New Tundra owner checking in

Finally getting around to my welcome post. Earlier this year I picked up a 2021 Limited CrewMax Nightshade 4WD in MGM on black. My first full-size truck (I have a 2000 S10 ZR2 that I have been driving for the past 18 years). This forum has been an incredible resource over the past few months as I have gone through the truck resetting intervals on maintenance items and making some enhancements along the way. So for that I thank all of you for sharing your experiences and diversity of opinions here. I will try to do the same when I have something valuable to share.

When I picked up my truck it was bone stock with the exception of an aFe air filter (dry) and a TRD rear sway bar. I have since added:
- Eibach Pro Truck Lift kit (Stage 2R)
- Akebono Performance pads with Brembo OE rotors
- RCI skids and cat shields
-

$280 Rockford Fosgate P300-8P Punch 8" 300-Watt Amplified Subwoofer in Ported Enclosure - Slim Design for Tight Spaces - Black

Rockford Fosgate P300-8P subwoofer

Went through some easy maintenance items for peace of mind:
- Engine oil/filter with Toyota OEM
- Diff and transfer case fluids with Ravenol
- Transmission fluid drain/fill
- Brake fluid flush
- Coolant flush
- Spark plugs
- Ignition coils
- Drive belt

Another piece I have been deliberating over (excessively) is wheels and tires. I have the 20” Nightshade wheels on now with Michelin highway tires. Would like to go 18” instead. I picked up a set of TRD OR wheels second hand with the thought of painting them black. But then got to thinking about going the route of TRD Pro BBS, or FN FX Pro, or possibly the Raceline Gauge. On the one hand I would like to stick with 18x8 with an on-road all terrain tire, but the look of the FN and the Raceline Gauge at 18x9 on 285/65-18 Wildpeaks has me thinking otherwise.

Anyways, happy to be here and thanks again to all of you who make this a great resource for Tundra owners.

 

Welcome and congrats!

 

Welcome from north Mississippi! Sweet looking truck and nice mods! How many miles you got on the clock?

 

Welcome from NY.

 

100k. Mostly highway miles. Previous owner kept nice care of it.

 

Welcome from West MO

 

Welcome! Dustin @ FN is great to work with. Definitely would pick one of his offerings!

@FNWheels

 

For sure. I messaged him when he listed the Pro BBS and the FX 18x8 recently and he was super helpful. I regretfully didn’t get my act together and commit to purchase fast enough. So @FNWheels please let me know of any leads on another set of black FX 18x8s! If not, I may go with the 18x9 anyway.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

How are you liking the Stage 2r setup? Is there anything that makes you wish you did something else? I’ve been going back and forth on this and the 6112/5160s.

 

@Jherm I like the Eibach kit a lot and I am glad I chose them. After about 1k miles of use I am very happy with them. There are a couple of dimensions of feedback in play here.

1) Comparison to the Bilstein setup - I'm afraid I cannot provide any valuable input here because I don't have any first-hand experience with the Bilstein options on the Tundra. I am sure the Bilstein setup is great and you'll find many testimonials around here aligned with that. I personally would not hesitate to go the Bilstein route, but this time around I chose Eibach. Plus they were on sale when I bought them and the 'bang for the buck' factor was hard to beat. The Eibach is very well mannered on-road. The ride is firm enough to control nose dive and cornering very well (of course the RSB helps in the cornering department). But they also absorb the minor bumps great, especially the rears. I did some low speed, very light off road a week ago and I was very happy with the ride quality. The truck absorbed the rutted out dirt road quite well and handled pretty much how I would expect a very capable truck to do so. I am not off road enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, but I do appreciate well performing vehicles and know a thing or two about suspension tuning from my years doing track days in cars and motorcycles (on-road). My only other truck suspension point of comparison is to my 18-years owned S10 ZR2 which has a Chevy-tuned off-road suspension system that utilizes Bilstein 4600s. They're great and no complaints there. I guess that's a long way of saying you can't go wrong with either setup. My opinion, at least.

2) Comparison to my previous setup - This is where my comparison is dramatic. The 'before' setup was the OEM non-offroad suspension and 20" Limited wheels on Michelin highway tires. And the 'after' is the Eibach Stage 2R kit and 18" wheels on 285/65 Wildpeaks. Big difference! I have an entirely different handling truck now, which was the intention.

When I bought the Eibachs the only alternative I considered was going Fox TRD Pro. Which is overkill for my needs and nearly triple the price. Otherwise it was Eibach or Bilstein.

Here's how my truck is now with the Stage 2R kit installed along with the 18x9 FN Wheels FxPro on 285/65-18 Wildpeak A/T4W (SL). I did not make any changes to the height settings on the fronts as they shipped from Eibach (they say 2" lift).

 

Welcome from North Florida! love the way turned out!

 

Welcome from Texas!

 

Awesome! Thanks a lot, definitely helps a little with my decision. My OCD doesn’t let me make these big decisions easily. lol