TRD Sport vs. Off Road Ride Difference

[dajlaw]

I am thinking of buying a new Tacoma Dbl cab 4x4 and was wondering if anyone has an opinion concerning the differances in ride, if any, between the TRD Sport version and the TRD Off Road package. A sort test drive in both versions didn't reveal too much differance to me. What do you guys think?

[Splicer]

Before we bought our '05 DC 4x4 TRD Off-Road, we drove one back-to-back with a DC 4x4 TRD Sport. We took the same route which was in-town on rough crappy asphalt, mixed with some rural two-lane roads.

We found the Off Road (which we drove first) to have a firm but compliant ride, without being harsh or punishing at all. The Sport rode noticeably harsher, jarring the truck over broken and uneven pavement. I knew the trucks had different springs and shocks, and the Sport had lower-profile 17" tires vs the 16s on the Off Road, so I assumed those factors combined to cause the ride difference.

Thinking back on it now, I wonder if the tires on the Sport had been over-inflated. Plenty of guys have Sport models and say they ride just fine.

[imsikotic]

I have a sport and have no issues. I love it. I beat the hell out of it in the desert. Still no problems.

[dtacow]

Sport also has a thicker (stiffer) anti-sway bar upfront.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Splicer

Before we bought our '05 DC 4x4 TRD Off-Road, we drove one back-to-back with a DC 4x4 TRD Sport. We took the same route which was in-town on rough crappy asphalt, mixed with some rural two-lane roads.

We found the Off Road (which we drove first) to have a firm but compliant ride, without being harsh or punishing at all. The Sport rode noticeably harsher, jarring the truck over broken and uneven pavement. I knew the trucks had different springs and shocks, and the Sport had lower-profile 17" tires vs the 16s on the Off Road, so I assumed those factors combined to cause the ride difference.

Thinking back on it now, I wonder if the tires on the Sport had been over-inflated. Plenty of guys have Sport models and say they ride just fine.

The salesman I talked to told me the suspensions ("TRD" suspension) are exactly the same, only the wheel size is different. Does anyone know if this is true or not? I chose the Sport because it came with less aggressive treads and I thought the lower profile tires look better and might corner just a bit better when I get caught going too fast on twisty roads.

I suspect you are right that the Sport tires must have been overinflated because there shouldn't have been much of a difference in the harshness of the ride. In fact the ride in my Sport wasn't "harsh" enough so I got the 4 leaf springs added to the rear to stiffen it up and now I like it much better, even when unloaded.

[Splicer]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

The salesman I talked to told me the suspensions ("TRD" suspension) are exactly the same, only the wheel size is different. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

Not true... OR has progressive springs, Sport does not. And though they both have Bilstein shocks, the valving is different. Certainly not the first time a salesman didn't have full knowledge of his product.

You are right about better cornering capabilities from lower-profile tires. On the flip side, many more types of tires are available in 16", and they tend to be less expensive -- at least for now.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Splicer

On the flip side, many more types of tires are available in 16", and they tend to be less expensive -- at least for now.

Yeah, I just replaced the tires on my other car and while shopping, noticed that the price difference is pretty significant between 16 inch and 17 inch versions so that is something to think about. Although it's probably a $100 to $200 difference every 2 or 3 years.

Tough call.

[jtsailjt]

Here's a previous discussion of this subject...

TRD Sport VS. TRD off Road Suspension answered

[Jason.MZW20]

Progressive rate springs are good for ride quality since they stiffen (increase spring tension) when loaded, and linear rate springs are good for cornering since the spring rates are static and unchanging.

We've gone over this in the MR2 community. Eibach's lowering springs are all progressive, so in order to get any usable performance out of them we generally use a stiffer set of sway bars. The ride quality over stiffer linear rate springs is improved, but we've found the performance of linear rate springs (as found on stock MR2s) better for cornering performance. So, the Sport's suspension will handle better on-road.

This gives the OR suspension an advantage over rough terrain since the progressive rate springs are usually softer than linear rate springs until loaded. So, they'll travel a bit more freely until they reach the point at which they are designed to increase their spring load. But, without the actual spring rates to compare, it's kind of useless assumption.

Then there's the dampening rates, which can either complement a softer suspension or even make up for it in some cases.

[Splicer]

Thanks for the excellent input, Jason. Once again you have explained things better than most of us are able to.

[KTMike]

I chose the OR suspension, because I actually do quite a bit of time on dirt and unimproved (unroaded) land. I drove both of them up a nasty stretch of road and crumpled old parking lot near the dealership. I did my best to get a feel for which one I'd be more comfortable in offroad and ended up with the OR suspension.

I beat mine around quite a bit in the desert here and it hasn't disappointed me yet. I was riding down a nasty old road the other day, thinking about how well the thing drives and marveling at how it seems brand-new after 16Kmi of pretty rugged use.

-- mike