Conflicting research caused this thread to be created. 3" lift questions.

Ok guys, I started big, I wanted a 6" lift with all the bells and whistles but I finally had a chance to meet up with a friend who has the BDS 6" with fox shocks and I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. 7k in suspension parts and I wanted to be able to drive over speed bumps and not feel them as much. It was very clunky, slushy steering and I was willing to overlook the fact that my bed will be that much harder for me to access for work if the ride was what I wanted. Now I know one truck isn't how they all drive and his could be worn or installed improperly or any number of things and I know many people will post saying they don't have that experience at all.

All and all I have decided to go with a 3" lift and sacrifice the ride height i want for practicality. Instead of going back and forth with all the research I've read about what is and isn't needed I figured I'd post my situation and see if I can get a definitive answer so I can get my lift installed with everything I need on the first try

Kit: icon stage 8 with tubular UCS's and rtx leaf set

Currently the truck is bone stock except for some 1" spacers on the wheels. Running stock 18" Toyota wheels for now.

I will be using my truck for work mostly (construction), family trips, and occasional off roading.

What else should I do while the suspension is pulled apart? What other parts do I need other then what comes with the kit? Should I be aware of any issues I may have or stay away from any products what won't work with this kit like TRD sway bars, traction bars, armor?

Thanks for the help guys. I want to do this right and not regret anything.

 

Not sure what comes in the kit but other than new coil overs and rear springs for 3 inches you will want UCA, front diff drop, rear carrier drop. Kit should come with all bushings and such, just confirm it does.

sway bar can work, may need to rotate the mounting but that has been covered here. Skids and other armor should work fine as well. Dont know about traction bars, but certainly dont think you will need them.

 

Nothing is gonna ride smoother than stock and fit your needs as a work truck.

 

Comes with the tubular arms, I'll have to source the diff and and carrier drop. I'll verify the bushings come with it.

 

I've heard icon rides super smooth. I don't know from personal experience in a tundra but my friends 4th gen 4runner rides like butter.

 

I personthing think the Diff drop is gimmicky. The carrier bearing does need to be adjusted. Just make sure your drive line angles are all correct before torqueing down your new U bolts.

 

I've been running a stage 8ish for 3 year on my tundra and love it.

 

@Bob_Wiley is running the Stage 5 I think. He might have some thoughts. His truck looks awesome.

 

The company installing will do alignment so they should be doing that.

 

Do you have the RTX pack on the back? That's the only reason I bumper up to stage 8 from 5.

 

Love my Icon RXT leaf pack. I would probably piece things together individually though. But at this point, it all depends on what’s available.

I had Icon 2.5s in the front and moved to Fox reservoir 2.5s and they ride about the same for everyday use, so you will probably be happy with their shocks.

At the very least I would recommend not going with the Icon tubular UCAs, way too many people have had issues with them, especially trying to fit bigger tires, their geometry just isn’t right.. spend a little more and get Total Chaos or MCM UCAs or some of the other popular brands.

Also really don’t need the diff drop, general consensus is that it isn’t needed in these trucks. I also didn’t do carrier bearing and have no issues on RXT option 2, so you would likely be fine there too.

definitely invest in armor if you want to Offroad. Rock sliders are the most important in my opinion.

Good Luck!

 

Thank you! What about the billet UCAs from Icon with the delta joint? If I go with another brand I'll have to piece my Icon kit without them instead of just ordering the whole stage 8.

 

Where are you located? Some people say to stay away from the uniball uca if you’re in a harsh winter environment. The salt and brine sprays will eat away at it faster. I went with the SPC in Chicago for that reason.

 

Tucson AZ. I don't know the word winter.

 

The heimmed billet UCAs would solve the issue, those are supposed to be great.

 

Ok, are they worth all the extra $$? the company doing the install suggested a different brand of UCS's because he said not to go with tubular.

 

I've got a quote for $3085 for the kit minus the arms. I think I'll pull the trigger on these and go with different UCAs unless the billet are worth it.

 

Changing gears I see!

-JS

 

I have ran many ucas jba bds stock and icon billet delta joint with the heim joints. Awesome build quality but if I didn't clean them they were extremely loud. I drive in dirt and sand every few days and if I didn't constantly clean them my neighbors could hear me backing into my driveway from inside there house.. took them to the shop a few times they said its the heim joint design. So just keep that in mind if it's your daily and you see dusty sandy roads be prepared to clean them daily

 

Yeah... really wanted the 6" actually had a deposit down and friend of mine came by and let me drive his and I did not like the ride quality.

 

I'd have to leave the state to find a road with no dirt. What kind of UCAs should I be looking for?

 

As we've previously discussed a few things to keep in mind:

1.) Custom springs and valving will change the entire characteristics of a vehicle
2.) BDS spec isn't necessarily optimized for ride quality, being the higher you go...naturally the Center of Gravity goes up, to keep you from rolling over...they will likely spring and valve where they deem safe for the increased C.O.G.

-JS

 

Yeah, I knew I'd sacrifice a little but his setup was 4 months old and just wasn't what I expected

 

If you're ever in the PHX valley, more than happy to let you take a test drive in my mild setup...

-JS

 

Jba bds spc. Haven't heard any noise complaints from any of these. I've ran all 3. Only issues I've ran into noise wise is heim joints on icons

 

These are the ones the installer wants me to purchase. Is there anything wrong with them? I'm paying 713.99 for them.

http://store.specprod.com/productdetail/M60/1/1/25490

 

Great UCAs! I personally worry about "proprietary components" that can't be easily replicated. Should the company go defunct..SPC is unlikely to...tracking down wear items can be a challenge...

Less expensive from our the fine folks at @Toytec Lifts.... -JS

 

I might be able to negotiate that price down if I show them that link...

 

I’m running Icon stage 6 with billet UCAs and really like it. I don’t really have anything to compare it against other than the 3” spacer lift on stock Bilsteins I had before, so that’s obviously a night and day difference. I typically keep it on the softest setting which makes the truck feel planted but not too mushy. I’ve run through speed bumps at full speed to see what it feels like, it absorbs them really well. Haven’t taken it through any desert washes at full speed yet, so I just have the urban testing results to go off of haha. There’s a very noticeable difference in how firm the shocks are as you crank up through the compression settings. For me personally, stage 6 is probably a little overkill (I only off-road occasionally), but I don’t regret getting it. I do wonder how it would compare to Fox or Kings (@BiggHertz I would love to compare with your Fox setup sometime).

If you’re up in the valley sometime let me know, I’d be happy to let you take mine out on a test drive so you can see what the stage 6 setup is like.

Thanks!

 

totally down to meet up just about anytime ! Did you ever throw in those CB drop spacers?

-JS