Order of Operations - Tires, Wheels, Lift?

New Tundra guy. Picked up a 2017 SR5 CM 5.7 with 65k miles last year. Loving it and slowly making her mine.

A few questions for the pros on upgrading. If you had to spread out these three purchases, what order makes the most sense and why?

Getting new wheels, new tires, and a suspension lift all at once will sting but I'll get them all done. Right now I have the stock steel wheels with two newer stock tires on the front, and two older stock tires on the rear that are due to be replaced. Not sure how, just how I bought it.

Help me out here - you can't get tires for the wrong rim or rims for the wrong tire. And suspension is all based on wheel/tire set up. So I gotta get wheels and tires together, easily $2,500. Those two rear tires just got pricey lol.

I'd like to throw on some Bilstein 5100s as well. Is it necessary to do all three at once for the best outcome?

Ultimately I'd like to run Toyo AT3 33 x 11.5 +25 offset for just a little poke. Small lift and level.

Is there a way to achieve this without dropping $3500 all at once?

Anyone do 4 tires, then the wheels, then the suspension?

Thanks for any input!

 

I’m no professional, but my plan is to do the wheels and larger tires I want first on stock suspension to make it easier to identify any rubbing issues and do any trimming I need then. That way once I do a suspension lift down the road I’ll know I’m good to go.

 

How long till the rear tires need replacing? The safety factor alone may dictate your decision.
As long as no rubbing happens with new wheels and tires, you could always do that first, sell the stock setup, and put that money into 5100’s and an alignment.
Search tires and wheels, there is a thread somewhere that has all the tire sizes you can stuff on stock suspension.

 

Tires now because safety is important. Suspension if you can swing it. Wheels later.

 

Buy used

 

Really depends on if you are keeping the same wheel size. If yes, you can do each piecemeal as you can afford. If no, then you have to do wheels/tires at same time and suspension when it suits.

 

@MayportYota hey man you can fit 35’s on a stock suspension provided you’re okay with trimming some liner and running that +25ish offset.

Grab your wheels and rubber first, can always throw the suspension on at a later date (if rear tires are actually a now problem). I put 35x12.5xr17’s on mine with stock shocks and UCA’s and managed to clear without a CMC so 33’s should be no sweat. At the end of the day fitting comes down to offset and tires and if they play nice. Just remember that if you do decide to go with an aftermarket shock with a longer shaft or raise your front end with pre-load (or both, few ways to get there), you’re very likely going to want an aftermarket UCA for sake of alignment, taking advantage of more travel (depends on shock choice), and usually a more solid feel on the road vs floating.

just my 2 cents…

 

grab wheels and tires first. thats not too significant that you can't make it work. hell...i seen someone on here giving away some fender liners. grab them for now. chop your up for fitment if needed, then swap out liners later once proper lift/level is in place to bring back your clean liners.
tires were probably improperly worn due to lack of rotations and/or burnouts.
if you're ok with it, buy some wheels that you're wanting, then buy some used tires. i see them online a lot. i've seen plenty of stock size to barely upsized for 50% of the price of new with probably about 80% of tread remaining. just throwing options out there.
i personally bought my 6" lift on sale and put it in my attic. then purchased wheels n tires on sale a year or so later and put it all on at the same time. just another option

 

Way I did mine was lift first, then tires, then wheels. I liked the stock TSS wheels (black) and ran 35s on them. Then I wanted to do aftermarket wheels....

 

I’d probably lean towards the lift first, that way when you buy wheels and tires you have more options in size. Only issue is your wheels and tires will look small with the lift until you can do those. Of course I don’t ultimately know shit about the best way to do it though.
My 17 came with a 3/2 lift on it, along with 33x12.5x20 tires. The 33’s looked small to me with that setup and it looked a lot better when I eventually went to 35’s.
Before and after going from 33 to 35:

 

Good/better/best place to shop used wheels/tire? Are there Tundra equivalent lug patterns when searching? I see takeoffs from Rams and Chevies a lot in N FL

 

Clean machine! Looks great. I think that makes the most sense to me. I'd like to go down to 17" wheels with more tire ultimately. New tires on these stock wheels would stick me with a set I can't use for the 17s. I see what you mean 33 v 35s, I think the 20" rims make the tire look smaller. Appreciate the input

 

Appreciate the reply. I like the liner idea. I'm not against getting into a used set, it's kinda hit or miss on ebay or fb marketplace. Got any recs for shopping Tundra takeoff sets?

 

Thanks for the input, good to know. Think I'd like to go 17" Fuel Shok bronze with 33 Toyo AT 3s, then suspension lift it w 5100's, leaf pack and airbags for towing. Goal to finish before next summer. At what size do you have to start messing with UCA and carrier bearing drop? Got a link to a thread? So much good info on here it's hard to find a concise thread sometimes. Thanks again

 

I think the general rule is around 3" for UCA. TRD PRO is 2" on stock UCA. some on here did it at 2.5" to get alignment right. Every truck seems to be a little different. Bilstein are 2.5" if I remember correctly. You'll probably get away with stock UCA.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/installing-5100s-need-new-control-arms.27747/

 

For me I would do suspension first. Now if your tires need replacing then like many said that’s a priority. Also, go to a 35” tire lol you won’t want to stop at a 33” lol. Trust me. When you do a 17” wheel watch where the wheel weights are placed. You don’t want them hitting the calibers. Enjoy the rig!

 

If all you want is 33's then the Bilstein 5100 are fine, ride will be basically stock but leveled.
Suspension is way more important when putting a truck together, however, never disregard your safety, if those rears need to go then they have to go no matter what.
33's require no modifications to other components. Stock wheels can make wider tires rub on the UCA so be aware of that before purchase.

 

Marketplace here, Facebook, Craigslist, eBay just search and keep your eye out I’ve found tons of deals. Member had new fox coil overs and rear shocks new in the box picked them up for $800 shipped a few years back. Some tire shops also sell like new take offs or trade ins. Wouldn’t hurt to call around and ask to.

 

In terms of liners....not really. Keep an eye on FB marketplace, Craigslist, or even a junk yard.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/fox-2-0-coilovers-complete.114337/