I am looking at a lift for my 00 tacoma. Nothing huge, maybe a 2.5" lift. There is just so much out there. I value your all's opinions and thoughts so anybody that has anything to say please do. I'm just lookin for some advice. So far, I am leaning towards coil spacers up front with a diff drop (1") and add a leafs in the rear. Thanks for any input.

Do it right the first time. Spacers will give you a rougher ride up front. Get aftermarket coilovers like Donahoe or Sway-A-Way.

I agree that you get what you pay for. A lot of lifts like the spacers or blocks in the rear don't do anything but get you up in the air a bit and possibly hurt your suspension geometry. I will definitely be going to aftermarket coilovers at some point (currently have spacers) because it will certainly ride better. Spacers are alright and they kept my front end from dragging as much pretty cheap but adjustable coilovers would be much better. I hear that diff-drops only rotate the diff a bit and wont actually do much for saving cv's. For the rear I would suggest new leaf packs, much more than the 3 with overload (right?) that come on the tacos. People like dakar and deavers but there are others that wouldnt be so costly that could add flex and height.

Deaver makes a great 3-leaf AAL system, replaces the overload leaf. Comes with U-bolts as well, best price i found is at wheeler's offroad.

I agree with what was stated above about doing it right the first time.

If ya need an "until" kit go with Toytec.

That is "until" you can afford a good set of adjustable coilovers.

I'm curious as to how it will give a rougher ride. It seems like it would still have the same spring rate and travel resulting in the same quality of ride? I'm not disagreeing at all, I'm just tryin to understand. I do appreciate the response.

Also,
I checked out wheelers offroad and looked at deaver's 8 leaf rear springs. Link to Springs They stated:
"Due to removal of the factory overload spring there will be a decrease in gross max weight handling capability over the stock leaf packs."
This caught my attention because I haul a trailor with lawn equip. on it during the summer and on the weekends its quads instead, so hauling is important to me. My hauling capabilities suck right now so do you think it would be any worse like they say?
Just curious. Appreciate the help guys!

I wouldn't say that getting Sway-A-Way is "doing it right". You might say that back in about 2001, but not now. Most other adjustable coil-overs on the market have a better design now since they are more easily maintainable. Also refer to this post from a while back for other adjustable coil-over possibilities: www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB13&Number=539806
Donahoes are said to be one of the "choice" ones now.


That's what I used to think too until I experienced the difference myself simply by cranking up adjustable coilovers. It has to do with the geometry of the control arms. It doesn't matter that the spring rate stays the same. The steeper the angle, the harsher the ride. Just for an example at the other extreme, if you use adjustable coilovers set way too low so the arms are almost horizontal, the ride is WAY too soft and squishy due to the geometry. But I know that's only part of the story since other coil-overs ride better than adding a spacer to springs for the lift.

I don't entirely understand why adding a spacer makes it a harsher ride, but if you compare rides in different people's trucks that have different lift types, it definitely makes a difference. The shocks likely affect it a lot. Like others have said, the spacer lift in front doesn't feel as good as other types.

A separate problem is that many coil-overs now have unnecessarily stiff spring rates (like 675ppi). That's not good if you don't have lots of added weight from other mods. I'm glad mine are no more than 600, despite all the added weight of mods. So there's something to be said for keeping it simple with other Toyota springs for a conservative lift if you plan to keep the weight down or do slow rock crawling, etc.

I HAVE A 2000 TACOMA (3"SUSP,3"BODY)AND I WENT WITH CORNFED SUSEPSENSION (www.cornfedsuspension.com, I DID SPACERS IN FRONT AND ADDA LEAF IN REAR (ALSO I" DIF DROP).THEY HAVE A GREAT PRICE(320.00 SHIPPED) AND A GREAT FIT. AS FAR AS RIDE QUALLITY THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THE ADD A LEAF IN THE REAR IT IS A STIFFER RIDE THEN STOCK BUT IT IS MUCH BETTER THEN USING LIFT BLOCKS.
I HOPE THIS HELPS.
ERIC S.

I have a 3" lift on my '05 Taco and love it. I haul a lot of firewood and pull trailers a fair amount. There is a huge difference on how the truck handles the load with the AAL's in the rear. It's a lot stiffer when empty but doesn't squat as bad when loaded. Hope that helps.