Rear sway bar and front suspension questions

Well, I bit the bullet and just purchased a new Tundra tonight. This one is a SR5 double cab that included a few options. It came with leather buckets which made the wife happy.

It's not a TRD, but it came with a big red rear sway bar marked "TRD". Driving home on a pretty crappy freeway, I noticed the truck being very bouncy. Those of you that have had the experience on the highway with and without the rear sway bar, can you please tell me if removing it will give the truck a smoother ride? Also, when not hauling, does anyone slightly deflate the rear tires to help reduce bounce?

I was looking at the front suspension. It has black coil over shocks. It appears that the shocks are part of the front springs? Is this considered a strut front end? Please educate me on this.

Thanks
Bob

 

If im correct on this the sway bar keeps your back end from tilting gives u a firm ride on tight curves n turns and yes your front suspension is considered a coil over stock i have same and it is bouncy look into some Bilsteins give a smoother ride

 

Welcome and post pics of your ride

 

Sorry as far as towing I don't but im sure someone else will chime in

 

Somebody on here installed the TRD sway bar and had some bed bounce issues.

See this thread...
https://www.tundras.com/threads/got-bed-bounce.4564/

I had my truck for a while then installed the TRD sway bar and I noticed a big improvement with handling, no bed bounce issues. With that said I have a CrewMax so there is a bit more weight over the rear suspension.

I would take it off and see how it rides.

 

Coilivers, not struts. There is a very lengthy thread you can read up about that called "Tundras don't have struts", or something to that affect.

Unfortunately, these trucks have a lot of bed bounce, but see the thread already linked for some help with it.

Also:

 

I am not sure what you mean by 'crappy' .

If you mean random pot hole-like defects, then taking off the sway bar may help. The sway bar links two sides of the rear suspension, so a pot hole hitting one side will be felt on both sides (that's why sway bar is a liability in an off-road situation--plus it limits articulation).

If you mean regular groove that runs perpendicular to the direction of motion, sway bar is not the issue. DC Tundras are pretty light in the rear. Loading some extra weight in your bed will certainly help.

Should've bought a CM, haha.

 

I installed the sway bars and didn't notice any difference in bouncines before and after. Weight helps the truck give a better ride. If you load up your bed with stuff you will it. Having a crewmax with extra weight the truck rides pretty smooth. If you want a smoother ride , upgrade to some nice shocks/suspension.

 

Hi Bob! Welcome and congrats on the new truck! Man you guys are up either really late or really early LOL. The fronts are coilovers, similar look but totally different than a strut. I have the RED swaybar as well and get the bed bounce on one particular 40 mile stretch of highway. I got the same bounce prior to the sway bar but it is more pronounced now. I've traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles on many concrete highways in many states and that one lousy 40 miles stretch in north eastern Wisconsin is the only place I've gotten the bounce...that I can recall anyways. I also have Bilstein 5100's on all four corners. The truck is more responsive and rides better, IMO, but they didn't help with the bounce. I like the way the truck handles with the sway bar and for the dozen times a year that I travel that stretch of road I don't feel it's worth removing it.

 

Thank you all. I just read the link about the sway bar. It's simple enough for me to try. The "crappy freeway"is the 15 south between Corona and San Diego. Just messed up from big rigs and no maintenance. We take it a lot. And thanks for not giving me a bad time about "It's a truck you big sissy". This is my multi use baby. It only sees a dirt road once in a while that is maintained for camping access. I guess I could also come up with a way to put some dead weight in the bed. I will report back and let you all know.

Thanks for being there..........

 

So I took off the rear sway bar, brought the tire pressure down a little. Took a ride on that portion of the freeway that makes any car feel more bouncy than normal. However, in my new truck it feels real bad, as if there are no shocks at all. This whole time I thought that by purchasing a non TRD, I would have the most soft ride that Tundra offers. Are the stock shocks really not any good?

I am so bummed out right now and my buddies are criticizing me for not test driving a GMC or Ram before I bit the Tundra bullet. I don't think I can return the truck any more without taking a huge loss. On the other hand, I don't mind spending a little money to have this issue sorted out, but I do not know where to take it to to get this fixed.

Help please.

 

I'm sure the stock shocks are fine, especially on a new truck and dont listen to your buddies, you picked the right truck. Double cab Tundras are pretty light in the rear and given the right (read bad) road conditions the suspension doesn't fully cycle. If you can, try adding 150 lbs or so to the bed just inside the tailgate and travel the same stretch of road. Not a perfect solution by any means but I think you'll find that it will calm down.

 

Hi Bob. Congrats on the new truck

Stop by your local Jenny Craig weight loss facility and get some of her customers to ride in the bed for a few miles to give the rear suspension a little workout

 

Thanks Mark! From researching all this info, I came across multiple message boards talking about a problem with the earlier models called "bed bounce". I sure hope Toyota fixed this on the later Tundra.

I experimented tonight with setting five 5gal water bottles in the very back of the truck. Did a test drive and its about 50% gone. I know it's a truck that can handle a lot of weight, hence the stiff suspension. Logic would have me believe that unloaded, the shocks do not get a chance to work because the suspension is so stiff not allowing much movement.

If that is the case, what do you all think if I change or remove a leaf spring so that there is more flexibility for the shocks to work?

 

Don't remove. You will lost load capacity. Some people go with this http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop...-15-lift-rear-leaf-spring-expansion-pack.html
But this will lift your vehicular so you would have to lift the front too if your front too so t doesn't look funny. You can also go with a custom leaf pack from deaver.

 

I would say upgrade your suspension. I have the Toytec BOSS setup. It's a big step up from stock coilovers. I would get the icon leaf pack as suggested above and some better rear shocks.

I have a DC myself with a rear sway bar. Rear shocks with resi's helped a ton with bed bounce.

You could always shell out a couple thousand and get the TRD pro front coilovers!