Customer Reviews
Archive Hammer Hangers with Archives add a leaf and Bilstein 5160 shock.
Rides great and performs well!
Chiming in with another review of the Archive Hammer Hangers - these are awesome. Our roads are real bad in Louisiana, and I constantly bounced around on all the cracks and potholes, and the chatter drove me nuts.
After installing Hammer Hangers, the ride quality is noticeably better. Now each hard hit isn't also accompanied near as much of the typical shudder/chatter I used to feel. These are a great improvement-- the added lift is a nice bonus too. Holding these up against the stock hangers, it's impressive how much more robust the HHs are compared to the stock hangers.
Eric with Archive Garage is very helpful and attentive to his customers. Certainly recommend these and Archive to anyone else.
The Hammer Hangers are an awesome upgrade! I had already upgraded most of my suspension (namely custom valved ADS 2.5 shocks with Deaver leaf packs), but the feedback and performance from the rear end still bugged me. Every bump in the rear was exaggerated while the suspension also just felt excessively flat and boring. These fixed pretty much every issue I had with the rear end and my review is 100% focused on just the difference the Hammer Hangers and 3.6" fabbed shackles made. They really do make the rear end come alive while also helping to calm everything down back there. The manners of the truck are excessively better. I saw one review that said the rear end felt almost sporty after installing and thought they were insane as that's one word I would have never used to describe it before. They weren't insane. The handling is noticeably tighter (much more controlled) and it almost feels like it has an IRS now. The truck is so much nicer to be in without the rear end shimmy-fest. With the Hammer Hangers in, the way the back responds to bumps almost exactly matches the feel the front both in compression and rebound. They both just take their hit and recover instantly instead of the rear end amplifying the hit and taking its sweet time trying to sort itself out after. There is a washboard section of concrete I have to drive every morning on the way to work and while my lowered Scion tC on low profile tires always soaked those bumps up, the truck has always reacted like I was bajaing it down a mountain on an old mining trail at competition speeds like a bucking bronco. I can finally say that is no longer the case. The rear end is so much better behaved going thru that section now that it's almost like it wasn't there. The rear end travel is silky smooth now without the hangers flexing. These are a really nice composure and handling upgrade. Thanks Eric for making these badass hangers and shackles.
These Hammer Hangers dramatically changed the drivability of my truck, worth every Penny even if drilling the rivets sucks I was able to do it with with my Makita cordless drill, no problem. Buy the drill bits, as well as a nail set/center punch, and maybe even a NICE third smaller drill bit to pilot and cut a lot of drill time out of the equation. Must have for every Tacoma owner!
Truck feels extremely smooth and planted through turns and at speed. Also felt great in my long, bumpy, gravel driveway. I look forward to testing it out extensively offroad. Once the rivets are out everything is a breeze and it all bolts up well and fits like it's OEM. I've owned trucks my entire life and hammer hangers have done more to improve ride quality than upgraded shocks and leafpacks. Completely worth the money and effort.