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Just talked to an old timer at the gas station who changed my whole idea about suspension lifts
He was filling up his 1985 F-250 and told me he ran a 4 inch lift with no drop brackets for 20 years without any issues, just kept the angles tight and used good shocks. That got me thinking about all the money I spent on a 6 inch kit with fancy brackets for my Tacoma last winter. Anybody else ever hear advice that made you question what the forums and shops keep pushing?
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kais671mo ago
Real talk, your old timer buddy is partly right but that's a big "with no issues" claim. A 4 inch lift on a solid axle like that F-250 is a totally different animal than a 6 inch lift on a modern Tacoma with independent front suspension. The Tacoma's IFS geometry is way more sensitive to big lifts, so those fancy brackets aren't just for show, they keep the ball joints and CV angles from binding up and snapping. Your buddy probably had a pretty rough ride and wore out tires faster, he just didn't care because it was an old farm truck. For a daily driver that sees highway speeds, a lift without proper correction parts is asking for death wobble or broken axle shafts. Better to spend the money upfront than replace tie rods every six months.
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the_jessica1mo ago
Hmm, I see it a bit different with @wendy72, older trucks can take a beating without all that fancy stuff.
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