IF YOU COULD DO IT OVER- 2-2.5 LIFT

Take this with a grain of salt, as I drive an 04 Double Cab 4x4 which is a different animal than the RC, but I'm very happy with my 6112s. I have the 700# springs on mine. The 6112s themselves are designed for use with a 650# spring. I do not have an aftermarket UCA and have not had any issues.

The most front-end clearance you can get with stock control arms will be right around 3" of lift; It is worth mentioning that I'm talking about ground clearance, as tire clearance really doesn't change except for at ride height. The front suspension design maxes out somewhere just past 3" of lift, where your shock/swaybar/CVs/UBJ will limit suspension downtravel.

As for the rear suspension, your best bet is probably an AAL paired with some new rear shocks.
I highly recommend going to http://www.1stgenoffroad.com and using this form to get a recommendation from Josh. He's a very smart cookie and has helped quite a few people pick suspension for their tundras. (Shifty is also a bit of a guru I might add)

 

I will chime in but also as a DC owner as well. I have the toytec aluma 2.0s and love them. They are so smooth and ride is excellent. Like you mentioned above, with the assembly of the 6112s there isn’t much of a price difference between the two. But with the toytec you get adjustability which is awesome. After mine settled I had a small lean on the driver side. Took 10 mins to adjust the ride height and level out the truck. You can raise or lower the truck to whatever you would like. But bilsteins are awesome, so no hate on them either. I run their 5160s in the rear currently. Hope this helps but not sure if I made your decision any easier lol.

 

Hardly a guru. I'm a lowering/sport suspension guy and have virtually no practical experience with these trucks, nor with lifting, while Josh is flush with experience. He's already been chatting with him, though (per another conversation) and I'm pretty sure that's where the "UCA for anything over 1 inch" came from.

I do appreciate your kind sentiment, but I'd be ingenuine if I didn't point out I'm not a "guru" or "the source" by any stretch of the imagination. I know there's a massive difference between "book smart" and "experience smart".

I've got a laundry list of bookmarks of reference material I dug through over the last year trying to understand wtf works with AC/RC trucks for folks who want to go higher without needing to lift the rear to compensate. That's about where my knowledge ends. It became pretty clear after watching a couple of AC owners make the mistake of following DC owner advice, and even vendor website advice, there's a shortage of clear lift info for non-DC trucks.

 

If you stay under 2” of lift you shouldn’t need aftermarket UCAs. When you start going over 2” is when they might be recommended in order to get the alignment correct.

if the goal is to level the truck, measure from center of the hub to fender for the front and back. That will tell you how much lift is needed to level the truck. And the best part with adjustable coilovers is you can achieve that exact number.

 

I'll chime in again and agree that you shouldn't need UCAs unless you go more than 2" lift. I will say though, that UCAs will help quite a bit with ride and performance if you add any lift.
I also have an AAL in the rear and went with the Toytec/Deaver AAL. I am really happy with it so far. I left my overload in and with the AAL and no extra weight have about 3.5" lift in the rear, and ride is great.

 

These are ultimately my understanding also. 2" you can easily get away w/o UCA. But once you clear that 2.5" mark and get into 2.5" - 3.0" range, you'll want them. Anything over 3" and you'll need them.

But it's possible Josh knows something we don't, or in "telephone game" fashion, what OP relayed to me lost some context when I made my reply 3 up (It happens). But I've consistently stuck with the 2/2.5/3 info I just posted in that last paragraph in all of my replies going back months now.

 

Ya I agree with you. I error more on the side of not wanting problems later because of stress on components caused by something being done half-assed.

 

Hey guys, I mounted rims post lift today. No rubbing. I just too mud flaps off. Closest interference would be w driver side front bumper. Here are the pics pre lift:

 

I think it looks awesome. If you don't plan on keeping your mudflaps, I wonder if @daveeasa might be interested? Maybe you guys could swap one of his harnesses for your flaps if your flaps will fit his and the trade makes sense. Just tossing out a thought.

I almost feel like you don't need a lift, if you're remotely happy with how it rides. If you main goal is to get the truck up a little bit in front, there's always strut spacers. I know some people will roast me for saying it, but other members definitely used them and didn't have any complaints... people rave about how good their trucks look.

 

Strut Spacers??!!!! @shifty` I thought we were on the same page. I expected better.

 

I bought a full set of Oem mud flaps a while ago. Haven’t installed though.

 

See, I told you so!!!

Definitely not what *I* would do, but since there's supposedly no rubbing and the truck does look a little goofy as it sits, could be an immediate solution to solve 1 problem at least.

 

Shifty shame on you......

6112's be here in a week. It rides like a 02 tundra w stock suspension and mud tires. A combo of a almost bad wheel bearing and older tie rods. Just kidding. It's not alligned yet and it drives better thank old Goodyear. No more vibration breaking between 40 down to 30mph.

It looks lowered in the front lol. Your right. But improvement. Thanks for calming my nerves

 

Cough * braking, I will post a pic after 6112's are in. Just lifting 2" and that's gonna be it for me. I'm ok with rear being a lil higher since I do load her down often. Once rear shocks are do, that will be next. Thanks dudes.

 

Figured I'd post a update. So I mounted the 31's on Pro comp's and got it aligned. It drove nice but had a little shake at certain speeds. I figured ( cheap MT tire) , then I redid the slip yoke and cardon joints again and she rides completely smooth.

These are the Baja MT EXP's so besides for little noise increase they are a great combo of MT/Road tire. I've only gone on a muddy rd once with them. But I goosed it up a very slick muddy hill that my buddies xj barely got up (street tire) and it was drama free in 4H.

I also returned my 17's and ordered a set of KMC724 in bronze 17's. Shifty gave me bronze idea, I think it will look good with desert sand color. Wanted the 17s to do lexus brake upgrade. Going to put wild peaks or continental , Michelin AT on those. Maybe some E rated.

Anyway, looks like I lost tiny fuel usage but im over 300 miles with lil under quarter tank to go. So it's still getting around 15mpg. Think my best is 375ish to 22gal. Cheers-J

 

Is there anyway to bypass the transcooler from radiator to reduce hazard of fluid mixing? What have you guys done?

 

Some members have bypassed it. Really the rad "cooler" helps warm the fluid up in the winter time so it gets to operating temp faster. The dedicated small cooler in front of the radiator does most the cooling (if you have one). I just preventatively replaced my radiator with a new denso unit.

 

Ok thanks, I just read up on the failure blown trans thread and was wondering if there was a known fix. I have the mini. I will bypass after this winter. Thanks for reply. -J

 

I've asked about this as well and was told not to worry about it. With my old T4R it was an issue and there wasn't an external trans cooler. With the tundra, the external trans cooler is better than most aftermarket options. As long as the radiator and all lines look good (could maybe replace radiator as preventative, like some do here) then you should be good to go.