Red vs black axle experience

There is a lot of conversation going on about the need to upgrade to red TRD axles when you lift a tundra. I have a couple observations before and after making the switch that validate the need to do so. I ran the black axles with a 2.6” front lift for a while. I didn’t break anything, but here are my observations:

1) With the black axles at full steering range, it felt like I was getting binding in the steering. The last ~10 degrees of the steering range had resistance and didn’t feel quite right. This led to me consciously not steering to the stops which made parking in tight spots frustrating. After switching to the red axles, it seems this issue is gone. I can now steer to the stops and things feel good.
2) During install of my front coilovers, the internal shaft on one of the cvs slipped out of the bearing in the diff side housing just from moving the hub assembly around. The cv remained seated in the diff. I was actually shocked this happened. I’m not sure that I caused any damage because I continued to run the axle for a while after I was able to get the shaft under the boot pushed back into place, but I think it proved that the internal drive shaft could slip out of the bearing during normal articulation. If this happened, the axle would surely get damaged and other things could break.

I am very relieved I now have the red axles installed. It was my first cv axle install and it was very easy. Barely over an hour for both sides. The hard part was finding a good deal on takeoffs.

 

I can't comment of the difference between axles, but I did want to say that anything that decreases/hinders/binds the turning radius of this truck should be avoided at all costs! I've never driven a vehicle with a worse turning radius! I feel like I'm driving a school bus when I pull into a parking space.

 

Have you tried backing into tight parking spots. I have driven a long wheelbase pickup most of my life and found it is much easier to back in. I don’t notice any difference between MY22 Tundra and the last Ford I had.

 

With the exception of pulling through, I exclusively back into tight spaces now!