AVS suspension vs TRD

My lease is almost up on my 2021 Tacoma TRD off road. I was looking to check out the new Gen "hybrid" Tacoma because it works hard pulling my Fish/ski boat. I figured the new Tacoma turbo hybrid would be perfect.

My wife commented after seeing a new Tundra in the showroom (had her Camry XSE in for maintenance) that "its pretty sweet!" My wife did not care for the comfort in the SR5 TRD. she thought maybe a full size is the move for more comfort.

when she said that I should check it out, I said "well twist my arm"! Ive been down in the rabbit hole since.

my question is: What is a better riding suspension? has anyone compared side by side the AVS vs TRD off road (not pro)?

I have seen little online. I don't need the off road but will go that route if it really is better or if the difference is not very noticeable HWY driving. The only off roading I did in my Tacoma was in farm fields getting to my deer stands. I never even used 4L.

I am looking ate the platinum or maybe 1794 in off road if that ride proves more comfortable. I know it seems like the AVS would be the easy choice, but what little real-world reviews I could find said the difference was negligible in which case why not opt for the more capable offroad just in case?

My expectation in this new Tundra is to have comfort and Luxury. I'm getting to the age where Cool looking rugged trucks are only aesthetics and not a necessity. We want to not be in a lease and take the trucks 600mi trips and be comfortable. My wife's Camery is great for that, but the extra space in the truck gives us more option when traveling and hauling.

I know the response of "drive both and decide", but it's been single digits temperature in WI and I also am not finding a dealer with both on the lot for me to test out side by side.

 

Most of us here only have experience with what we got and didn't cross drive all the trims and suspensions. That was near impossible when we got them. So, all I can say is my TRD OR suspension is really good. Not too much bobbing around like a boat as some other varieties are reported here. But it's not overly stiff or firm, either. My GF believes that it is super comfortable on long road trips. I also came from a Tacoma and this is a bigger truck but drives easily and I don't really notice the extra bulk. And the regular gas turbo engine has tons of power and should effortlessly tow most boats, so don't discount them.

 

Hi, I have regular non trd suspension and it's not good. Poor handling, turns like a boat and can feel every bump.

I test drove Trd suspension and it's a bit firmer ride, little bit better handling. I would consider it strongly.

I test drove AVS as well, and it seemed to make bumps and eneven surfaces disappear very well. Seemed like a good option and I would definitely consider it for my next truck.

Old dudes on this forum who have AVS swear by it and very happy with it. But you'll also see a thread where some members are saying they can't tell the difference and get rid of it to lift up their truck... And there are very few options to lift up truck with avs.

AVS would also be expensive to fix if you own truck past the warranty. Here's a video

https://youtu.be/6E-f66cgUA0?si=UfMFXOVjUUg2LF_i

 

I started a similar thread a couple days ago - just a couple pages. It'll come down to driving them both since some people said TRD OR package was better and others AVS.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/whi...sion-or-the-off-road-pkg.136648/#post-3458572

 

Thats is a very valid point. I no longer care about lifts and such things. I suppose being 54, I would be in the “old guy” camp

 

Yes it's expensive to fix but it's a Toyota so I would expect hopefully no issues with avs for 100-200k miles

 

Love my avs suspension. I can switch over to comfort on bumpy roads and it's smooths it out..switchcm over to sport/sport+ when driving tight, curvy mountain roads. You can always swap out the shocks and struts to non AVS and you won't get any error codes, no repair cost complaints can be addressed that way if money is tight

 

AVS rides awesome, you can adjust on the fly from comfort to sport+, I would not want the off-road package instead with just bilsteins

but that is just me, its really subjective area so your going to have to try and test drive them and see.

but to answer your question, for on -road ride, AVS will be hands down better riding. Im not really sure off-road package gets you much more capability, maybe the locker ,but how many times are you going to use a locker vs a fully adjustable suspension?

I would take the AVS truck in a heartbeat

 

I left my feedback on this issue in a different thread a few days ago. I recently purchased a ‘24 Platinum with TRD OR package. I test drove three different suspension configurations - standard, AVS, and TRD OR - back to back a few times over different days before deciding. Not just around the block but about 20 miles each time, highway and city.

The standard suspension was far too floaty for my taste. This was in a 1794. I found the same with AVS in all but the Sport setting, and even then it felt somehow off. There was a stretch of road with an expansion joint with maybe an inch drop off, and the AVS suspension would ‘thud’ loudly going over this in the rear every time. Sounded like bottoming or a bump stop getting hit. I’ve read some reviews which describe the same thing. I will say that the truck with AVS was a Capstone with 22” wheels so that may have had an influence.

The TRD OR was far and away the most composed. Same expansion joint it would glide right over. Most comfortable highway ride. Most precise turn in with less body roll. Counterintuitive as one would think the OR setup would yield a stiff and uncomfortable ride but the opposite is the case.

Just my two cents from recent experience.

 

The hitting rear bump stop on the AVS is a known issue and requires an adjustment, there is a TSB for that.

 

that and riding on 22" low profile tires is terrible, no thanks .

 

I think TRD OR suspension is the best outside of TRD Pro. Bilstein makes great shocks.

 

I waited a year for AVS in mine.......I would wait again. Wouldn't own one with out it

 

Advance Pack doesn't exist in the Capstone. Not an option/. And if a 1" drop was bottoming out the truck like you say......you have WAY bigger issues on your hands.

 

Well……..my 2021 TRD OR Taco is in the shop as we speak. 28k miles routine service. Mechanic said my Bilstein shocks were leaking! I said “that’s covered under warranty “ but they are back ordered hope to see them in February! I know they are different from the ones on Tundra, but I was shocked (small pun intended) it doesn’t steer me away from them. Maybe there was an issue on the Taco since the shocks are out of stock

Also they are replacing a bad rear wheel bearing, which is why it’s still at the shop. Unheard of for Toyota. Crazy for the 27k I have on it only

 

Whoa whoa I didn’t say they were durable. But they definitely have the better damping characteristics to make a nice, soft ride. Anyway, I think a lot of components’ quality went down between 2020-2022… that may explain it…

 

I have a 1794 with the standard suspension. Bone stock, it did tend to float a bit, but I actually place the blame on the 20" tires/wheel combo, I replaced the 265/60/20 with 265/70/18 with better tires and it made a world of difference in the handling of the truck.

 

I did put better tires on my truck before I even took delivery, wanted to add that

still p rated , but 33” cooper AT3 4S

great tires, a little bigger but not a ton heavier

 

you don't happen to have an undercoating on the truck, do you? My dealership thought my shocks were leaking but I had them show me and it turned out to be the Krown coating I get done every year.

 

That's nuts. The OEM Billys on my 2009 Tacoma were still original when I sold it last January, still working fine. Best shocks I have ever had, by far. That old line about "shocks leaking" is a standard shady mech's line to make a sale... or perhaps to scam some easy warranty work if this is a dealer.

 

Did the dealer give you a good price for tires or charge you regular price? (Just curious)

 

Load Leveling and AVS come together on the Capstone. Definitely exists, not called Advanced Pack. It’s a $1,045 option. Maybe the drop was larger than 1”, hard to tell going 40 mph.

 

I worked a bunch of stuff in, I did get some credit for stock tires, etc.

Cooper 33" AT3 4S installed
color match mustache
color match fender flares
color match rear spoiler
add bed mat (I have liner OEM but like the bed mat since it doesn't chew things up)
swap wheel center caps to black TRD ones
swap lug nuts to OEM black toyota
add second fob (now 3rd remote fob since I got my delayed one)

I have a really good dealer, obviously I had to pay extra, but it was worth it, picked up the truck all pimped out already

 

Odd because this is Toyotas ordering matrix.

 

From the build section on Toyota's USA's configurator....

Are you in Canada perhaps? I don't think Capstone's can get AVS up there.

 

would EH!! give it away LOL. We get get screwed out of all the good stuff. Got this stupid tow mirrors on my 1794, .....next year it's an option. Almost need to trade it

 

Which lug nuts did you get? P/n?