MeatNPotatoes

hey im new to yota tech, and new to working on toyotas as well. i was wondering which long travel kit would be better for me, i want the lifted look, but also have the ability to actually go offroad every once in awhile (its my daily driver i dont beat on it all that much) each lift seems awesome i just dont know which to go with....need someones opinion on it. thanks

Greg_Canada

Do you want to run coilovers or torsion bars?

Do you have alot of money to spend, or not so much?

Total chaos will be the better kit, but that is not saying the blazeland won't suit your needs. For a DD / mild offroader, blazeland should work just fine. If you're going all out, and have the money to spend, by all means go TC...

MeatNPotatoes

i was thinkin the torsion bars because they are an option in the blazeland kit. and ive heard good reviews about the "old man EMU" shocks.id like to keep my budget around 1000-1200. and i dont plan on going all out, just something i can bomb speedbumps with and i wasnt sure, but what set up does the blazeland kit have for the rear susp.?

donomite49

for rear suspension i think the 63" chevy spring setup is the best way to go,http://www.nwtoys.com/content/135-ch...-swap-faq.html canada is right budget=blazeland, if you want the good (race quality) stuff, and can afford it, total chaos...

Greg_Canada

For that budget you couldn't afford the coilovers, nevermind the entire TC kit (which will likely cost around $4000 to properly set up).

As for rear suspension... you have lots of options, cheapest being OME or chevy / ford springs...
Basically, go for the blazeland, or else you'll go broke...

exist

do a uniball conversion and some good shocks. Doesn't sound like you're prepared to spend the coin to fly with Total Chaos.. - and blazeland.. I dunno, I wouldn't run that kinda kit..

xxxtreme22r

Nothing wrong with the Blazeland kit. He races on his own stuff.

exist

The design of the blazeland kit IMO doesn't make sense. Instead of cutting and extended and using spacers etc. just make new upper and lower arms.. He has a jig to get the geometry correct, why not just scratch make arms..

I also tried repeatedly to buy Blazelands kit, including calling 3-4 times, numerous emails, PM's on this forum and posting in threads he was active in - didn't seem to want my business.. Hopefully he stepped up his game and started replying to customers but I'll stick with race proven parts, not OEM parts with some extensions.

BMcEL

It's all about cost...Blazeland offers a cost effective product whereas TC offers a higher quality, and in turn more expensive, product.

Haven't heard enough about Blazeland's customer service to say I've heard mostly good or bad things, but I can say I've never heard anything bad about his product.

xxxtreme22r

You don't know enough about the guy at Blazeland to make the assumption his stuff isn't race proven.

And you sound more like a disgruntled person then someone who doesn't trust the design, since you wanted to buy one at one point.

I'll leave it at that.

exist

Cool, leave it at that if you want. I was 100% on board with the product when I first saw it, and have been surprised non stop from the 4wd Toyota Owner mag "grudge matches", but taking a serious step back for a moment and looking at the overall design of the product, I'd rather go with something like JD Fab or TC given how much stronger they appear to be.

Cut, extended, and welded 20 year old metal, or brand new.. And as for not hearing anything bad about the kit.. What has he sold? 10 kits? How can you hear anything bad with such a small market behind it..

BMcEL

Again, it's a cost effective product. Sure TC may be stronger, but it's also 3-4 times more expensive. I give Blazeland props just for expanding the aftermarket for these trucks, on top of providing a cost effective long travel solution.

And how would you know how many kits he's sold? Sounds like bad blood to me too.

PismoJoe

If you just want to increase your off road capabilities, but are new to the scene, I would recommend the blazeland kit. For as young as the company is, people that run their setups have many good things to say.

Are they 4130 chromoly, well no, but again like everyone has said its more of a cost effective suspension system for the occasional off roader.

If you are between a caddy uniball kit, and a blazeland kit, I would go blazeland based on your off road agenda. If you compare the gen II and gen III caddy kit to blazeland, you're stepping into a more serious class of off roading, and there's really no comparison to which kit is better.

exist

If we're all talking cost effective why are we even talking long travel? This guy wants to just cruise around in the dirt on Saturdays.. Get a small bodylift, ball joint spacers, add a leaf/shackle combo, and some nice shocks. Throw a locker in the rear and get some 33's and you're golden.. No need for a 3" body 4" susp or a long arm setup at all for someone who wants to just cruise over speed bumps.

For the record I have no bad blood towards Nate at Blazeland and I'm happy he's bringing something else to the table for our gen trucks, I'm just not on board with the final design and feel like with all the work involved in making it work with stock components, he could do a long arm setup from scratch..

BMcEL

I see where you're coming from but the fact is, if the OP wants long travel, Blazeland is the most cost effective way to accomplish that goal.

With that said, you're right, even the Blazeland kit is a little much for a weekend wheeler. I'd stay away from body lifts unless you absolutely need one, 3.4 swap for example, but ball joint spacers and rear leafs are a great way to go. Just keep in mind most shops won't do an alignment if you have ball joint spacers installed, so be prepared to do your alignments yourself if you go that route.

MeatNPotatoes

well the speed bump thing was a joke...I can't really do any off roading/jumping with the stock suspension setup, and im not going to attempt anything either, unless i wanna break something or bend my frame or do some catastrophic damage. i want a long travel w/o paying a fortune. I would like to start to getting into the off road scene, I would just like to have the proper equipment first so I don't break anything and end up having to spend more to get it fixed..but yeah the blazeland kit is definitely sounding good, except im emailing nate right now and he says that I can get the torsion bars, t-100 CV's, and shocks for way cheaper if I track them down on my own because if i bought them off of him it would cost more and would void the warranty. the chevy rear end sounds like a good option..i was also thinking about shackles, or an AAL with some 4 inch shocks. are there any companies out there that make a 3'' kit for the rear?

xxxtreme22r

You can pick up the Chevy 63's in the rear cheap as dirt from a junk yard. Nothing is going to flex like those. AAL's typically hurt suspension travel if not they certainly don't add to it. Shackles will add some but nothing like the 63's will.

You can get away with your factory torsions with the Blazeland kit. Sway-away does make some for our trucks though. Thicker torsions are not necessarily better unless your running extra weight up from of say like an ARB and winch. Otherwise stock torsions are fine.

T-100 CV's can be gotten rather cheap in junk yards too.

crazytoyota4x4

Another cool thing about blazeland is you can start with the budget kit and upgrade to dual shocks or a coilover shock later on. Its well worth the money, trust me Ive bought two kits now.

donomite49

sounds good and sensible. you have to know the limits of your truck and setup and drive accordingly. i used to have a 79 solid axle, put rough country 3 inch lift front springs and shocks an aal on rear. man that was one tough truck.. my 88 is stock and i dont treat it anything like the solid axle. it will just bottom out and break stuff if i did..if you dont do the 63" chevy springs i would get new rear springs and shocks that match whatever front lift setup you go with..after i get my swap done and charged i will be going long travel front, probably tc, i think i will go with the rear chevys, double shackles, air bump stops and try to max out rear travel.. first of all get a brace on the front a arm frame mounts. big improvement in driveability and strength. gotta do that first...

ROCKGUARD 1

i am looking into the blazeland kit myself, seems like it would be ok. reasonably priced for entry level long travel, remember you get what you pay for. just adapt your driving style accordingly..