We know it's nearly impossible to 'bag and body-drop your brand-new truck as soon as you buy it, and not everyone's ready to dive in that deep right off the bat. You have to start somewhere, and we know just the right combination to give your new Tacoma an altered appearance without breaking the bank.
First things first, you have to start out with quality components so they'll stand the test of time. No, this isn't an ultra-low lowering kit we're installing, but it will definitely improve the handling and cornering characteristics of a stock Tacoma. At the same time, you'll lessen the amount of wheel gap between the fenders and the tires, which always helps to improve the appearance of any truck. This upgrade begins up front with 2-inch lowered coil springs from Eibach. This gives us a modest drop, but leaves much of the truck's suspension travel intact and will allow the use of the original Tokico shocks. Out back, we opted for a pair of 3-inch dropped composite leaf springs from Flex-A-Form.
Before lowering, we experienced too much wheel hop during burnouts, and once the progressive suspension was installed, the annoying hop went away - for good. Once we were down just enough to clean up the wheel-to-fender gap a little and give us improved cornering ability, we still needed one final touch: custom wheels and new low-profile tires. We were provided a set of 18x7.5-inch Hurricane wheels and 245/40R18 BFGoodrich tires to make this final change. Follow along as Sleeper Suspension shows us how easy this set-up was to install. For more information, contact the companies listed in the source box to get your new Taco' looking sweet and handling like a slot car.
1. Here's the parts list for...
1. Here's the parts list for this project: a pair of 2-inch lowered coil springs from Eibach, fiberglass 3-inch dropped leaf springs from Flex-A-Form, and 18-inch wheels and tires from HP Wheels and BFGoodrich.
2. Begin by jacking up the...
2. Begin by jacking up the vehicle as high as you can safely get it - always use jackstands to be sure that the vehicle will not fall while working on it. Then remove the front wheels to give you access to the suspension.
3. Remove the top shock bolt...
3. Remove the top shock bolt and two lower shock bolts and remove the shocks, but make sure you save all the bolts - you'll need them later.
4. Pull the cotter pin out...
4. Pull the cotter pin out and take off the castle nuts, then the tie-rod ends should come loose with a few taps of a hammer.
5. Unbolt the antisway bar...
5. Unbolt the antisway bar end links that attach the bar to the arm.
6. After gaining access to...
6. After gaining access to the upper ball joint, remove all four nuts and bolts that secure the ball joint to the upper control arm.
7. With the upper control...
7. With the upper control arm and upper ball joint disconnected, you can easily drop the spindle and lower control arm down enough to allow spring removal. Be careful: These suckers are under a lot of pressure and can pop out.
8. Once the stock spring is...
8. Once the stock spring is out, replace it with the new Eibach coil spring. Make sure that you replace the rubber donut on top of the coil spring to keep things quiet.
9. Next, reinstall the upper...
9. Next, reinstall the upper ball joint; make sure that all the bolts line up correctly.
10. Reinstall the shocks by...
10. Reinstall the shocks by sliding them back in from below and securing both top and bottom.
11. Now the tie-rod ends can...
11. Now the tie-rod ends can be bolted back onto the spindle; same with the antisway bar end links. You're almost ready to rock and roll.
12. Next, we tossed the stock...
12. Next, we tossed the stock wheels and tires in the swap meet pile and mounted up our new 18-inch HP/BFGoodrich combo. This setup will provide much better traction due to the better and wider tires and the shorter sidewall.
13. Moving to the rear suspension,...
13. Moving to the rear suspension, start by replacing the stock bumpstops with some smaller ones that you can pick up from almost anywhere. We dug ours out of Sleeper's bin.
14. Before beginning work...
14. Before beginning work on the leaf springs, make sure the rearend is at full droop; this will relieve tension on the springs. Then remove the lower shock bolt from the baseplate and remove the U-bolts and baseplate altogether.
15. Remove the bolt in the...
15. Remove the bolt in the front eye of the leaf springs first and allow the spring to drop carefully.
16. Next, remove the nuts...
16. Next, remove the nuts from the rear shackle, separate the unit, and remove the spring from the shackle completely.
17. This is a side-by-side...
17. This is a side-by-side look at the stock leaf versus our new fiberglass version.
18. Lube all the new bushings...
18. Lube all the new bushings to avoid squeaks, then install in both the fore and aft eyes of the springs before installing the front of the leaf spring.
19. To finish hanging the...
19. To finish hanging the leaf spring, install the rear of the leaf spring in the shackle and bolt it all up.
20. Now, you can reinstall...
20. Now, you can reinstall the backing plate and U-bolts.
21a. Bolt the shock back up...
21a. Bolt the shock back up to the 'plate, and install the new wheels on the rear of the truck.
21b.
22. Torque the wheels to factory...
22. Torque the wheels to factory specs, using a decent torque wrench. Too tight can mean damaged wheels and brakes; too loose can spell disaster.
23. To get the most out of...
23. To get the most out of your new tires, align the front wheels to account for the changes made to the front suspension.