Fox TRD Pro or Fox 2.5 Resi system

Well... I've been tracking my shipment on the FedEx website... I noticed the little notation reading "Barcode label unreadable and replaced". I my experience, this (literally) more often than not means that the original container/packaging has not survived the journey to that point and has resulted in missing/damaged contents. Yay... I proactively emailed the dealer I ordered them from to forewarn them that there may be an issue and that I will be taking photos of the container and it's contents when it arrives regardless of it's initial appearance in case a claim is found to be necessary. I did scroll back and noticed the photo posted that shows only the four shocks and no additional hardware (not referring to the little bracket extension), which is only mildly reassuring that everything's gonna be peachy outside of the additional day delay. Ah joy...

 

My labels get messed up all the time when I order certain medical kits at work valued at 30 grand a pop....luckily none have been damaged just smeared or unreadable labels....so fingers crossed for ya

 

Eeeek! LOL! One would think that there's a reliable solution for that. I appreciate the morale boost, normally I don't fret too much about things like this. I just haven't had much to do the last few days and don't sit idle real well. I'll eventually find a distraction.

 

That would drive me nuts not knowing where the shipment really is. These parts aren’t cheap.

Oh ya drive me nuts just sitting around as well.

Good luck hope they show up soon. FYI the packing was pretty good and the shipment weighs about 80 lbs so I’m sure it’s not lost. The driver just didn’t want to lift the box.

 

The tracking gives me somewhat of an idea where it is, there were some really long layovers though. I know that things happen, like road closures, breakdowns and such. One of the quirky things though is that the item has already passed within 1/2 mile from me on it's way to the hub, 100 miles east of me. Then it will pass again tomorrow (in theory) on it's way to the distribution center, 30 miles west of me, to then slide around in the floor of the delivery van for most of the day. I imagine that things well turn out just fine, I'm just more bored than I'm usually having to cope with. Thanks for the well wishes.

The info FedEx has says that it's a 90 lbs package.

 

Yep I think he is right about 90 lbs.

The wife and I will be taking our first long road trip with the new shocks. Heading to my house in AZ on Friday. I’m sure we will be finding some dirt roads to play on while out there for a couple days. It’s about a 13 1/2 hour drive from door to door.

 

Well of course, that's the only way to make sure the coils are settled and then check the torque on the wheels.

 

They package them good I don’t think you need to worry. Yeah the box is heavy that they come in 80-90lbs sounds right.

 

Cool, thanks. I know I'm being kind of a nancy about it. I think it's just the combination of frustration and boredom. It's appears that now the package is headed from the hub to the distribution center, usually deliveries are made that day in the mid afternoon. I'll figure out how to pass the time until then.

 

So the only difference between the non-TRD Pro suspension and the TRD Pro suspension are the shocks, coil springs, and speed sensor extension kit? No difference in the rear leaf springs, rear suspension height, diff angle, etc.?

 

I think that's about right...

 

The TRD pro suspension is only lifted in the front. It's just a new set of front shocks and coils and rear shocks, that's it. The rear remains at stock height.

The deciding factor for some when it comes to either going with the OEM Fox parts over going with the Fox branded equivalent is that the OEM ones are valved specifically for the Tundra. The OEM ones are also about $300 more than the generic Fox 2.5 kit, so in a way its a bit of a wash. If you want to get the valving changed it'd cost about the same in the end.

 

What exactly does that mean though? “Tuned for the Tundra.”

 

The shocks come with generic valving, dont hold me to this as though it was a fact, but the generalization is that valving needs to be tuned to accommodate the weight at each corner, it needs to be tuned to control (dampen) the compression and rebound force of the leafs and coils. The front coil overs are valved for the coil included but not in relation to the weight that the Tundra will subject them to. The rears are not specifically tuned for our OEM rear leafs. Its both complicated and simple, lol. A properly tuned combo will ride much better in its intended field of use. There are a number of Tacomaworld guys getting Kings and being surprised by a stiffer than expected ride. Things like DSC help with that, but the guys that get them revalved are often in heaven and the happiest. The gist is, the OEM TRD pro shocks will feel a bit more refined and comfortable than the Fox generic 2.5 kit.

 

Interesting. I wonder how all that changes when you put things like a DECKED system and camper shell in the back.

 

Weight always seemed to help on the non vehicle specific apps that I've been in. They always seem over dampened and stiffer. Ive added maybe 70lbs between my softopper and the bedrug on my OEM Pro and it feels the same as stock. I did load it up last weekend though with about 200lbs of gear and it felt like stock as well, just heavier.

 

I installed the kit I bought on Thursday night. All was fine in terms of the shipping delay and the condition of the packaging. I've just had so many issues all the shippers in this neck of the woods.

I tried to disassemble as little as possible. The ABS wire connected to the steering knuckle had to be removed as I wasn't able to sneak the coil past it. I didn't have to do that for the removal of the original coilovers. After getting the new coilovers bolted in at the top I wasn't able to get the Lower Control Arm low enough to get the bottom eyelet of the coilover into the mount. I think that the Upper Control Arm may have been coming down and touching the coil, limiting the distance to LCA could be pried downward. I disconnected the front sway bar links from the LCA to prevent that from restricting movement. I messed with both sides like this for quite some time. Eventually I stepped away from it and tackled the rear shocks.

The rear was pretty straightforward. Of note though. There was one of those little speed sensor wire extensions in one of the boxes for the front coilovers. I didn't install it, but I'm going to go back one of these days and do a full droop of the rear suspension again to double check the slack of the wire from the rear axle to wherever it's routed/attached to the frame/body. I thought I looked at this specifically, but can't be positive, and the chances of me catching air and having the rear suspension at full droop is slim to none, but just to try to clear up the topic.

I have the TRD rear sway bar as well. While I had the rear suspension suspended, I noticed that the rear leaf springs arched enough to just about touch the link arms where they bolt to the sway bar. I don't think that there could be an interference issue here unless you were leaving the ground. I would be extremely surprised if there would be an issue in a crawling scenario where one wheel is drooped and the other is stuffed as this is the motion the rear sway bar resists/limits by design. I've not read of anyone actually posting that this is happening to them, so I'm not going to intentionally dedicate any time into trying to create this unlikelihood. My truck has the stiffer than stock front Sequoia sway bar (but not as stiff as the TRD front sway bar), and is shorter and lighter than any of the other trucks typically equipped with these components.

So, back to the front.
I finally determined that in order to make this happen, I was going to have to disassemble the Lower Ball Joint from the steering knuckle so I could push the LCA far downward enough to get the eyelet of the coilover into its mounting point. Once apart I could see that the bolts were originally fit with red Loctite, I used red Loctite when I refit them. Once I got that sorted and the LBJ/knuckle back together, I reconnected the ABS wire bracket to the steering knuckle and felt it prudent to make some slack in the ABS wire because it seemed pretty tight at full droop. I just slightly bent one of the wire brackets and adjusted where others were held snug by others. These wires are easily damaged if under tension. At full extension the UCA gets pretty close to the coil, but that whole catching air/sway bar thing applies here too.

I got everything back together and cleaned up, finally. On the way home, about a mile drive in the dark, I got flashed by nearly half of the other motorists I encountered. So I went back yesterday to where I did the work to adjust the headlamps. It's plenty dark with the lights off, and I already have masking tape on the inside of the bay door just for doing this. With the Sequoia LED headlamps I had to give up the power adjustable factory functionality of the originals so there was no option to just "dial them down."

I've only driven it about three miles. I think I can almost see that the camber is off, could just be in my head though. Alignment is scheduled for Tuesday. I measured the before and after height at the center of the front bumper. Before: 22¼". After: 25". This difference of greater than 2" may be due to the lighter cab and could "settle" after some miles anyway.

The before photo is kinda old, but was the best to show the before/after difference visually. I was never interested in having the ride height level, even with the new coilovers it looks like there's still just the slightest nose-down rake, which I prefer.

Before:



After:

 

Thats a cool looking truck, I had no idea it was a regular cab thats awesome! Hope you enjoy the new suspension

 

I'm certainly interested in experiencing the differences, but gotta wait for that alignment (tomorrow).

 

@2019-1794
-So you are a running a 1794 Edition with stock Fox TRD Pro suspension, 18" BBS wheels and Goodyear Wrangler Duractrac 285/75R18?
-Any rubbing with that setup
-Are there any other mods you had to make to fit those tires w/out rubbing or other issues?
-Any room for bigger size tires or did you go with what they told was the biggest size u could fit without rubbing?

I have a 2020 TRD Pro reserved right now (en route now) and I'm trying to determine the max tire size I can fit, without any additional aftermarket spacer lift or trimming, etc... Any advice is appreciated!

 

295/70r18 without any trimming. You can fit 35s or 315/70r17 with the right offset, either stock or +25 offset wheels, but you will have to trim the front fender plastic or remove it.

 

Yes sir, no rubbing that I’ve encountered yet. I think you will be just fine with the 285/75/18 on the BBS Pro wheels

 

Thanks for confirming guys....

 

Gorgeous truck! Well done!

 

Thanks for posting, this is the route I want to take to make everything OEM.

 

Just find a TRD PRO VIN online or in a lot and use that.

 

thanks man!

 

How are these 285/75 Duratracs holding up for you? Are they noisy? How much loss of power have you noticed?

 

I like the size and didn't notice much loss of power, however I'll probably go with a BFG KO2 on the next set, I got a really good deal on the duratracs with the purchase of the wheels, they are noisier than I prefer but i can deal with it until they are worn out

 

Installed the TRD Fox kit a few days ago. It really makes this truck feel a lot lighter. Now I just need some new tires...