What have you done to your 1st gen Tundra today?

Wow they are.different from the Wheelers version. I always assumed they were identical

 

The instructions specifically state NOT to reuse the overload spring.

Exactly. They state you get rid of the rough factory ride by removing that overload spring.
How will the truck ride on blocks? Seems like it will help with the lift but still sag under load.

I did the expansion pack for two reasons. 1) my rear was actually 1/4" lower than the front. I was hoping to gain an inch and have a slight rake.

2) when loaded up for camping my truck actually has a noticeable sag. I was hoping to carry some weight.

I guess my leaf packs are in worse shape than I realized. I wish there were more aftermarket options.

 

I been tellin y’all to pick up that

$166 Hellwig 991 EZ-990 Helper Spring Kit

Hellwig 991 for under a bill and nobody been listening to me. Gave me over an inch when fully tightened. I keep it backed off so my truck sits level.

I plan on picking up a yard of DG this weekend. I’ll post pics of it fully loaded and see how well it helps with weight.

 

Yeah the overload is optional with the wheelers progressive AAL. Not sure about about the icon AAL. I know wheelers gives 1.5 inches without overload and 2 with. I ran it with overload on both my tacos but I went without on my Tundra. With a 3 inch lift I sit level now. Plus the rear should be a little more flexible off-road now.

 

Running the overload shouldn’t hurt the ride much, and will greatly help with weight in the bed.


Unless you take it offroad. No overload means more flex

 

I just don't see how that one spring is going to add more support than 3.

 

might just be because they don't include the longer u bolts like the wheelers AAL does.

 

Probably super stiff

 

I mean, I can’t promise you results. Just stating what it did for me. I had the bro lean going on pretty serious with a 2” spacer up front and now I have to back it off to avoid a forward rake.

Think about replacing your front coils with a spring from a bic pen. Technically it’s still just one spring right?

Last time I checked Amazon it was even under $50. Looks like it’s gone back up now but it wouldn’t be a bad thing to add to your cart and turn on alerts to see if the price drops. I think it was money well spent at $99, I’d have been hella stoked to get it for $50.

 

It’s the same has wheelers progressive aal

Wheelers offers two different aal
A single heavy duty aal
Or
A 3 leaf progressive aal


I ran the 3 leaf progressive and if you run it without the overload springs. You don’t gain much lift. The overload basically acts as a lifting block. I ran it with it.

 

Depends on your use. That Hellwig isn’t meant for off-roading. My buddy ran one on his Tacoma and snapped it.

 

They do come with longer U Bolts. They had to be cut so they didn't stick down so far.

I was about say the same thing. I'm on Wheeler's website and they look the same to me. The Wheeler's also says "A 3 leaf progressive racing style Add A Leaf set. Designed to replace your factory overload leaf" I guess it's up to the user as to whether or not they want to keep it.

 

no idea on that. To my knowledge the LBJ and directly related components are the same from 2000-2006, however I am not certain on that. I have an old 2000 model so that's my ballpark of knowledge!

 

Happened to @Swalters , I don't think they wear fast, they just fail suddenly. I think the benefits on the 05/06 are wider spread mounting to the spindle and larger bolts to that plate, but I don't think the actual ball joint is different than prior years.

 

It's not the same. See for yourself. And I know I ran it on 3 Toyotas. 2 with and 1 without overload.

Notice how the wheelers progressive AAL has the retainers on the ends of the same long leaf. The icon has one side on the end of the long leaf and one side at the end of the middle leaf.

 

Exactly. They look the same on the website. We've had this conversation before lol but now look at em in real life imagines.
Trust me. Put the overload back in for your desired effect.
It's crazy how common knowledge.on TW can often be a mystery to many here

 

TW? The Web? I'm not sure what we're debating. You pointed out the overload spring and I stated that ICON specifically states it shouldn't be reused. If they are going to advertise 1.5" of lift one would think I could get close to that. If not, they should tell people to reuse the overload. They actually take it a step further and imply that by getting rid of the overload it will help the ride. My thought was, "why would I keep something on that's going to make the ride worse"? My truck measured 37 1/4th" from ground to fender before and now it's slightly higher than 37 1/2". I didn't even gain 1/2 inch. I'm going to email Icon and get their thoughts.

 

That last comment of mine came off harsher than intended and wasn't intended to be aimed at you directly. Just my commentary.

My point being on Tacomaworld aka TW aka the forum that this forum was modeled after and owned by, there would be no debating this.

These are the facts:

A progressive aal will give a smoother ride than a single AAL would.
A progressive AAL will help with load especially with the overload in place.
A progressive aal should net you 1.5 inches of lift without the overload and 2 inches with it.
The overload will not harsh the ride but it will help under load, hence the name overload leaf.
Without the overload in place you can flex the rear suspension more.

So it comes down to this:

Do you need the extra heigh and load handling do for hauling youstuff in the bed and or a trailer?
Or
Do you need the general off road flexibility (mostly up-travel)?

In your case despite what icon has said and they wouldn't include longer u bolts if this were untrue, the overload seems to be best kept in place for your application. Don't waste your money on a block when you already have the overload leafs.

Again I'm sorry if I came off rude earlier. I know I can be blunt but I'm trying to help you based on my knowledge and experience. I've run progressive AALs for 7 years. I've tried it both ways.

 

No worries. I wasn't offended, just unsure what TW was.

Agreed. To be clear, this is still a progressive AAL, similar to Wheeler's. The reason I went with this is that when you factor in shipping I actually paid less for ICON than Wheeler's. The mystery is why I didn't get even remotely close to the 1.5". Even if I had gained .75" I would have been happy with that.

That's what I'll have to find out. I'll probably stick a bunch of weight back there and see how it sits. If it holds it better than it did before I'll stop bitching about it and just leave it be. I feel like ICON could have done a better job laying all this out there. I wonder how much research they have actually done on the add-a-leaf's. I'm waiting on their email response and curious what they will say.

Edit-don't we have someone here that works for Icon?

 

If I were to make guess, id say your leaf springs are likely shot. That and the hard topper are likely robbing you of the additional lift you expected.
Perhaps try it this way for a week, then try it with the overload installed for a week and decide which you prefer. I kept the overloads in my tacos because they were 2wd and I used em to haul shit more often than go off-road. That's not to say you can't off-road with the overload in place. Plenty of people do. Just comes down to your personal preference.

 

Same design joint. List a larger joint. Not by much though. Oem is the only balljoint I’ll trust..

 

Filled up this morning and got 15.3 MPG! I'm amazed

 

I don't think I've seen over 14.5 since I did the 35s

I wonder which one rides better. I'd assume very similar, but the icon might handle the load better without the overload. Just spitballing.

 

Really want to see those pics! I moved several yards or DG and 3/4” rock recently, but only 1/2 yd at a time.

 

@Icon_Adrian

 

My ball joints didn't fail. My lug nuts came off and caused the wheel and tire to go flying. But I do use oem only when it comes to ball joints. I had it fail on my old 4runner

 

What's the air pressure in that ball?

 

Did you regear for 35's?

 

That's right, sorry. I know it happened to somebody with a double cab not long ago. Now its gonna bother me until I can remember.

 

Nope, I'm still running factory 4.10