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Considerations when going to 35" tires?

Jetspeed

Jetspeed

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I've been pretty settled on a 2-3" suspension lift with 33's mainly because I've heard so much about the pitfalls of going with a larger lift and tire setup. Mosly how it effects ride quality on the road and puts a lot of wear and tear on the drivetrain due to the change in geometry. Having said this I should note that I have come to this conclusion from relentless research here and everywhere else I can think of and not because I am knowledgeable on all things 4x4.

My dilemma is that I really like the look of these trucks with 35's. Can anyone with expertise chime in and let me know if there is a way to go with a bigger lift and tires and make the necessary mods to keep excellent on road drivability? I'm not price sensitive so I really don't care about the cost. I just want to do it right. If I'm looking at jury rigging and leaving things to chance then I would rather just go with 33's.

I already plan on re-gearing as soon as I get the truck to 5.29's so I don't think this aspect will be an issue. What else would need to be done to do it right?
 
My suggestion, and this is always my suggestion, is to drive the truck first and decide what you need based on that. I don't have a lift, I havn't regeared, my tires are only slightly larger than stock and I get everywhere I want to go. The stock tires are shit, but the way that I use my truck I find those other things unnecessary, and I still get a LOT of compliments on how it looks.
 
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RevN3 said:
My suggestion, and this is always my suggestion, it to drive the truck first and decide what you need based on that. I don't have a lift, I havn't regeared, my tires are only slightly larger than stock and I get everywhere I want to go. The stock tires are shit, but the way that I use my truck I find those other things unnecessary, and I still get a LOT of compliments on how it looks.
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Thanks RevN3, I think this is very sound advice and I would take your advice except that I'm sure I want a suspension lift and larger tires. I just like the look. Also I will be using the truck off-road in areas of Idaho that I'm already very familiar with having done off-roading in another vehicle. Having said this I do plan on driving the new truck for a few hundred miles to get a feel for it and ,if for nothing else, to have a before and after comparison.
 
And I’m here to poke the other side lol. 35s are sweet af but fuck do they not fit well lol. I still need to dial in my allignment but haven’t put the time aside so I rub hard on the cab mount. Gonna require a lot of cutting to the fenders, A LOT to the cab mount, a good suspension of adjustable upper control arms solid 3inch lift and would reccomend spindle gussets which I still need to do. I’m still short term first HARD wheeling trip is tomorrow so let’s see if it lives. Getting 33s first and maybe going to 35s when they wear down would be my recommendation and what I did.
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Nick BBP said:
And I’m here to poke the other side lol. 35s are sweet af but fuck do they not fit well lol. I still need to dial in my allignment but haven’t put the time aside so I rub hard on the cab mount. Gonna require a lot of cutting to the fenders, A LOT to the cab mount, a good suspension of adjustable upper control arms solid 3inch lift and would reccomend spindle gussets which I still need to do. I’m still short term first HARD wheeling trip is tomorrow so let’s see if it lives. Getting 33s first and maybe going to 35s when they wear down would be my recommendation and what I did.
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Oh shit! I see what you mean. Well I'm not opposed to running the 33's at all. They look pretty bitchen. I'm just trying to gain some information as to what needs to be done if and when I go to 35's. I've already surmised that I would need a CMC and I thought I'd probably need a 6" lift. Hadn't considered the spindle gussets. Probably because I don't even know what spindle gussets are! 😲😁. I'd already panned on replacing the UCA's and is in fact they're included in the ICON stage 9 kit I have in mind. Do you have any knowledge regarding a 6" kit and what effects it may have on my drive train geometry and how to make additional mods to contract this? I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation where I just can't seem to get the front end aligned.

Thanks for taking the time for me.
 
Jetspeed said:
Oh shit! I see what you mean. Well I'm not opposed to running the 33's at all. They look pretty bitchen. I'm just trying to gain some information as to what needs to be done if and when I go to 35's. I've already surmised that I would need a CMC and I thought I'd probably need a 6" lift. Hadn't considered the spindle gussets. Probably because I don't even know what spindle gussets are! 😲😁. I'd already panned on replacing the UCA's and is in fact they're included in the ICON stage 9 kit I have in mind. Do you have any knowledge regarding a 6" kit and what effects it may have on my drive train geometry and how to make additional mods to contract this? I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation where I just can't seem to get the front end aligned.

Thanks for taking the time for me.
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Personally I'd never reccomend one of those 6 inch drop bracket lifts. I have my truck built to be able to wheel harderish trails and I don't think 6 inch lifts have that in mind. Icon stage 9 is a killer setup the only to add off that is a shackle flip or @ARCHIVE garage hammer hanger kit brake line extension and longer rear shock.
 
Here is how much I cut the fender flares to fit the tires though, you will not have any fender liner though unless you make new mounts for it
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I went with 33s to avoid everything that came with 35s, specifically the CMC, and I'm very happy with my selection so far. There's this YouTube video this guy did comparing 31 vs 33 on a small truck (hilux, I believe) and 33 vs 35 on a larger truck, taking each truck through the same terrain conditions and it pretty much sold me that 33s is enough for what I want to do. The results are pretty much what you'd expect, but it was an interesting comparison video nonetheless.
 
I have a 6 inch Pro Comp lift on mine. I’ve always driven full size trucks so a Tacoma on 33’s just didn’t do it for me. I chose the Pro Comp over a 3 inch because I didn’t have to cut up everything to fit 35’s. Most can’t give a good reason as to why a drop bracket isn't good, I’ve been on trails where my truck easily tackles obstacles that the smaller trucks have difficulty on. I have also never second guessed a trail based on having the lift I have.
 
Jetspeed said:
Oh shit! I see what you mean. Well I'm not opposed to running the 33's at all. They look pretty bitchen. I'm just trying to gain some information as to what needs to be done if and when I go to 35's. I've already surmised that I would need a CMC and I thought I'd probably need a 6" lift. Hadn't considered the spindle gussets. Probably because I don't even know what spindle gussets are! 😲😁. I'd already panned on replacing the UCA's and is in fact they're included in the ICON stage 9 kit I have in mind. Do you have any knowledge regarding a 6" kit and what effects it may have on my drive train geometry and how to make additional mods to contract this? I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation where I just can't seem to get the front end aligned.

Thanks for taking the time for me.
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Yeah if you’re trying to do some serious wheeling I’d stick to a 3” lift to keep that center of gravity low. Some guys even do a body mount relocate all together instead of a cmc. Look at a side by side of camburg spindles for our trucks and the stock ones, you’ll be amazed lol. If you’re going to run 35’s though everything will need to be beefed up
 
mgmyota said:
Yeah if you’re trying to do some serious wheeling I’d stick to a 3” lift to keep that center of gravity low. Some guys even do a body mount relocate all together instead of a cmc. Look at a side by side of camburg spindles for our trucks and the stock ones, you’ll be amazed lol. If you’re going to run 35’s though everything will need to be beefed up
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I think I'm going to stick with 3" suspension lift and 33's. I definitely want to change out the hangars when I do the springs. Also, I've been looking at changing out the drive shaft as the two piece Toyota one is pretty lame.

4xshaft.com

Toyota Tacoma Rear Drive Shaft

*Discontinued* Due to this product's inability to fix Tacoma drive shaft vibrations 100% of the time, and because of the extra costs incurred by us and our customers when handling returns when they don't work as expected, this drive shaft has been discontinued. Sorry, I know some of you were...
4xshaft.com 4xshaft.com
 
Jetspeed said:
I think I'm going to stick with 3" suspension lift and 33's. I definitely want to change out the hangars when I do the springs. Also, I've been looking at changing out the drive shaft as the two piece Toyota one is pretty lame.

4xshaft.com

Toyota Tacoma Rear Drive Shaft

*Discontinued* Due to this product's inability to fix Tacoma drive shaft vibrations 100% of the time, and because of the extra costs incurred by us and our customers when handling returns when they don't work as expected, this drive shaft has been discontinued. Sorry, I know some of you were...
4xshaft.com 4xshaft.com
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I had actually asked about custom drive shafts myself some time ago GEARING/LOCKERS - Custom drive shaft
 
Jetspeed said:
Oh shit! I see what you mean. Well I'm not opposed to running the 33's at all. They look pretty bitchen. I'm just trying to gain some information as to what needs to be done if and when I go to 35's. I've already surmised that I would need a CMC and I thought I'd probably need a 6" lift. Hadn't considered the spindle gussets. Probably because I don't even know what spindle gussets are! 😲😁. I'd already panned on replacing the UCA's and is in fact they're included in the ICON stage 9 kit I have in mind. Do you have any knowledge regarding a 6" kit and what effects it may have on my drive train geometry and how to make additional mods to contract this? I definitely don't want to find myself in a situation where I just can't seem to get the front end aligned.

Thanks for taking the time for me.
Click to expand...
Spindle gussets help to prevent the spindle from buckling under heavy compression. In addition to bump stops they do give peace of mind
 
I'd suggest going with an SPC upper control arm.
I've heard the adjustability is key when trying to fit 35s
Looking at the geometry of the front suspension, as you lift a truck the upper control arm goes down and forward.
Most after market UCA move the ball joint back slightly to correct for the lift moving the joint forward.
Moving the ball joint back also moves the entire wheel tire combo back, towards the fender seem and the cab mount.
In the process of fitting big tires guys try to adjust the lower control arm so that it moves the lower ball joint forward all the way, then adjust the UCA to
get the desire caster angle while also having the tire/wheel as far forward as possible.

Original link: https://youtu.be/jXdkP5Z3Tq4
 
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CBrob said:
I'd suggest going with an SPC upper control arm.
I've heard the adjustability is key when trying to fit 35s
Looking at the geometry of the front suspension, as you lift a truck the upper control arm goes down and forward.
Most after market UCA move the ball joint back slightly to correct for the lift moving the joint forward.
Moving the ball joint back also moves the entire wheel tire combo back, towards the fender seem and the cab mount.
In the process of fitting big tires guys try to adjust the lower control arm so that it moves the lower ball joint forward all the way, then adjust the UCA to
get the desire caster angle while also having the tire/wheel as far forward as possible.

Original link: https://youtu.be/jXdkP5Z3Tq4
Click to expand...
Great info. Thank you.
 
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