1st Gen Suspension Friends!

Hi All,

Finally looking to order new suspension for 2006 double cab. Going with 6112 in the front with SPC UCA, and 5160 in the rear. Add a leaf pack is most likely included as well, but it seems like there are some conflicting opinions on which one is most effective here, so I haven't quite decided specifically which one.

I'm also curious if anyone has completely replaced the OEM rear leaf springs when they have upgraded suspension, as they're 13 year old parts at this time. If the other suspension components are new / upgraded, should the rear leafs be as well?

Truck is primarily used for camping and road trips, and isn't a daily driver at this point.

Thanks!

 

I do not recommend the add-a-leafs. In fact, I'm actively going to crusade for their demise.

All joking aside, if you are hell bent on an AAL, go with wheelers. If you really want/need lift in the rear, leave the overload spring in. Personally, I wish I had just saved my money for new leaf packs instead of wasting money on the ICON AAL.

 

I swapped to Alcan full leaf pack around 2012. At the time the only options were some soft Deavers, some soft under axle Deavers, or some middle of the road Alcans.

With most aftermarket off road springs you lose payload in exchange for flex. There are a lot of options now and at least one member here replaced his leaf pack with oem style replacement and an add a leaf.

Your best bet with suspension is to decide exactly what you'll use your truck for. Then reach out to a few suppliers and talk to them about your needs.

 

I literally JUST had this install on mine a week ago (6112s set at 6/8 respectively for driverside lean) and 5160s in the rear...except I have Freedom Offroad UCA and used a Wheelers AAL with overload left in. My intention was always to go with a full leaf-pack (this will be a dedicated camping rig at some point), but there are precious few leaf-packs made just for our trucks without going for a built to order. I'm keeping my eye on Archive Garage Shackleton leaf-pack for our trucks for the not so distant future after some reviews get out there, but the Wheelers AAL is working fine at the moment. I'm almost completely level...if you don't have a cap, you may get a bit more lift out of the AAL.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...t-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-498#post-1595133

https://archivegarage.com/explore-archive?olsPage=products/archive-shackleton-springs

 

All depends on the condition of your leaf springs. You can always install the new shocks and drive them for a bit to see if the leaf springs are ok.

I used the toytec 3 leaf AAL which is made by deavers, left the overload in and I got roughly 1.5 of lift. I've since realized my leafs are shot and I should have just replaced them at the get go. If you don't have extra weight in the bed, getting replacement leafs from general springs or sd truck springs and adding the AAL isn't a bad cost effective option. I have a shell on mine and some camping stuff so when I can swing it, I'm going with the Icon RXT. I like that I can move the leafs around if I ever remove the shell, or add more weight to the truck.

Atlas makes a leaf pack and you can specify the lift you want.

So far the options I know of are Alcan, Deavers, Atlas, Icon, General Springs and sd truck springs

 

@speedtre I hadn't even UCA's by Freedom Offroad...it looks like they have two models that fit the truck, which ones did you end up with? Any reasoning behind going with those over SPC or Chaos?

I'd seen the Archive Garage full leaf set, but had thought it would end up overly stiff for me, as it would be a rare trip that I would have that much weight in the bed.

On a separate note, have you noticed much of a difference from the new steering rack bushings? I've been thinking about those too, and I'm in a pretty similar situation from a mileage standpoint (2006 truck, 110K miles)

Your truck looks awesome BTW!

 

@Darkness and @rock climber, thanks for the tip on Alcan, I'll reach out to them with details on how I use / plan on using the truck. Icon offers a leaf pack (other than AAL) for 1st gen?

 

Do you mean new OEM leafs just to refresh them? Or full pack replacement from another company?

 

Steering rack bushings were hands down, the best thing that I’ve done to my truck.

You don’t realize how much the rack moves and creates that famous steering slop. After the bushings, a quick alignment and ensuring my tires were balanced properly, this thing tracks as well as my wife’s X3.

 

Did you use the same kit as @speedtre ? It looks like Energy Suspension has a front bushing kit, but also a complete front end rebuilt kit?

The steering has definitely been one of the few disappointments for me since picking up the Tundra, so it's good to know other folks have found improvements to it. Previous vehicle was an 06 Subaru Outback, which had surprisingly awesome steering feel and feedback. Other than that, I'm usually riding motorcycles, so the steering response and feedback from the Tundra has been underwhelming to say the least....

 

It’s been a bit but I think that sounds right. All I remember that I was sure to get the graphite impregnated ones.

 

New leaf packs from anyone would have been better use of my money than these AAL's.

 

I have used Alcan to do this on two different Toyota trucks, they will build in whatever lift and added cargo capacity you want and the quality is excellent.

 

Someone posted on here awhile back asking about the Freedom Offroad UCAs and the reviews for them were good, but like some of the other more expensive UCAs, they were making slight contact with the upper shock tower. Freedom Offroad redesigned them and offered a set to someone to test, report on them and then review them (waiting for the suspension to settle and finalize my alignment before I review them) so I took them up on their offer. So far so good. I was able to get my alignment in spec with no issues at all. I have read that for these trucks when you lift them you want to set caster higher than normal to prevent a wandering feeling. I talked about this with my shop and he convinced me it would be best to set the alignment to factory spec, drive it for a week or two and come back and adjust the settings based on how it was driving and that made sense to me so that is what I'm doing.

So...how is it driving? Well, the steering is more deliberate and tighter, which is what others have reported with the energy suspension bushings. I do have what I would call a slight wandering feeling at highway speeds compared to my previously 100% stock setup, so I'm planning on taking it back to him next week, discuss the way it's driving and adjust the alignment. Right now, it appears the conventional wisdom that these trucks need additional caster once lifted appears right. I'm at 1.6...my understanding is that 2+ is where you want to be, but I don't know how much above 2. I seem to remember @empty_lord and @Festerw having some knowledge on this so maybe they can chime in?

 

Here are the specs from mine. I have no idea what this stuff means, but the truck drives nicely.

 

I just had mine aligned while it was in for the airbag recall. At 2.5" lift on mine the caster is set 2.4 and could probably use a touch more but it doesn't wander like it did when it was closer to 2.

 

I'm at 2.7. I believe @toyotech2016 says the more caster, the better. No wondering steering for me.

 

2.5-3 caster is ideal you want it to be even on each side. In spec toe and camber

 

Perfect, that's what I'll have him shoot for next week...

 

Biggest thing is left to right make sure camber caster and toe are even. Makes gather drive soo much better

 

Here's the Icon option
https://accutuneoffroad.com/product...iqxQa4Ct_QBA4x-uCsse-Mtq36Rz0gfsaAsfCEALw_wcB

One note of caution on the freedom offroad UCA, it's not adjustable like the SPC and it's not terribly clear how much additional caster you get, but it appears to be minimal to none. You can get the Eibach version of the SPC (which seems to be the exact same thing even down to the part number) for $500. Jegs has it for $550 and they have tons of $50 off coupons.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Eibach/369/5.25485K/10002/-1?ymm=4294829852+4294829046+4294827907

 

I personally wouldn't trust their lift claims for a Tacoma to be equally applied to a 1st Gen Tundra...

I'll let you know next week when I get my alignment adjusted. It's right in the middle of spec right now, but I'll be shooting for 2.5.

 

Good info @speedtre
What I've found from my truck is to have toe and camber within factory spec and get the caster as high as you can within allowed spec. I had a shop give me too much caster once and it introduced some pitch feelings when turning fast or sharp with any sort of speed, it didn't feel comfortable. Getting back to high end within spec solved that.

This is pretty much in line with the famous "DJ Specs" from long ago on TS.

 

More caster will make it drive straighter if toe is correct. I'm about 2-2.5 and could use some more. I could also use a sway bar and/or stiffer coils, so take that into consideration on my setup. My ranger has about 5* with maybe a little too stiff coils up front and it will do 70 on a severely rutted/bumpy dirt road with as little as 1 hand on the wheel.
It's all relative, but 2 is on the low side and 5 is high in my opinion. The sweet spot depends on the vehicle, springs, use, sway bars, etc.

 

I'm skeptical of anything ICON says at this point. I had no idea they offered leaf packs for our trucks. When I asked for leak pack options in the past those were never mentioned. New?

 

How much caster was too much? The DJ specs 2 degrees said was Toyota spec, but he strongly hinted that he'd go higher. Just curious when I finally get new UCA's what caster I should ask for.

 

When I had 2.6 it felt pretty twitchy, the truck seemed to roll hard when turning as if it upset the balance(no other way to explain). I went back down to just under 2 and it was good. Hard to believe there was such a difference but there was.

 

I just installed a general spring HD leaf pack on my 2001 tundra along with some 5100s. Ill let you know my initial impressions this next week when I torque everything down and get to drive it.

 

Can't wait to hear how it compares to your old leaf pack. How many miles on the ones you took off?

 

Yeah, stoked to see how it rides. The old leafs had 120k miles on them.