thinking about doing some mods
 

hello I have a stock 96 Tacoma and I'm think of doing some modifications to it but I was reading some of the posts and some folks are talking about regearing and things like that so i'm hoping I can get some education here. my truck is a v6 with a 5spd tranny and i'd like to maybe go with a little bit of lift and larger tires. maybe a 32" ? not really sure where to start though. p.s SOME REALLY COOL rigs on here thank you

best advice, aside from simply searching the topics you're interested in, would be to read through people's build-ups and see what they did. too many suggestions without knowing exactly what you want, but usually in a build you can see progressions and feedback regarding the changes they made.

for your truck, i don't think you will need new gears since IIRC a 31" tire was a stock size for the early tacomas (at least that's what's on 3 stock 1st gen tacomas in my family) and going up 1" diameter with a v6 powerplant won't be much of a change. if you were to go up to a 33"+ tire, then yes regearing would be beneficial.

Depending on what kind of wheeling you want to do, go with the biggest tire that isn't in a niche category that still gets done what you want it too. Like 12.5" wide wheels.
If you need them for the tires you want, that's your choice, but it's a lot easier finding replacements for a more normal sized wheel. speaking from experience here...

ok so what would you call a normal sized wheel? is there a size range? or is there a particular size that's considered normal?

http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...WrXaAWoMiA.jpg I'm looking at something like these which I can get in 15" ,16" or 17"

Sorry, guess I meant more tire size. A nice one on the road is a 31x12.5x15 or 31x10.5x15. 31's are often run on the road, but they're just big enough where they have offroad purpose too.
The 12.5" width on a 15" wheel is very common. You can have 31's-40's on that size wheel.
Depends if you're doing serious mudding or mostly driving. 35's are about the most you really want to run on a daily driver (imo), and even then you may need a gearing change or motor mods. 33's are a more common upper limit for daily drivers.
Not sure if you're more focused on wheels or tires...?

Keep in mind what size brakes you have if you're looking at the 15" wheels......

I think I'll be going with 16" but before I buy I'll let the guy know what I have for brakes so I can get the right offset

tire sizes between the two rim diameters can make a difference if important to you.

after seeing some pics of another YT member's similar truck with 16" wheels, I would go with those vs a 15" if I had the choice again -- I have 33x12.5-15 Toyo MTs and they got the 255-16 version of same tire...they are narrower, lighter, and don't stick out from the fenders as much -- all positives IMO.