18 CM with 5100’s and CB shackles.

So I just had the bilstein 5100’s installed on the second setting along with two CB shims on the drivers side and one on the passenger. In the rear I had the CB +3 shackles with the poly bushings and the carrier bearing drop kit installed. I get my new tires and wheels on Thursday or Friday. The last picture is bone stock the day I got her.

 

Looks good. What wheels and tires? Size tires?

 

I got the Ultra “Hunter” wheels, black and machined and Falken Wildpeak AT3 in 275/70-18’s. Honestly. I learned a lesson with my last tundra....never get 20’s unless you can afford the rubber because there is a huge price difference lol. I’m off road with this truck because I manage a couple of hunting ranches and live on a farm. Big AT tires are a must along with towing and hauling capacity hence the shackles. Here are my wheels:

 

I can tell you that I never thought about wheel/tire weight and the consequences of 20’s on my last truck until I had pretty much tore the thing up. I had the rockstar wheels and Toyo open country AT 2’s on my last truck and the weight made everything wear out much quicker. I don’t think people realize if you go off-road, all that bouncing around and whatnot with that big heavy set up makes little things rattle loose and need replacing. And there are A LOT of little things lol. So with this truck, I’m sticking with the 18’s and though my tires aren’t light, I have saved some weight.

 

I’ll get some measurements this afternoon , the lift looks incredibly subtle but I almost fell out of the truck when I got home. I don’t think I could ever do even a four inch lift lol. Also, gas mileage is about .5 different on the highway right now. Not too bad.

 

Those should look good. I've heard lots of good things about the Falkens! I'm running that same tire size and think it's perfect for a subtle lift to fill it out!

 

Yeah as far as the wheels I searched......for days lol looking at bronze, black, matte, and then black with some machining. I really felt like the one that stands out and keeps the truck from looking almost completely washed out was the machined and black. I almost bought the methods but I just liked that polished look a little better. I’m still trying to decide what to do with the chrome. Normally I hate it but with this cement color I think it helps keep the whole truck from looking dull. I don’t know the jury is still out.

 

Don’t know if this will help someone some day but I’ve decided to post about what’s going on with this setup. So, after seeing my truck when the install was complete I immediately noticed that the wheels toe in and therefore the alignment specs I gave were not utilized. As I’m asking about this the install guy says he sees it too and therefore I’ll have to come back to have the truck realigned. While talking to David about the shackles (coachbuilder1) he asked yesterday that I double check that the poly bushings I paid for were in fact installed. I did and low and behold the OEM bushings were sitting there in the leaf springs. I was beyond pissed for lots of reasons but mostly because I was originally quoted no further payment for the install of the shackles but ended up paying for an extra hour of labor anyway. So, I call the shop, tell them as direct but politely as I can that they fucked up and where’re the hell are my parts and why didn’t they install them. At this point I’ve driven too and from this place that’s an hour away TWICE because they didn’t trust NTB to align my truck (yes, even though the second place screwed it up too). I spoke to my install guy who confirms via text that my parts are at the shop and they’ll make it right. Well now I’ve asked for the extra hour of labor to be refunded because I’ve got to drive back for another alignment, the bushing swap and for them to install my new tires. The install guys asks me to ask the manager. So I call him, as I’m explaining I can’t help but say something along the lines of “if they had done the god damn job properly I wouldn’t have to come back” to which he immediately halts the conversation and says he will no longer speak to me because of my language. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??!! So I take a second, apologize for my choice of words and we continue the conversation. He says he will make it right and here I am this afternoon. When I get inside the shop, the install guy says “the bushings are installed, they’re just on the top bolt that goes thru the frame and not the leaf spring, this is because when you brought them in the bushings were on that same top bolt”. I didn’t know what to say because right or wrong, in my head I’m thinking “David doesn’t ship them like that and he’s just trying to come up with SOME sort of “reason” that they were installed wrong.” So, check and double check your shops service because as nice and “knowledgeable” they say they are, they are not always that knowledgeable.

 

Does coachbuilder recommend the poly bushings with his shackles even if the factory bushings are new? I know with my shackles(@Toytec Lifts ) I left the factory leaf spring bushings as the truck only had around 1000 miles on it. I have the poly bushings set aside show I need them later. The upper bushings were replaced with the poly.

 

Yes he does even though mine were only about 1300 miles worn too. For me, it was just a “do it while you’re there” and ride quality. The rubber OEM bushings hold a lot of vibration instead of pushing it out to the tire or whatever.