baileymoto

been looking at a lot of lifted tacomas and a lot seem to be going with coil spacers to achieve some extra lift. what exactly do these do and what are the downsides? i was thinking either a king or fabtech 3.5" lift and a little extra with some spacers. any thoughts?

WATRD

Do not stack spacers on top of coilovers like the King's or Fab's. They are seperate lifts and don't play well with each other. Both accomplish the same thing, providing lift, but the coilovers are adjustable and tend to ride better than spacer lifts. If you go with coilovers, they alone are capable of lifting to the 2.5-3" max that your ball joints and CV boots will tolerate. Spacers can do the same, but can't be adjusted to "fine tune". If you were to stack them, you would get the 2.5-3" from the spacers, but would have to leave the coilovers cranked down, so there is no point.

baileymoto

i see. any of way to achieve 1-2" of more lift besides a body lift? (on top of a 3" coilover lift)

WATRD

You can go up to slightly over 3" if you install a diff drop to normalize your CV angles, but beyond that you are looking at a much more involved lift like the Pro-Comp 4", TrailMaster 6" or Fabtech 6", all of which involve repositioning the front differential and playing with or eliminating the upper ball joints.

There are some "ball joint spacers" being talked about on this board that, in theory, would solve some problems, but you are looking at some experimental, Frankenstein methods there, so I would steer you away from them.

2.5 - 3" == Coilover OR spacers w/ 32" tires
4" == ProComp lift w/ 32" tires, sometimes 33's will fit
6" == Trailmaster or Fabtech lifts w/ 33" tires

A body lift can be added to any of the above to make up the difference to the next tire size if you must go that route. But, those are the tried and true methods to get various levels of lift.

baileymoto

anything i should be warned about using a body lift on these trucks? what should i look forward to having problems with if i go 1 or 2" BL?

i was planning on 32's, but i may decide to go with 33x12.50's.

WATRD

If you go with a body lift, go with Roger Brown for the best quality stuff out there.

Some people have had problems with breaking body lifts, especially with a 3", but if you stay small with 1-2", the odds are in your favor. You can easily install the smaller body lifts, but the bigger you go, the more stuff that has to be repositioned. At 3", the radiator needs work, the gas filler, the shifters, etc.

Check out Roger Brown's site for details on what his kit includes and what you are looking at having to do for each size. Keep the body lift as small as you can and you will never regret it.

baileymoto

lets make sure we are on the same page with the year...i am speaking of the 1999 4x4. does this guy make a BL for this year? also, does everything previously said hold true concerning tire sizes? exactly how large of lift do i need to go to fit 33x12.5's with minimal rub? most of my offroad is in the dunes if that makes a difference

WATRD

Yes, it all applies for a '99 4x4. I assume you are talking Tacoma, not 4Runner, since you mentioned that in your first post.

For what you describe, I would recommend coilovers, not spacers. That will get you a much better ride on the dunes. From there, a diff drop, so you can run the full 3" lift on the coilovers and a 2" body lift would allow you to run 33's with little or no rubbing.

You might also be able to get away with coilovers, diff drop and a 1" body lift, but you might get a bit more rubbing on compression. Some folks can tolerate more rubbing than others.

You are also going to want to do the "pinch weld mod" to minimze the rubbing and to keep your tires from getting cut up at the back of the wheel well.

Roger Brown does show body lifts for your application; http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BodyLiftKit.shtml

baileymoto

one more question and ill be out of your hair....what is all involved with a diff drop and where can i purchase one and/or at least look at a kit (online)

Tacoma Dude

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/DiffDrop.shtml

WATRD

heheheh Not a problem. I see Peter already has you taken care of. The diff drop is also a Roger Brown deal or a Revtek or a Cornfed Suspension. Your choice, they are all basically the same thing.

Tacoma Dude

*ahem*
Sorry for the intrusion... I was thinking about the 1" body lift and remembering that I didn't have instructions on the diff drop (I have spacers waiting to go on) - I had *just* bookmarked that page.