Lift/leveling kit for 2011 Tacoma

I recently installed Toyo Open Country AT2 265/65/18's on my Tacoma. Next up is a adjustable ProRyde lift/leveling kit that adjusts from 1.5 - 3" which will be installed this week. My goal is to level the suspension to achieve a more aggressive/tough stance on the truck. My thought is any tire size shy of 33" will not look good on a 3" lift/level suspension. Do you guys think this tire size will look good with 2-2.25" of lift/leveling?
Thanks!

 

I am thinking about doing this. How much did you get kit for and where?

 

Over the pro-ryde kit?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bilstein-Series-Toyota-Tacoma-2005-14/dp/B00MH8EUBS

This the kit?

 

Hey guys, Here is a before and after of a 2" Front leveling kit installed on my 2011 TRD sport 4x4 Tacoma. 265/65/18 Toyo AT2 Open Country Tires w/Monster xd778 Wheels.
My concern is that the front suspension now sits 3/4" higher than the rear. I was told that the front suspension should and will settle in the next 3 to 4 weeks. Can anyone shed any light on this? I was Striving for 100% level...

 

Did you only lift the front by 2"? By how much was your kit supposed to raise the back?

 

Run it around for a while and give your springs time to settle and then see where you're at.

 

It was a 2" front lift/leveling kit. Apparently the first guy I dealt with dropped the ball and didn't know my truck would need a leaf on the rear suspension to level the suspension, even though I told him the day before install that the rear suspension sits up 1.5" higher than than the front, therefore adding 2" to the front will cause truck to be nose-high. He told me not to sweat it??
Taking my truck in today to have them finish the job… adding a leaf to the rear suspension. It all comes down to "who" you speak with… I now know who to ask for/deal with when it comes to adding accessories to my truck, as I've learned the hard way some shops don't know as much as they think they do.
Example, I took my truck in to a shop 2 weeks ago (that I thought was a professional outfit), as they deal with suspensions on industrial trucks like dump trucks, cement trucks, school buses, fire trucks, as well as pick ups etc… their customer service was horrible. Long story short, they ordered a lift kit for me and found out after they had taken my truck apart that they had ordered the wrong kit from ProRyde. Not sure how they messed up, being ProRyde only makes 1 kit that fits my '11 Tacoma. Anyway, they quickly slapped my truck back together to get me out of there. The end result was them knocking the balance out of my brand new tires, as well as altering my alignment. Of course I couldn't prove that they did, but the computer results (took my truck to a Tire & Auto Shop) showed that my alignment was severely off. I could tell on the drive home that my truck didn't ride as smooth. The alignment kept pulling to the right… the steering wheel vibrated (especially when braking), my mirrors were vibrating. It went from riding like a cadillac to a backhoe with mud terrain tractor tires.

 

I install lift kits on other peoples trucks in my shop....Not a mass market type of business, I average less than 2 a month. In recent months, I've been getting referrals from a couple VERY reputable tire stores. They do alignment and suspension work also, but have recently adopted a policy of refusing to install aftermarket parts (such as lift kits) This is because of the difficulty of satisfying customers when a lift doesn't meet their expectations. In order to sell tires, they try to find another option to prospective customers. Many "good" shops just won't mess with lift kits these days due to unhappy customers. It's tough to find techs that are schooled in proper installation, as well as the fact that not all lift kits are created equal. There are certain brands of lifts I turn down. There are certain vehicles I turn down. If I'm not 100% positive I can do the owner justice, I won't take on the job. Some shops just don't know when to say no.

With ANY suspension work, I tell people up front I take no responsibility for tires or tire balance, AND that you should take your vehicle to have it aligned as soon as possible after installation. Any time you take apart a front suspension, even if you try to put everything back IDENTICAL to what it was, you run a high probability that it will need re-alignment. As far as ordering the wrong lift kit, That's why I insist customers buy their own and bring them with the truck. All I furnish is the labor.

I'm not saying every shop should abide by my rules. But this is what works best for me, and seems to keep my customers happy.

 

I agree with your logic. The shop I initially dealt with did not use the same tact or professionalism that you talk about. I insisted upon ordering my own lift kit with the shop, however they were insistent upon going through their vendor. That shop instructed me to bring my vehicle in so that they could do a consultation on the vehicle before ordering the part, however when I brought my truck in They refused to look at my truck, almost as if they were too lazy to walk outside or pull my truck in their bay to look over. There was an arrogance to them, almost as though they knew enough about the process without doing the consultation, despite instructing me to make a special trip an hour away so they could look over it. I knew when I left the shop there was a disconnect as to The work order. When I called back days later to verify we were on the right page, I received an attitude and the gentleman that runs the shop could not even give me details about the part he ordered which was a huge red flag to me. As I mentioned in my post, we all found out The hard way after they took my truck apart that they did not have the right part. When I came back to pick up my vehicle they acted very unprofessional, almost indifferent. This all despite the fact that it was a huge inconvenience on me having to take off work to drop off and pick up the vehicle.