Thoughts on All Pro's Taco Susp.?

[Suty]

OK, I hate to admit this ,but my suspension needs a little work. I am currently running the Downey Coilovers on the Front ( fully cranked up ) and Stock Springs with cheap AAL and Bilstien 5100's. First, is there a reason why you guy's have not gone with a Pro Comp, Tuff Country or Fabtech Lifts ? Is there problems when you cut and drop diff's and so forth? I will being going with the 255's and I was thinking of scraping the suspension I am running for the All Pro Kit. Their Coilovers, Springs and Upper Arms? I am planning to turn my Taco into a Hybrid....Daily Driver/ Hunting / Expedition Truck. Any advice would be Appreciated ? Tu Compadre, Suty

[bluerunner]

Suty-

I am not a Taco owner, but my advice would be to stick with a company that specializes in toyota systems with the exception of OME, I think you will find some taylored to your truck and better suited to fit your needs.

I am not saying that you will have problems with those kits but I am certain that you will be able to tell the difference in quality... just my 2cents!

Goodluck in your search,
Blue

[Desertdude]

Donahoe coil-overs - deaver/Bilstein 5150's - game over - never look back - What a great ride on the highway as well as off road. ( Approx. 2.5 lift with both). I have the deaver 8 leaf which is great if you do not plan extra heavy rear loads. because of extra water reserve - aux gas tank - and roof top tent. I will be moving into the 10 leaf pack.

http://www.donahoeracing.com/

you can order the deavers through- www.demello-offroad.com

[Suty]

DD, I appreciate the info. Is there a reason you and Scott have gone this way instead of the Pro-comp, Fabtech , Tuff Country cut and lower the subframe route? I noticed in another thread that both of you also feel that Uni-Ball upper arms are not worth the expense ? Also on the Deaver thing I have the Bumper/ Swing tire Carrier and I also load her down with a full bead when I head out for the Hunt or Expedition. Because of this sould I go with a 10 Leaf set up. Garcias, Tu Compa. Suty

[Desertdude]

I am by no means an expert in this field - Sorting through all the opinions on the TTORA site - which took about a year - there was a great thread between Donahoe and Camberg - many great points were brought up.
I did not know Scott at the time so I was on my own (Scott is a researching son of a gun ) After all the research - I went with my gut feeling and choose Donahoe - there was something special in his posts to the group - The coilovers are very well built and now in hindsight really gave the tacoma a more solid ride on the highway- not to mention how it holds up on the trails (especially washboard roads) Out in death Valley I was able to do a Baja Style ( read high speed) test run on the worst road conditions without worrying about hitting anyone - the coilovers proved excellent in keeping the truck on the road no matter what speed or road condition - I am kind of a buy the best and cry once guy.

On the Uni-Ball upper arms - I asked the opinion of a few knowledgeable Tacoma folks - they all felt with the type of use I was into - there was no real gain to switch them out - They do appear to be more stout when viewed side by side with OEM - I figured I could spend the $$ elsewhere -If I have a problem with the OEM's I could upgrade then

On the Deavers - I did not plan on a rack and the rooftop tent - this and a loaded bed will send me over the weight limit and I loose quite a bit of travel - Right now I am sitting nice but once I load the bed the springs are done. I am going to try and get the ten leafs ordered and in by Nov 1 - ready for Surf & Turf

For me this is all a great journey of learning, trial and error, and finding what works best for me and the Tacoma over the long haul - I have never been into finding cheaper solutions, just finding ways to pay for the finer things in life.

So far the Tacoma has never let me down on any trail in AZ-Utah or CA and most folks I have had the pleasure to wheel with always seem impressed with its abilities to climb over obstacles and keep moving

Thanks for asking!

[BajaTaco]

First, is there a reason why you guy's have not gone with a Pro Comp, Tuff Country or Fabtech Lifts ? Is there problems when you cut and drop diff's and so forth?

If you look through all of the archives at the various Tacoma forums, you will see that there can be a lot of "issues" with drop-bracket lifts. I also have no desire to lift a Tacoma that much. I think that 32" or 33" tires can be achieved with less than 3" of lift (but 33's will require substantial clearancing mods if you don't want to hear/feel them rubbing). To go any higher is just needlessly raising the COG on the truck - unless you want a lot of clearance for hard-core rock crawling, in which case you should be going with 35" or larger tires. And 33" tires are the max. size for IFS where strength is concerned, so IMO 35" tires on a Tacoma requires a solid axle conversion. Now there's a can of worms So all in all, I think drop-bracket kits are fine for people who want the extra lifted "look" but for performance, I don't think they are so great.

[Scott Brady]

ditto

[Suty]

OK. I am SOLD, it will be Donahue's and Deavers. Well, as soon as I gather the change needed. Thanks guys, this is what this stuff's all about.

[Desertdude]

Congratulations on your decision - You will notice the handling improvement immediately - set the coil-overs side by side with OEM and you will really see what you are getting

[dieck]

OK, I hate to admit this ,but my suspension needs a little work. I am currently running the Downey Coilovers on the Front ( fully cranked up ) and Stock Springs with cheap AAL and Bilstien 5100's. First, is there a reason why you guy's have not gone with a Pro Comp, Tuff Country or Fabtech Lifts ? Is there problems when you cut and drop diff's and so forth? I will being going with the 255's and I was thinking of scraping the suspension I am running for the All Pro Kit. Their Coilovers, Springs and Upper Arms? I am planning to turn my Taco into a Hybrid....Daily Driver/ Hunting / Expedition Truck. Any advice would be Appreciated ? Tu Compadre, Suty

I just want to pile on with the other guys. I did a ton of research prior to getting my hoes and deavers. I'm much more interested in functionality over show. Although I do enjoy a well engineered simple solution. If you look at all the complexity and headache of the drop bracket lifts there just aren't enough benifits to make it worth while.

1. You don't really gain any clearance under the front or rear drive train with the exception of the inch or two larger tires
2. All of that additional lift gets you a seriously high center of gravity
3. Tires larger than 33" will seriously impact road drivability and range due to decreased gas mileage and also add sprung weight with the spare
4. The bigger lifts tend to break more stuff if only because the larger tires weigh more and put more wear on the drive train and steering components


That all said, I do like the reasearch Exp West has done on the taller thinner 33" vs the typical 285/75/16. Their white papers on this and other relevant expedition lore are excellent.