've lifted VSC equipped tacomas with no troubles, tales of how much easier it'll be to bound over rocks, ruts, and obstacles on the trail with all that additional clearance, and maybe even see an encouraging "looking good" photo or two. :clap:

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bjmoose

Discussion Starter · #2 · Sep 2, 2010

Just got off the phone with the guy from Les Scwhab. He doesn't think a body mount trim is required.

I'm a wee bit skeptical that the tire won't hit there at full turn/full bump. But hey, it's always easy to cut more later, but it's hard to put back.

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ouija

· #3 · Sep 2, 2010

I got an 09 TRD Offroad Access cab with a 3" lift. Here's the short tale.

Problem 1: tires rubbed in front
Solution: 2 minutes trimming plastic with a razorblade

Problem 2: suspension settled front and rear, tires rubbed corner of inner fender
Solution: spend 15 minutes adjusting the coilovers higher, added small blocks to rear

Beyond this I haven't had a single problem with my truck lift related. I did manage to boil my coolant and I need to top off my power steering fluid...15 less beers at the mud bog could have prevented these problems I'm assuming...who knows haha

I've never had a tire hit the cab mount tho. I do see how this COULD be possible, but unlikely...I'm pretty hard on my truck and I've never done it.

One thing on the VSC, autolsd bla bla, just turn it all off when you wheel or you'll curse in ways you never thought possible. Never had it go off while driving normally, except one time but that was on a farm road on a tight corner i was bombing down.

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coloradotaco

· #4 · Sep 3, 2010 (Edited)

my tale is that i have an 09 with all the traction control stuff. i have no lift will 5100s in the back only and a willingness to damage the truck. i have been some pretty ridiculous places and have some scratches on the body and underbelly to show for it. i've also been shocked at where i can go offroad with the stock truck. it handles great on road because i'm not lifted. no vibes, etc. i love the "look" of the lifted truck but you have to ask yourself what your priorities are. sweet looking truck with more clearance with some downsides or a well engineered truck that can go some pretty cool places very close to stock.

dont lift it if you think it will get you laid (i know nothing about you but im sure there are dudes who do it thinking their truck will attract chicks.)

dont do it to impress your friends or stand out.

if your super hard core and feel like you can't get where you want to be with a stock truck, lift it and deal with the consequences.

i'm sure i'll lift mine one day when i have a car to drive for my daily driver. peace out

by the way, ouija, if you read this: i find it hard to believe that you're hard on your truck and you haven't had the vsc go off but that one time. that could be an indication that your vsc isn't working because when i drive fire roads (like a nut) the vsc goes off around almost every corner. and im glad it does.. it's amazing how it will keep you going the right direction. Did you get the lift immediately or did you drive it stock and the vsc still didn't kick in????

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ouija

· #5 · Sep 3, 2010

coloradotaco said:
by the way, ouija, if you read this: i find it hard to believe that you're hard on your truck and you haven't had the vsc go off but that one time. that could be an indication that your vsc isn't working because when i drive fire roads (like a nut) the vsc goes off around almost every corner. and im glad it does.. it's amazing how it will keep you going the right direction. Did you get the lift immediately or did you drive it stock and the vsc still didn't kick in????

I drove it stock for a little over a year. I had the dash light up like a xmas tree around a corner once, truck def saved my ass. I turn off all the electronic babysitters when I'm beating on it. VSC and mud don't mix at all. The ONE time i didn't turn it off, I got stuck because it kicked in. I'm not a fan of electronic babysitters like VSC and I think antilock brakes are garbage. I come from a muscle car/old truck background where it takes a great deal more finess and knowledge of ur specific car to "beat" on it without breaking/crashing, so once I leave pavement I turn everything off but the engine and the lights lol...well I turn the locker on...locker mod is easily the best thing I've done to my truck

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coloradotaco

· #6 · Sep 3, 2010

gotcha... i like electronic babysitters

i ride a 25 year old bmw motorcycle. if i could afford it, i'd buy a new s1000rr with all the electronic babysitters standard but i can't

the babysitters are faster and more consistent than i am

im usually in dry conditions too....hardly any mud out here where i drive my truck offroad.

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6shooter

· #7 · Sep 3, 2010

if your real main concern is ground clearance, just stuff the biggest tires you can under it @ stock height. the lift isn't going to gain you any ground clearance, and the amount of clearance gained by going from 275-whatevers to the slightly larger size you can go with a 3" lift will not be much.

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bjmoose

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 3, 2010

OK, you're right. My initial post focused too much on the aesthetics -and that's not really what I'm worried about.

Besides, I'm too old to need to try impressin' chicks and gettin' laid - my 20th anniversary is next year. In that vein, I'm much more worried about any plans my near 16 year old son might be making, but I digress... :toomuchin

Anyhow, I drive pretty slow - my high speed days are long behind me.
But I like a challenging trail.

Consider the "backroads" way into to Bodie, CA, where I was a few weeks ago.

Skip the main highway that everyone takes, and instead find and turn off onto the one lane gravel from Bridgeport...

That one lane gravel gives way to bumpy, rocky, unmaintained dirt, but you still see an SUV every half-hour and you could easily be driving it in 2 hi - as long as it's dry. 10 to 20mph stuff. This road will eventually lead you into Bodie...

Now stop, air down and turn off onto that barely visible 2 track that drops through the foot deep mud puddle with the steep approach and departure. Drive up the mountain stopping to remove the occasional rock that's fallen onto the road. Camp for the night 5 miles from the nearest human, then drive out the other side, down the off-camber fence road then going down the 25-30 degree slope, over the odd road boulder. 2 mph stuff.

With the fence on one side and the hill-cut on the other, there's only one line. On this road I whacked the bottom of my F150 a couple times - and like I said, it clears a couple inches higher than the stock tacoma in most spots.

I liked that trail, and I like finding others like it. And I'm pretty sure the intentional lift is less damaging to the "well engineered system" than what some of those unplanned rocks can do.

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music_man185

· #9 · Sep 3, 2010

i also looked into a 3" lift for my truck but decided against it. if i lifted my truck, it would purely be for mall crawling :disappoin. i baby my truck and its hardly ever off road, but i like the "look" of a lifted tacoma. i ultimately want to lift it 6". but it will be a very long time before i can afford that. so i thought a 3" lift would be a nice cheap upgrade to hold me over for a few years. i kept seeing 3" tacoma lifts for around $500, which i thought was very cheap. but it seems no one recommends doing those kind of lifts, even if your just a mall crawler. from what i came up with, to do a 3" lift right, you would have to spend upwards of $1500. it seems that they are so many options for a 3" lift hence so many ways to do it wrong and demolish the ride quality of your truck. so i guess i'll keep rolling at stock height with my 265's.

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hsracer201

· #10 · Sep 4, 2010

music_man185 said:
i also looked into a 3" lift for my truck but decided against it. if i lifted my truck, it would purely be for mall crawling :disappoin. i baby my truck and its hardly ever off road, but i like the "look" of a lifted tacoma. i ultimately want to lift it 6". but it will be a very long time before i can afford that. so i thought a 3" lift would be a nice cheap upgrade to hold me over for a few years. i kept seeing 3" tacoma lifts for around $500, which i thought was very cheap. but it seems no one recommends doing those kind of lifts, even if your just a mall crawler. from what i came up with, to do a 3" lift right, you would have to spend upwards of $1500. it seems that they are so many options for a 3" lift hence so many ways to do it wrong and demolish the ride quality of your truck. so i guess i'll keep rolling at stock height with my 265's.

You won't be dissapointed in waiting for the 6" lift. :thumbsup: I wouldn't waste the time and money on a 3" lift though. It's basically throwing the money away if you already know you will go with 6. No sense in doing it twice like I did. Now I'm stuck with little bitty 285/70's that I bought for the little lift that look funny with the 6". I'm not pulling off perfectly good tires just to replace them with someone bigger so I'm gonna go on and wear them out first.

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music_man185

· #11 · Sep 4, 2010

hsracer201 said:
You won't be dissapointed in waiting for the 6" lift. :thumbsup: I wouldn't waste the time and money on a 3" lift though. It's basically throwing the money away if you already know you will go with 6. No sense in doing it twice like I did. Now I'm stuck with little bitty 285/70's that I bought for the little lift that look funny with the 6". I'm not pulling off perfectly good tires just to replace them with someone bigger so I'm gonna go on and wear them out first.

thats what i originally thought about not doing a 3" because i ultimately wanted a 6". but there were a few factors that played a part in me wanting to do a 3". one was that i know it will be AT LEAST a few YEARS before i can afford a 6" lift. it will probably have to wait until my truck is paid off, which is still another 3 years away. and even then, i dont know that i will able to do it right away. the other factor is that i kept seeing 3" lifts for around $500. which i could manage, to give my truck a better look while i wait for the next few years. however i keep reading that the cheaper spacer lifts aren't the way to go if you want to keep your ride quality. it seems like a 3" lift is almost as expensive as a 6" lift.

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NVATaco

· #12 · Sep 5, 2010

I have 275/70s on my 05, put Bilsteins on at .85 had vibration, aligned, had vibration, put back to stock height, aligned, less vibration but still there....but the tires and shocks are great, only slight trimming needed. 275's should be fine with no lift.

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