Toyota Tacoma Suspension

Ever wondered why the design of cars and trucks, specifically their suspensions, are different from each other? Well, the reason is quite simple: because cars and trucks were designed to perform different tasks. The Toyota Tacoma, for example, was designed to carry and tow heavier loads and cargos than the Toyota sedans. The Toyota Tacoma was also specifically designed for the off-road track, unlike the Toyota sedans that were designed to cruise smoothly on the road. Necessarily, the design of the Toyota Tacoma suspension should also be different from the sedans in order for them to perform the said tasks properly.

The suspension refers to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that are used to suspend the vehicle's frame, body, engine, and power train above the wheels. The suspension generally has two tasks to perform. First, it must be able to lessen road noise, bumps and vibrations caused by irregularities on the vehicle's path. Then, the suspension must also keep the vehicle's wheels in close contact with the path at all times for better handling and cornering. For trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, a third (and special) function is to allow the vehicle to capably carry large amount of loads.

The Toyota Tacoma is equipped with a suspension system especially designed for it to perform well on the off-road track and to enable the truck to carry a large amount of load. On the Tacoma's front wheels is a coil-spring double wishbone suspension. This suspension type is advantageous for off-road vehicles in that it allows for the easy tuning of the suspension's kinematics for different types of road surfaces. On the truck's rear is a leaf spring suspension with staggered outboard-mounted gas shock absorbers. The advantage that this type of suspension creates lie on the leaf springs, as leaf springs can spread the weight of the vehicle's load more widely on the rear chassis.

The suspension system used in the Toyota Tacoma is clearly suited for trucks usually driven on the off-road track. The nature of the off-road track, however, makes the parts of such suspension system wear down easily. Proper care and maintenance is therefore needed if you want the Toyota Tacoma suspension to last longer. Damaged suspension parts must also be replaced at once to avoid too much road noise or to prevent further damages on your truck.