About to lift my truck. Advice please
#1
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About to lift my truck. Advice please
So, I'm absolutely bored of the stock wheels and ride height, its about time I lifted my truck. (1993 Std cab, 5 speed 22RE fuel injected etc.)
I already know I want to do a 4" lift. The rough country kit (#734S) is $609 on their website and all. got that one down.
I know nothing about wheels, sizes or anything for that matter.
I'm not exactly on a shoestring budget, but between rent and all that, new tires and wheels are gonna have to be a bit of a bargain approach.
I'm looking for this kind of wheel style:
http://www.extremeterrain.com/rugged...031&adtype=pla
Obviously it would have to be six lug and all that.
I know my desired tire size to be 33/12.5/15, as that is recommended by rough country for that particular lift.
Basically since I have no clue what I'm looking for and dont want to shell out any more money than I need to to get a nice looking lift on my truck, I'd appreciate some of you off roading gurus to throw me those links and suggestions like you all do so well.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
I already know I want to do a 4" lift. The rough country kit (#734S) is $609 on their website and all. got that one down.
I know nothing about wheels, sizes or anything for that matter.
I'm not exactly on a shoestring budget, but between rent and all that, new tires and wheels are gonna have to be a bit of a bargain approach.
I'm looking for this kind of wheel style:
http://www.extremeterrain.com/rugged...031&adtype=pla
Obviously it would have to be six lug and all that.
I know my desired tire size to be 33/12.5/15, as that is recommended by rough country for that particular lift.
Basically since I have no clue what I'm looking for and dont want to shell out any more money than I need to to get a nice looking lift on my truck, I'd appreciate some of you off roading gurus to throw me those links and suggestions like you all do so well.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
#2
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I would stick with your stock rims unless there crap and buy some treadwright retread tires and use the money you could have spent on rims and use it for gears so your truck isn't a pig with 33 inch tires
#3
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since a 12.5" wide tire is roughly 2" wider than stock tires, you will need at least 1" less backspacing than now. this would be a 3.75" BS if running the stock 4.75" BS wheels. you can go less, like to a 3.5" BS but I don't think you need to go further. that particular style of wheel is just your standard rock crawler black steel wheel - you can get them everywhere.
i run 33x12.5x15s on my 93 (xcab) and that's the spec of wheel i had to use in order for sidewall not to rub on upper control arm. i don't have a bracket lift so i cannot say it's the exact size - i just know it fits a non-bracket lifted rig running BJ spacers. Personally, I'm against bracket lifts on IFS unless you're running like a 35/don't want to cut fenders, or have a BlazeLand kit attached to it. Also you'll have to address the rear suspension too. anyways, the 33s will fit with only 1-2" lift....as an option to save some $ if you keep your stock wheels (or pretty much any stock toyota wheel) you can run a 33x10.5 and not worry about the backspacing.
definitely regear your truck if making a huge jump in tire size like you're doing. you will definitely notice. if you regear, think about adding lockers "while you're in there". also be prepared to replace other stuff if you're lifting a 20yr old vehicle (like wearable parts in front end/steering/suspension). now that you've lifted and added gears and lockers you'll be wanting to drive offroad...so now you need sliders and f/r bumpers...and a winch...now you need lower tcase gears...now you need....see where this is going?
i run 33x12.5x15s on my 93 (xcab) and that's the spec of wheel i had to use in order for sidewall not to rub on upper control arm. i don't have a bracket lift so i cannot say it's the exact size - i just know it fits a non-bracket lifted rig running BJ spacers. Personally, I'm against bracket lifts on IFS unless you're running like a 35/don't want to cut fenders, or have a BlazeLand kit attached to it. Also you'll have to address the rear suspension too. anyways, the 33s will fit with only 1-2" lift....as an option to save some $ if you keep your stock wheels (or pretty much any stock toyota wheel) you can run a 33x10.5 and not worry about the backspacing.
definitely regear your truck if making a huge jump in tire size like you're doing. you will definitely notice. if you regear, think about adding lockers "while you're in there". also be prepared to replace other stuff if you're lifting a 20yr old vehicle (like wearable parts in front end/steering/suspension). now that you've lifted and added gears and lockers you'll be wanting to drive offroad...so now you need sliders and f/r bumpers...and a winch...now you need lower tcase gears...now you need....see where this is going?
#4
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Theres another side to the argument.
Im not saying dont lift. But I didn't.
33's with 4.88 gears, cut fenders, and a rear spool. I was impressed every time I wheeled it.
Im not saying dont lift. But I didn't.
33's with 4.88 gears, cut fenders, and a rear spool. I was impressed every time I wheeled it.
#5
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And everybody is calling it the "pinch weld trim or mod" but really your just bashing the hell out of it with a big hammer so the tires dont rub.
You can combine a lift with fender trimming to fit bigger tires and the look you want.
But like highonpottery said, gears are a must.
You can combine a lift with fender trimming to fit bigger tires and the look you want.
But like highonpottery said, gears are a must.
#6
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Thread Starter
Thanks for the input guys. Rethinking the whole project...again. Dammit.
My original plan was a 3" lift or so and not go too much bigger on the wheels. A couple of friends sort of convinced me to go to 33"s but I really do need to remember that I ETS from the Army in 6 months and have a 1098 mile/18 hour trip home to complete on any lift I do now.
All around I'm trying to make it a truck that can do anything, its great offroad the way it is now, its mostly asthetics. Its a daily commuter...so a 4" lift might be a tad over the top.
The smallest lift Rough Country makes for my truck is 4", what other brands do you guys suggest for smaller lift heights?
My original plan was a 3" lift or so and not go too much bigger on the wheels. A couple of friends sort of convinced me to go to 33"s but I really do need to remember that I ETS from the Army in 6 months and have a 1098 mile/18 hour trip home to complete on any lift I do now.
All around I'm trying to make it a truck that can do anything, its great offroad the way it is now, its mostly asthetics. Its a daily commuter...so a 4" lift might be a tad over the top.
The smallest lift Rough Country makes for my truck is 4", what other brands do you guys suggest for smaller lift heights?
#7
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since your truck is still a DD, I wouldn't go with the 4" lift just based on the wind resistance/lower MPGs. if it was your weekend toy, then maybe you could justify the extra height as a necessary change. lifting it "just enough" and giving it better offroad capability is definitely possible, and is the route many probably should be taking instead of SAS and parking it at the mall. a good train of though is "biggest tires on smallest lift". i think it's also more advantageous to start small and give the rig the most capability for what it is with minimal work, then add more upgrades as you find the limits - you'll find that just a small change like this will make your rig VERY capable offroad and you'll probably learn a lot more if your rig progresses as you learn the limits.
for a smaller lift -- get some BJ spacers and an Old Man Emu 2" lift kit: 2 Dakar medium-duty leafs w/new u-bolts bushings and shackles, 4 nitro-charger shocks, steering stabilizer, and if you want a winch bumper get the t-bars also (if not then skip these because you'll have a stiffer ride w/o the weight). This will give you a 2" lift that can be adjusted from basically 0-3" if you wanted (obviously skip the 2" lift leafs if staying low). if you're going higher than 2", then get shackles longer than the stock 3.5" ones (1" longer shackle=0.5" more height) or keep the stock ones if in good shape (i did, but now want 0.5" more lift). this lift will run you shy of $1k, but will be worth it since OME is a highly reputable brand and the upgraded street/offroad capabilities of this setup are definitely apparent in the "seat of the pants test".
as for tires, i wouldn't go bigger than maybe a 31" tire without regearing at this point (keep in mind speedo/odo will be off). it's a great size for a DD and is not so much bigger it will rob you of all your power. plus, you can get a replacement basically anywhere in the country and the tires in this size are MUCH cheaper - and the tires will fit on stock dimension 15" toyota wheels (if you wanna swap them to say a tacoma aluminum wheel). for the added advantage offroad, you could drop a lunchbox locker (like a LockRite or Aussie, etc) in the rear axle for more traction to compliment the more aggressive tires.
- if you just did the 2" lift with more aggressive 31s and a rear locker, i can almost guarantee you will go further down the trail than you would if you spend the money on a bracket lift and 33s without regearing, etc. the added height of a bracket lift and 33s means nothing when you compare it just to the added traction from a locker on a stock rig -- problem is that now you can go further down the trail and you'll be needing more upgrades earlier, like armor/recovery gear, etc.
after you've wheeled the setup for a while and decide you need more height w/o going to a SAS - then think about whether or not you want 33s or 35s and regear your rig accordingly. if going 35"+ and are actually wheeling your rig hard, then you might want to think SAS since you're getting into the limits of CV strength.
for a smaller lift -- get some BJ spacers and an Old Man Emu 2" lift kit: 2 Dakar medium-duty leafs w/new u-bolts bushings and shackles, 4 nitro-charger shocks, steering stabilizer, and if you want a winch bumper get the t-bars also (if not then skip these because you'll have a stiffer ride w/o the weight). This will give you a 2" lift that can be adjusted from basically 0-3" if you wanted (obviously skip the 2" lift leafs if staying low). if you're going higher than 2", then get shackles longer than the stock 3.5" ones (1" longer shackle=0.5" more height) or keep the stock ones if in good shape (i did, but now want 0.5" more lift). this lift will run you shy of $1k, but will be worth it since OME is a highly reputable brand and the upgraded street/offroad capabilities of this setup are definitely apparent in the "seat of the pants test".
as for tires, i wouldn't go bigger than maybe a 31" tire without regearing at this point (keep in mind speedo/odo will be off). it's a great size for a DD and is not so much bigger it will rob you of all your power. plus, you can get a replacement basically anywhere in the country and the tires in this size are MUCH cheaper - and the tires will fit on stock dimension 15" toyota wheels (if you wanna swap them to say a tacoma aluminum wheel). for the added advantage offroad, you could drop a lunchbox locker (like a LockRite or Aussie, etc) in the rear axle for more traction to compliment the more aggressive tires.
- if you just did the 2" lift with more aggressive 31s and a rear locker, i can almost guarantee you will go further down the trail than you would if you spend the money on a bracket lift and 33s without regearing, etc. the added height of a bracket lift and 33s means nothing when you compare it just to the added traction from a locker on a stock rig -- problem is that now you can go further down the trail and you'll be needing more upgrades earlier, like armor/recovery gear, etc.
after you've wheeled the setup for a while and decide you need more height w/o going to a SAS - then think about whether or not you want 33s or 35s and regear your rig accordingly. if going 35"+ and are actually wheeling your rig hard, then you might want to think SAS since you're getting into the limits of CV strength.
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#9
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Thanks for the input guys. Rethinking the whole project...again. Dammit.
My original plan was a 3" lift or so and not go too much bigger on the wheels. A couple of friends sort of convinced me to go to 33"s but I really do need to remember that I ETS from the Army in 6 months and have a 1098 mile/18 hour trip home to complete on any lift I do now.
All around I'm trying to make it a truck that can do anything, its great offroad the way it is now, its mostly asthetics. Its a daily commuter...so a 4" lift might be a tad over the top.
The smallest lift Rough Country makes for my truck is 4", what other brands do you guys suggest for smaller lift heights?
My original plan was a 3" lift or so and not go too much bigger on the wheels. A couple of friends sort of convinced me to go to 33"s but I really do need to remember that I ETS from the Army in 6 months and have a 1098 mile/18 hour trip home to complete on any lift I do now.
All around I'm trying to make it a truck that can do anything, its great offroad the way it is now, its mostly asthetics. Its a daily commuter...so a 4" lift might be a tad over the top.
The smallest lift Rough Country makes for my truck is 4", what other brands do you guys suggest for smaller lift heights?
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...it.shtml#FAQ10
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/hottoy/west/
#11
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I've been becoming more of a fan of the grinder with cutting wheel, sawzal, and BFH methods. I bought my truck with 33 1250s and a 4in lift, but I love the look of stock suspensions with big tires.
#12
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Thread Starter
Came across the ToyTec 2" lift, which seems both docile enough for a daily driver and simple enough for a dip˟˟˟˟ like myself to install.
http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=77
Has anyone had any experience with these. Obviously I'd throw in the extended shocks and a new steering stabilizer to compliment it.
http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=77
Has anyone had any experience with these. Obviously I'd throw in the extended shocks and a new steering stabilizer to compliment it.
#13
Do not buy the rough country lift it sucks ass! i have the 4 inch pro comp lift it actually comes with all parts. trust me you will run into alot of problems with the rough country lift because all there kits dont come with all parts remember that! oh and do 2 inch body lift its always cheap easy and good looking way to lift i have 35s with 4 inch lift and 2 inch body and have more than enough clearance
#14
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Thread Starter
Alright so still looking into this Toytec 2" lift:
http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=77
However there is no mention of a U-bolt flip kit included with the kit and none are included on the website. With an add-a-leaf put in the rear axle, I will need to purchase new longer U-bolts, correct?
Along with this 2" lift, I'll need to purchase new shock absorbers. Since there is only single type of shock absorber recommended for use with the lift kit by ToyTec, i'd like to explore my options since shock absorbers are a kind of a snazzy thing to stick on your truck for looks, especially with a lift. Along with aesthetics, what kind of shocks have you guys found beneficial to the truck's offroad performance with a small lift?
I have a pair of Skyjackers on the front and KYB nitroair shocks on my rear axle right now, but once I lift- these will go away.
Also since I am doing a two inch lift with BJ spacers and an add-a-leaf kit, what length of shock absorber will I need to be looking for?
Thanks for any help again guys.
http://www.toyteclifts.com/index.php...mart&Itemid=77
However there is no mention of a U-bolt flip kit included with the kit and none are included on the website. With an add-a-leaf put in the rear axle, I will need to purchase new longer U-bolts, correct?
Along with this 2" lift, I'll need to purchase new shock absorbers. Since there is only single type of shock absorber recommended for use with the lift kit by ToyTec, i'd like to explore my options since shock absorbers are a kind of a snazzy thing to stick on your truck for looks, especially with a lift. Along with aesthetics, what kind of shocks have you guys found beneficial to the truck's offroad performance with a small lift?
I have a pair of Skyjackers on the front and KYB nitroair shocks on my rear axle right now, but once I lift- these will go away.
Also since I am doing a two inch lift with BJ spacers and an add-a-leaf kit, what length of shock absorber will I need to be looking for?
Thanks for any help again guys.
#15
Contributing Member
iTrader: (3)
If there is enough exposed thread on your existing u-bolts, you can probably re-use them, assuming you can get the nuts off without damaging the threads. And if not, I would go for a flip kit if you plan to off road the truck, keeps the u-bolt threads up and out of the way. Only issue is you'll need to figure out what to do with the lower shock mounts as those attach to the factory lower spring plates.
Front shocks with ball joint spacers should be for a 1"-2" lift:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...cer.shtml#FAQ1
But you can measure the existing shock travel and see if that is sufficient or not. Since you have after market shocks, they may work with a mild lift if they are a bit on the longer side:
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/minutemods/ifs/
Front shocks with ball joint spacers should be for a 1"-2" lift:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...cer.shtml#FAQ1
But you can measure the existing shock travel and see if that is sufficient or not. Since you have after market shocks, they may work with a mild lift if they are a bit on the longer side:
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/minutemods/ifs/
Last edited by 4Crawler; 04-25-2013 at 05:55 PM.
#16
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why not just get the shocks listed on their site right next to the lift you are looking at?
as for a ubolt flip - they carry that also. what it doesn't include are the new lower shock mounts which are mandatory since you'll be eliminating the mount when you remove the stock u-bolt mounting plate/shock mount. you will need a welder for this upgrade.
as for a ubolt flip - they carry that also. what it doesn't include are the new lower shock mounts which are mandatory since you'll be eliminating the mount when you remove the stock u-bolt mounting plate/shock mount. you will need a welder for this upgrade.
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