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Handling ImprovementsTechnical discussions regarding sport suspensions, performance sway bars, shock absorbers, lowering kits and handling improvement systems.
This is a discussion thread titled "Installed my Hellwig today :)", within the Handling Improvements forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
One of my concerns was how much it could distract the driver. Even at night they are not distracting at all, I'm used to them and it's been only a day,lol
I will constantly be checking the sway bar for a while to make sure everything is fine. Boy, still can't believe what a difference it makes!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by smf
I just took a look at mine and the drivers side u bolt is slightly tilted as well. The space that you have on the pass side shock mount is about the same space I have with the spacers installed. The finish on yours is also different than mine. I have a black coated bar. I wonder if there is a difference in size as well . When I talked to Hellwig they assured me I have the right part number. Oh well, it's all good now. As for the end link, I have a slight tilt also. I would keep an eye on the rubber bushings to make sure they don't start to mushroom from too much pressure. BTW, I like the mirror turn signals What did they run you if you don't mind me asking?
Also, I think I already mentioned that I had missing nuts (for the anti-sway bar, hahaha) Anyways, I emailed Hellwig, and within the hour they responded letting me know that I will have replacement ones shipped tomorrow via UPS.
I had a hellwig kit before on my silverado and I had to do a lot of stuff to make it fit right. I even had to drill out several bolt holes because they were not completely circular. I complained to hellwig but they did nothing. To top things off I even had to buy new bolts, nuts and washers because several in the kit were unusable.
Me too. Hellwig needs to include a selection of die grinder bits with each kit. Lots of trimming to do to make it work, plus the whole bar would not properly clamp on the rear axle tube. I kept having to straighten it out until it rusted into place.
Excellent pictures Dibble. Truly worth a 1000 words.
Thanks, didn't realize my pictures were that good
I have to give a lot of credit to the person who wrote the write up here on TS, It would have taken a lot more time to install if I didn't have that to refer back to!!!
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2005 Tundra DC SR5 - Hellwig anti-sway bar, muth signal mirrors, rear window one-touch relay, OEM navigation with bluetooth/bu cam/OEM sirius/OEM aux input, EC rear view mirror, upgraded headlight harness w/ 100/80 bulbs, limited mirror covers, VSE Subwoofer, ScanGauge II
I am re-organizing my pictures, please PM me if you find dead pictures and I'll fix it. Also, I don't have many pics in my account here, best place to view my truck is on photobucket: Here is my photobucket account: LINK
Here are the last 2 pictures from post 11, for some reason I cannot edit the post to change the URL.
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2005 Tundra DC SR5 - Hellwig anti-sway bar, muth signal mirrors, rear window one-touch relay, OEM navigation with bluetooth/bu cam/OEM sirius/OEM aux input, EC rear view mirror, upgraded headlight harness w/ 100/80 bulbs, limited mirror covers, VSE Subwoofer, ScanGauge II
I am re-organizing my pictures, please PM me if you find dead pictures and I'll fix it. Also, I don't have many pics in my account here, best place to view my truck is on photobucket: Here is my photobucket account: LINK
It's a really easy install. The best way to install the actual mirror glass is to remove the whole mirror assembly (have to do this anyways for the wiring) and take it inside on carpet, that way you can get more force to have it snap in. But remember, don't force it too much, if it won't snap in, one of the pins might be mis-aligned.
I also used some molded 2 pin disconnects in line, one after the wire enters at the mirror and door, and another after the wire enters the cab from the door. This way if I ever need to replace the mirror or worst case the door, everything is easy to remove. I have some of these left over if you need them.
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2005 Tundra DC SR5 - Hellwig anti-sway bar, muth signal mirrors, rear window one-touch relay, OEM navigation with bluetooth/bu cam/OEM sirius/OEM aux input, EC rear view mirror, upgraded headlight harness w/ 100/80 bulbs, limited mirror covers, VSE Subwoofer, ScanGauge II
I am re-organizing my pictures, please PM me if you find dead pictures and I'll fix it. Also, I don't have many pics in my account here, best place to view my truck is on photobucket: Here is my photobucket account: LINK
I agree the Helwig Sway bar makes a huge difference. I took me about an hour or so to install. I did have to modify one of the bolt sleeves since it was about a 1/4 of an inch longer than the other and I could not get the bolt on. As for fit...how close does your sway bar sit from the pass. shock mount? Mine was less than 1/8 of an inch and it sometimes rubbed. I talk to the guys at Hellwig an they told me on some tundras there is a clearance issue. If you do have this probelm send them an email and they will send you spacer brackets for free.
I installed a Hellwig bar on my 06 today too. (12/12/06) It had the gray and black hammer tone powder coat finish, and the quality was very good. The bad: the locknuts for the j-bolts were extremely tight. I could see the bolts twisting as I tightened the locknuts. Can this be normal? The bolt sleeves for the end links seemed a bit too long, and that made it a struggle to start the nylon lined locknuts. By jiggling everything around, and squeezing hard, I was able line things up, and to compress the black rubber washers enough to get 1 thread started, and then it went smoothly. There's a reason for leaving all bolts loose until the end. Please don't ask how many tries it took to do this. The good: shock mount clearance seemed OK, and vertical alignment of the end links was good, but the driving! OMG, what a difference. I highly recommend this upgrade. I got mine directly from Hellwig: 800-367-5480, ask for Nancy, say you want the group buy price for Tundra Solutions, $150.00 plus shipping. She was very pleasant.
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Spray-On bedliner | Century commercial cap | Replaced ball joints (recall) | Replaced RR fender molding (damaged) | Hellwig anti-sway bar | Plugged the piezo | Gentex compass/temp. rearview mirror | 56 LED center brake light in cap | Someday: Back up camera | Mr. Fusion | Flux Capacitor...
The locknuts on the j bolts were tight for me too, not sure if it twisted them, but it sure did take some work to put those on. Make sure you didn't tighten the j bolts to the point where it notched the frame, not sure what you could do if that did happen.
Same thing on the end links. I actually used the bottle jack to hold everything together/compressed so I could start the nylon lined nuts. (not enough to lift the truck though )There was about 1 to 3 threads showing after the end link nut when I was done.
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2005 Tundra DC SR5 - Hellwig anti-sway bar, muth signal mirrors, rear window one-touch relay, OEM navigation with bluetooth/bu cam/OEM sirius/OEM aux input, EC rear view mirror, upgraded headlight harness w/ 100/80 bulbs, limited mirror covers, VSE Subwoofer, ScanGauge II
I am re-organizing my pictures, please PM me if you find dead pictures and I'll fix it. Also, I don't have many pics in my account here, best place to view my truck is on photobucket: Here is my photobucket account: LINK
future mods: SOS rollpan, Hellwig sway bar, SOS sway bar bushings, turbocharger, big brake conversion for front, SOS rear disc brake conversion, and many more.....
I installed a Hellwig bar on my 06 today too. (12/12/06) It had the gray and black hammer tone powder coat finish, and the quality was very good. The bad: the locknuts for the j-bolts were extremely tight. I could see the bolts twisting as I tightened the locknuts. Can this be normal? The bolt sleeves for the end links seemed a bit too long, and that made it a struggle to start the nylon lined locknuts. By jiggling everything around, and squeezing hard, I was able line things up, and to compress the black rubber washers enough to get 1 thread started, and then it went smoothly. There's a reason for leaving all bolts loose until the end. Please don't ask how many tries it took to do this. The good: shock mount clearance seemed OK, and vertical alignment of the end links was good, but the driving! OMG, what a difference. I highly recommend this upgrade. I got mine directly from Hellwig: 800-367-5480, ask for Nancy, say you want the group buy price for Tundra Solutions, $150.00 plus shipping. She was very pleasant.
Awesome, thanks for the info! I was about to buy the black powdercoated ones for $195 shipped from summit until i read this Nancy was out today but the other lady, who was also very nice, did the deal for me and knew what i was talking about. Can't wait to get it installed
EDIT: just got confirmation on the shipping quote.... $37.58 !! Ok, so i only saved about $8, but i was going to get it anyway and i got the new finish too, so its all good
__________________ 2006 SR5 V8 Tundra AC - Bluesteel Metallic NASTA Nerf Bars, Hellwig Anti-sway bar, Line-X Bedliner, Billet Antenna & Jesus fish
My Christmas present for the '01 Tundra. I had it installed at the local dealer, the technician I've known for 25 years there said it was a little difficult, it took some extra time to line up correctly, but he did a good job and everything fit together fine. The passenger shock mount is a little close to the sway bar curve, I will keep an eye on it for rubbbing. The pictures posted here are a VERY good illustration of how the Hellwig RSB fits on the Tundras! Very nice black-gray hammered finish.
The ride is Incredible Awesome! No harsh ride on rough roads, but going around turns, and putting a little gas into it, the truck is level as a dinner plate, and the speed and ability to complete the turn is greatly increased, until you reach the point of losing traction. I would say the ONLY thing holding the rear end to the ground is the postive traction of the rear tires (pays to have good ones) with this new setup, so I will be careful until I am used to the full potential to the newly suspended Tundra!!!
__________________ 2001 Toyota Tundra 4x4 SR5 reg. cab, V-8 auto. imperial jade green with matching Astro-cap w/overhead racks Hellwig rear ASB, Wheeler's poly ASB bushings, H&R 2" leveling progressive coils, Bilstein HD yellow/blue shocks, Husky liners, drop-in Toyota bed liner, TRD Dual Side exhaust, StubbsWelding rocksliders, red 48" Hi-Lift Jack, U-Haul hitch, receiver shackle, SkidRow front/trans/t-case skidplates, POR 15 and ChassisCoat Black frame restoration, 265/75QR16 Bridgestone Winter Dueler DM-Z2 on M/T Classic II wheels 2006 Toyota Tacoma reg. cab, 4 cyl. auto. silver streak mica withmatching LED Astro-cap, Toyota rubber mat, SuperSprings
both trucks equipped with LED amber mini light bars for safety
Ok, after reading all the rave reviews, I gave Nancy a call today and ordered one as well (~$185 shipped). I'll have to watch for the increased oversteer (the truck has fishtailed in the past for me a few times on a few sharp turns on wet pavement), but the understeer has been a bigger factor for me since buying the truck. I can be on a highway ramp and if I'm not paying close attention it's easy to exceed the truck's limitations (i.e. any turn > 40mph) and have to hit the brakes to avoid painting the outer barrier white!
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2006 Tundra DC SR5 TRD 4x4. Pretty much stock besides the Extang Trifecta Tonneau, Hellwig sway bar, shorter antenna, & Kel-Tec in the console.