Wow N8, this is quite the kit you've made. Seems like it's gonna make people think real hard about their choice between LT and SAS. I know I am....and leaning toward the LT.

ccrav - first i believe you need to get your post count up and then you can start threads. that is some seriously nice IFS/LT articulation in your vids! i am jealous. but gees man, you need some lockers in a bad way! at least a rear lunchbox locker. looks great regardless. try to fill in your signature line with your rigs specs because i'm sure lots of people will start asking you for info.

man i wish i could just go out and buy all kinds of goodies for my rig but that d@mn cursed money thing!

 

This is good stuff! I love my Blazeland Long Travel kit!

 

I love my Blazeland Long Travel Kit(s) too! Each Lower Control Arm is an artwork in steel. There is a solid 6-8 hours of fabrication and welding into each set of LCAs. The UCAs are minimal to weld up, but to rebuild them is some labor and leg work. The UCA Brackets took some time to design but with all the laser cut pieces it fits right together and welds up nice. Tie Rod Extensions Brackets are custom machining so that....... yeah bla bla bla! Ok so enough of that, back to "MY" build thread on the 4 Runner.

I am testing out the latest modifications this weekend out in the desert. It will be 2WD pre-runner desert wheeling. Camp is near the Blue Inn.

In other news the 4 Runner has been my daily driver all week. I love driving it on the road. I got used to the height right away. Last weekend I went through the O'Neal Park drive (paved twisty road) with a SA 1985 on my tail. It handled great and as soon as I hit the dirt road up Holy Jim Canyon it was bye bye solid axle guy in your bouncy buck board wagon! He caught up later on the hill just past the deliverance trailor. He had a really nice rig set up to crawl.

On the twisty roads there is a little body roll but it feels tight once you load up on the suspension. The bumps are smooth. Tires a little louder than the A/Ts, but that just means turn up the music!

So Friday I drive to the Occitio Wells. Beat up the 4 Runner up in the desert all day Saturday. Then come back on Sunday with nothing broke. My chase partner is in a 1992 SAS 4Runner. I'll get some pictures and attempt some video.

 

Hey Blaze, do you have any pictures of your 4Runner that show just what the extra wheelbase up front looks like, especially in comparison to the rear? I've been trying to find some online but haven't really seen one that'll help me visualize just how that looks.

Looks like a neat kit and that travel is sick in those videos!

Are you running spacers in the rear to match the wheelbases up?

 

any chance any one has pics of the kit going through some whoops or something? pretty sure those videos just made me go from wanting to do a sas to doing the blazeland route. nate i will be contacting you in the next few months once my funds allow

 

Good luck on the trip, can't wait to see the results!

 

So quick question. When it comes to LT kits people say use T100 or Tundra axles. I was just wondering wether there is a difference between the two or if they are basically the same axle. I'm planning on going LT sometime late next year and I wanted to know which ones to pick up or if it even mattered. It seems to me that the Tundra axles had to support a v8 so possibly would be stronger.

Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

Oh and Nate what size are the Bilstien shocks that you recomend? I already have a 2" OME lift and want to know if the bigger OME shocks are going to be long enough or if I'll have to get bigger?

 

someone else can chime in, but i've never heard of using a tundra axle, a least for the total chaos or this kit... t100 is the only axle i've ever seen used in a kit to solve the wider track width issue.

correction: the old downey kit used porche cv axles i believe.

 

The T-100 and Tundra CVs are different from each other. A LT kit on a 1986-1995 rig will need the T-100 CVs and a LT kit on a Taco will need the Tundra CVs. The Downey 2" over stock control arms used a custom CV that Downey had made. It had some Porche stuff in the design.

The trip went well. I logged 300 miles door to door with 60 miles aired down in the dirt. I didn't get any action shots or video. No one in our group has the equipment or knowledge.

Here are a few still pictures of our group. The 1st pic is our group, 3 LT runners and 1 SAS. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Over all we all kept the pace with no one lagging. The 3rd picture is the SAS in the group showing off. 5.29 gears with ARB air lockers an dual transfer cases make this thing the dominant crawler in the group. It is very well suited for the desert as well.

 

Some reasons whay the SAS rig keeps pace at the higher speed desert wheeling. Check put these shocks. The rear leafs are All_Pro 6" lift LT leaf springs (what I plan on doing to my rear)

 

thanks for the pics N8, I really enjoy looking at them.

Let me know when and if you will be coming up north again for the Rubicon. I can film for your then.

 

i removed my vedeos becuse my long travel is a very modifed long travel that only uses some of nates parts. I felt i was missleading people. And i hijacked his thred.

 

I understand what is different and modded on your suspension and still find the vids vary applicable.

You could try listing the mods as a disclaimer.

 

So what size shocks do you LT guys recomend for the Blazeland kit? I tried doing a search on the part number listed but all the places online do not give an actual shock hieght they just tell you what lift they apply too. My guess would be either 10" or 12" but I'm not sure and this would be for just the blazeland bolted to stock IFS not drop bracket. Any help would be appreciated.

 

It was great to see the videos, especially since I am lacking them! The additional mods you are adding to the Blazeland design deserve some extra credit. Part of the Blazeland philosophy is to provide an affordable foundation to build on. Most of my customers have enough trouble comming up with the bare minimum. But given time the mods do come. I should start a Blazeland mods build thread!

 

The "basic" Blazeland Long Arm Kit (without a drop bracket) uses the Bilstein Part # F4-BE5-6582-H5. The spec for this shock are 17.95" extended 11.67" collapsed. Valving for rebound is 400 and for compression it is 117. Bilstein valving is vehicle specific and this shock works great for the weight of these rigs. If you are looking for a more affordable shock any shock designed for this Gen Rig with a 4" lift should work. For example, Superlift, Pro-Comp, Trail Master, Sky Jacker, etc.

If you want a bolt in shock for a Blazeland LT w/ a 4" Drop Bracket I'm not sure what to use? Part of the problem is the bayonet shaft at the upper tab and the odd size large metric eye bolt at the LCA.

The Blazeland Modular shock hoop is my solution. With out a drop bracket you would want to use an 8" travel shock. With a drop bracket you would use a 10" travel shock. The tabs for the shock hoop use a 1/2" bolt and a 1.25 or 1.50 width; common for higher end shocks.

 

Geeze, side tracked again! Back to the 4 Runner build thread. Here are some photos of the "coil-over assist" on my mock up frame.

 

Top view and some close ups of the shock attachment points.

 

It worked great out in the desert. The rear was better than I though it would despite the use of 3.5" blocks. The Deaver Mini-Pack and longer shackles provide a couple of additional inches of travel and the progressive spring rate helped too. I moved the shocks back to the stock shock mounts. With the blocks it has the travel range now. When the rear bottoms out its on the bump stops and not the fenders.

 

Thanks for the reply. That was exactly the info I was looking for. I realy like your product and hope to be able to afford it soon. I want the LT kit first and then hope to add a bracket lift later on when I go 35's.