What is the best 2001 Tacoma lift kit?

Toyota tacoma Lift kit questions?

• I have a 2006 4.0 v6 toyota tacoma. As of now, it has a leveling kit ( I believe it has 2.75" spacers on the front and a 1" block on the back) along with 33" goodyear mt's on 17 " after market rems. I was planning on getting a 6" pro comp suspension lift or fabtech but I'm not really sure yet. I was also planning on getting 35" nitto extreme terrains. My questions are: 1. Would I be able to add the suspension lift to the leveling kit or would the leveling kit have to come off. 2. What gas mileage would I be looking at. Right now i get 17 if I drive decent. If I added an exhaust, performance chip, and headers would that help very much? 3. I also heard about re gearing being an option for better mpg. Would it be worth it for just 35" tires, and how much would it cost? Any additional advise would be appreciated thanks.

• Answer:

  It would be best to remove the front spacers and the rear blocks if you get a 6" kit. The A-arm geometry of the new kit is best matched to the coilovers in the kit. If you leave the spacers in, you could experience too much over-extension of the front suspension and run out of down-travel...that could be difficult to control on bumpy terrain. You might also experience coil compression before the bump stops contact which is not something you want to risk. Wheel camber issues could also arise. On the back, you'll always experience better handing without blocks. Especially with a pick-up, with less rear weight bias, blocks just encourage that axle-wrap and axle-hop that is obnoxious at best and part-breaking at worst. Also, the U-bolts included with the kit probably wouldn't reach over the blocks. 35" tires with stock gearing will put you fairly far out of your power-band. If it's not corrected, you can expect to feel the decrease in power and have the fuel economy drop a fair chunk--it's hard to predict exactly how much. Re-gearing will help you recoup some of the difference in final drive ratio, but you will still have some loss from the extra wind drag and weight of the bigger rollers. Re-gearing usually costs pretty close to $1000 for both axles, unfortunately, if you have someone do it. The ring and pinions themselves are around $200 per axle but they need to be installed properly with the correct gear contact patch otherwise the gears will wear themselves out in short order. You could see how it feels on 35's and stock gears, but you'll likely feel the difference. I'm always wary of engine power upgrades. The factory has things dialed in pretty well for the best combination of fuel economy, power and reliability. The Tacoma probably already has a decent sized exhaust bore. With the chip, you generally take a reliability and fuel economy penalty. If you do modify something, your best bet is a properly-set up axle gear change. Have fun!