Just bought my first Toyota, an 06 Tundra dbl cab. Anybody have any good sources for off road parts, bumpers, racks, lifts etc..? I'm a convert from an 84 k5 blazer and would like to eventually get off road with my new pride and joy with the family here in Colorado. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Front: expensive: Icon Vehicle Dynamics
cheap: Bilstein 5100
also don't go over 2 1/2" on the front, and when you do lift change the factory inner boot clamp to a worm drive...it'll spit grease otherwise.

If you want to go big lift you'll have to an RCD (or similar) 6"


Rear: Deaver springs or Alcan

Skid Row Skidplates
BentUp or Demello Rocksliders
ARB or Kennesaw Mountain are about your only bumper choice.

Rack? I made mine.

With the 2 1/2" lift you can fit a 285/75/16 or a 255/85/16 tire.

Did I miss anything?

 

Sounds like a great start for me. Thanks for the info. I think 2 1/2" would be enough.

 

skid plates look great but wow 233 a piece! That's a grand total of $700 if my 4th grade math holds up!

 

I put a 2.5 on my 05. Look for a kit that has the diff drop spacers to avoid the CV grease loss thing. Even 2.5" can cause grease problems with the shafts.

 

Sound like it's just a problem with the clamp not being tight enough, hence the switch to a worm drive as opposed to the stock pinch fit clamp.

Question about the 5100s though, how do you go about adjusting the height? Looks like a lot of work, so it's sort of a set it and leave it operation? Why not just get the spacer if you plan to only go 2 inch or 2.5 inch?

 

That's right, the stock clamp is not and does not get tight enough and the worm gear does. The diff drop works by lowering the diff an inch which in turn lessens the angle of the CV joint....but, what have you accomplished? Less ground clearance, negating the lift.

I'm no expert in the suspension field but this is my understanding of it. (devinsixtyseven has a way better discussion of this on TS)

The 5100s are a pain to adjust, the coilover has to come off, the spring compressed, and the C gets moved to whichever slot you want. While the top spacer would (and is easy) seem to be the way to go; it effectively moves the whole coilover unit down. The more you lower it, the more trouble you get. It sacrifices down travel to gain the lift.

I had a 1" top spacer (1.5" of lift), believe it or not this was enough that I could not compress onto the bumpstop, the travel was limited by the shock design....and if compressed hard enough would have damaged the unit.

The 5100 raises the truck by pushing the spring up, and allows for full travel up and down, and rides better than the stock Bilstein. We put a set on my BILs Tundra DC, so I know they ride well.


The adjustable coilovers are the way to go for adjustability though. I can raise the truck up, loosen a set screw and turn a few turns with a spanner wrench...voila! height change!

Like I said, I'm no expert so my details may be a bit off, but that's my take on it....

 

I've done a lot of reading of suspension posts, but never have I seen a step by step with pictures how to change out the coils. I am wondering if I can do it by myself in the driveway. I have an electric impact and it sounds like if you unbolt the lower control arms and also the sway bar then you don't need to use a giant cheater bar to pry down on the control arm to get the unit in. Still need a spring compressor though eh? I am thinking I will just get the 5100s and go with big tires the first time around, what's another $200 in the grand scheme of things anyway?

 

Not to hijack this thread any further, but....

Yes you can do a coilover change in the driveway, I've done three now. My Tundra twice (adding a Daystar to the stock coilover, 2 years later swapping in the Donahoes) and the Bilsteins on my BILs DC. The easiest way I've done (which was not the first try BTW).

Unbolt the swaybar on both sides
Jack one side and remove wheel
Remove lower Coilover (CO) mounting nut
Place prybar (yes it really is the easy way) into the spring assembly
Wiggle that bar while pulling the lower CO bolt out
Remove the three upper coilover nuts, and the coilover drops out. Careful, it's heavy.

Once both sides are done take the Stock COs and the 5100s to Midas, or some other local shop with a wall mounted spring compressor. Hand over 50-80 bucks and go back to the driveway and install the new COs..

The first time I removed a set of coils I used my spring compressors, when it was over they were curved and useless, and I am probably lucky they didn't break. Those truck coils are stout, spend the extra bucks to borrow a wall mount compressor, the right shop will even let you help. We set the snap rings, coil seat and bushings on my BILs set, while the shop dude did the compressing.

Good luck....

 

sounds great, found Haggis' post on EP and read that one too. Just waiting for the Bilsteins to arrive now.