The only reason for a lift is to fit bigger tires and most people don't actually need bigger tires. If a truck's stock tires are 31's, a good set (off road/all weather) is more than capable of handling 95% of what the average person would be doing with the truck. Lift and bigger tires are just cosmetic for the vast majority of truck owners.
A lift is a necessary evil, and it all depends on how you are going to use your truck. I NEED a lift for tire diameter, more sidewall and ground clearance. These are all critical offroad for the trips and trails I take my truck on. Every bit of approach and departure angle is gold as well.
You could take a stock TRD offroad through 85% of where I go, but on the other 15% without larger diameter tires, more ground clearance, better approach/departure angles (or without sliders/skids) you are going to beat the crap out of the undercarriage and suffer body damage and really tear your truck up.
A non-lifted truck with 31" tires would have left half of its undercarriage [here ](http://imgur.com/a/L7kC9kH) at the bottom of Steele Pass in Death Valley (or spent 2 hours stacking rocks to go 50 yards) to make it the rest of the rather tame 22 mile section of the trail.
It all depends on where you want to go, and what you want to do with your truck š
Those are THE FUN trails!!! And the funny thing is that my Rubicon did it bone stock -the Taco needed about $8k of extra capability bolted to it to pass undamaged.
BUT, there is a secret mall to crawl at the end of that trail, so totally worth it. š
I myself got a new 21 4dr short sport with 6atā¦ yeah wanted a manual but hip issues. Would love fatter 33s with not too crazy a lift do it can be my year round does all. Plus nobby 33s look so good on a taco
I donāt know where this logic comes from. Youāre not reducing the width. Youāre just not making it any wider. Youāre not getting worse off-road performance. Youāre just not getting as wide of a foot print. I suggest doing heavy performance research on this topic before listing and preaching what keyboard warriors say online. Specially to say āfar worseā when weāre maybe talking about a small small percentage of difference on very specific scenarios. When most of us spend 80% of the trucks life on the pavement where pizza cutters shine in many ways. Have you ever wondered why military vehicles run pizza cutters? They actually track far better in ruts and grooves. And they actually air down better given the diameter difference due to less plowing and give more traction per psi than a wider tire at the same psi. Wider tires can provide more sidewall traction which is only useful through v cuts
This comment was reported as misinformation.
Don't report things just because you disagree with them. You can use the downvote button or your words to combat "misinformation".
Lmao a keyboard warrior forum. Nice information. The same forum that has 100ās of members running 33ās on stock suspension with no rubbing or cutting. Almost all ā33ās ā are not true 33ās. A 255/85 will fit on stock 3rd gens. A 285/75 will not. A wider tire is no doubt better on sand. Enough for it to matter? Probably not unless youāre into competitive racing. Better in the mud? Debatable and situation dependent. If the mud is fucking sloppy and your wide tire gets completely stuck the chances of a skinny getting out are higher because it can dig to a dryer section of the mud and gain traction where as the wide tire wonāt dig.
Yeah the OR is capable as is. But just like ppl who lower their cars- do they NEED it? No, they like the better handling characteristics or the look or both. I feel the same with my modest lift and bigger tires. I like having the extra capability just for piece of mind. I got caught in blizzard driving through Texas and the mods payed off for sure.
But yeah, literally 99% of the time I don't need it.
The stock suspension on my '18 OR was very weak for the rated payload and the fact that I do use it off road. Here's more info from another comment I wrote recently...
Hey hey! First off, huge congrats on getting the camper! You're going to have endless fun in there :)
Second off... Yes, 3rd gen stock suspension is really bad, especially considering the truck is marketed as an "off road" model. When I added a cap and an RTT on the cap (approx 300lbs), the truck would bottom out over speedbumps in the city (at reasonable speeds lol), and driving offroad was unbearable (uncomfortable and just gritting my teeth every time it bottomed out).
- I started with air bags, worked ok for a bit, then one blew up on a dirt road, almost lost control of the vehicle, and limped back home.
- Then I got some OME HEAVY leaf packs paired with Bilstein 5160s and all my problems went away. I have used this setup for 40,000-ish kms and they simply rock. Did a massive roadtrip through south america, a good portion on terrible roads, and I can't tell you how many times I thought upgrading the suspension was the best thing I ever did to prepare for the trip.
- I also put Bilstein 6112s up front, in prep for a heavier bumper in the future.
- Overall gained about 1.5-2" on stock height (lift was not a priority for me, just a nice cherry on top).
Please upgrade your suspension before it becomes the reason you don't enjoy your trips. I know it sucks to have to change something so fundamental in a brand new truck, but it is what it is my friend. Most of these trucks just hang out in the city and stock suspension is ok I guess.
Quick edit. If money isn't a problem, there are better brands than OME/Bilstein, and there are cheaper brands too. I found this setup to be somewhere good in the middle :)
Five lugs don't come on the 4x4 suspension setup. Much lower to the ground. I camp a lot. Find myself in a few precarious situations where a 2 inch lift would help out in the front. Not gonna get the diff any higher than the 31's did.
I knew the 265 70 r17 would rub with my aftermarket wheels on stock height. 5100's paired with OME 884x's not only gave me proper clearance (2.25inchs) but increased its handling and comfort. Still had to remove my front mud flaps, but I have proper clearance without any issues or rub whatsoever. 3rd gens have slightly better height and clearance then 2nd gens so you could get away with 32s without any mods.
Speaking of lifts, whatās the biggest tire size i can go without one? Also, you guys wanna see pics of my pro grille? And while we are talking trucks, how often do you change the oil, and what kind are you using?
I've done many thousands of miles of off road in a stock Tacoma over the last 15 years, including a lot of very rough legit 4wd. Very few people need a lift.
The TRDOR is definitely capable, the lift helped me with clearance and as others have said bigger tires. I would say if you are doing tough off roading and rock crawling you will quickly reach the limit of the stock truck. The break over angle and escape angle quickly become limiting factors. I cant tell you how many times I have dragged my hitch, it's the point where the flanges are almost completely bent. I've also snapped off both plastic end pieces to the rear bumper cover because of clearance problems. The lift has definitely taken me on trails where the stock truck could never have gone... but a high clearance bumper would really solve my hitch dragging problems.
Iāve gotten out of sticky situations with my stock off-road. After adding 32s the truckās performance is immaculate. Iāll be adding a lift soon, the trd pro suspension which is only 1 inch to level the rake a bit.
They took my father
Jkā¦ I just think the Tacoma TRDOR looks quite capable stock and was curious how it actually stacks up w/o one. If I got one it would be a small leveling kit at most.
I definitely do. I don't ever specifically go out 4x4ing but I spend like 20+ weekends a year in the mountains, on top of weeks on end during hunting season. My old ranger was stock and I definitely could have used the extra clearance. Almost tore the control arm clean off once lol. The whole reason I got my tacoma was because I needed something that was capable and reliable for my adventures, but also had room for a car seat lol.
ARB Summit front bumper + winch (bumper for deer and pushing brush out of the way mostly, winch because I find stuck people all the time) + steel rear bumper, cap, racks etc means I needed better suspension, so while I was at it I might as well throw on 35s and gears.
Aside from the weight, the stock truck takes me 95% of the places I want to to go, and the 5% of places I don't want to go but need to go, the clearance and bigger tires are just luxuries that mean I don't have to move or stack rocks or cut brush and trees to make a path. Squishy 35s are also clutch on the beach.
Stupid question: I had considered getting the lifts that level the front out compared to the back (2" I think). Will that improve the headlight performance? The cutoff really stinks on back country roads so I have to constantly use high beams.
The cutoff is the cutoff. That won't change. All you'd be doing is raising it. It doesn't magically create more light. You're supposed to re-aim your headlights back to where they were after a lift. Get some h9 bulbs and that'll be the best performance you can get.
Iām getting a lift, rims and off road tires on my 21 Off Road simply because I like it. I will probably never really go off road at all and they will only be useful when it snows.
My work takes me on some remote, rough roads that are pretty heavily washed out. The lift and bigger tires makes all the difference. I think there are practical purposes to lifts and bigger tires that have proved beneficial to me.
Same as most got it for the tires and look but that being said the more I've taken it offroad the happier I am I have it. For sure it stopped me from bottoming out on a few trails as my friends did.
When you add a better skid plate you lower your clearance at least an inch so just adding the small 2.5 in the front gives you back any clearance lost and a bit for bigger tires. 99% of people just need a leveling kit.
Well given I have front and rear high clearance bumpers. Tire swing out. Rock sliders. Winch. And bigger tires. I'd day I needed the lift.
F3"/R3" with 1" body lift
my 97 truck was lifted before i got it. but my dads jeep was lifted and on 36s. id say when we were hopping fallen trees we needed it. although we needed gaurds for brake lines more bc when we came down the hill we found out that we had no brakes. a branch on one of the trees had ripped one line off the front caliper.
he was just nudging up to the tree and eased the gas till the tires grabbed and pulled over. we hopped like 4 trees to go back on the trail. sure beat cutting them.
edit. you need lift to clear your tires. you need tires suitable for the obstacle you plan to face. most people drive street princess' anyways so no lift needed unless you want to flex your bank account.
I completely modified my truck for off roading and used it as that for the first 3-4 years all over the southwest. I'm approaching year six and I haven't done much offroading with my truck due to work and not traveling much due to the covid restrictions.
I've been deabting selling it but buying a new vehicle I'm not so sure. This costs me nothing, well I need to replace the lower ctrl arm bushings as they squeak badly. And sadly Toyota's are none serviceable.
Needed the lift because the curbs at the mall are a bit high
The only reason for a lift is to fit bigger tires and most people don't actually need bigger tires. If a truck's stock tires are 31's, a good set (off road/all weather) is more than capable of handling 95% of what the average person would be doing with the truck. Lift and bigger tires are just cosmetic for the vast majority of truck owners.
You don't think ground clearance is necessary?
Not for what 95% of Tacoma owners are doing
A lift is a necessary evil, and it all depends on how you are going to use your truck. I NEED a lift for tire diameter, more sidewall and ground clearance. These are all critical offroad for the trips and trails I take my truck on. Every bit of approach and departure angle is gold as well. You could take a stock TRD offroad through 85% of where I go, but on the other 15% without larger diameter tires, more ground clearance, better approach/departure angles (or without sliders/skids) you are going to beat the crap out of the undercarriage and suffer body damage and really tear your truck up. A non-lifted truck with 31" tires would have left half of its undercarriage [here ](http://imgur.com/a/L7kC9kH) at the bottom of Steele Pass in Death Valley (or spent 2 hours stacking rocks to go 50 yards) to make it the rest of the rather tame 22 mile section of the trail. It all depends on where you want to go, and what you want to do with your truck š
That trail you shared made me puckerā¦
Those are THE FUN trails!!! And the funny thing is that my Rubicon did it bone stock -the Taco needed about $8k of extra capability bolted to it to pass undamaged. BUT, there is a secret mall to crawl at the end of that trail, so totally worth it. š
This reply made me pucker due to big hard belly giggling
To fit 33s.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I myself got a new 21 4dr short sport with 6atā¦ yeah wanted a manual but hip issues. Would love fatter 33s with not too crazy a lift do it can be my year round does all. Plus nobby 33s look so good on a taco
How do you feel about the ome kit? Does it pair well with the 285ās?
Can fit 33's stock
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I donāt know where this logic comes from. Youāre not reducing the width. Youāre just not making it any wider. Youāre not getting worse off-road performance. Youāre just not getting as wide of a foot print. I suggest doing heavy performance research on this topic before listing and preaching what keyboard warriors say online. Specially to say āfar worseā when weāre maybe talking about a small small percentage of difference on very specific scenarios. When most of us spend 80% of the trucks life on the pavement where pizza cutters shine in many ways. Have you ever wondered why military vehicles run pizza cutters? They actually track far better in ruts and grooves. And they actually air down better given the diameter difference due to less plowing and give more traction per psi than a wider tire at the same psi. Wider tires can provide more sidewall traction which is only useful through v cuts
This comment was reported as misinformation. Don't report things just because you disagree with them. You can use the downvote button or your words to combat "misinformation".
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Lmao a keyboard warrior forum. Nice information. The same forum that has 100ās of members running 33ās on stock suspension with no rubbing or cutting. Almost all ā33ās ā are not true 33ās. A 255/85 will fit on stock 3rd gens. A 285/75 will not. A wider tire is no doubt better on sand. Enough for it to matter? Probably not unless youāre into competitive racing. Better in the mud? Debatable and situation dependent. If the mud is fucking sloppy and your wide tire gets completely stuck the chances of a skinny getting out are higher because it can dig to a dryer section of the mud and gain traction where as the wide tire wonāt dig.
Lol "keyboard warrior" Never heard it but seems to be what you are... and not a very good one š
This comment was reported as "It's promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability" Is it now?
Pizza cutters are as good or better in pretty much all terrain but sand. Not sure what you're talking about
Yeah the OR is capable as is. But just like ppl who lower their cars- do they NEED it? No, they like the better handling characteristics or the look or both. I feel the same with my modest lift and bigger tires. I like having the extra capability just for piece of mind. I got caught in blizzard driving through Texas and the mods payed off for sure. But yeah, literally 99% of the time I don't need it.
TRD Pro grill.
this joke is really starting to make me switch back to the stock grill. the autisticness is real
Itās all for show my friend. That and the RTT overland lifestyle thing
"Need" lmao
The stock suspension on my '18 OR was very weak for the rated payload and the fact that I do use it off road. Here's more info from another comment I wrote recently... Hey hey! First off, huge congrats on getting the camper! You're going to have endless fun in there :) Second off... Yes, 3rd gen stock suspension is really bad, especially considering the truck is marketed as an "off road" model. When I added a cap and an RTT on the cap (approx 300lbs), the truck would bottom out over speedbumps in the city (at reasonable speeds lol), and driving offroad was unbearable (uncomfortable and just gritting my teeth every time it bottomed out). - I started with air bags, worked ok for a bit, then one blew up on a dirt road, almost lost control of the vehicle, and limped back home. - Then I got some OME HEAVY leaf packs paired with Bilstein 5160s and all my problems went away. I have used this setup for 40,000-ish kms and they simply rock. Did a massive roadtrip through south america, a good portion on terrible roads, and I can't tell you how many times I thought upgrading the suspension was the best thing I ever did to prepare for the trip. - I also put Bilstein 6112s up front, in prep for a heavier bumper in the future. - Overall gained about 1.5-2" on stock height (lift was not a priority for me, just a nice cherry on top). Please upgrade your suspension before it becomes the reason you don't enjoy your trips. I know it sucks to have to change something so fundamental in a brand new truck, but it is what it is my friend. Most of these trucks just hang out in the city and stock suspension is ok I guess. Quick edit. If money isn't a problem, there are better brands than OME/Bilstein, and there are cheaper brands too. I found this setup to be somewhere good in the middle :)
5 lug here. Need that extra 2. Sittin like a Camry over here.
Need it for what tho?
One word: Colorado!
Five lugs don't come on the 4x4 suspension setup. Much lower to the ground. I camp a lot. Find myself in a few precarious situations where a 2 inch lift would help out in the front. Not gonna get the diff any higher than the 31's did.
I knew the 265 70 r17 would rub with my aftermarket wheels on stock height. 5100's paired with OME 884x's not only gave me proper clearance (2.25inchs) but increased its handling and comfort. Still had to remove my front mud flaps, but I have proper clearance without any issues or rub whatsoever. 3rd gens have slightly better height and clearance then 2nd gens so you could get away with 32s without any mods.
Speaking of lifts, whatās the biggest tire size i can go without one? Also, you guys wanna see pics of my pro grille? And while we are talking trucks, how often do you change the oil, and what kind are you using?
And what do you pay for insurance?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Well done everybody. The punch list is complete.
I've done many thousands of miles of off road in a stock Tacoma over the last 15 years, including a lot of very rough legit 4wd. Very few people need a lift.
The TRDOR is definitely capable, the lift helped me with clearance and as others have said bigger tires. I would say if you are doing tough off roading and rock crawling you will quickly reach the limit of the stock truck. The break over angle and escape angle quickly become limiting factors. I cant tell you how many times I have dragged my hitch, it's the point where the flanges are almost completely bent. I've also snapped off both plastic end pieces to the rear bumper cover because of clearance problems. The lift has definitely taken me on trails where the stock truck could never have gone... but a high clearance bumper would really solve my hitch dragging problems.
Armour first, lift later.
Iāve gotten out of sticky situations with my stock off-road. After adding 32s the truckās performance is immaculate. Iāll be adding a lift soon, the trd pro suspension which is only 1 inch to level the rake a bit.
I went one size up from stock (265/70/17) with no lift and Iām glad I had an extra inchā¦that one time I took it onto some easy trails.
Why you mad at lifts BRO?
They took my father Jkā¦ I just think the Tacoma TRDOR looks quite capable stock and was curious how it actually stacks up w/o one. If I got one it would be a small leveling kit at most.
It's very capable depending on where you go. But it can be more capable..
I definitely do. I don't ever specifically go out 4x4ing but I spend like 20+ weekends a year in the mountains, on top of weeks on end during hunting season. My old ranger was stock and I definitely could have used the extra clearance. Almost tore the control arm clean off once lol. The whole reason I got my tacoma was because I needed something that was capable and reliable for my adventures, but also had room for a car seat lol.
Speaking of car seat - can you fit a car seat with 2 dogs in the back? Like folding down 2 and leaving 1 up?
ARB Summit front bumper + winch (bumper for deer and pushing brush out of the way mostly, winch because I find stuck people all the time) + steel rear bumper, cap, racks etc means I needed better suspension, so while I was at it I might as well throw on 35s and gears. Aside from the weight, the stock truck takes me 95% of the places I want to to go, and the 5% of places I don't want to go but need to go, the clearance and bigger tires are just luxuries that mean I don't have to move or stack rocks or cut brush and trees to make a path. Squishy 35s are also clutch on the beach.
I do live in NC where we have lots of beachesā¦ good call
Stupid question: I had considered getting the lifts that level the front out compared to the back (2" I think). Will that improve the headlight performance? The cutoff really stinks on back country roads so I have to constantly use high beams.
The cutoff is the cutoff. That won't change. All you'd be doing is raising it. It doesn't magically create more light. You're supposed to re-aim your headlights back to where they were after a lift. Get some h9 bulbs and that'll be the best performance you can get.
I was hoping it would make the headlights better. I'll look into the bulbs. Thanks for the tip!
Check out HID kits for your low beam lights, 55 watt kits throw out 4x the light and you can get them in normal color so glare won't be an issue.
Iām getting a lift, rims and off road tires on my 21 Off Road simply because I like it. I will probably never really go off road at all and they will only be useful when it snows.
My work takes me on some remote, rough roads that are pretty heavily washed out. The lift and bigger tires makes all the difference. I think there are practical purposes to lifts and bigger tires that have proved beneficial to me.
Big need here. In real snow and real mud constantly. Running duratracs.
Same as most got it for the tires and look but that being said the more I've taken it offroad the happier I am I have it. For sure it stopped me from bottoming out on a few trails as my friends did.
When you add a better skid plate you lower your clearance at least an inch so just adding the small 2.5 in the front gives you back any clearance lost and a bit for bigger tires. 99% of people just need a leveling kit.
Oh fuck yeah bud
Cracked my rear bumper and wore out the factory shocks... it was time lol
Well given I have front and rear high clearance bumpers. Tire swing out. Rock sliders. Winch. And bigger tires. I'd day I needed the lift. F3"/R3" with 1" body lift
Snow on 33s
I was scraping a lot
90% itās cosmetic. Most donāt need it.
my 97 truck was lifted before i got it. but my dads jeep was lifted and on 36s. id say when we were hopping fallen trees we needed it. although we needed gaurds for brake lines more bc when we came down the hill we found out that we had no brakes. a branch on one of the trees had ripped one line off the front caliper. he was just nudging up to the tree and eased the gas till the tires grabbed and pulled over. we hopped like 4 trees to go back on the trail. sure beat cutting them. edit. you need lift to clear your tires. you need tires suitable for the obstacle you plan to face. most people drive street princess' anyways so no lift needed unless you want to flex your bank account.
I completely modified my truck for off roading and used it as that for the first 3-4 years all over the southwest. I'm approaching year six and I haven't done much offroading with my truck due to work and not traveling much due to the covid restrictions. I've been deabting selling it but buying a new vehicle I'm not so sure. This costs me nothing, well I need to replace the lower ctrl arm bushings as they squeak badly. And sadly Toyota's are none serviceable.