Tacoma Suspension Advice

[NotAMog]

I have a question for the 4th gen (?) Tacoma owners out there. I'm getting a set of custom Deaver rear springs to add to my '04 Tacoma to carry the weight of the FlipPac camper and all the stuff that goes in it. The Deavers will add approximately 2" of lift on the back. I'm planning on using ICon coil overs on the front. My question is wether there is any real benefit to going with uniball upper control arms when I add the iCons or if I should just keep the stock ball joint control arms. I expect to only run 1" to 1 1/2" inches of lift with 265x75 16 tires on stock rims. The only other major upgrade I plan for the drive train will be a rear locker. I don't have any delusions of turning this truck into a desert racer or rock crawler but I do want something that will be a reliable off road capable vehicle for the type of trails most of us run.

[cruiserlarry]

I have a question for the 4th gen (?) Tacoma owners out there. I'm getting a set of custom Deaver rear springs to add to my '04 Tacoma to carry the weight of the FlipPac camper and all the stuff that goes in it. The Deavers will add approximately 2" of lift on the back. I'm planning on using ICon coil overs on the front. My question is wether there is any real benefit to going with uniball upper control arms when I add the iCons or if I should just keep the stock ball joint control arms. I expect to only run 1" to 1 1/2" inches of lift with 265x75 16 tires on stock rims. The only other major upgrade I plan for the drive train will be a rear locker. I don't have any delusions of turning this truck into a desert racer or rock crawler but I do want something that will be a reliable off road capable vehicle for the type of trails most of us run.

The benefits to an aftermarket UCA with uniballs are increased articulation and strength. Stock ball joints have limited range; they work well on the street, but wear fast when used in situations that require more extreme articulation. The additional flex that a uniball allows you to use an Icon coilover with about an 1"-1.5" additional travel. The long travel coilovers are no extra charge, but require the better articulating, stronger material strength UCAs to protect against failure of the stock ball joint from hyper-extension of the coilover.

That being said, using a LT265/75R16 tire with 1.5" of height certainly does not require a uniball UCA for normal off-road use...

[gon2srf]

For the past 4 years I've have run the stock UCA's with standard travel DR/Icons and approx. 3 inches of lift. I have been able to just barely set the alignment to the factory specs which is an important factor when adding a lift. Having said that if you can afford a set of ICON or Total Chaos UCA's I would certainly consider buying them for the strength, added articulation and ease of setting the alignment.

[SP Jon M3]

The after market UCAs also fix alignment issues that are caused by lifting the truck. At least with the 4th gen 4Runner (2003-2009), 2nd gen Tacoma (2005-current), FJs, when you lift the front 3" you loose most/all of the caster. The UCAs correct this by adding in 3 deg of caster to compensate for loss after the suspension lift.

BTW, your '04 is considered a 1st gen Tacoma.