More flex out of IFS on the cheep?
03-21-2012, 11:13 AM
#1
More flex out of IFS on the cheep?
I'm still learning about how IFS works and what little tweaks can be made since I'm building my rig on the cheap and don't have any grand SAS plans, etc... Torsion bar crank-check-nice cheap 1.5" of lift. I have manual hubs and the truck doesn't get driven a lot so no worries about the CVs there. From what I've been reading the next step is the low profile bumpstops-found a nice tutorial on that, but what is less clear is how much more stress the extra droop can put on the CVs. I found this post about Suzuki shocks for the front for 1.5-2" of lift, so I was thinking of running those AND removing the sway bars. Will the combination of these four things:
1.5" T-bar crank
Low profile bumpstops upper and lower
Longer travel front shocks (Suzuki OE)
Sway bar delete
Make my IFS that much better on the trail or will I just be eating CVs?
1.5" T-bar crank
Low profile bumpstops upper and lower
Longer travel front shocks (Suzuki OE)
Sway bar delete
Make my IFS that much better on the trail or will I just be eating CVs?
03-21-2012, 12:36 PM
#3
Where's AxleIke when we need him?
Oh well, I guess I'll see what I can do.
1. Cranking the torsion bars will give you more ground clearance/lift, but it will flex less.
2. Low profile bumpstops won't give you any lift or have any affect on flex. You will gain a small amount of suspension travel. But not likely enough to cause too much stress on the CVs. Running them with BJ spacers is another story.
3. Longer travel shocks wouldn't gain you anything. Stock length shocks are long enough to accomodate for the additional ~¾"-1" of extension travel.
4. I'm all about the sway bar delete. That's the only thing you've mentioned that's going to give you more flex out of IFS on the cheap.
Oh well, I guess I'll see what I can do.
1. Cranking the torsion bars will give you more ground clearance/lift, but it will flex less.
2. Low profile bumpstops won't give you any lift or have any affect on flex. You will gain a small amount of suspension travel. But not likely enough to cause too much stress on the CVs. Running them with BJ spacers is another story.
3. Longer travel shocks wouldn't gain you anything. Stock length shocks are long enough to accomodate for the additional ~¾"-1" of extension travel.
4. I'm all about the sway bar delete. That's the only thing you've mentioned that's going to give you more flex out of IFS on the cheap.
03-21-2012, 03:45 PM
#4
Special thanks to MudHippy for answering my question even though I asked it wrong 
-what I really meant to ask about was increasing travel, not flex.
Gotcha-again, I've got 14.5" inches (up from 13") and I can definitely feel a difference in the ride, but from what I've heard 15" is the real limit.
Definitely going to do these.
The Suzuki shocks are like $15 apiece, so as long as the max compressed length isn't too long I think I might throw them on anyway-the truck needs shocks BAD (I think the originals are still on there)-that way I'm covered if I ever go with BJ spacers.
Sway bar delete + t-bar crank + welded rear = more fun for free than a Yota fanatic should be allowed to have 
-what I really meant to ask about was increasing travel, not flex.
03-21-2012, 03:58 PM
#5
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IMO:
I wouldn't recommend modify'ing it at all. Only thing thats fine is cranking the t-bars up just a little. Like you said you can get about 1.5'' out of it and still have down travel.
You don't want your cv's extending any further then they already do. The factory bump stops are nice and squishy. The compress pretty far already, and much softer then the low pro ones. The BJ spacers are nice for ride quality, but also give you more down travel, which can be bad for cv's.
Again this is just my view of it. Im sure other people are goin fine with these mods. But the stock ifs can be broken fairly easy, so I never recommend to people to ask more of it.
Id rather it be less capable then weaker. You can always get a winch, or a tow, or more speed
. But it sucks breaking cv's on the trail. Ive broke lots of them..
Oh ya... and throw that sway bar away for sure.. Much better
I wouldn't recommend modify'ing it at all. Only thing thats fine is cranking the t-bars up just a little. Like you said you can get about 1.5'' out of it and still have down travel.
You don't want your cv's extending any further then they already do. The factory bump stops are nice and squishy. The compress pretty far already, and much softer then the low pro ones. The BJ spacers are nice for ride quality, but also give you more down travel, which can be bad for cv's.
Again this is just my view of it. Im sure other people are goin fine with these mods. But the stock ifs can be broken fairly easy, so I never recommend to people to ask more of it.
Id rather it be less capable then weaker. You can always get a winch, or a tow, or more speed
. But it sucks breaking cv's on the trail. Ive broke lots of them..Oh ya... and throw that sway bar away for sure.. Much better
Last edited by ThatGuy1295; 03-21-2012 at 04:01 PM.
03-21-2012, 04:08 PM
#6
Again this is just my view of it. Im sure other people are goin fine with these mods. But the stock ifs can be broken fairly easy, so I never recommend to people to ask more of it. Id rather it be less capable then weaker. You can always get a winch, or a tow, or more speed . But it sucks breaking cv's on the trail. Ive broke lots of them.
. But it sucks breaking cv's on the trail. Ive broke lots of them.
Between the rear bumper, skid plate, lower valance, old exhaust, shocks, brake calipers, drums, and now the sway bar my Yota will be making me some money at the scrapper
03-21-2012, 04:14 PM
#7
Registered User
Heres what I did for my sway bar on my old runner
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...nnects-221551/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...nnects-221551/
Trending Topics
03-21-2012, 04:35 PM
#9
Heres what I did for my sway bar on my old runner
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...nnects-221551/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/...nnects-221551/
03-21-2012, 04:37 PM
#10
Registered User
Cheap and Correct...
Yo...glad to see a thread like this as there is much to be said... first of all you should go to www.4crawler.com and check out everything ol'roger has to say on BJ spacers, torsion bars and sway bar discos...the dude knows it all.
I have been running a BJ spacer lift with absolutely NO issues and the 4runner was up on the trails and in 2 feet of snow this morning at Brown's Camp (Oregon).
What i did (just saying it has worked very well for my application) was went with a 2.5" BJ spacer, 1" diff drop spacer and originally dropped the sway bar (before removing it all together) to account for the diff drop. I now run NO sway bar and noticed almost NO difference in drive performance (on trails and at high speeds, freeway travel etc.). my rig is also my daily driver so doing something that could be potentially dangerous to every day driving was NOT on my priority list...You'll also need to shocks to accommodate for the minor lift, either longer springs or spacers in the rear and then you'll need a panhard drop bracket for the back if you don't want the rear to be offset (the passenger side tire will stick out farther than the driver). Manual hubs are a must; there are no need for you CV's to be at any extra strain or working if they don't need to be.
4crawler has all these things and answers to questions. check it out
Long story short, there is a right and a wrong way to run with the BJ spacer/ torsion bar lift for sure. You can really mess up your CV's in a hurry...
When i was still very new i had a guy that advertised on craigslist do the lift for me and he completely jacked my whole front end...so trust me, i learned the hard way the there is a right and wrong way to do it for sure.
hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any questions...
I have been running a BJ spacer lift with absolutely NO issues and the 4runner was up on the trails and in 2 feet of snow this morning at Brown's Camp (Oregon).
What i did (just saying it has worked very well for my application) was went with a 2.5" BJ spacer, 1" diff drop spacer and originally dropped the sway bar (before removing it all together) to account for the diff drop. I now run NO sway bar and noticed almost NO difference in drive performance (on trails and at high speeds, freeway travel etc.). my rig is also my daily driver so doing something that could be potentially dangerous to every day driving was NOT on my priority list...You'll also need to shocks to accommodate for the minor lift, either longer springs or spacers in the rear and then you'll need a panhard drop bracket for the back if you don't want the rear to be offset (the passenger side tire will stick out farther than the driver). Manual hubs are a must; there are no need for you CV's to be at any extra strain or working if they don't need to be.
4crawler has all these things and answers to questions. check it out
Long story short, there is a right and a wrong way to run with the BJ spacer/ torsion bar lift for sure. You can really mess up your CV's in a hurry...
When i was still very new i had a guy that advertised on craigslist do the lift for me and he completely jacked my whole front end...so trust me, i learned the hard way the there is a right and wrong way to do it for sure.
hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any questions...
03-21-2012, 04:50 PM
#11
Yo...glad to see a thread like this as there is much to be said... first of all you should go to www.4crawler.com and check out everything ol'roger has to say on BJ spacers, torsion bars and sway bar discos...the dude knows it all.
You'll also need to shocks to accommodate for the minor lift, either longer springs or spacers in the rear and then you'll need a panhard drop bracket for the back if you don't want the rear to be offset (the passenger side tire will stick out farther than the driver).
Definitely-now if only my damn parts would get here!!!
03-21-2012, 05:44 PM
#13
Registered User
Great thread 
Long live IFS. Haha.
This wont help with flex, but if you plan on keeping it ifs, you might want one of these: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-brace-222177/
Long live IFS. Haha.This wont help with flex, but if you plan on keeping it ifs, you might want one of these: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-brace-222177/
Last edited by rattlewagon; 03-21-2012 at 05:46 PM.
03-21-2012, 06:27 PM
#14
Registered User
So I'm new here. I have a stock '01 Tacoma- 3.4L V6, TRD Off-Road, Double Cab. I'm gonna be doing some mods here in the (hopefully) near future. I hear a lot of people saying that IFS isn't great for hardcore rock crawling, but I also hear it's not as bad as people say it is. My truck's my DD, but I also wanna do some mild crawling/mudding/expeditions. So my question: will the stock IFS be good enough for me to run on? I'm looking at getting enough lift to clear 33x12.5" Goodyear MTRs, new armor, the works... Also if ya'll could help me figure out what lift to get that'd be awesome! I was looking at the tuff country 5" suspension, but they use rear lift blocks... and I kinda wanna stay away from those...
03-21-2012, 06:29 PM
#15
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Ya. Check this out:
http://www.bajataco.com/bajataco.html
One of my favorites, for keeping it simple.
This one cool to
http://www.expeditionswest.com/vehic...oma/index.html
http://www.bajataco.com/bajataco.html
One of my favorites, for keeping it simple.
This one cool to
http://www.expeditionswest.com/vehic...oma/index.html
Last edited by ThatGuy1295; 03-21-2012 at 06:31 PM.
03-21-2012, 06:37 PM
#17
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Ya I run a 3'' lift on my 01. Clear 33's just fine. Also the offset of the rim has a lot to do with it. Mine rips on the frame at full turn just a smudge. But I'm running these centerline dirty dubs of such.
03-21-2012, 07:37 PM
#18
Registered User
And I'm not real familiar on how backspacing works... but I was looking at the procomp rock crawler series rims. I think the options I would have are 17x10.5 or 15x10.5? I don't know what backspacing I should go with... I don't want my tires stickin out too far.
Also will I need to change anything with the brakes when going with a larger tire/different rim size?
And last but not least, gears: I've heard a lot of things about what gears to use when running 33s. My truck has 3.56s on it now and I've heard it's fine to run 33s at that, and I know some people run 35s at 4.10.
Thanks again for all the help!
03-22-2012, 07:38 AM
#19
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Ya its ok to run 33's with 4.10's But you could jus as easily find a set of 4.56 out of a 4runner or pickup with an auto trans. Im sure you've heard it before. But I'm telling ya, its a huge improvement. I put 33's on my 01 with 4.10's, couldn't tow anything, was getting 16-17mpgs. Then I re-geared to 4.56 and It pulls my 3000lbs camping trailer very nicely. And empty its getting 19-20mpgs, plus you get your creep power back. I can start out on any hill, without havin to shift into 4L. If your going to the trouble to swap diffs, get 4.56 gears. Its worth it
I don't know a whole lot about backspacing either. All I know is you wanna be slightly offset ( outwards I mean) from centerline. I have an old steel chev rim with a 33'' spare on it. It sticks out about 1.5'' further then the rest of my wheels. And it doesn't rub on anything ever. It measures 5'' from outside of rim to the inside where the lugs are. I don't know how wide it is, but I wanna say it 9 or 10''. Most common rubs on the taco is the frame when you turn.
I don't know a whole lot about backspacing either. All I know is you wanna be slightly offset ( outwards I mean) from centerline. I have an old steel chev rim with a 33'' spare on it. It sticks out about 1.5'' further then the rest of my wheels. And it doesn't rub on anything ever. It measures 5'' from outside of rim to the inside where the lugs are. I don't know how wide it is, but I wanna say it 9 or 10''. Most common rubs on the taco is the frame when you turn.
Last edited by ThatGuy1295; 03-22-2012 at 07:40 AM.
03-22-2012, 08:13 AM
#20
Registered User
Ya its ok to run 33's with 4.10's But you could jus as easily find a set of 4.56 out of a 4runner or pickup with an auto trans. Im sure you've heard it before. But I'm telling ya, its a huge improvement. I put 33's on my 01 with 4.10's, couldn't tow anything, was getting 16-17mpgs. Then I re-geared to 4.56 and It pulls my 3000lbs camping trailer very nicely. And empty its getting 19-20mpgs, plus you get your creep power back. I can start out on any hill, without havin to shift into 4L. If your going to the trouble to swap diffs, get 4.56 gears. Its worth it
I don't know a whole lot about backspacing either. All I know is you wanna be slightly offset ( outwards I mean) from centerline. I have an old steel chev rim with a 33'' spare on it. It sticks out about 1.5'' further then the rest of my wheels. And it doesn't rub on anything ever. It measures 5'' from outside of rim to the inside where the lugs are. I don't know how wide it is, but I wanna say it 9 or 10''. Most common rubs on the taco is the frame when you turn.
I don't know a whole lot about backspacing either. All I know is you wanna be slightly offset ( outwards I mean) from centerline. I have an old steel chev rim with a 33'' spare on it. It sticks out about 1.5'' further then the rest of my wheels. And it doesn't rub on anything ever. It measures 5'' from outside of rim to the inside where the lugs are. I don't know how wide it is, but I wanna say it 9 or 10''. Most common rubs on the taco is the frame when you turn.
what about brakes? Do i need to change anything when i put 33s on and change the rim size?
