lowering kit?

[03TundraTRD]

wes is your tundra a V8 or V6.

[wes 03]

v8, which will recieve, in the next year, the following:
jba headers
custom exhaust
k&n intake
nitrousfed pulley

this way i can get a little more power, and maybe someday i can have a big power adder, i lookt at having a turbo installed but the cost will not overcome the output

wes

[wes 03]

ok guys, ive been thinkin the design of the front suspension over and i think i have figured out what is needed for a 4.6 drop.
FOR THE FRONT:

new front shocks compatible with coil mounts the tundra has
4 inch lower springs for the front
new upper control arm

FOR THE REAR:
flip kit to get axle on top of springs
1 inch lower shackles
c-notch for frame

is this all there is to it? this is all i see is needed. i am thinkin of it this way for everyones sake, and i may stick with springs to make my truck really nimble and have a boy racer feel to it like it rides on rails. i would also spend a little extra cash and get a 1.75 icnh swaybar on front and a 1 inch swaybar out back, but that isnt totally necessary, is this all you guys see is needed?

wes

[Y2kn1Tun]

I wonder if you could use some upper A-arms off a tacoma??? They're suspension seems to be about the same.





Taco Drop Kit

[wes 03]

the suspensions are close to the same, but since the tundra is a full size and the taco is a mid-size they are not compatable with each other. i wish that would work cause i would have had that doena long time ago! thanks for the suggestion though, I AM STILL GOIN TO KEEP THIS SEARCH GOING! has anyone called the guy that native referred to to get a price on his suspension? native - when you did yours did you have to modify the driveshaft? how was it done? a-arms or knuckles? rear? thanks

wes

edit: thats post # 100 for me!!

[03TundraTRD]

wes I think you would run into some problem with the drivrshaft just like Hotchkis is having but it could be done just wait for Ron aka Native to respond. What about the a-arm from totalchaos do you think those could be fabbed for a drop set-up.

[wes 03]

im not sure about the a-arm. when i have more time in the future week or two i will investigate that more, i need to pull off the front wheel of my truck and take a closer look, but i have to have some time for that!


i dont know why the driveshaft would be a problem, i have never seen it as a problem on any other lowered truck, and the tundra has the same basic rear leaf solid axle the other fullsize trucks have, but i may be wrong.

give me a week to get some stuff finished up in my life and i will be more willing to investigate things more!

wes

[Native]

Originally posted by wes 03
native - when you did yours did you have to modify the driveshaft? how was it done? a-arms or knuckles? rear? thanks

wes

Wes,
The driveshaft was not modified at all. All I was instructed to do was flip the clamp that holds the drive shaft center, supposedly to maintain correct shaft alignment. A custom flip kit was then used to bring the axle over the springs. Shock extenders were also used.

The front was dropped via fabbed genuine Tundra knuckles. The upper half was actually professionally shortened 2". A 2" custom made solid steel block was then used at the bottom of each knuckle (to give it the 4" drop) which is used to maintain suspension geometry. Custom Eibach springs were also used, which are 2" shorter than stock.

The major encounters that I have had with this kit (supposedly the same TRD protoype used on the other '02 Show Tundras - four ever made), is that I cannot get the front castor adjustments to sit right, thus causing the wheel to wear hard. An electronic alignment shop maxed castor and yet the front tires wear (from the inside - sounds like I'm running mudder tires). To solve this, I would either need a shim kit, or replace with a custom Upper A-Arm. What I've also experienced with this kit is that it places so much pressure on the control arm bushings, that the bushings also wear out.

From my understanding, the Hotchkis kit will solve all of these problems. It will consist of new upper arms (utilizing stock knuckles?), coil springs, rear leafs, and front/rear sway bars. The only catch is that the drive shaft will have to be shortened (why? you got me there). Track tests on the Hotchkis kit has proven very successful (at least from what I've heard a few months back)This is all that I have heard of about the kit. And as far as its release, Lon wrote previously that Hotchkis is working overtime to get it out.

IMHO, the Hotchkis kit is probably the best route to go. It will have gone through rigorous tests before its put out. And what better way to have your ride done right than with a reputable suspension company that has tested and proven that the product is worthy for the market.

For now, my ride is back up to stock height (at least a good aspect of the TRD prototype is that in a few hours you can return to stock anytime - all bolt on components). However, when the Hotchkis kit is released, I will give it a try. I will also be changing out my bushings to Poly ones.

As for a bagged ride, I have asked most major companies and all have said they don't make anything for the Tundra, with the exception of "Air Ride Technologies". They said they could construct a rear bag kit for the Tundra - no problem. As for the front end, they have never attempted to do it, but I'm sure if enough of us get together and email them, they may be able to come up with something. Also, QuickToy (Jay Quick - the only body dropped Tundra in the world) ran on bags at first then switched to juice (Hydros). If I'm not mistaken, he may still have custom Upper A-Arms with bag mounts. He was willing to part with them, but I didn't get back to him on a yay or nay. If your really interested you may be able to get some info from him about dropping techniques.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Ron

[wes 03]

if it is that much trouble, and im goin to eat front tires and such, this may not be the way to go for me. i am about to start racking up lots of miles between home and college. i am still going to look into the upper a-arm replacement as a way to lower it and use some drop springs to hopefully get 3 to 4 inches of drop in the front if possible. the hotchkis kit is WAY to much money, i can make 2500 to 3000 go so much farther! thanks native

wes

[bloodypulp]

based on what native stated, it looks like this might work for a 2 - 2.25 inch drop. 4 inches is too agressive and probably why the tires/bushings wore out prematurely. a couple inches drop would close the fender gap nicely if a stock or larger tire diameter is used. if you wanted more than a couple inches front drop, then you would need the new lower control arms(Hotchkis route?). shorter coil springs, maybe another inch drop safely.

as for the rear drop, get new leaf springs with a flatter arch, shims for the axle/driveshaft alignment and maybe longer shackles too. you might be able to get 4 - 4.5 inch rear drop.

[wes 03]

so do you guys think i could pull off gettin some 3 inch coils and modify the upper control arm to get a 3 inch drop up front? or do you think that will still eat tires? thanks for all your help

wes

[03TundraTRD]

I think you could drop your ride 3'' because if the Tundra 4x2 could be lifted 3'' with just spacers and colis we could just drop it with drop springs.
Right now I dropped the back with the Bell-Tech 1''drop shackles
Anyone know how to drop it another 2'' in the back.

[Native]

I forgot to mention that with the prototype kit that I ran the smallest rims that you could run are 20 inch ones up front. Anything smaller will NOT fit, due to the new placement of the knuckle. I don't know if the same is true for the Hotchkis kit.

Ron

[wes 03]

well, that definitly rules me out. i am goin to lift mine if i do anything to it. i will be gettin rid of it in a couple of years, there is not enough aftermarket support for it, and i cant deal with that very easily cause i cannot afford much custom stuff

wes

[03TundraTRD]

Anyone know how much I can drop the rear before I need a filp kit.