I'm interested in lifing my Toyota Taco. However,<br>I don't want to spend a ton of money doing it. My<br>reason for lifing is to put on 33 inch tires. What would<br>be the best lift for the least money? Also are there<br>any websites to order<br>from?<br>Thanks<br>Frank (toytaco00)

Not only is the wheel diameter an issue, but the width and the backspacing as well. For 33x12.5 on 15x8 rims with 3.75" of backspacing (this is the distance that the wheel projects IN from the plane of the lug bolts) I found that I needed 6" of lift. I've heard rumors that if you use 33x12.5 on 16x8's, you can get rims that sit closer in, and you can get away with less lift and still clear the wheel wells but my guess is that this is either BS or the folks that do this don't actually go out wheeling. Either way, I'd advocate the 15" rim just so that you can air down and really have some sidewall to deform. <br><br>Basically the problem that you'll encounter is that with insufficient lift, the front wheel will rub in the wheel well when you turn and hit a bump. I tried using my 33's after getting just 3" of suspension lift and this is precisely what happened.<br><br>My solution to the problem was to do 3 inches of body lift on top of 3 inches of suspension lift. I used the Revtek suspension lift kit, and a Performance Accessories body lift kit. I had both installed by a local shop after reading the installation manuals and realizing that rebuilding the front strut meant having to go through a full wheel alignment, and in doing the body lift, the shift extenders required milling capability. The Revtek kit goes for about 400 and installation, the Performance Accessories kit goes for about 300 and installation. I think I ended up paying out about 1200 for the two, installed. I put about 200 per wheel into 5 rims and tires (BFG MT's at 150 each and steel rock crawler type rims for 50). The only problems I've encountered is that I can get the front tires to actually touch the frame if I crank it around enough, and I had a problem with the rear shocks kissing the leaf springs in extreme articulations because of the block type rear suspension lift. I solved this problem with spacers and longer bolts that moved the shock inward away from the spring about half an inch.<br><br>Another way to do minimal/cheap lift that I considered was to replace the fender panels with fiberglass and solve the problem by having bigger volume wheel wells and use less lift. However, nothing I could find matches the body type of a 2000 Tacoma, so I'd have to custom those, and I'd have to get the things painted to match... all in all, a major hassle.<br><br>In the end, I'm very happy with 6" of lift. The body lift barely changes the center of gravity compared to the suspension lift alone. The road handling characteristics are very similar to before while the offroad capabilities are markedly improved. <br><br>I was able to do the mods cheaply, and I was able to re-allocate funds into heavy duty tubing bumpers, rock sliders and a winch. Trust me, if you do the body lift, make use of all that exposed frame underneath and get some heavy weld-on rock sliders. These will save you from having boulders pinch-weld your door shut from underneath the rocker panel! It also gives you a big long jack-point that you can get your hi-lift under... otherwise the only place you can get your hi-lift to grab is basically the rear bumper.