Saw this siiiiiiick SAS'd 2nd generation Tacoma for sale

[BenWA]

Saw this on TacomaWorld -- one of very few SAS'd 2nd generation Tacomas in existence. For sale in south Jersey, for a steal:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/buy...e-diamond.html



Somebody out there needs to snap this up!

[Cruiser]

I like the big HDPE skid plate underneath.

[leroy jenkins]

What does SAS stand for. Thats a cool truck and all but when I read SAS I was picturing something a bit more like this.

[farmer]

Solid axle swap

[BCMtnHound]

^^ That's what I noticed. Very sweet

[BenWA]

SAS = solid axle swap. The independent front suspension (IFS) on the stock truck was replaced with a solid front axle, link arms, and long travel shocks so that the suspension can flex a crapload to crawl over big obstacles.



SAS's were fairly common on earlier Toyota trucks, and a bunch of 1st generation Tacomas had them done -- but so far only a few 2nd generation Tacomas have had SAS's done, so this truck for sale is super rare.

Here's a cool thread that shows what's is involved in building a truck up like this:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...ing-beast.html

[BenWA]

Skip to 2:08 to see a SAS'd 2nd gen Tacoma in action:

[P_McPoser]

Why not just start with a solid axle truck and save money? I never understand why people do this.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Maybe they don't care about the money and just want that truck done like that?

I could spend $40K on a used 'vette, or I could spend $50K modifying/rebuilding my old Firebird to get near the same performance. Why don't I just buy the 'vette?

[BCJC]

if you want a new compact/midsized pickup with a solid front axle in north america, custom is your only option. afaik

[Eluder]

Looks stupid to me... I know, I suck.

[Cruiser]

Yup the Wrangler is the only new light duty vehicle available in the US with a solid front axle. Kinda sad IMO since there are a lot of folks out there who would sacrifice a touch of ride comfort for the convenience of working with 2 solid axles. But the fact of the matter is that if you can't market your new SUV/mid-sized pickup to the soccer moms as a heavy duty grocery getter then you might as well plan to stop development at the concept vehicle stage.

Here's a sweet shot of an SAS'd Xterra up in Evergreen. Note the bottle opener mounted on the right side of the bumper.

[BenWA]

Why not just start with a solid axle truck and save money? I never understand why people do this.

Pretty much what BCJC and Cruiser said. You can't get a truck stock with a solid axle unless you get a fullsize (and a heavy duty fullsize, at that) -- and only a fool would build a fullsize truck into a crawler or trail rig. The only other option is a Jeep, and even then most built up Jeeps end up swapping out the stock front axle for something beefier than OEM.

[alembical]

I know nothing about off roading, trucks, physics, etc... but can someone tell me in simple terms why this is a good thing. My brain seems to think having the 2 front wheels able to move independently of each other would be a good thing

[BenWA]

I know nothing about off roading, trucks, physics, etc... but can someone tell me in simple terms why this is a good thing. My brain seems to think having the 2 front wheels able to move independently of each other would be a good thing

When going over big obstacles it's all about suspension articulation/flex, because you want to keep as many tires on the ground as possible for maximum traction and stability. Indepenent suspension just can't come even close to what a solid axle setup can do in terms of suspension travel, because independent suspension is limited by the relatively short radius of the arc that the suspension linkage travels thru, and also by the limited articulaiton of the CV axles in the front drivetrain of a 4x4.

Check out this vid of an older Tacoma to see how much the suspension articulates, note how the front and rear axles form an "X" relative to each other when viewed from the front when the suspension is fully flexed at 1:45. That means that all 4 tires are making contact with the ground even over highly irregular terrain:

[uglymoney]

In simple terms when the tire on one side of the vehicle goes up as you go over an obstacle the axle acts like a lever pushing the tire on the other side down which increases your overall ground clearance. An independent suspension by definition has no such mechanical advantage although I assume you could program it into an active suspension.