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Hey guys, I just got my GX and now its time to start rigging it up for expo/camping. I think I have decided to do the Toytec 2.5 inch Spacer up front and the air bag "trick" in the rear to give me about a 2.5 inch lift all around. What is the biggest tire I can run without running into suspension issues? I'm fine with trimming/melting plastic but I don't want to trim the body.
285/70/17 is about as large as you can go without serious modification. The majority of the components I used for my lift were also from toytec. A couple suggestions would be: consider the old man emu springs rather than a spacer, research the bag trick further as I was extremely dissappointed in the ride, and while your at it I would drop your diff also.
I'll also add that this is going to be a temporary lift. That why I would like to do the cheaper fix for now. When I get my bonus, it will be going to SLEE for a true 4 inch lift. This is just something to allow me to get the bigger tires under it pre slee lift. Do you think I can get 285/70's under it with the 2.5" toytec spacer and the tricked air bags? Or should I be safe and Go 275/70's?
I don't think Slee does a 4" lift on an IFS truck. You won't want to do much more than 2.5-3" otherwise from front CV axles and boots will suffer pre-mature wear, and you won't be able to align the front end close to within spec.
And I agree with Rz500, save up for a spring upgrade rather than spacers or airbags if you want to maintain decent ride quality. Driving on a washboard dirt road for long miles with a spacer pre-loading the front springs will tire you out pretty quickly.
I used a 2.5" non preload spacer up front and tricked the rear bags for 2" of lift and it rides level and pretty good.
I fit 285 70 17 on there with a hair of rubbing on the factory running boards that was easily trimmed as well as the front fender plastics in front of the tire that I trimmed. discount tire actually trimmed the front inside edges of the running board, I did the front myself because I wanted to make sure it wouldn't touch even under full compression so I removed extra.
ride is not as perfect as factory but its really nothing I would complain about. front feels mostly the same and the rear feels a little stiffer, but you can always swap out to fj rear coils and the conversion kit if you want some of the softness back. I might make a 1.5" spacer for the rear airbags and call it a day, that way they will ride closer to stock also.
I would love to do a full coilover system in the front with upgraded coils in the back and tweak the little stuff but I was just looking to fit tires without killing the ride and I think I got that with the spacer. I would not use the preload though that will really make it bumpy... maybe if you were doing a metal bumper it would be ok the stiffness might even help then.
I do read alot of members saying how bad the ride is with tricked rear airbags, and I think at 2" its not really bad, but when I had it closer to 2.5-3" I noticed the difference quite a bit and brought it back down.
I think it might have to do with how old or condition of the airbags as well, and I know that one of my 2 was just replaced and the other one had been replaced previously as well so it may vary for your truck.
I didn't want to loose the factory dampening either, and I am glad I retained it although that cell phone holder pocket is pretty tempting if I do end up deleting the air and the dampening adjustment.
here it is with the 2" tricked rear and the 2.5" non preload spacer up front (ebay special )
since this picture I lifted the rear another 1/4"
I used a 2.5" non preload spacer up front and tricked the rear bags for 2" of lift and it rides level and pretty good.
I forgot about that - you mentioned your type of spacer in your other build thread. So that's a 2.5" piece of aluminum that sits on top of the assembled coilover between it and the upper mount of the truck? It's not "inside" the coilover where it would pre-load the spring, but instead just pushing the upper and lower arms down (droop) to increase the ride height?
Thank you for the reply! Your rig sits exactly how I want mine to. Did you do the ome in the front to get the lift? What did you do to the rear?
That's correct. I installed OME springs and a spacer for the front lift. For the rear I machined a custom spacer that sits under the airbags. A toytec diff drop was also installed. I am also running 1.25" wheel spacers with the stock rims. To prevent tire rub you will need to trim the running boards and a little off the front bumper. The fender liners also rub. My solution was to drill new holes in the plastic and relocate them as far forward as possible. The location of the windshield washer resevoir will determine how far forward you can go.
I forgot about that - you mentioned your type of spacer in your other build thread. So that's a 2.5" piece of aluminum that sits on top of the assembled coilover between it and the upper mount of the truck? It's not "inside" the coilover where it would pre-load the spring, but instead just pushing the upper and lower arms down (droop) to increase the ride height?
that is correct it sits on top of the shock, and under the mount. it does not change the stock dampening at all just raises the height.
Its actually a hair over 1" aluminum spacer, but the lift yielded after is 2.5"
this is without the dampening bracket and sensor on top so you can see the spacer is on top of the shock top hat, but under the body mount.
I actually really like the non preload lift spacer type cause it simply bolts on top, you do not need spring compressors at all, the factory shock is never dismantled so nothing can go wrong there.
I also forgot to mention that for the trimming it might be more if you use the stock wheels, and you will have less clearance than me to the upper A-arm. I gained 10mm more clearance by using the 17" tundra/sequoia wheels instead of the factory wheels.
I would recommend anyone looking to do 285 without spacers to get those wheels or FJ cruiser 17" wheels they all have an offset of 15mm and will sit better than our factory wheels that have an offsett of 25mm.
I refused to run spacers on this vehicle so the wheels with better offset was perfect for me.
Originally Posted by BenBaccus
Do you happen to know what part number or the link to the spacer you bought?
the one I got looks like this and they wer 2.5" they also make a 2". best part is they are $40 on ebay, talk about a good deal.
This is the kind most of the 4runner guys use now since they don't even have the dampening bracket or sensor its like plug and play for them (we have to modify sensor bracket)
for the 2" one here is the ebay title, just search it on ebay: TOYOTA TACOMA 4RUNNNER PRE RUNNER 2" LEVELING-LIFT KIT TAC FG 2.0T
seller was summit performance but there are lots of them online.
I used the 2.5" version but hte 2" one might be enough to get the job done and then won't have to raise the rear as much, can't say for sure though I know my 2.5" has enough clearance for the 285 70's after the little trimming.
if you look in my build thread post #11 you will see how I modified the brackets, its not that difficult but I don't think a shop would do it.
Rz500, I really like that rear spacer I need to talk to a local guy to make me a set of those.
3.5 IronMan. Standard Ironman gas shock. MetalTech bag kit. I misplaced the addition spacers that come with the lift but am waiting on some others to come in to level the front up.
285/70/17 is about as large as you can go without serious modification. The majority of the components I used for my lift were also from toytec. A couple suggestions would be: consider the old man emu springs rather than a spacer, research the bag trick further as I was extremely dissappointed in the ride, and while your at it I would drop your diff also.
hello, I love that looks of your rig. I just got a 06 and I've been doing some research on lift mine approximately 2", my question to you is, can I change the rear air suspension by just installing the OME springs in the rear and putting the Bellistien shocks in the front?
Thank you.
To resurrect this ........
I know that the rear suspension has been discussed to death on here, but that almost makes it more difficult for newbies (like myself) to sift through the information to find a consensus. I see a lot of contradictory opinions on the best options and it seems like every 'cook' has a slightly different recipe.
I am planning on installing Tundra wheels with 270/70/17" BFG KO2's and the OMEmu system up front. I really like the idea of retaining the adjustable height in the rear with the bags. However, I would like a little more bit of a solid stable rear and I would like a little more height without making things too sloppy.
1. What is the actual height difference typically adjusted in for the rear bag trick?
2. How does the ride change after that?
3. Is there a way to retain the adjustability of the bags (for weight, trailers, etc) while also getting a sturdier/linear rear ride? I saw firestone bag replacements mentioned on one thread.
04-08-15, 11:01 PM
Lift and Tire Questions
